Another Supervalu ripoff

reprazant

Why do you shop in supervalu if it is so expensive?

Do you just go in the find random comparisons which show it in a bad light? Where are the plums from?

Still waiting on the list of those companies and their products that they make for all the supermarkets btw.

tomdublin

reprazant wrote: »

Why do you shop in supervalu if it is so expensive?

Do you just go in the find random comparisons which show it in a bad light? Where are the plums from?

Still waiting on the list of those companies and their products that they make for all the supermarkets btw.

Who says I shop there? I just drop in on my way back from Aldi to check what it wouldn't have cost had I bought it there instead. So I guess it's "random" in the sense that it doesn't list every single product Supervalu sells, but it's also quite representative of average price differentials I'd say. The Aldi plums are Spanish.. no clue where the Supervalu ones are from but it's a safe bet that they are not from Ireland at this time of the year.

daddydick

Why in the name of god are people complaining that different shops charge different prices? Its economics lads and the joys of a free open market, back to school with you!

tomdublin

daddydick wrote: »

Why in the name of god are people complaining that different shops charge different prices? Its economics lads and the joys of a free open market, back to school with you!

Price comparisons are part of the free market too!

urbane4u

have to agree, the customers at LIDL are mostly foreign nationals; don't know the taboo associated with the whole ALDI / LIDL shopping -> perhaps we are just not clever enough

tomdublin

Soy milk, 1 litre with added calcium and vitamin D.

Lidl: 85 cents
Aldi: 85 cents
Tesco (cheapest option): 85 cents
Supervalu (cheapest option): 1.63 Euro

Price difference between Supervalu and its three competitors: almost 100%

rubadub

tomdublin wrote: »

Who says I shop there? I just drop in on my way back from Aldi to check what it wouldn't have cost had I bought it there instead.

I would have guessed you shop there too, I think it was a reasonable assumption for anybody to make. I have never heard of anybody doing what you do before.

Personally I value my free time pretty highly, so spending time trawling through a shop I know is likely to be more expensive might negate any savings I made. e.g. if my neighbour handed me his receipt of a shop and said "I will pay you €20 to go to supervalu see what these items would have cost there, and work out how much I saved" I would turn down his offer.

People say 'it pays to shop around' but there is a crossover point where it 'costs to shop around'. If I am buying a plasma I might take time to visit 4-5 electrical outlets, for a pack of batteries it is not worth my while.

tomdublin wrote: »

Lidl: 85 cents
Aldi: 85 cents
Tesco (cheapest option): 85 cents
Supervalu (cheapest option): 1.63 Euro

When you say "cheapest option" for supervalu it would infer they had more than one option, i.e. 2 or more supervalu own brand products at significantly different quality/price levels. Is this the case? If not I would be comparing with tescos regular quality level product.

tomdublin

rubadub wrote: »

I would have guessed you shop there too, I think it was a reasonable assumption for anybody to make. I have never heard of anybody doing what you do before.

It's a bit geeky alright

When you say "cheapest option" for supervalu it would infer they had more than one option, i.e. 2 or more supervalu own brand products at significantly different quality/price levels. Is this the case? If not I would be comparing with tescos regular quality level product.

None of the Supervalu soy milk options is own brand, the "cheap" variety seems some kind of discount label. My comparison is explicitly focused on price, so comparing the cheapest options available in each store is fair, the point being that Supervalu simply doesn't give people the cheaper choices that other stores carry. Soy milk is pretty much a generic product anyway, containing mostly water, soy beans (around 6-7 percent), vitamins and a bit of flavouring. The main difference between the different options is packaging and price.

rubadub

tomdublin wrote: »

so comparing the cheapest options available in each store is fair, the point being that Supervalu simply doesn't give people the cheaper choices that other stores carry.

