Do you ever pay full price?

[Thewiseoneincognito]

I was walking around Tesco this afternoon getting some bits and bobs and remembered I needed some Alpro Almond milk. I didn’t get them because it’s £1.80 when I only buy it when on offer for £1. Luckily I have some UHT ones at home so I declined the opportunity to pay full price 😏

My question is, do you ever pay full price for branded items that are usually on some type of offer rotation at varying supermarkets? Same with Lenor Unstoppables washing seeds, full price they’re like £8 for a tube of them or £4 when on offer- does anyone actually ever pay that full price? Dishwasher tablets are another one that cost the earth full price.

It just baffles me why they can’t just be the offer price all the time? I realise it supposedly adds brand value and tricks you into thinking its worth the inflated price but it just annoys me now surely consumers are wise to these tactics and refuse to pay up?

Yes, if I need it or want it.

Yes if it’s something like the plain yoghurt brand or non dairy milk that we have but most other things, I buy whatever is on offer.
Some things like ground coffee never seem to have offers but I’m happy to pay if it’s down to fair trading.
I never buy crisps or chocolates full price and tend to buy supermarket own brand for lots of things.
I try to save as much as I can.

I stock up on some bits (for laundry, cleaning etc...) when they are heavily discounted because I have the space, so I don't run out and they don't really have an expiry date.

Otherwise, no, I pay full price, it's not a great use of my time to have a pending list and obsess about discounts. I might chose something on special offer over similar at full price, but that's it.

For certain things. One of my ds only takes certain make oat milk (tried them all) and I prefer alpro unsweetened soya so that's my treat - though I do look out for them on offer and bulk buy when I can.

Iv also started trying some swaps.

Discovered Tesco coke zero is just as nice as brand and only 50p a bottle

Asda reduced salt and sugar ketchup is amazing

Do I pay full price? Sometimes. Do I grab multiples when I see a stonking offer? Yes! Kenco Millicano at £2 a tin - I get 10. Free From Mayo for 50p - ditto

Will pay full price for alpro yogurts as no other brand seems to offer the flavours they do.

I shop at Aldi and Lidl, so yes we pay full price but it's not ridiculous to start with.

^^ agreed! Once In a blue moon I might pick some bits up from elsewhere and the prices are soo much higher.

Very few things I'll pay full price on. There's a particular cereal I like, but it's not in every shop so that's either pay the price it is or go without. We do shop in Aldi, but some of their own brand stuff is a bit rubbish - I got their knock-off Cornetto the other day and it tasted like Angel Delight. In those instances I'd rather just pay extra for the brand, as not eating them at all is an equal waste of money (on the flipside, their Nobbly Bobbly ice lollies were very good). You can't get decent baked beans in Aldi either, so get Branston at whatever price they're at. Household stuff, definitely go for the cheaper stuff (except for binbags, that's just asking for trouble).

We live in Waitrose Land - HQ is a few miles down the road and every town or village locally has one pretty much. It is our nearest supermarket, and I love the fact you can scan and shop and be done and dusted with a week's groceries inside 10 minutes. However the downside is they can be more pricey than eg Sainsburys (but a PIA to get to or Aldi/Lidl ditto. And Lidl especially takes forever in the queue and they've never got all that I need)
What I do is carry a basic stock of regular products I buy eg a box of PG Tips 240 with the compostable bags is generally £3-4 in Aldi/Sainsburys. However when on offer in Waitrose it goes down from £5.99 to £3.50-3.99. I buy a stash of boxes ONLY when on offer to last 2-3 months before the offer comes round again. Ditto the Kenco refills, when on offer they're typically 1/3 off, so I buy 3-6 months worth only when on offer(I buy more because I sometimes take some to work). Ditto their bags of 9 loo rolls, typically they're 1/3 off every 2-3 months. Same with the Harringtons Dog food, I can buy a bigger bag cheaper in Sainsburys, but when the smaller are on offer in Waitrose it's cheaper than Sainsburys. So I buy 2 months worth (goes on offer more frequently than tea bags) . Some things like Waitrose own brand custard creams which DH likes far more than anybody else's are really reasonable at 30p/pack. I'm convinced it's a myth that Waitrose are massively expensive, you just need to shop there carefully. The quality is super - we far far prefer their baked beans (buy 4 cans to get the discount) than any Heinz or other brand. Sure somethings are very expensive but sometimes you get a nicely reduced bargain that gives you the opportunity to try something you'd never afford (I'd never buy anything Heston by Waitrose unless it's in the reduced isle, which reminds me I still have a £1.39p Christmas pud to eat)

The other thing to consider is not just whether you're paying full price but also which are the better deals - sometimes it is better to buy multiple individual items that are on offer than a multipack at regular price or multiple smaller sizes rather than the bigger sizes for the same/better price. You would be surprised how many people either don't do the maths or are so used to buying X item at Y quantity that they don't even consider checking the price/savings of buying in different configurations.

I work in a supermarket and as I was returning some items to the shop floor I saw a woman was buying a 750g tub of Lurpack for the regular price of £5.40 and thought I would be nice and let her know that the 500g tubs (£3.50 each) sitting on the shelf above were on offer for 2 for £5.50. She looked at me like I was an idiot for suggesting buying two smaller ones for 10p more than the bigger one until I pointed out that she was getting 25% more for an extra 10p so it was actually better value. Once she did the maths she realised I was right and bought the smaller tubs rather than the larger one but if I hadn't pointed out the offer making the smaller ones a better deal she would just have bought the larger one because its what she normally buys because it normally gives the best value, not taking into account the current offer.

Oral B toothpaste and Azera coffee never go in my trolley unless they are on offer and I use them every day! When on offer I buy five or six of them. I reckon that alone saves me £100 a year!

Fully depends on what it is and how much I need it.

My dd has allergies and can only drink soya milk. I don’t buy alpro as it’s too expensive. If I was running low, which I very rarely do as I keep a decent stock, I would buy 1 maybe 2 cartons until I can get to Aldi.

I do tend to buy things on offer in big supermarkets though. And I will buy extra to keep me going until I can get it again on special offer. I’m the type of person who shops at various supermarkets and shops to get the best deal though. I get my persil, hand soap and other toiletries from home bargins, my main bulk shopping from Aldi, certain branded foods from tescos, Morrison’s or asda depending on which is cheapest. I will pay full price if I need to though especially if it’s something I need for the DCs or a particular food myself and DH like.

I usually shop at Aldi/Lidl, and don't ever tend to pick up any branded items. If I do go to an alternate supermarket, I would only buy offers.

I actually extend this to nearly everything. Even takeaways (unless there's something particular I fancy) I look for ones that are discounted. I wait for sales on decent brands for kids clothes and shop for myself on places like Asos when they have discount codes. In fact, before buying anything, I will always search for a code first.

I also keep an eye on Amazon 20% off vouchers on subscribe and safe to put with the 15% off, and then cancel the subscription after it's turned up. I hate spending full price on anything.

My shop dosent change depending on what's on offer. If something is like soya milk I'll stock up otherwise I'll just get one or two

Food we don't really look at the price, if we need it we just chuck it in the basket and pay for whatever it comes to,

Cleaning products, Laundry tablets, Fabric Softner, Toilet Roll, Deodorant , ect we usually get from Home Bargains or B&M

Sometimes but I don’t buy branded goods that often anyway.

Can't bring myself to pay £2.75 for Tyrells I only buy them if a £1, otherwise Lidl's will do (dd prefers actually). Mitchum deodorant is another one- £3!! Just can't do it, I buy 2 at a time when on offer.

@BarbaraofSeville

Thankyou for posting the alternative my supermarket app.