Mobbed at Tesco

At Asda yesterday I found one isle blocked by several trollies. One man was waiting patiently. I waited a few seconds then stepped forward to simply unblock it myself, but someone sheepishly apologised and moved their trolley just as I was about to. That's when it became obvious what was happening. The blockage was around the reduced section. I had a look but there was nothing worth having.

 

A common trick is for a lone shopper to use their trolley to block everybody else out of the reduced section whilst they pick up and carefully scrutinise (top, bottom and each side) every single flipping item on the shelves.

 

I didn't realise all this went on in supermarkets, I guess I go shopping at the wrong time.
As soon as the place opens, mainly in order to avoid the crowds, I find is the best time.
I'm not sure I'd want any of their reduced stuff anyway, as I guess its just mainly the stuff they couldn't sell during the day, for one reason or another.

 

Another trick - at a Tescos in a town about 10 miles away a 'gang' (as I'll call them to avoid stereotyping) were hiding loads of stuff that had to be sold that day, then retrieving it near to closing time and taking it to the person doing the reducing to get it knocked to bargain prices.

 

Pete,
Sometimes it's reduced because, although it's posh or nice, the price is too much. I'll sometimes treat myself to a bit of this and not feel quite so guilty,
Jenny

 

We use the reduced items as an opportunity to buy treats we normally can't afford, but sometimes it can actually work out cheaper for example the muti-save on Tesco Finest 3 for £10 cod in sauce with green beans ready meals (very nice) works even when they're reduced and once got a load of reduced ones that worked out at only 25p each after the multi-save came off. The icing on the cake is if you've got a '100 clubcard points when you buy any Tesco Finest ready meal' coupon.

This also works on the packs of chilled fish fillet pie mix in plastic trays that are 2 for £7 and 3 for £10 (or something like that) so we always look out for those in multiples of 2 or 3 with decent reductions.

P.S. We're the ones at the reduction section using a calculator.

 

As I say, I've not come across these knockdown bargains.
We did have a bloke at work who always came in with stuff that was reduced at Tesco for his lunch break, but it was mostly out of date bread and iffy soup or sandwiches.

I dont actually use Tesco much, mostly Morrisons, (its nearer), and sometimes I see reduced items, but if its something worthwhile its usually not reduced by much.

If it's a good reduction it's usually of dubious quality or value, that should have never cost that much in the first.place.

 

My local Morrisons are useless for reductions. Today they had knocked 30p of packs off cheese that were display until today. In Tescos I bought some reduced to half price, but very often you have to check every piece as very often some have higher % reductions than others (using that calculator again to work out the price/Kg).

The cheapest I've found cheese reduced to is about £1.50/Kg and there was loads on the shelf, but before snaffling the lot (you can freeze most cheese) we always ask anybody else there if they wanted any before putting the last few in our basket/trolley.

 

Sometimes life is just too short.

 

Not if you're time rich and money poor.

 

I see where you are coming from Scrungee.
But personally I'd much prefer a small amount of cheese of my choosing rather than a large amount that I could buy just because they cant sell it, and are therefore reducing it in price.

As for working out the price per kilo..........maths and shopping dont really go together for me.
Oh I look at prices, which are usually too high, and getting higher, I also often question so called bargain prices, but at the end of the day I buy it or I dont.
I never buy something just because its on offer.

 

Loads of those 'bargain' yellow price stickers in Tescos are a load of nonsense and designed to mislead you into thinking their stuff is cheap.

Too high prices brings to mind the price of tinned tuna which was around 35p/can a couple/few years ago but is now >90p with a drained weight of 112g (they've also reduced the size of the cans) so £8/Kg which is why we're no longer buying it as it's cheaper to buy £2 boxes of cod in batter from Morrisons @ approx. £4/Kg.


Makes me think more & more about going down to Chesil and bagging up on mackerel.

 

Non around a few days ago Scrunge.

 

Yikes,
Just reading this thread.
I didn't know this sort of thing went on!

 

We never buy an 'offer' without researching it, so if an 'offer' is a real bargain we do not snub it.