Supermarkets

want2bmortgage3

hello

has anyone tried using the organic delivery services such as riverford or abel and cole? are they good value for money / good quality?

littleowl

IvanOpinion wrote: »

Er, why? or is this just a hypothetical 'cut-up' of the cards .. surely if your Douwe Egberts comes on offer you would still go to the supermarket to partake of the offer?

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.

ivan

No - it is not hypothetical. I have cut up the cards. Yes, of course I will still buy the Douwe Egberts from a supermarket when they do the 2 for 1 offer but the 'points' received would be derisory because I choose to use their marketing ploys and choose not to buy other things at the same time.

I can't tell you how free it feels not to carry the damned card and feel obliged to do the rest of my shopping there too just to maximise points. Neither do I go out of my way to do this - I will only go to the respective supermarket if I have to go nearby to do other things - in other words, I don't make a special trip and use car fuel that I wouldn't anyway.

One also has to look at two for one offers with some sense - recently there was an offer in Morrisons for bogoff chicken fillets. I looked at the non-bogoff and they were actually cheaper. On that same point, I can buy a whole free range chicken from the local butcher for £5 - he will joint it for me and produce two chicklen fillets, two legs, two drumsticks and the carcase to be used for soups - a much better deal, and for dishes that actually taste of chicken without the added water - several meals for the same price as fillets from the supermarket which taste of nothing.

You admit that supermarkets will try to 'squeeze another penny out of you if they can', but later say that 'they are widely responsible for holding the cost of our shopping down'. Isn't that a bit of a contradiction? If I can, for example, buy cheaper, better tasting meat, from the local butcher how can that be true? Another example is that of eggs. Today Tesco was charging £1.80 for half a dozen!!!! I bought one dozen local free range eggs for £1.60 - and as fresh as they come.

robert_harper_2000

You go little owl! lol I'm with you on this one :P

AndysDad

£1.80 for 6 eggs...in Tesco!... what the heck did they have in them.I get 10 from Lidl for 77p.

davetrousers

AndysDad wrote: »

£1.80 for 6 eggs...in Tesco!... what the heck did they have in them.I get 10 from Lidl for 77p.

Were you 10 eggs free-range? I don't think you are comparing like with like.

pinkshoes

For people who are out at work from 8am til 6pm, it's not easy to shop local, as that only leaves saturday for shopping, meaning you have to contend with crowds of people! Then there's the small matter of the money that I save being eaten up by the parking costs, and that's IF I can find somewhere to park...

I don't think i'm getting a raw deal with Sainsbury. I buy what's on offer, check the produce has at least come from the UK, and adapt meals to whatever's cheap.

Plus I get free parking, lots of parking spaces, no queues at till, open til late, and a wide variety of stuff under one roof.

It might be more expensive that doing the moral local shopping thing, but for that extra cost, it's SO much more convenient. I guess £60 a week for 2 of us isn't too bad. (including a couple of bottles of wine).

nopot2pin

AndysDad wrote: »

£1.80 for 6 eggs...in Tesco!... what the heck did they have in them.I get 10 from Lidl for 77p.

davetrousers wrote: »

Were you 10 eggs free-range? I don't think you are comparing like with like.

I know the ones that AndysDad is talking about, and they are not free range. The Lidl free range ones are slightly more expensive, but for 6 eggs.
What confuses me about this, is the eggs are from the Netherlands
So, just how fresh are they ??

I now go to a local farm. 30 medium free range eggs, are normally between £4 and £4.50. The large ones are approx 50p more. I split a tray with my parents.

uktim29

AndysDad wrote: »

£1.80 for 6 eggs...in Tesco!... what the heck did they have in them.I get 10 from Lidl for 77p.

I've found them for 73p on Tescos website!

Like another post says, you kind of need to compare it like to like!

IvanOpinion

littleowl wrote: »

No - it is not hypothetical. I have cut up the cards. Yes, of course I will still buy the Douwe Egberts from a supermarket when they do the 2 for 1 offer but the 'points' received would be derisory because I choose to use their marketing ploys and choose not to buy other things at the same time.

I can't tell you how free it feels not to carry the damned card and feel obliged to do the rest of my shopping there too just to maximise points. Neither do I go out of my way to do this - I will only go to the respective supermarket if I have to go nearby to do other things - in other words, I don't make a special trip and use car fuel that I wouldn't anyway.

But why not get the points anyway .. it'd all about money saving, you can still only buy the offers.

You admit that supermarkets will try to 'squeeze another penny out of you if they can', but later say that 'they are widely responsible for holding the cost of our shopping down'. Isn't that a bit of a contradiction?

No. They have brought in competition and convenience, which is why they do so well. I know of some local shops who buy various items at the local supermarket because they are cheaper than their own wholesalers.

If I can, for example, buy cheaper, better tasting meat, from the local butcher how can that be true?

That is a big 'IF' .. the interesting scenario is that, in the main, the supermarkets use the same farms to supply them as other butchers. I have a friend who will only buy Marxies chickens because she says they taste better .. I don't have the heart to tell her they are processed on the same production line as those for another supermarket and local butchers .. (over simplifying) it just depends on which 'packer' grabs the next chicken off the line as to which label gets attached.
The only way you are going to taste any real difference is if it is a different breed of animal or it is farmed in a different (more expensive) manner ... such products always attract a price premium therefore one is not comparing like-for-like. Sadly the average shopper is more interested in price than in quality or subtle difference in taste .. therefore supermarkets will continue to thrive.

Another example is that of eggs. Today Tesco was charging £1.80 for half a dozen!!!! I bought one dozen local free range eggs for £1.60 - and as fresh as they come.

For some reason milk, bread and eggs always seem to be cheaper in small shops.

Ivan

IanBroadhurst

When we moved to our house about 4 years ago we wanted to support our local shops as much as possible. I am pretty well read in the tricks that supermarkets use so we perceive we are getting some kind of value - but after reading a book called 'Not on the label' I read with horror on what tricks are used. We started shopping at the local farm shop for all our meat and dairy. I would say the prices are akin to the cost of organic or premium labelled meats - but the quality is noticeably different, the meat is locally farmed and its fresh. The eggs are free range and you can see the chickens run around the farm, from the shop door. The milk is from a dairy 2 mins from my house and sold 10 mins down the road.

Does this mean we don't buy from supermarkets? of course it doesn't - I don't buy my meat, eggs or milk from them - but I do buy my toilet rolls, cat food and cleaning products from them.

I try to grow my own veg - I buy veg from the farm shop and the supermarket. For me its not just about cost - its about quality and in the area's where quality is not hugely important I tend to buy the cheapest brand in the supermarket. An example of this is that I buy tesco value loo roll. I used to buy the nice quilted aloe vera enriched expensive type - but my property is in excess of 100 years old and it can't take quality loo roll.

If I buy veg from the supermarket I am happy to pay a premium for organic and locally produced - because I want the flavour you get from it.

I rarely buy those impulse buys - I make a list of what I need.

I have been shopping at my local tesco and my local farm shop for the same time. When I go to the farm shop I know the butcher, the owner knows me and my family by name and we chat. I have yet to see anyone in Tesco treat me with the same level of care and attention - but then I don't pay for that kind of service - I do at the Farm shop.

I think there is room for both in a family one - one offers quality, convenience and at times value. Tesco offers only the latter 2 in my honest opinion.