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Supermarkets
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littleowl
Posts: 594 Forumite
This will not be popular I know.
Supermarkets hold us in their grasp by offering loyalty cards which are intended to give us the lovely warm feeling that we are part of a huge family and are all gaining from saving points and getting offers and money off shopping. Thus they keep our loyalty and we duly shop with them exclusively to gain these benefits.
BUT - is this true? It is fairly obvious that if one searches various supermarkets one can find 'offers' which are great at one and not found on another. In the end we actually PAY for having loyalty cards. We rush from one place to another to get the 'best buys'. We are being brain washed.
I have recently decided to try and shop locally from independent retailers and am delighted at what I have found. My butcher,for instance, sources locally produced meat which is far cheaper than that offered by the supermarket and is immeasureably better in taste and quality. I will never buy meat from a supermarket again!
I am still on a quest to find locally grown vegetables which are not already annexed by a supermarket chain.
Is it just me who would prefer to eat seasonal vegetables and fruit rather than out of season products flown in from abroad and which are, at least, several days away from being freshly picked? Sadly these same fruit and vegetables seem tasteless.
So - I am cutting up my Tesco and Nectar cards.
After today's revelation of all the major supermarkets fixing of the price of dairy products and their seeming lies that this was done to help the original producer, I am even more determined to forego the dubious pleasure of shopping with them.
Supermarkets hold us in their grasp by offering loyalty cards which are intended to give us the lovely warm feeling that we are part of a huge family and are all gaining from saving points and getting offers and money off shopping. Thus they keep our loyalty and we duly shop with them exclusively to gain these benefits.
BUT - is this true? It is fairly obvious that if one searches various supermarkets one can find 'offers' which are great at one and not found on another. In the end we actually PAY for having loyalty cards. We rush from one place to another to get the 'best buys'. We are being brain washed.
I have recently decided to try and shop locally from independent retailers and am delighted at what I have found. My butcher,for instance, sources locally produced meat which is far cheaper than that offered by the supermarket and is immeasureably better in taste and quality. I will never buy meat from a supermarket again!
I am still on a quest to find locally grown vegetables which are not already annexed by a supermarket chain.
Is it just me who would prefer to eat seasonal vegetables and fruit rather than out of season products flown in from abroad and which are, at least, several days away from being freshly picked? Sadly these same fruit and vegetables seem tasteless.
So - I am cutting up my Tesco and Nectar cards.
After today's revelation of all the major supermarkets fixing of the price of dairy products and their seeming lies that this was done to help the original producer, I am even more determined to forego the dubious pleasure of shopping with them.
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Comments
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Principles are wonderful if you can afford them.I used to be indecisive but now I am not sure.0
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And if you've the time for them.
And I've not got a Tesco card nor a Nectar card anyway.0 -
It is to do with principles admittedly but it is more to do with sourcing better and cheaper products than the supermarkets supply.0
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As a matter of interest it is possible to beat the supermarkets at their own game. It is fairly easy to find out what particular offers each are giving by using supermarket comparison sites.
The trick is only to shop for for the best deals. For example, I use Douwe Egberts coffee. I never pay the full price of over £5 a jar. I wait until Tesco or Morrisons are offering 2 for 1 and buy around eight jars. By the time they are finished there is sure to be the same offer again on one of the major supermarkets. I don't thinkI have paid the full price for many years.
What the supermarkets depend on is that, while you go to them to take advantage of this great offer, you will buy other things. The way you win is that you don't do that. You buy ONLY those items that are a part of your usual shoppingt list but are also on this sort of offer.
It feels good to exit from the shop knowing that you have won!0 -
Co-op have a range of locally sourced products dotted around their stores. In mine there are quite a few things grown/produced or that lived within 40miles. Gorgeous little apples smaller than the average in the supermarket that are very tasty and smell nice also a lovely red colour. Priced at £1.39 for 8-10 in a bag. I have seen other veggies and i know they have meat locally sourced but that is more exspensive! The local icecream is making me drool looking at it honey and ginger looks good only made 15miles away
decent sized tub £1.99 or £2.99 i cannot think off the top of my head. Why not check out your local co-op
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Try Aldi or Lidl, neither have loyalty cards or free carrier bags but their groceries and everyday stuff is, on average, much cheaper than the big supermarkets, and IMHO generally tastes better than the big supermarkets'.From MSE Martin - Some General Tips On Holiday Home Organisations and Sales Meetings
DO NOT TOUCH ANY OF THEM WITH A BARGEPOLE!0 -
So - I am cutting up my Tesco and Nectar cards.
Irrespective of what you think of the supermarkets they are large scale marketing organisaitons that, like EVERY other company, will try to squeeze another penny out of you if they can. They are probably widely respsonsible for holding the cost of our shopping down (some say by as much as 50%) .. they also offer a much wider range of products ... yes some will be cheaper, some will be of lesser quality .. but, as history shows PRICE is usually the most important driver in decision making.
ivanI don't care about your first world problems; I have enough of my own!0 -
Hi
I now shop "locally" - Sainsbury's "Local", Tescos "Local", :Detc etc .....I know that's not the point.:p..but I have saved massive amounts of money, about £100-£150 a month. I think going to huge supermarkets and doing a weekly, twice-weekly, monthly shop costs more in the end. Just buying what you need is easier than predicting what everyone will want to eat (family of four) for the next say two weeks. However, it is more effort. I have to shop very day now. Less waste is good for the environment and good for my pocket.:money:0 -
It feels good to exit from the shop knowing that you have won!
To be honest, I don't view my weekly shop as a competion that I have 'win'. I have a choice of where I shop and what I buy and I take full advantage of that choice. I buy what I want in the shop I want. I occasionally use farm shops, local butchers and fishmongers but find them more expensive that the local supermarkets.
I like supermarkets. They are reasonably priced, local and convenient - and will even deliver my food if I so choose. Can't ask for more than that really.0 -
I hate supermarkets driving price down only with quality. In the end someone has to pay, their are countless stories of how the supermarkets abuse their power forcing suppliers down on price. They are too powerful and don't create jobs or add a thing to the community.
I shopped in ASDA and didn't have to speak to a single sole. When I bought locally I spoke to people got advice taste was better - the only thing is time.\
I've got A LOT of work on all the time and just don't seem to have time to get shopping in different places.Help me to help you :santa2:0
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