The Super(sneaky)market is full of tricks.
Tricks that squeeze as much money out of your wallet as possible. Can we blame them? They need to make money just like you and me…
For some things, I think we can blame them.
I went to Woolworths a couple of weeks ago looking for a tomato soup. I don’t particularly like tomato soup but I love tomatoes so I thought there must be a happy medium. I stumbled across a tomato soup in the Country Ladle section of the soup aisle. It looked pretty good (it had spinach and feta cheese in it) and was on special, 2 for $10. I bought two. Turns out it was also delicious.
Satisfaction = high.
I returned to this particular Woolworths last week. Headed straight for the soup aisle, ready to stock up on a selection of Country Ladle soups (hoping they were still on special). I located my tomato soup amongst the mushroom, creamy pumpkin and rustic vegetable soups. They were no longer on special. But they were cheaper than last week – $3.89 each. This was the amount on the original price label – the one that has been there for months.
Feeling = ripped off.
They had merely stuck a ‘Value’ sticker on the original price tag, which was marked UP from the usual price.
Tip: ‘Value’ stickers may look like ‘Special’ stickers – but they are only there to trick you. Always look under the ‘Value’ sticker – it may even be higher than the price underneath.
I ventured off to Coles and Woolworths this week, camera in hand, to capture some examples. Here is what I found when I moved the bigger labels to the side…
Ripping people off is just not cool.
There are a few things that supermarkets do that we can’t blame them for but it is good to be aware of them…
- The environment. They play louder music and have brighter lights in the confectionery aisle to make you overwhelmed (junk food is comfort food so it makes people buy more confectionery). They use different colours to evoke emotions and yummy smells to make us hungry.
- Product placement. Cheaper products are above and below eye level.
- Store layout. You’ll find yourself going to all four corners of the store for your basic needs; fruit/veg, bread, milk and toilet paper.
So how can you stay clear of any supermarket traps?
- Write a shopping list
- Always lift up ‘Special’ and ‘Value’ stickers
- Search for products up high and down low if you’re looking for a deal
- Say to yourself, “do I really need this?’ – you’ll thank yourself for putting it back when you’re paying at the register.
Have you ever had an experience where you felt ripped off?
Share your story in the comments below.
{ 7 comments… read them below or add one }
I dont know when you did this, But it looks like a long time ago.
One of the photos has a date, yes it would be older then when you took the photo.
It suggests something dodgy on your side is going on.
2/3/09 thats like 27 months ago.
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Hey Cactus,
Believe it or not, I took these photos last week.
The date ‘2/3/09′ is certainly a long time ago – which makes that docket even more shady. They are quoting a price that is ‘like 27 months old’. It’s like them saying it’s 50% off the price it was in 1960 – pretty dodgy.
If you look closely (just below the barcode) that docket was actually printed in December last year (about 5 months ago) but they haven’t bothered changing the docket since then.
Cheers
I had worked for woolworths in nz for many years years and knew of this for some time. I use to tell customs of this great scam of theres but no one listened. Now I’m based here in brisbane and to know that it still goes on.
So now I don’t by hardly any groceries and if I do I prefer to shop at an Indian shop. Besides I only eat friut and veges.
None of those photos say that the product is on special. I say buyer beware. If you not smart enough to look at the price/100g rating against other products or are just purchasing items because there’s a coloured sticker on it than evolution has dealt you a bad hand and you should be blaming whatever deity you believe in for your shortcomings and not the well educated market analyst that has found a way to exploit you.
Thanks for this update… yes it is a marketing ploy of theirs, after all, that is how they’ve become such fat cats! Simply check what’s behind the stickers… but for you die hard Woolworths/Coles fans, just carry on ignoring those stickers! @ Cactus, you pick up on a date & accuse the writer of being dodgy, well if you look at the same sticker, you’ll notice there’s another date 07/12/10 – to me it looks like they’re reclycling old stickers – so who’s being dodgy now?!
After reading this yesterday I decided to be extra nosey when I went to Woolies last night. I went to get some dog food and under one of the brands there was a “Price Knockdown” ticket saying it was $2.99 but is now $2.50. When I looked under the ticket the cans were originally $2.50. I even took a couple of photos.
Thank you so much for this article, I will definitely keep my eyes wide open when I shop for groceries in the future.
I work for a manufacturer, so am intimate with these customer’s pricing on shelf.
Standard shelf tickets – i.e. the ones in the clear data stripping on the shelf – are changed to match the flag tickets (new, value etc). The higher price on the flag ticket reflects the old pricing before the price cut.
Get facts straight.