# Supermarket Prices Have Increased . . . and more than we think



## Leper (23 Sep 2018)

On a rare visit with Mrs Lep to the supermarket yesterday, she informed me of price increase in almost every item she placed in the shopping trolley. The most glaring of these was a large bag of potatoes coming in @ €7.99 (previously €5.50).

That's almost 50% of a jump. Are we paying for the €10.00 off after spending €50.00?
                                             or
Is September the January for our Supermarket year start?


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## Laramie (23 Sep 2018)

The potato yield has not been great this year. I grow a few varieties in my back garden, the yield was not great and the potatoes smaller in size.
I have also noticed price increases in the cost of items. The Dunnes Stores have an offer on, of 3 items of meat for €10. They have now introduced 5 items for €20.
A lot of the 49c veggie offers are now 79c offers. Dunnes also have two veg/fruit items on offer for €3. Included in this is a bag of carrots that used to cost 99c, now effectively €1.50.


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## Tebbit (23 Sep 2018)

And I have to add the spuds in Dunnes are GORGEOUS.   I find it great value and shop there all the time.   I noticed the last day I shopped lots of things for a euro and around 50c.


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## Leper (23 Sep 2018)

There ain't too much stuff in Dunnes for under €1.00 or .50c either. Unless, of course, you want chewing gum etc. Another thing I noticed in Aldi is that most of their "own" products have at least 25% extra and Free.

Definitely, September appears to be the January of the supermarket sector.


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## Monbretia (23 Sep 2018)

T


Tebbit said:


> And I have to add the spuds in Dunnes are GORGEOUS.



That's funny as I actually returned a bag yesterday as they were so bad, they seemed to be diseased in some way!  I'm easygoing enough with stuff but these were very unappealing with all this black pitting on them and you'd have to cut away half the spud to get rid of them.   They were 5.99, I shop in Dunnes mainly and haven't noticed any major increases in the products I buy anyway, they are expensive for lots of things but I don't buy those things there


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## Bronte (24 Sep 2018)

I think all fruit and veg are going to be more expensive due to the seriously disasterous weather. Too much rain early in the year and too much heat during the summer in many parts of Europe including Ireland.


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## Odea (24 Sep 2018)

I often break the €10 off Dunnes €50 spend cycle. Otherwise we would be stocking up on items that we don't immediately need. It was great when Tesco would take the Dunnes Stores coupon. We would always do our last spend there and take a break until our stocks of items dwindled, then start over again.
It is nice to visit Lidl and Aldi as they carry a range of items not available in Dunnes or Tesco. The 3 meats for €10 in Dunnes are available for €9 in Lidl.....but no coupon at the checkout.


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## huskerdu (24 Sep 2018)

The "€10 off Dunnes €50 spend cycle" is a very effective loyalty tool for Dunnes. Of course they have adjusted their prices to ensure their profit margins are preserved.
Its makes me suspicious that a lot of prices in Dunnes are inflated if you dont have the voucher .

Its been well flagged that potato prices were going to be high this year, no surprise there.


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## mathepac (24 Sep 2018)

You can break out of the €10 off €50 spend cycle with Dunnes if you have an AIB (or presumably other bank's) VISA Debit card.  From time to time these offers pop up where you get €10 cash credited to your bank account a few days after spending €50 on a grocery shop with Dunnes.


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## Bronte (25 Sep 2018)

Mathpac how does that work with the Visa debit card, you pay for your groceries with the card and they lodge €10 onto your card, is that correct? And this is automatic?  Is that just Dunnes or is it Tesco too? I shop occassionally in both.


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## mathepac (25 Sep 2018)

First part correct, real money credited back to the card. Once your card is registered with the scheme, completely automatic. Neither, it's an AIB Visa Debit card deal, they've run deals like that with retailers Dunnes, LIDL (or ALDI), Circle K filling stations (€5 back on €50 spend) and a few more. There are other deals they offer that are a bit stupid IMO like M&S Online 3% discount but you can't buy in the shop, Aer Lingus, Carribean Cruises, Savorski Crystals, hotels, car-hire firms, etc offer small % discounts for using the card but I try to use the cash-back deals. €55 extra in the bank so far for just regular spend.


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## Bronte (25 Sep 2018)

My Visa debit is with Ulster, I must look into this.  Plus I must look into the Aer Lingus one as well as we use them a fair bit.  And car hire too. Never heard of any of this before.


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## huskerdu (25 Sep 2018)

I also  have this deal with PTSB.  Its called Go Rewards. However, 90% of the deals are random things that I rarely use. 
Supermarkets and petrol stations rarely come up. 
I've saved about €30 in a year.


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## Leo (25 Sep 2018)

Bronte said:


> My Visa debit is with Ulster, I must look into this.  Plus I must look into the Aer Lingus one as well as we use them a fair bit.  And car hire too. Never heard of any of this before.



