To think that Supermarkets try and 'cheat' their shoppers with false 'offers'

[Mrsdavidcaruso]

I went into one of the big supermarkets today (not sure if I am allowed to name them).

I actually needed dishwasher liquid tabs so was interested in a large display at the end of an aisle 'offering' a pack of 51 tabs for 14 quid. Now there was no RRP ..... or special offer sign but the way they were displayed looked like it was some sort of deal.

However when I went to the aisle where all the dishwasher stuff is kept I saw the same brand in smaller packets of 32 1/2 price at £6.00.

Of course I bought two packs thus getting 64 tabs for £12.00 but if I hadn't checked I may have been tempted to buy the £14 pack in the mistaken belief I was getting a 'good price'.

I wonder how many people were taken in

Of course they do, they are not there for the benefit of the shoppers. I usually avoid supermarkets the end of isle stuff. If it's not on my list I don't need it. They only want your money so don't think they are doing you a favour.

All the damn time. In ours the Easter eggs have been on different offers since Boxing Day February but never once "full price".

Loads of people will be taken in OP, it's how the supermarkets make their money.

You might enjoy reading "Brand Sense" and "Brandwashed" by Martin Lindstrom. You'll save yourself a fortune in the supermarkets once you're armed with this knowledge!

In a word: "duh" :o

Annoying though.

Yes. They always have. They always will. They are businesses with shareholders that come waaaayyyyy before the customer.

All the time. Today I saw a small jar of coffee with the yellow label on the shelf edge on offer 100g for £1.50.

The 200g jar wasn't on offer but was about £2.70

Have seen it with baby bath recently as well except with the smaller bottle working out cheaper despite the larger bottle being on offer...

When ASDA were doing those Christmas offer booklets (spend £40 get a book of vouchers) there was a voucher in there for a box of chocolates, £5 off.

It had been £7 the previous week but was now £13! Disgusting.

Well, yes, of course they do.

It is annoying.

I wish it were the law to have small print saying how much things are per kilo or whatever (instead of stupid 'apples 5.85 per kilo' 'apples 3.74 per 100g' that are also meant to trick you).

Sainsbury's show price per 100g on packaged goods. Handy when deciding whether a bigger jar of coffee is worth it.

Of course they do - is this new information for you?

I think it's easy to assume the larger packs are better value for money but if you work it out that's not always the case.

I do all my shopping on line now, it's easy to see what's what.

My bet it was Tesco's. I once asked for an explanation of exactly what one of their offers was. Four sales people were trying to work it out till a supervisor came and after about 10 minutes decided what it meant. I then said wouldn't it be better if you made your offers a bit easier for people to understand. She said it was easy to understand.

Waitrose have crazy offers sometimes. Buy one for 89p, buy 3 for 50p

Am I the only one who checks these things whether they are on offer or not? It is generally really easy, but I am armed with my phone which has a calculator on it to ensure that I am getting the best deal. I started doing that when I was a student and have carried on even though I am no longer in quite such dire need of stretching every penny!

viv - nail on head

hormoine its the first time it has happened with something I actually needed at the time so it sort of stood out

There's a surprise. I threatened to report them to Trading Standards but didn't get round to it. They really do sail very close to the wind. I avoid them now whenever possible though it's my nearest big supermarket.

Best to play them off against each other

Once I was buying toilet roll and there was an offer on the 9 packs, something like buy one and get the second half price. The 18 roll pack was about 50p cheaper.

The cashier said I was the first person she'd seen all day work it out and buy the bigger pack. All those 50ps add up!

I hate the way washing tablets and dishwasher tablets are compared by the 100g on the labels. I don't care about the weight, I want to know how many loads I'll get done!

Don't buy tablets. You don't need a whole one for your washing so it's a false economy. You're better off using powder and ½ the dose it tells you to use on the box. You can do the same with fabric softener.

This type of pricing drives me nuts. It's deliberately done to confuse people. It's unfair and immoral.

I also dislike BOGOF type offers.

All the main supermarkets do it. I would go out my way to shop at a supermarket which offers plainly priced products.

I was pissed off at Marks and Spencers today because of their stupid 3 for the price of 2 offers. I DIDNT want 3 but felt I was overpaying if I only took 2. It's madness.

It is a battle of wits. You are not a "valued customer", you are merely a mug they intend to extract as much money from as possible.

Of course they do. They're businesses, out to make money.

I don't mind, I consider shopping the way to keep my brain cells working.

As a rule of thumb, they will run a multibuy, to create a top price, then switch to special offer showing top price as rrp, then switch back. So, product looks like it's always on offer, whereas it's just the same price.

Just look at the price per kg / litre / wash / item. If you find it too expensive, don't buy it.
I have a "reference price" for most things I buy, for instance 10p per dishwasher tablet or 17p per nappy. I only buy the "offers" if it makes things cheaper than my reference price.

it is done to confuse but basic maths will sort it, now that they have to show unit price or price by weight. Does make shopping take longer than necessary of course.

top tip - look up, or down. Never buy what is at eye level, that's the expensive stuff. Never buy stuff on the end displays either.

and you might want to rethink your gold-plated dishwasher tabs which cost nearly four times the price of the ones I use!