Consumer Rip Off by MAjor Grocery Chains

[TrevorW]

Happening all too often these day went in to buy a couple of ciders after a hard days work in the hot sun at Liquorland, got to the till $6 a bottle (Dan Murphy $4.79) but here it it at that price it works out to be $144 for 24, yet if you buy a carton of 24 its only $50.


https://www.liquorland.com.au/beer/somersby-pear-cider-bottle-330ml_1253158


Also went In Woolworths the other day single packets of 10 coffee pods on special $4 however the same brand in a box of 40, on special $18.50.


Both Woolworths and Coles claim they discount 100's of items, yes they do but you will find that these are mostly non essential, everything else I would class as essential has gone up in value in the last 12 months by $1 or $2 an item


I was a die hard Woolworths shopper for over 30 years but not any more its shop around and look for the specials from now on :)

[AstroViking]

Totally agree with you there. Shop around, check all the catalogues for what's on sale and buy in bulk if necessary. (Eg: The coffee I drink has gone up to $44 per kg. It was on sale the other week at half price. So I grabbed 2. Bingo - instant $44 saving.)

With the Woolies rewards card you rack up the points and get money off your shopping - on top of the 4 c/litre petrol discount. We bank up our "Woolies dollars" and use them to offset grocery or petrol expenses.

There are more perks available if you use the Woolies phone application (and sign up to them) but I'm at risk of sounding like free advertising for the swine. :(

Also - check Aldi as well. Pretty much the same stuff as Coleworths but with different branding and lower prices.

Cheers,
V

[The_bluester]

We have taken to doing click and collect shopping and the big two are opposite each other. My wife generally does the order so she comes and uses my PC with the very wide screen, opens the two stores web apges and double shops line by line, buying everything from whichever is cheaper at the time and we do the pickups in one trip.

The disadvantage is that one of the two is pretty weird in the substitutions. when they reckon something is not in stock, or just stuff missing. Unless it is a big price difference, we tend to get the stuff where we really mean "no substitutions" from the more reliable one so we either get what we want or nothing.

[Renato1]

It depends on where one lives. I often get ridiculous discounts at the two closest Woolworths stores I go to, especially as the items approach the Use By date.When I tell my friends from other parts of town about it, they can't believe it, as there's nothing like it where they live.

For example, Porterhouse steak reduced from over $20 to $2.60. 1.5Kg of Rump Steak reduced from over $20 to $4 (and when I got to the checkout, the QR code was missing, and they told me just to keep it). Tasty microwave meals reduced from $10.50 to $2.30. Last Easter I got a bag of 1.5Kg of cooked prawns for $10.

The other day, my bill came to $83, and I'd saved $84 on the orignal prices.

I think it has something to do with living near an upper class area, and people in that area don't want to be seen buying the discounted stuff, as it's beneath them. So the store discounts even more.

The other good thing about Woolworths is joining their Everyday Rewards Plus. For $59 a year one gets triple points, and 10% off a purchase once a month, plus a few freebies. The extra points and 10% off pays for the $59 fee in two to three months.

And my local IGA has heaps of discounted stuff too (they have to compete with Woolworths across the road). It's not unusual for me to go in there to buy a few loaves of bread, only to walk out having spent $60 to $70 on discounted food.
Cheers,
Renato

P.S. The easiest way to get savings from Coles and Woolworths is by buying their Egift cards either at 4% discount from some organisation one belongs to (e.g a union) or when they have a sale (Coles had 10% off their gift cards earlier in the year) or have promotions like Woolworths have now and you get an extra 5% on top of the amount paid.

[glend]

Agreed with Renato, IGA often gets targeted by the big two (Woolies and Coles). Most IGAs are owner operated, they are not a big conglomerate like the big two. They deserve all the support we can give them, and not just on the Specials. Whenever another small owner operator is forced out of business, it's more control for Woolies and Coles.

[Renato1]

Hi Glen,
IGAs seem to be variable. When I went on vacation to South Brisbane, they had the same prices as my local one - which are comparable to Woolworths. They also had the best hot meat pies I've ever eaten in Australia. Similar prices at Pt Douglas (but no pies). But I've seen some other IGAs in rural areas which were very expensive, comparable to 7/11.

Down here, their upgraded Ritchies IGA stores sell lots of interesting local and overseas stuff, gourmet stuff and a huge variety of breads which the other chains don't have. I don't mind paying a premium for stuff that warrants it. Their Pork Schnitzel with garlic crumbs absolutely kills flavour-wise that from Tasman meats, Woolworths or Aldi. And I only buy their plain sausages nowadays - heaps better than their competitors.
Cheers,
Renato