I don't think it is fair because of the very reason you give. Supervalu do not give people the same choice, this is correct, and why its a different category of shop in my mind. Any supervalu I go to is a smaller shop than say a regular tescos, with a much smaller range. Its a different category of shop in my mind.

Soya milk is an unusual enough product, you might not see it in your local convenience shop at all. I bet if you compared the cheapest pecan nuts or brazil nuts in supervalu Vs tesco then supervalu would be a lot more, I don't think its of any benefit to highlight it though, nobody will be surprised, stating the obvious really. I doubt supervalu have their own brand brazils or pecans.

Soy milk is pretty much a generic product anyway,

I agree, but still tesco charge 85cent or €1.45 for what well could be the same stuff in different packaging.

But quality has to be taken into account on many items.

The main difference between the different options is packaging and price.

And shop size, supervalu may simply not have room to accommodate an own brand. If the shop got larger it would lose the advantage they have, many are willing to pay the bit more to go to a smaller more convenient store.

tomdublin

Dental floss waxed, 50m

Aldi: pack containing two units = 99 cents/49.5 cent per unit
Supervalu: Single unit pack = 2.00 Euro

Supervalu over 400% more expensive

Run_to_da_hills

the groutch wrote: »

not comparing like-for-like if they're sourced from different countries

The Supervalue garlic is probably organic while the cheaper mass produced Aldi Garlic is genetically modified. :eek:

mitosis

tomdublin wrote: »

Dental floss waxed, 50m

Aldi: pack containing two units = 99 cents/49.5 cent per unit
Supervalu: Single unit pack = 2.00 Euro

Supervalu over 400% more expensive

Geez, you really need to learn the difference between a premium convenience store and a bargain basement no frills store.

Or you could get a hobby that doesn't require posting online

The products are not identical, merely similar. The shops and their overheads are not even similar.

suicide_circus

tomdublin wrote: »

The suburban Aldi & Lidls seem to get more Irish customers since the beginning of the recession, but it's probably still a miniroty. I don't really understand the mentality here, do the Irish simply not mind being ripped off, and why do many feel embarrassed going to Alid or Lidl? A strange hangup for citizens of a bankrupt country.

The republic of Ireland has long been dubbed "treasure island" by British retailers like tesco and m&s due to the obscene mark ups Irish people are willing to pay compared to British consumers. We are a cash cow and a laughingstock.

Eg:

http://www.irishtimes.com/newspaper/weekend/2012/0818/1224322375615.html

Aldi and lidl all the way.

tomdublin

mitosis wrote: »

Geez, you really need to learn the difference between a premium convenience store and a bargain basement no frills store.

Or you could get a hobby that doesn't require posting online

The products are not identical, merely similar. The shops and their overheads are not even similar.

The point you are making is that Supervalu is expensive, and that's the same point I'm trying to make as well, using concrete examples to illustrate how much money people are wasting by shopping there. I do have other hobbies though:D

maringo

Think you'll find the garlic in all the shops is from China :eek:

sandin

tomdublin wrote: »

Dental floss waxed, 50m

Aldi: pack containing two units = 99 cents/49.5 cent per unit
Supervalu: Single unit pack = 2.00 Euro

Supervalu over 400% more expensive

Obviously you have some sort of issue with Super Valu - did you work there and get sacked, or just had some argument with the local store.

You can go into boots and on their shelves are about 8 different floss products ranging from 99c to over €5. In aldi, there is just the one option, cheap and cheerful, probably does the job, but no choice for the consumer who want a higher quality product.

Possibly by your posts you simply don't understand that there are many different levels of quality even between own brand products, even within the same store. I say this, cos your argument above is as stupid as your original argument. Like saying one house is the same as another house, cos they're both "houses", or a merc is the same as a fiesta, cos they are both "cars".

