Am I wrong to be annoyed by this?

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#329097 11-May-2010 19:58

manta:
nate: Caveat emptor - Let the buyer beware

3Bit customers please take note! :)

Nicely played.

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GBristow

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#329111 11-May-2010 20:18

I agree regarding high prices. We are getting ripped off. Have you all at least tried Pak'n'Save? I tend to save >20% versus Woolworths or Foodtown. Try to avoid Woolworths, Foodtown, and Countdown if you can. They're all owned by Progressive Enterprises, and I've noticed they tend to use unfair tactics. They raised prices a great deal in Foodtown, Whangaparaoa, for instance, because they're the only supermarket for some distance. Then they filed with the council and legally opposed a Pak'n'Save opening on the peninsula on cultural/ecological grounds. They did the same in Wairau. I often notice higher prices for the same products at these stores as well. Vote with your wallets and knock them down a peg.

sbiddle: Maybe you could ask Fonterra why they get away with effectively controlling the local market for dairy products and why we have to pay so much for milk products.

Who didn't see that one coming when the formation of Fonterra was accounced?

n00dy

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#329114 11-May-2010 20:21

quite often we will by 1.5 coke even though 2l is cheaper, as we wouldnt use the 2l before it went flat, same as with the milk we would buy a 1lt or 2lt depending on our needs for the week as again it would be past best buy date. I dont nessacarily agree that the price of bigger options should or could be cheaper, I think they are that size to meet the needs of the consumer, at what stage did it become that a 3 lt was a bulk buy comapred to a 2 lt

sleemanj

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#329121 11-May-2010 20:31

Maybe it's just local or something, but the Countdowns around here seem to put the price-per-standard-quantity on the shelf labels in small print, eg $0.xx/100 grams. I find it quite handy and helpful to save the mental gymnastics when working out which is the better deal.

The one that gets me though, is those small cans of coke (in the "energy drink" type of cans) are actually more expensive than buying the full size cans, not just more expensive per 100ml, but buying 8 of these "hit" cans literally costs you more than 8 full size cans, pay more, get less. Crazy. I guess SOMEBODY must buy them though.

---
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NonprayingMantis

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#329134 11-May-2010 20:58

sleemanj: Maybe it's just local or something, but the Countdowns around here seem to put the price-per-standard-quantity on the shelf labels in small print, eg $0.xx/100 grams. I find it quite handy and helpful to save the mental gymnastics when working out which is the better deal.

yup, not sure about the supermarket where the OP goes, but in foodtow, where we normally shop, everything like this has a 'price per xx' (where xx is litre, kg, nappy, etc as appropriate) on the label so you know exactly how much you are getting.

there is no excuse for being too lazy to look at it and see that it is more expensive.

times where the larger quantity is more expensive per unit are quite rare, but they can and do happen for genuine reasons. maybe the smaller quantity has an earlier 'best before' date so the supermarket needs to clear them out. maybe the dates are the same but the purchaser from the supermarket bought too many so they need to get rid of them before the larger packs which sell well anyway.

kingjj

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#329161 11-May-2010 22:05

I've always been annoyed by the 3 pack of Watties Baked Beans or Spaghetti are more expensive then 3 individual cans... anyway, I can assure you that most Supermarkets (can't speak for them all) have a target GP of around 10% to 15%, some products can be as high as 30% or 40% but this is usually to offset shrinkage. Supermarkets wield enormous power over most suppliers, but companies such as Coca Cola and Fonterra are a law unto their own. They set the prices, competitiveness stops the markets trying to cream a higher GP.

Sadly Foodstuffs South Island currently does not put cost per 100g on their labeling, it's due later this year.

Ragnor

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#329183 11-May-2010 23:07

manta:

Sadly there too many people who, like you, seem happy with a complete lack of transparency in the pricing on the shelves in the supermarkets to the detriment of those who would need a calculator to help them find the best bang for their buck.

It would be nice to think that suppliers and sellers were mindful of their customers. Fair enough to price to the market, but to hoodwink those who don't know any better is blatant exploitation and those who do it should be ashamed of themselves.

There are a valid reasons why difference sizes might have different per unit prices, for example they have heaps of the smaller size in stock and want to move them faster or they get a better rate from their supplier on the smaller size.

Most supermarkets do in fact do show stickers below the price with the price per unit (Countdown, Foodtown etc).

If someone can't do a rough simple divison on a price by weight/volume, i'd say they need to get their butt to night school because they are self-hoodwinked, as opposed to the Supermarkets "not being fair to them".

Ragnor

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#329185 11-May-2010 23:14

Kyanar:

Really? Do tell me where I can get milk or cheese other than Fonterra's in the country?

Your local (farmers) market, even in Auckland we have serveral (Victoria park, Parnell, Alexander pack), quite a few out west and in south auckland too.

