Hows everyone doing with supermarket reductions?

paxtecum

Marks and Spencers opened a Food Hall about 2 years ago about 5 mins drive from my house. If something was £3 ready meal or £8 packaged meat the first mark down wouldn't be worth bothering with, perhaps down to £2.50 and £7.

Too many people had worked out that anytime between an hour before closing and half an hour before closing, all the mark downs would be at virtually give away prices e.g. 20p or 50p. You could do £100 worth of shopping for less than £10, putting things in the freezer.

People walk around with their empty basket or perhaps just a pint of milk in it, pretending that they are shopping....they are like vultures with sharp beaks waiting to grab aggressively the items that are marked down.

Staff used to mark down things in front of the customers, four or five people would be standing there wanting that item. Member of staff would put the item to be marked down on their little table, one of those bargain hunters would grab that item and hold onto it, thrusting it towards the member of staff to mark down. The staff got sick of the aggression and the mark down policy changed.

The new policy involved taking all the items to be marked down off the shelves and taking them out the back to be marked down. The member of staff would then appear with a trolley full of mark down items and put them on the end of an isle. The vultures would wait near the door where the member of staff would appear and start taking things off the trolley, they would push and shove each other and the member of staff to get at the bargains first.

One lady who dresses quite smartly (that is part of her ploy, to look like an affluent shopper who is just casually shopping), is there every night with a pint of milk in her basket pretending to shop. This lady looks on the shelf for things that are out of date eg fillet steaks and circles that isle like a vulture, as soon as a member of staff appears with the mark down trolley, she grabs the steaks and asks for them to be marked down. The member of staff to avoid confrontation or arguments, just marks the steaks down for the vulture while other bargain hunters look in amazement. It only encourages other customers to stand next to items that are going to be marked down and "reserve them", blocking any other customers from picking up the item when it is reduced.

A friend works in this store and I have been told that they don't mark things down to 50p anymore, there is just one very small mark down eg £8 to £7 or £3 to £2.50. Staff were getting pushed around, there were too many vultures, a threatening unpleasant environment for genuine shoppers and staff.

aliama

Yesterday we managed to pick up a 2.6 kg Christmas gammon joint from Waitrose for £11 something. :j

Weird thing is the use by date is still a few days away.

rachbc

just got 2kg of sirloin for £12

Suzexxx

Hi everyone

I love Sunday as a whoopsie day. Today i went to Tesco, Morrisons and Asda and got:

From Tesco:

* Big bag of assorted potatos 5p
* 2 x Tom and Jerry pizza slices ham and pineapple 30p each.
* Crumpets 10p
* Muffins 10p
* Shortbread squares 10p
* Chicken and bacon cold pasta 18p
* Apple snack bag 5p
* Weightwatchers wraps 13p
* Pack of 4 bread rolls 5p
* Pack of 2 bread rolls 5p
* Fruit snack bag 3p
* Pancakes 40p
* Whipping cream 10p
* Single cream 11p

From Morrisons:

*Pack of 6 pork pies 19P
*Chicken and bacon sandwich filler 15p
*25 party cocktail sausages (need to be cooked) 15p
*Chicken in white wine sauce 39p
*Chicken in peppercorn sauce 39p
*Tear and share garlic bread 15p

No bargains to be had in the little Asda, all that was left was sandwich meat that me and DP don't eat so not point in wasting any money. I got lucky in Morrisons though with the meat, i arrived just as the reduction lady was reducing stock and she allows customers to choose items and then marks them down. Some people were literally loading the whole shelf into their trolley, but i only take one of each thing usually as tbh me and DP will end up using it and it gets wasted need a bigger freezer.

Suze

kippers

paxtecum wrote: »

A friend works in this store and I have been told that they don't mark things down to 50p anymore, there is just one very small mark down eg £8 to £7 or £3 to £2.50. Staff were getting pushed around, there were too many vultures, a threatening unpleasant environment for genuine shoppers and staff.

I know exactly what you mean.

I must admit I have never seen anything like it in my local Tesco when I went whoopsie shopping on xmas eve. Me and my DH just stood back and stared at it all in disgust. I felt really really sorry for the staff and vowed not to go whoopsie shopping on xmas eve again.

I do go whoopsie shopping as I love a bargain, but I don't push or shove or even fight over things (as I saw over xmas) and I don't hand things to the poor assisants to mark down. If I started to see a repeat of xmas eve regularly then I just wouldn't go.

Smoosh

Doing really well with reductions this year so far! I also went on new year's eve and they were reducing so much stuff, so that was a very worthwhile trip. Here are some of my buys from the last week, don't think we've actually bought anything for full price!

