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Original poster

To say it's time supermarkets were stopped from doing this.

190 replies

cupidsgame · 07/06/2016 10:48

It's the way they try and fool us into buying the dearer product rather than the ones on special offer. Tesco does it blatantly, they put certain products on special offer but the product immediately below the "special offer" is not the one being reduced,

Its more or less the same product but for example, if it's for shampoo the offer might be only for dry hair, but the price tag has the "dry hair" bit in very small letters. So you pick up the shampoo for "greasy hair" thinking you're getting a good bargain only to find at the checkout that it's the full price.

It's legal I know but I wonder how much they make from duping their customers this way. The trouble is as well the staff always try and blame you for not reading the offer properly and imply you're being a bit dim. Anyone else get annoyed at this. Surely they shouldn't be allowed with getting away with it.

OP posts:
shovetheholly · 07/06/2016 13:14

This is one of the main reasons I shop in Aldi. I do not have time or energy or inclination to stand and read loads of goddamn tiny yellow signs to find out precisely which things are on offer, when I can buy something that is cheaper and better quality just over the road.

I do think they do it deliberately too!

Original poster
cupidsgame · 07/06/2016 13:16

If people can't be bothered to read the bottom of the label and use the most basic maths to compare prices they only have themselves to blame
That would be fine if it was basic maths, however they deliberately try to delude us con us. Some fall for it, some don't, the ones who do fall for it should blame the supermarket not themselves. I and many others have got wise to them, there are many (clearly) who haven't.

OP posts:
MrsSpecter · 07/06/2016 13:19

Years of being skint has beaten into me the necessity to always read the label on the shelf in its entirety. Every single item i buy in the supermarket i read the label, even if i have bought the same thing every week for years. You never know when they will stick an offer on or hike the price up. Always read the labels. Every penny counts.

EnthusiasmDisturbed · 07/06/2016 13:23

of course they should be clearer

I have noticed in smaller supermarkets they often have special offers that are out of date, the date being in very very small writing

all these offers are for a reason and that not for the benefit of the customer

some people get very confused with all these offers, I am sure many older people do and end up paying more than they should do

clarrrp · 07/06/2016 13:23

most people are living busy lives

And this means you can't read a label? Jesus. Is this what the world is coming to?

kerbys · 07/06/2016 13:26

Well I asked earlier, why are mistakes generally in the supermarket's favour if they are genuine mistakes?

Also, why is it fair that "thick" people get conned?

WhirlwindHugs · 07/06/2016 13:27

I don't notice this in some stores at all, but in one local co-op they often have signs out for products they don't even sell! That's misleading.

I do think customers should read the signs but larger lettering would help.

Original poster
cupidsgame · 07/06/2016 13:28

clarrp you are probably one who has read the label but probably been deceived. If you think otherwise you're the supermarkets dream shopper. Yes it seems this is what the world has come to.

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BertieBeats · 07/06/2016 13:29

oyster the till will always do the better deal (contrary what many people think ) so that offer wouldn't have triggered and they would have got it for £1.79 each not 2 for £4. Don't know what they got from that "offer " though? Hmm

VestalVirgin · 07/06/2016 13:29

I actually think it's a good thing that some things are legal even though doing them ist nasty.

Then at least you know whom you can't trust.

My favourite shops always have a 100 g or 1 kg price under the price tag, so that it is easy to compare with size of package is cheaper.

If Tesco does this so blatantly, then shop somewhere else.

BertieBeats · 07/06/2016 13:31

It's not a case of being naive. I always check my receipt to make sure I get my deals and I've always had them. So I must be doing something right ....

FV45 · 07/06/2016 13:32

clarrp
Tell me then (based on my example above).

Which is cheaper: the 4 pack of apples for £2
or to buy 4 loose ones at £3 per kg?

Same variety of apple, roughly the same size.

Unless you are able to weigh the loose ones you cannot know.

So, say the loose ones weighed 600g, the total price would be £3 x 0.6 = £1.80
Cheaper to buy the loose ones, but really.....who wants to do that?