Aldi/Lidl have their market and they are very good at what they do and if their limited ranges suit you, then they can be a great saving. Supervalu and the other main stores give you a better shopping envirnoment and a huge choice of products. Most people combine shopping between a lidl/aldi shop and a main supermarket shop. Funny, when it comes to branded products where you CAN compare exact like for like, Aldi & Lidl are more expensive that Tesco/Supervalu in many instances and rarely if ever cheaper.

sandin

suicide_circus wrote: »

The republic of Ireland has long been dubbed "treasure island" by British retailers like tesco and m&s due to the obscene mark ups Irish people are willing to pay compared to British consumers. We are a cash cow and a laughingstock.

Eg:

http://www.irishtimes.com/newspaper/weekend/2012/0818/1224322375615.html

Aldi and lidl all the way.

and the difference in profits was 0.3% - 6.9% in UK, 7.2% in Ireland according to eurostat.

and if we were such a laughing stock (christ why have we become a nation fo negative begrudgers), why hasn't Asda, Carrefour, Sainsbury, Morrisons or anyone else moved in????
Superquinn was on the market for over a year and there were no takers whatsoever, even at a knockdown price. - that says there's no profit available in the market.

suicide_circus

sandin wrote: »

and the difference in profits was 0.3% - 6.9% in UK, 7.2% in Ireland according to eurostat.

and if we were such a laughing stock (christ why have we become a nation fo negative begrudgers), why hasn't Asda, Carrefour, Sainsbury, Morrisons or anyone else moved in????
Superquinn was on the market for over a year and there were no takers whatsoever, even at a knockdown price. - that says there's no profit available in the market.

You could have a point, but how am i a begrudger?
Also, don't Tesco et al refuse to publish their Irish figures for some vague reason? And maybe no British retailer bought SQ due to the Irish economy being currently in the toilet ?

tomdublin

sandin wrote: »

Obviously you have some sort of issue with Super Valu - did you work there and get sacked, or just had some argument with the local store.

You can go into boots and on their shelves are about 8 different floss products ranging from 99c to over €5. In aldi, there is just the one option, cheap and cheerful, probably does the job, but no choice for the consumer who want a higher quality product.

Possibly by your posts you simply don't understand that there are many different levels of quality even between own brand products, even within the same store. I say this, cos your argument above is as stupid as your original argument. Like saying one house is the same as another house, cos they're both "houses", or a merc is the same as a fiesta, cos they are both "cars".

Aldi/Lidl have their market and they are very good at what they do and if their limited ranges suit you, then they can be a great saving. Supervalu and the other main stores give you a better shopping envirnoment and a huge choice of products. Most people combine shopping between a lidl/aldi shop and a main supermarket shop. Funny, when it comes to branded products where you CAN compare exact like for like, Aldi & Lidl are more expensive that Tesco/Supervalu in many instances and rarely if ever cheaper.

No specific grudge at all, it's just a public service highlighting to those who still shop at Supervalu how much they could save. I'm not claiming the items are absolutely identical. That said, products like dental floss, soy milk, and so on are as generic as you can get and sometimes the Aldi/Lidl quality seems if anything superior especially for fruit and veg, bread and cheeses. Aldi and Lidl are used to targeting a Continental market where consumer expectations regarding food quality are much higher compared to Ireland and the UK. It's up to everyone to experiment and make up their own mind on quality, I'm just pointing out the huge differences in price.

mitosis

tomdublin wrote: »

Aldi/Lidl quality seems if anything superior especially for fruit and veg, bread and cheeses.

If you genuinely believe that, there is no hope for you. The quality of fruit/veg in these stores is poor, compared even with kips like Tesco. The after purchase shelf-life is shocking to say the least.

tomdublin

mitosis wrote: »

If you genuinely believe that, there is no hope for you. The quality of fruit/veg in these stores is poor, compared even with kips like Tesco. The after purchase shelf-life is shocking to say the least.

Not much point arguing about it here. People should just check it out and make up their own mind.

hillbloom

Check Dunnes for the the price of the Dental floss, I dont know exactly but its way dearer than SuperValu.