Fresh whipping cream - 10p
A punnet of blackberries - 20p
New potatoes with garlic herb butter - 13p
2 punnets of strawberries - 20p each
Tomato, mozzarella and basil sandwich - 80p
2 casserole steaks - £2.00
A ham and cheese pizza - 12p
3 lots of "party food" - 60p each
Turkey straws - 37p
4 yogurts - 25p
Fruit pie - 54p
A giant Thornton's chocolate cake - £1.00
4 pack of waffles - 23p
4 pack of crumpets - 4p
Organic houmous - 6p
3 pack of little lemon cheesecakes - 20p
2 casserole steaks - £1.60
Big pack of chicken drumsticks - 80p
Mozzarella and tomato penne pasta bake - 48p
Mediterranean vegetable tart - 35p
Spinach and ricotta cannelloni - 48p
2 pack of lemon fools - 20p
An activia yogurt - 13p
A piece of brie - 40p
Parsnips - 10p
Pack of prepared fruit - 10p
Pack of potato, carrot and swede - 5p
Pack of carrot, leek, onion, kidney beans and butter beans - 5p
6 pack of yogurt drinks - 30p
Fresh single cream - 8p
A pack of salad (lettuce, carrot, tomato and cucumber) - 5p
A loaf of white bread - 35p
4 pack of rolls - 35p

Edit: Did this week's shop this evening and got some more reduced bits:

4 chicken escalopes - 80p
Can of Relentless energy drink - 83p
Clotted cream - 35p
40 mini sausage rolls - 60p
Another energy drink - 18p
Ploughman's sandwich - 30p
Small loaf of bread - 49p
Cheese and onion quiche - 24p
A fruit pie - 50p
6 pack of yogurt drinks - 30p
2 bags of carrots and peas - 10p each
5 pack of custard doughnuts - 13p
6 pack of white rolls - 12p
5 pack of apple doughnuts - 17p
2 pack of jam doughnuts - 7p
6 bread "fingers" - 12p
4 pack of cinnamon and raisin bagels - 20p
A rhubarb pie - 30p
2 pack of ready made porridge with blueberry compote - 50p
18 slices of cooked turkey - 77p
A pack of billy bear meat - 50p

jenniewb

Just wondered if anyone else is in the same boat.

I try to get reductions as I depend on them to make ends meet. Each time I manage to get to a supermarket for the reductions and actually find things I want being reduced, someone always seems to take all 10 of any one item (and all 10 of every other item).

It didn't used to be like this, people used to share and not take everything, yet I see the same people day in, day out taking everything- I'm just left thinking come on, how much of that do you actually need?! Its so rare I can get things now that I've gotten used to not eating some meals now because there is less money to go around other meals.

Have you noticed people acting in a more (risking being outcast here...) greedy way?

Smoosh

jenniewb wrote: »

Just wondered if anyone else is in the same boat.

I try to get reductions as I depend on them to make ends meet. Each time I manage to get to a supermarket for the reductions and actually find things I want being reduced, someone always seems to take all 10 of any one item (and all 10 of every other item).

It didn't used to be like this, people used to share and not take everything, yet I see the same people day in, day out taking everything- I'm just left thinking come on, how much of that do you actually need?! Its so rare I can get things now that I've gotten used to not eating some meals now because there is less money to go around other meals.

Have you noticed people acting in a more (risking being outcast here...) greedy way?

I depend on reductions as well. I have noticed a lot of people that will take all of the same reduced items, which does annoy me, because really, I think it's polite to share. I think people get excited by the fact some things are so cheap and they buy them without regard to how much of it they'll actually get through. Also, there's definitely generally a lot more people who buy reduced items now, back when I first started doing it, sometimes I'd be the only one there! Now you can tell where the reduced aisle is just by the hoards of people gathering round.

I have had some very nice people as well though, that'll pass things around to other people when there are lots of the same item being reduced, which I think is nice. Personally, I make a conscious effort to not take all of the same items and I always think through the reality of how much of it I'll be able to get through so that other people have a chance.

TravellingAbuela

I was in the Co-op supermarket in the next town along yesterday and got quite a few meat/fish items reduced to half price. Half price is the best I seem to get these days in any of the local supermarkets so I have to be grateful for that. Long gone are the days when I could pick up items for pennies, no matter what time I shop. At least it means I can browse the stickered items in peace as nobody else seems to think half price is a bargain and just walk past!

quintwins

jenniewb wrote: »

Just wondered if anyone else is in the same boat.

I try to get reductions as I depend on them to make ends meet. Each time I manage to get to a supermarket for the reductions and actually find things I want being reduced, someone always seems to take all 10 of any one item (and all 10 of every other item).

It didn't used to be like this, people used to share and not take everything, yet I see the same people day in, day out taking everything- I'm just left thinking come on, how much of that do you actually need?! Its so rare I can get things now that I've gotten used to not eating some meals now because there is less money to go around other meals.

Have you noticed people acting in a more (risking being outcast here...) greedy way?

Yeah i see this quite abit aswell i do think people get caught up in the bargain.
Have you tried some of the cheaper value ranges? it's not good to go without meals even if it's just some beans on toast it's alot better for you than nothing (beans on toast is acually quite good for you just not for every meal ) or value porridge oats made with water makes a very cheap filling breakfast and if needs be could be eaten at other times.I don't like to think of anyone going hungry.
I'm sure you know this already but the old style board could help you meal plan and make you money go further.