Supermarket bargains - is this greedy, or fair enough?

If I wanted 6 boxes of anything I’d buy it.

It’s possibly a bit greedy but maybe she will make jams or chutneys for family or others. It’s better than it going to waste. I also don’t think it’s the sort of thing that the supermarket workers can or should police, so it is what it is.

I see it with yellow sticker stuff all the time in our local supermarket. Last week the staff member was stickering steaks. There was a woman with a trolley standing next to her. As soon as she put a pile of reduced steaks in the chiller cabinet, this lady put them in her trolley. She was angled so no-one else could get near. She must have had about 20 steaks in her trolley.

this was not a one-off either. It happens regularly.

I think it’s fair game. Especially with figs - it’s still a premium item at a fairly premium price. Impoverished people won’t be buying almost out-of-date figs. It’s the same with free range chicken on yellow sticker. It’s still crazy expensive.

It's fine. The only situation I'd disagree would be if the product were vital and there were shortages (eg loo roll at the start of covid) but in those situations the shop usually limits items per customer.

I've seen people do that and thought initially they were greedy, but we don't know the situation. She may have been buying them to share with other families. If they're near their expiry date it's unlikely someone is going to gulp down six boxes by herself - unless she's severely constipated!

Id probably just have assumed she was constipated.

I haven't voted because I think that both options are true. In an ideal world we would all be more generous but it's a bit unrealistic to expect that.

Your voting seems to be the wrong way round!

I think it is greedy. Theres no law against it but it’s clearly very selfish.

You hear about this sort of thing a lot though.

It's fine. The goods in shops are there to be bought, not saved for some future customer who may or may not come along.

I think it is a bit greedy, but also I'd rather see things used than ending up as food waste. So I am conflicted! On balance I think I'd settle for being glad they didn't go to waste, even if someone else was deprived of a bargain.

It's fine. They are there to be bought and avoids food waste.

No one is going to die from a lack of reduced pricey dates!

Obviously, if there are actually food shortages, and someone buying it all leaves someone else hungry, then that would be different, but that's far from the case here.

Figs aren't high on most people's shopping lists I don't think. Not everyone's cup of tea so to speak. Better they're snapped up by someone who wants them at the end of their life than they get wasted. The figs I mean. With staple food items I would hope people would adopt a fairer policy.

Providing she wasn’t pushing or bugging others out the way, then fair play. I got some ground coffee reduced the other day, I took the remaining three bags, I don’t consider it selfish, just my good fortune there were three bags left. Had there been ten bags would I have taken them? Well no because I couldn’t get through that many bags within the sell by date and don’t have enough space. But if someone else did I wouldn’t consider it selfish, I would consider it selfish if it wasn’t used and thrown out. If the figs were reduced I doubt they had much longevity left. The figs from my tree (been an amazing year for figs this year) don’t keep long once picked.

It’s fair enough. Especially with something like figs that aren’t that likely to see out anyway

Maybe she has an old family recipe for fig chutney that she hasn't been able to make for years...

I wouldn't stress about it over something that goes off as quickly as figs: if someone can use them up before they spoil, great. If she hadn't bought them, they might well have ended up in the skip round the back, like a lot of supermarket food.

Sharp-elbowed blocking of other people clustered round the supermarket worker with the yellow label machine is another matter.

Figs? Nah, she can have the whole lot for all I care.

Well, I happily buy yellow stickers stuff for the freezer. I don't really buy red meat unless it is on offer, and it is for the kids really. But I don't buy 20 steaks at a time, and if there are a lot of items and someone else wants some, then I do share.

Perhaps she was constipated

When my niece was a uni, she had the job of putting the yellow stickers on. Some people followed her around the store and were very aggressive with her.

Stuff gets yellow stickered because it's at risk of going to waste. If everyone limited themselves to one item you have no way of knowing whether they'd all get sold by the end of the day, or if some would end up in the bin. So I think it's better they get sold even if that means one person takes the lot.

I'd have got a few boxes.

Figs lol probably a good job she bought them.

No, if I was making a fig pudding or jam I’d be delighted and buy them all.
The only way I’d think twice is if someone was reaching for them at the same time.