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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

Holland & Barret are a rip off who cynically rip of old people....

77 replies

Nobra2matchmypanties · 30/04/2018 13:42

I have a mild ailment at the moment and my friend suggested trying a certain product. I went into Holland & Barret and I was shocked at how expensive it was. When I checked out the rest of their products, I saw it was the same all over.

I saw the same product online, much cheaper. Basically, they charge so much because they believe old people won't get online and search out better deals.

OP posts:
AuntieStella · 30/04/2018 14:09

If you pay full price, it can be expensive. But they nearly always have offers, so you really don't need to. And if you sign up for the loyalty card, they send you vouchers too (which can be used store)

BarbaraofSevillle · 30/04/2018 14:09

Lots of shops sell the same things more expensive than elsewhere (Boots, John Lewis, Waitrose). Why single out Holland and Barratt?

You could say that about all sorts of retailers. Have a look at how much somewhere like Curry's charge for a USB cable for example, compared with online.

I avoid H&B because I don't trust any company that has a permanent sale on, likewise DFS or chain restaurants and pizza takeaways that almost permanently have 2 for 1 vouchers available.

If you can almost always sell things at 'half price' or similar, to me that screams that the shop is generally overpriced and you would have to shop very carefully to avoid being ripped off.

MuddyForestWalks · 30/04/2018 14:09

They sell the giant tubs of peanut butter far cheaper than anywhere else, including online.

Theknacktoflying · 30/04/2018 14:13

But they are sneaky about it ...

Per unit price they may be cheaper, but then if you have to take 3 tablets to the alternative 1 you end up spending more ...

It is also a whole lot of snake oil ... and expensive to boot!

VeganCow · 30/04/2018 14:13

Was it the CBD oil you bought, they seem to have the monopoly on this in the UK.

Yogagirl123 · 30/04/2018 14:17

I love H&B, the assistants are trained to give advice, and I have found them to be helpful. I don’t think they are any more expensive than what’s available on line if I am honest, high quality supplements are costly. I thought they were US owned, but I may be wrong.

LyingWitchInTheWardrobe2726 · 30/04/2018 14:18

Theknack but you don't, that's the point and the reason why I buy from them - higher strength tablets mean you have fewer to take, not more.

The pricing is completely transparent, you don't even have to be good at maths.

Clearly you don't like the shop why patronise it? I've never seen snake oil for sale there either... or is that just to put down the customers who do like the shop. It sounds to me as if you and a couple of other posters spouting on this thread haven't actually set foot in it, in person or online.

BarbaraofSevillle · 30/04/2018 14:20

Muddy If you mean the 1 kilo Meridian peanut butter, that is cheaper in Morrisons, Asda and Sainsburys.

JingsMahBucket · 30/04/2018 14:21

Oddly enough, this feels like the reverse of an obviously planted ad: this feels like an obviously planted attack on Holland & Barrett by competitor for some reason.

OP, are you being paid to post bad things about them?

Original poster
Nobra2matchmypanties · 30/04/2018 14:22

No seriously, stuff I've seen in other shops is much cheaper than H and B

OP posts:
BarbarianMum · 30/04/2018 14:24

My dfather is one of these elderly people who doesn't shop online. That's because he's steadfastly refused to have anything to do with computers since they started making an appearance in the 1980s, or the internet since that appeared in the 1990s. I That was his choice and its one that most elderly people have not made.

ppeatfruit · 30/04/2018 14:24

How interesting for people to mock anyone who actually tries to help themselves with herbal products etc. The rubbish that is sold by the chemists, the prescriptions with so many medics that have side effects, ABs that soon won't be curing anyone The NHS which is cracking at the seams with idiots who eat for the cheapest food .

Cheap cheap cheap, the world is being degraded by all this emphasis on cheap, let alone the people who TRY to make a living producing good food in England . But even if they can afford to pay more a lot of people only want to buy CHEAP. Stuff made in China or even more cheaply in Indonesia. God help us. Sorry for the rant Grin

BlueBug45 · 30/04/2018 14:25

H&B use to do a shampoo I use in their shops cheaper than what I can buy online and where I now buy it from as now they only sell it online.

Frazzled2207 · 30/04/2018 14:26

Everything is cheaper in store than online.
I popped into Ryman's yesterday as I needed some printable labels and they set me back £8 whereas online they would have been about £3. They're not targeting the elderly they're (mostly) paying very high overheads for stuff such as premises and staff

Justgimmeit · 30/04/2018 14:27

H&b is so bloomin expensive. Even for basics like cod liver oil. The same strength products can be bought many other places like supermarkets/pharmacies at a fraction of the price and online for even less. Even when factpring in the "penny sale" its still often cheaper to buy elsewhere

Missingstreetlife · 30/04/2018 14:29

Who is forcing you to go there

allez · 30/04/2018 14:30

@LyingWitchInTheWardrobe

you're very annoying

"How can you think you're in any way qualified to comment"

Many, many years of training, education, on-the-job learning and possessor of a protected (related) title.

JaneJeffer · 30/04/2018 14:39

Their offers are confusing. I was buying something and the assistant told me I could get something else half price along with it. Then the thing I chose was included in another offer. I couldn't follow what I was being charged for Confused

IWannaSeeHowItEnds · 30/04/2018 14:41

Not a fan of h&b. Vitamins the size of bricks, filled with bulking agents, sold alongside shampoos which smell like piss doused in honey!
It's overpriced even with the offers.
Staff are lovely though.

LyingWitchInTheWardrobe2726 · 30/04/2018 14:43

Sure allez, sure you are...

TatianaLarina · 30/04/2018 14:53

Is anyone else wondering what ‘protected related title’ relates to honey and liquorice?

stickerrocks · 30/04/2018 14:54

Alternatively you could argue that online retailers like Amazon deliberately undercut high street stores, knowing that customers will seek advice from H&B, but buy from them. Amazon can afford to make temporary low margins, then the price shoots up as soon as the high street retailer goes out of business. It has worked with Jessops and a host of others. Supporting street stores or don't moan when they all become phone shops, pound stores or charity shops.

TatianaLarina · 30/04/2018 14:56

You can find items cheaper online, but once you’ve paid for postage it can work out comparable to what you’d pay in store.

allez · 30/04/2018 15:01

@TatianaLarina

Registered Dietician springs to mind ...

monkeymamma · 30/04/2018 15:03

Hmmmm. A lot of comments about supporting a UK business etc but in my experience they (H&B) usually come into a town or area and essentially close down the local health food shop - that’s what happened here. They do have some useful stuff (especially if you are as pp said cutting something out - eg dairy. However the shop is one of many businesses capitalising on our obsession with ‘healthy’ eating which is actually more like worrying about food and diet all the time. There’s a theory (not mine) that we’ve become focused on food as the solution to a range of health problems (when in most cases, it isn’t) because it’s the one thing we can control, whereas most things that cause ill health are outside of our control and very scary. And yes it’s very expensive!