BoI call this Live Life rewards, current offers are 15% of 1 Just Eat order, 15% off a single MandM Direct order, 20% off a single MyTaxi fare, or 10% off a single Missguided order.... My savings to date €0


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## Bronco Lane (25 Sep 2018)

I was in Dunnes Stores Cornelscourt this morning. You really need to get out there before 10 a.m. because the car park fills up pretty quickly. You also have the problem of Supermarket customer trolleys piled high with goods and if you are standing behind one of these prepare for a long wait.

I am always amazed at the number of shoppers who will not put a divider on the conveyor thingy after they have unloaded their messages leaving it for the person behind them to do it.  Oftentimes they will just stand there and when it comes time to pay, then they start rooting in their handbag for their purse or card. Today the woman ahead us of did this and then handed about 10 Dunnes Stores €10 off vouchers to the cashier. The cashier was left to go through the vouchers and discard the out of date ones until she found the current one.

We did pick up a few bargains. Our shop came to €51 and we got €10 back. As it happens we then had to go to SuperValu Blackrock immediately after and compared our purchases. Prices were similar if not higher in SuperValu and there is no €10 back.

We also made use of the Dunnes Store cafe where we had two full Irish breakfasts of 5 items plus tea and toast. Cost for two €10. Great value, and in a way our €10 off voucher paid for it.


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## becky (25 Sep 2018)

Bronco Lane. I was in Dunnes a few weeks ago and the lady in front of me proceeded to empty her wallet with a wad of vouchers. The person at the till went through them and her bill went from €80 odd euro to about €13.

I was looking around for the camera when the lady asked me did I have a voucher. I didn't and she gave me one which was of no use to her. I was delighted as my bill came to about €54.


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## mathepac (26 Sep 2018)

Bronco Lane said:


> Our shop came to €51 and we got €10 back.


Discount at the till or vouchers for credit off future spend?


Bronco Lane said:


> As it happens we then had to go to SuperValu Blackrock immediately after and compared our purchases. Prices were similar if not higher in SuperValu and there is no €10 back.


SuperValu have their own scheme called Real Rewards where your Real Rewards card accumulates points 1 point/€1 spent, and sometimes stamps for discounted luggage, cooking pots, kitchen utensils, etc. or extra points or money off for specially selected items.

Depending on the points on your card, they'll send you a statement every so often with money-off vouchers. These can be redeemed at face value at the till or with their Real Rewards partners for a multiple of their face value. e.g. €2.50 Real Rewards vouchers translates to €5 off your Electric Ireland bill. I got €60 (the max for a year) off my electricity bills last year. You can also earn Real Rewards points from other suppliers, e.g. my Eir bill earns me points AND I can use the money off vouchers to get money off future Eir bills. e.g. €2.50 translates to €3 off with Eir


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## Cervelo (27 Sep 2018)

Leper said:


> On a rare visit with Mrs Lep to the supermarket yesterday, she informed me of price increase in almost every item she placed in the shopping trolley. The most glaring of these was a large bag of potatoes coming in @ €7.99 (previously €5.50).
> 
> That's almost 50% of a jump. Are we paying for the €10.00 off after spending €50.00?
> or
> Is September the January for our Supermarket year start?



Can't say I've noticed a huge increase in the cost of my weekly shopping, yes somethings are up others are down but over all my shopping has remained constant over the last few years at around €90 a week for two adults, one cat and her no for good freeloading boyfriend.

But I have noticed some odd pricing on a week to week basis, Dunnes 24 toilet roll started at €8 a couple of years ago is now €10 but twice this year I've seen it at €12, Butter went from €2.19 to €2.69 for a couple of weeks and Coke never seems to have a regular price 3 for €4.50, 3 for €5, 3 for €5.50 and today 2 for €3.70 to name a few. The potatoes we buy have only gone up by 50 cent 

With regards to whose paying for the €10 off I have wondered about this myself, for over thirty years I was a food manufacture and supplier to the supermarkets and the one thing that was always remained the same when dealing with the supermarket buyers was their margin was to be protected at all costs, even when doing promotions. The only time I've seen them take a cut is when it is their own brand products but even then the majority was covered by the supplier/manufacturer. Tesco head office in the UK used to refer to Ireland as "Treasure Island" and for good reason!


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## T McGibney (27 Sep 2018)

Cervelo said:


> Tesco head office in the UK used to refer to Ireland as "Treasure Island" and for good reason!



If only. They've left a huge store site in Cavan town empty for almost a decade rather than build on it because they fear it won't be profitable enough.


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## messyleo (27 Sep 2018)

T McGibney said:


> If only. They've left a huge store site in Cavan town empty for almost a decade rather than build on it because they fear it won't be profitable enough.



Have to agree, Tesco are much more competitive now price-wise and price match ALdi/Lidl on a lot of things e.g. chickpeas 39 cent per can, branflakes 46c for 500g, contrast that with Dunnes and SV and the % difference is substantial e.g. chickpeas 59 cent in SV which is 50% higher!


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## ashore (20 Oct 2018)

Agree re tesco. Also Supervalu seem to have caught on. As I am often housebound I get a lot of my groceries delivered and Supervalu are the nearest for that out here. A lovely York cabbage fr 49 cents and a big bag of carrots for under a euro. If I am out, i use LIDL and tesco mostly as they are within range and always a good variety at 49 cents and under a euro and if you get the basics range..


