Elite 11+ shopping and chat thread part 2½

silvercar

Tinyshoes wrote: »

If anyone sees a cheap double 4.5 tog duvet please give me a shout. We've put our double one back on but I'm way too hot at night after spending most of the summer under just the duvet cover.

No comments please DM I do know it might be my age. :eek:

Try Tesco.

Cheapest in Argos is £14, it is called 'cool as a cucumber' so maybe suitable.

Savvybuyer

zippydooda wrote: »

[1] 3rd october, then 28 days to spend

if they have invested so much in lowering prices, [2] why get rid of the apg? as surely lowering prices would lower any returns on an apg.

oh yer i know. our customers wanted us to :rotfl:

[1] Which suggests the final APG voucher will be valid on, and redeemed on, 31st October. Assuming we can take the Mr A's email as read, straight from the horse's mouth as it were, it seems it must be that some journalists are unsure or more likely do not know how the system works as they are suggesting that vouchers will cease to be valid on 3 October. There is therefore still that area of doubt for me, but then again I am usually in doubt on everything, but I assume the email is quoted accurately on here and that it means the scheme will end, with the final voucher due to expire, on 31st October. Still some doubt as may be 30th Ocober:rotfl: (does "up to" 3rd October include that date or not?).

[2] Because, presumably, there is no need for them to run it, or anything similar, anymore. When T stopping their TBG, there seems no need to run any thing and no advantage to A in doing so.

I thought about this earlier today, when we still didn't know that it was going to end and when I was taking several of my vouchers off to A to spend. It was posted there would be an announcement tomorrow. (That has now been made today.) I thought, if it does end, they will probably say something like they are focusing on lower prices. I expected, if it was ending, to hear something like that. The reason is that just ending the system - taking away something that was provided before - is a negative. I think that this is being said because they need to put a positive light onto it.

The system had effectively died slowly anyway - with it being "paused" several months ago, when it proved not enough to get people generally to switch to A and A were still struggling in the sales wars - losing market share - and they stopped promoting it but it continued rather silently. Few customers must have been using it as it was no longer promoted. So, this give the perfect setting to 'few people are using it anyway now, so we can discontinue it'. The "focus on low prices", which is effectively what they have said, in all but those exact words, doesn't mean that all prices will be low in future. T have stopped their TBG but that doesn't mean that prices have been matched on the shelf with other stores now but instead I think people will pay more on some items at T. There are items that I have been, for now, putting into the 'buy in M' list than would have been Tvs M before and a number where T, judging by online, is several pounds more than M. Store can say low prices but stil continue with more expensive prices or expensive offers on some items compared to elsewhere. If indeed prices at A do drop significantly, then I might change to A. However, I suspect I will - after switching to M's cheaper prices (on items on which they are cheaper) - continue to buy from M and pricing at A will continue as before (with their own rollbacks but otherwise prices on most items that are on offer at M, or elsewhere, being more expensive at A - and the same with every competitor, including M, on items on which other places have offers - even though, to some extent, the stores also like to price-match each other). I haven't seen prices at T generally falling, or any really more offers being put on, after the demise of the TBG.

I get that lowering prices at A reduces APG returns; however most customers do not think this way. It may now be strange, for a short time, for us getting used to buying from whichever place is cheapest:rotfl:. In a sense APG was contradictory to lower prices as you made APG buying items that are more expensive till or SS machine prices. The "lower prices" is, I think, like all stores, an attempt to atract people to stop there, presumably thinking everything might be lower in price when I think, in fact, it's probably like every retailer - most things are same price as everywhere else, some things are cheapest but other things are not. (It also helps if people believe, to some extent, that prices everywhere are roughly the same as they may then think they won't need to be shopping around and won't be vastly overpaying if they just pick one store and shop for everything from there when in fact, on some items, there can sometimes be huge price differences.)

I got into this from DTD Price Check at T, and then onto APG, which has opened our eyes into how stores price things and hopefully allowed us not to fall into these traps of assuming things that people generally do and to help us shop better in future:money:. Even if, without an APG, we will now be having to pay for things:rotfl:.