Or have I missed some trick, because if so I'd like to know. There seem to be quite a few people on here implying it's just a matter of reading little labels.

t4gnut · 07/06/2016 13:35

Caveat Emptor.

Its not a con - or confidence trick - as its all legal. It is however manipulative - you are being placed in a 'buying mode' and have been conditioned to respond to those offer labels/end of aisle placements etc.

However I have no sympathy for people who don't read and can't do basic maths .

Original poster
cupidsgame · 07/06/2016 13:35

The thing is, you learn by your mistakes, I do read the label, sometimes it can take a long time to discover which product is on offer because it's a very slight different flavour, shade, size or whatever, and the product on offer is deliberately not under the sign, they want you to buy the dearer product, but they draw you in to see the sign and then buy the one they want you to buy.....the dearer one under the sign. That's the whole point of my thread. It's wrong and it happens and it shouldn't be allowed.

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Notinmybackyard · 07/06/2016 13:37

It's not just "thick people" who get conned. Some of the labels are incredibly small print & a lot of elderly people were brought up on imperial measurements. So metric pricing can be confusing for them. Maybe their eyesight is not as sharp as it could be. Some labels are floor level, they are not always nimble enough to squat down with their calculators.😉

The empty shelf trick is done a lot in all stores including Tesco, when the special offer has run out, they stick a similar product in the gap. Slightly different enough to get to the checkout & realise that it isn't the special offer. I always check my receipt when I get home, I think the number of incorrect is around 1 in 10 for various reasons.

piddleypower · 07/06/2016 13:37

This is why I don't shop in Tesco. You just feel like they are trying to con you all the time. Even the little receipts saying "4p off your next shop" are annoying because no one every remembers to keep and use them.

Just give us the best price clearly all the time, no 2for1 or 4 for £1 etc.
Thats why I go to Lidl and Tesco are loosing their market share (greed).

Original poster
cupidsgame · 07/06/2016 13:43

However I have no sympathy For people who don't read and can do basic maths you're missing the point, it's not that people can't read, they can but don't always realise that the product directly under the price tag that is on offer is not the right one. The difference in the wording of the product is sometimes miniscule, with loads of the product nearly identical. They should put the ( deliberately misplaced)price tag directly above the intended product. It can take ages to find the thing on offer. Why should we have to do that.

OP posts:
t4gnut · 07/06/2016 13:44

If you can't read a label and see that what the label says is the same as the item you have picked up, then you shouldn't be shopping without adult supervision.

Original poster
cupidsgame · 07/06/2016 13:46

If Tesco does this so blatantly, then shop somewhere else.
Unfortunately we don't all have that choice. But that's beside the point anyway.

OP posts:
kerbys · 07/06/2016 13:49

But why do lots of posters have no sympathy for those shoppers who aren't as clever as them? I'm all right Jack? It's your own fault for being elderly, poorly sighted or not as clever as me.

What a selfish attitude.

specialsubject · 07/06/2016 13:49

Obviously loose produce is cheaper.

Unit pricing in the metric system is primary school maths.

It doesn't matter what the plastic tat cost before. It is what it costs now that matters. You need to judge if it is worth it

Obviously supermarkets are there to make money.

FV45 · 07/06/2016 13:50

obviously loose product is cheaper
Not always, especially if the packaged is on offer.

Original poster
cupidsgame · 07/06/2016 13:51

If you can't read a label and see that what the label says is the same as the item you have picked up, then you shouldn't be shopping without adult supervision. Goady and deliberately missing the point. Read the thread, we can read, the supermarkets are deliberately making us have to hunt for the offer, because they want us to buy the dearer item. Hard to understand? or just like to be insulting. But tell me, why would the adult "supervising" the shopping trip fare any better.

OP posts:
kitchenunit · 07/06/2016 13:54

there there Kerbys. Have some sympathy

Brew
t4gnut · 07/06/2016 13:58

Because all it needs is a basic level of literacy to understand!