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## john luc (21 Oct 2018)

I noticed price rise in Tesco as well. I buy the cooked salmon which was €3.15 but is now €4.15. I have not paid that price since it went up.


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## noproblem (21 Oct 2018)

Some here mention bargains and then go on about 3 steaks for €9, etc. I often see these offers but wouldn't dream of buying any without, for example, knowing how much a kg the meat is. I do the same with lots and lots of products, eg, chocolate products, biscuits, minerals, water, juice and an awful lot more products too. A few months ago I was in one of the big multiple supermarkets and noticed a fair few discrepancies in their pricing per kg and per litre against what the products were actually priced at. Took pics of the pricing labels per kg and per litre, and then the product with the price on it, did this to a good few products and went home and worked out the differences. Next day I again went to the same outlet, checked the stuff was still there and was priced the same, it was, so I went to have a chat to the manager about it. He was very concerned, actually couldn't believe the differences and vowed to have it sorted. I must say he came across as very genuine and was very thankful. So much so in fact he organised a €100.00 voucher for me and within 2 days he had it sorted. He saw me a few days later and told me he had been on to head office about this and many of the stores had the same problem, seems a lot of their pricing is done from afar and their labels, etc, are done for them. I presume he told head office he himself had seen this and so got good praise from the powers that be because he has moved from our area and on promotion too. Let this be a lesson for some and don't be buying stuff because there's a good price on the packet, check it works out as a good price per litre, per kg, or whatever. If you shop enough and watch pricing you'll get to know what a good price is per kg, etc. Otherwise you're just buying because it sounds like a bargain but is actually expensive.


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## twofor1 (21 Oct 2018)

Whatever about food prices, beer or wine does not seem to be going up, in Dunnes anyway.

Yesterday 2 slabs of draught Guinness was €50, using my €10 off voucher for a €50 spend meant I only paid €40 for 48 x 500 ml cans or a mere 83 cents each.

You could mix slabs of a few different beers or litre bottles of Smirnoff, any 2 for €50.

I paid my €40 and got another €10 voucher for my next €50 spend.

Frequently Dunnes also give 25% back in vouchers when you buy 6 bottles of wine, again you can use your €10 voucher off a €50 spend and get another voucher.

So using your €10 off, 6 x €10 bottles of wine will only cost €50 and you will then get €12.50 back in vouchers, net cost is €6.25 a bottle.

Prices before discounts appear to be similar to other supermarkets.

The above makes drinking at home worryingly inexpensive.


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## odyssey06 (21 Oct 2018)

twofor1 said:


> Whatever about food prices, beer or wine does not seem to be going up, in Dunnes anyway.



Stock up while you can! Government has plans for 'minimum alcohol pricing', no more use of vouchers for alcohol, can of beer will be at least €1.80, bottle of wine at least €7.50 and spirits about €18.

I hit LIDL for two cases of their wine specials this weekend, €4 for a half price Rioja and €5 for a Cotes du Rhone (normally €6.50).


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## noproblem (21 Oct 2018)

twofor1 said:


> Whatever about food prices, beer or wine does not seem to be going up, in Dunnes anyway.
> 
> Yesterday 2 slabs of draught Guinness was €50, using my €10 off voucher for a €50 spend meant I only paid €40 for 48 x 500 ml cans or a mere 83 cents each.
> 
> ...




This must be brilliant for publicans who buy in Cash and carry's and the like, i'd be fairly certain they can buy cheaper in the multiples than in the c/c and more than likely it doesn't go through the system.


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## peemac (22 Oct 2018)

noproblem said:


> This must be brilliant for publicans who buy in Cash and carry's and the like, i'd be fairly certain they can buy cheaper in the multiples than in the c/c and more than likely it doesn't go through the system.


Very difficult not to go through "the system". Revenue will have a very good idea what returns a business has and if you are not within the parameters, you run the risk of audit.

But most of all, the hassle of using a supermarket to save a few quid is not worth it. Same in the food trade - many things cheaper in Aldi than from food service places, but the hassle is not worth it


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## noproblem (22 Oct 2018)

Hm! Buy a bottle of Huzzar in one of the multiples for aprox €17 and then sell it for €70, i'd call that a bloody good margin. Do the same with other spirits, etc and if you've a crowd coming in, or a night club, etc, then that's a business in itself and don't tell me for one minute it's not going on. By the way in case you're wondering, or are tempted to ask, in the spirits business you'd get 20 half ones out of a bottle and multiply that by the price 20 times. There's a reason the multiples are selling vast quantities of booze and it's not the general public that are buying it all.


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## Leo (23 Oct 2018)

noproblem said:


> There's a reason the multiples are selling vast quantities of booze and it's not the general public that are buying it all.



The multiples impose limits on quantities to discourage this, the cheap booze is intended to get regular customers in to do the high-margin grocery shopping.


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