I have been doing a lot of shopping (and paying for it!) away from A more recently anyway - as the cost of buying from A (treating APGs the same as if they were cash, albeit cash only able to be spend at one retailer) has been a lot more expensive on many essential items, for me, than anything available from A (even via major supermarket prices that have been more expensive on some essential items than Aldi, Lidl, Home Bargains, Heron Foods etc. - though I think Home Bargains have sneaked their potatoes up by 10p a bag so they no longer are the cheapest, about the same price as 2.5Kg £1 bags elsewhere - M again I'm afraid as 2.5Kg at 2 for £2 or Wonky Potatoes 87p or maybe £1, I forget which, as had switched to HB but now probably about the same price per kg. after the 10p increase - and Heron Foods seemed to withdraw the mbuy offer off the frozen Steak Bakes but kept it on Chicken Bakes:huh:. so have switched to M who have helped on the Steak Bakes by having a discontinued line on 75p RTC as I'm not 100% confident that they would compare from A - Steak & Gravy as opposed to Steak even though it does have Gravy with it and some £1 SELs still around in M that could still maintain £1 M price on the APG a little longer than it should whilst M stores still getting round to changing their SELs). Anyway - point is I've found myself already shopping away from A for a lot more things nowadays as items at A too expensive (even though they keep winning the Grocer Awards, based on whatever they pick and perception - which matters all - is still probably that they are a fairly cheap supermarket, like my perception of S is they are often expensive, except they do have unpromoted 20p reduced lines, stock of which I can never find so can't ever buy anything) and have been shopping at A, using APGs, for a range of fewer items that are best price there (or equal best to somewhere such as Aldi/Lidl not on the APG).

Anyway, if it has to end, now seems the 'best' time for it to do so as I am more frequently shopping elsewhere cheaper (even using cash cash as opposed to APG cash) and I'm fed up of updating the M list:rotfl:. I've also sometimes resorted to buying the one cheaper item in M when I haven't got 8 items to buy and would be spending more money (even APG money) buying 7 extra items from A. Even if losing the 10% - and sometimes been just buying the one item in A on which A is cheapest, even if it is joint cheapest with somewhere else and thus lost the 10%. On the one item, price-matched, the 10% is nearly worthless anyway - a few pence - but I have been figuring on buying just one item instead of eight or more and then picking up a womble that would potentially/usually be more than the few pence 10% that could have been had on the one item if I had spent more money than that on seven more items (and buying those additional items would have cost me more than 90% of the cost of those combined if they are also comparable against the same place at same price - in other words losing more money by buying extra items than the 10% I would have lost on buying just one).

Postscript, I will still update the M list. These few times:rotfl:. I do still like it as well as keep putting it off and getting fed up at the outset with it - always best when I am into the final few items these days (M just has so much! - it never has too much, as it is all do-able, but maybe that is more and more technical these days as I have been somewhat getting fed up at 'having' to do the updating that I don't have to do and biting the bullet in the end and doing it).

josie_ann57

Evening elite, going to try to use my rather large womble in Wythenshawe sada tomorrow as I shall be taking someone to the hospital there, Hope they are a friendly bunch of sa's

TrulyMadly

josie_ann57 wrote: »

Evening elite, going to try to use my rather large womble in Wythenshawe sada tomorrow as I shall be taking someone to the hospital there, Hope they are a friendly bunch of sa's

:eek::eek::eek:

Is that the £35 one?:rotfl::rotfl:

TrulyMadly

Tinyshoes wrote: »

If anyone sees a cheap double 4.5 tog duvet please give me a shout. We've put our double one back on but I'm way too hot at night after spending most of the summer under just the duvet cover.

No comments please DM I do know it might be my age. :eek:

I'm hot in bed too:o

Tinyshoes

izzy65 wrote: »

Try amazon, £7, but it's an add on item:), I got a sk one and it's ok.

silvercar wrote: »

Try Tesco.

Cheapest in Argos is £14, it is called 'cool as a cucumber' so maybe suitable.

Thank you :A

I noticed in Sainsbobs today they had single ones reduced but no sign of any doubles. Which made me wonder if any other stores had reduced theirs.

Wheres_My_Cashback

It's all getting a tad menopausal :eek::eek::eek::eek::eek::eek:

josie_ann57

TrulyMadly wrote: »

:eek::eek::eek:

Is that the £35 one?:rotfl::rotfl:

Yes, I hope I'm :rotfl::rotfl: after I've tried to spend it. I'm going to find it difficult to 'spend' £35 all at once:rotfl:

TrulyMadly

Wheres_My_Cashback wrote: »

It's all getting a tad menopausal :eek::eek::eek::eek::eek::eek:

Well go and have a cold shower or something:rotfl:

Tinyshoes

Wheres_My_Cashback wrote: »

It's all getting a tad menopausal :eek::eek::eek::eek::eek::eek:

You getting a bit hot too :whistle: