Bargain hunters beware

Published on November 30, 2010 by The Editor · No Comments

Janine Meldrum reports from the checkout queue. Bargain hunters should beware.

When is a bargain not a bargain? According to a recent investigation by consumer group Which? it’s when you buy something because you’re told it’s good value…even when it isn’t. So bargain hunters beware.

The probe found cases of supermarkets promoting some multi-packs as better value when it was actually cheaper to buy the equivalent amount in smaller packaged versions.

We’re used to supermarkets telling us to BOGOF (that’s buy one get one free, in case you thought they were just being unnecessarily rude) but how often are we bargain hunters who just accept offers on trust, without questioning if they are the best value?

Now there may be some of you who think if shoppers aren’t sharp enough to calculate a non-bargain then they should be forced to cough up what amounts to a stupid tax at the tills.

But is that really fair? It’s all too easy to be distracted when you’re stocking up on the week’s necessities – the sheer number of offers and shiny signs we are bombarded with make it less likely we will scrutinise every one.

Trying to find time to fit in the shopping can be stressful in itself without having to verify prices when we get there.

Yes, we’re all trying to be frugal these days, we’re all bargain hunters, but are we really going to start strapping calculators to our trolleys and demanding a breakdown of the store’s pricing and refund policies from the checkout operator?

Of course we shouldn’t be misled, so it’s reassuring to know that Trading Standards are making sure nothing sinister is going on.

But for now I’m happy to take my chances and accept that mistakes sometimes happen. And if that means occasionally paying a few pence extra to avoid the hassle of checking everything I buy, it’s a price I’m willing to pay.

Do you double check the price of everything in the supermarket trolley? Or would that be too much trouble for the sake of saving a few pence?

Janine Meldrum is a wowdewow writer. That makes her too busy to check the prices of everything she picks up at the supermarket