There is also no biological need for adult humans to drink cows milk (which is designed for baby cows) or eat dairy food, you can always not buy it if you don't like the price and eat something else. A serving of green leafy vegetables has plenty of calcium for example.

insane

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#329195 12-May-2010 00:44

Ragnor:
Kyanar:

Really? Do tell me where I can get milk or cheese other than Fonterra's in the country?

Your local (farmers) market, even in Auckland we have serveral (Victoria park, Parnell, Alexander pack), quite a few out west and in south auckland too.

There is also no biological need for adult humans to drink cows milk (which is designed for baby cows) or eat dairy food, you can always not buy it if you don't like the price and eat something else. A serving of green leafy vegetables has plenty of calcium for example.

Yeah but now you're just being argumentative :p

My GF does grocery marketing for many brands at both Foodstuff and Progressive, there is a lot of mind bending going on and clearly from this thread they are winning.

I remember back at Uni listening to the lecturer of a 'Consumer Behaviour' paper, absolutely fascinating how they have you completely worked out, they probably know you better than you know yourself.

richms

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#329198 12-May-2010 01:22

I have reasons for getting the brands and sizes I get.

3l milks dont fit in the door of the fridge.

500 gram blocks of cheese slice eaiser. small cans of baked beans mean I eat less/dont have a half full can in the fridge.

1.5l drinks will get used in a day so not tipping out flat stuff the next day.

Smaller bags of sugar will fill the jar and not have any left - dont care if its a few c more for the next size up - its useless to me unless I store it somewhere.

Richard rich.ms

sbiddle

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#329209 12-May-2010 07:43

sleemanj: Maybe it's just local or something, but the Countdowns around here seem to put the price-per-standard-quantity on the shelf labels in small print, eg $0.xx/100 grams. I find it quite handy and helpful to save the mental gymnastics when working out which is the better deal.

The one that gets me though, is those small cans of coke (in the "energy drink" type of cans) are actually more expensive than buying the full size cans, not just more expensive per 100ml, but buying 8 of these "hit" cans literally costs you more than 8 full size cans, pay more, get less. Crazy. I guess SOMEBODY must buy them though.

Progressive stores have all had this for a number of years, I'd take a stab and say it was rolled out around 2002. Foodstuffs stores (New World and Pak 'n Save) roll this out shortly. While it's a handy thing to have it's also a logistical nightmare to actually roll out and keep accurate and 100% accuracy is impossible to actually achieve.

stagnant16

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#329214 12-May-2010 08:22

kingjj: I've always been annoyed by the 3 pack of Watties Baked Beans or Spaghetti are more expensive then 3 individual cans...

Thats because the single price is generally funded and shows a negative margin whilst the 3 pack is not!

There are to many variables in play when it comes to larger pack sizes and multiples these days!

anyway, I can assure you that most Supermarkets (can't speak for them all) have a target GP of around 10% to 15%,

I can assure you your totally wrong!!

Krisando

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#329216 12-May-2010 08:35

Do not have kids then you shall not have to buy that milk.

Problem solved!! On TV awhile ago they said there are two types of milk, 75% are bad for you the other 25% only is sold in Auckland. =S

Waters free, heck I even have it with my breakfast.

sbiddle

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#329217 12-May-2010 08:42

kingjj:I can assure you that most Supermarkets (can't speak for them all) have a target GP of around 10% to 15%, some products can be as high as 30% or 40% but this is usually to offset shrinkage. Supermarkets wield enormous power over most suppliers, but companies such as Coca Cola and Fonterra are a law unto their own. They set the prices, competitiveness stops the markets trying to cream a higher GP.

Just don't confuse GP's with bottom line profits - I can assure you that these are nowhere near the figues you are quoting.

People also need to understand that the supermarket industry is extremely competitive. Money is being made but that doesn't change the fact that competition between Foodstuffs and Progressive is exceptionally strong and is the reason that on a typical week there are 100's of products that are sold below cost, simply because the competition sells these products below cost also - in some cases this is the reason products such as a larger pack work out more expensive.

On the other hand there are companies like Coke who just extort the market and typical net prices for a 600ml bottle of Coke are greater than that of a 1.5 bottle. Coke use products such as this to make money, and it's quite intersing that NZ and Aussie (both part of Coca Cola Amatil) are probably the only two places in the world where this occurs. You can buy a 600ml (or say 16oz bottle in the USA) virtually everywhere else in the world and even converting it to $NZ or $AU will pay well under what you pay here in NZ. I don't know if anything has changed in the UK since I was there last year but then a 600ml bottle of Coke or Pepsi sold for around 99p in many places.

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#329219 12-May-2010 08:50

They probably make/sell more 2L than 3L bottles of milk, reducing the cost of packaging etc and the savings are passed on to the consumer.

There can be good reasons, not all "OMG I am getting ripped off" reasons.

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