Ecky Posted February 24, 2009 Share Posted February 24, 2009 Hi, have to moan. Just been out to do my least favourite thing --> shopping. As usual, always carefully checking prices and sell by dates (drives my OH mad, he refuses going with me). Came across two more cons: 1. Walkers Sensation crisps (jummy, ) They used to be 175 g, £1.45, now they have a new packaging (black) and the are only 160 g, but still £1.45. Does Walkers think they can get away with this? 2. Green Giant sweet corn: double pack (two cans shrink wrapped) £2.48 per kg, single can £2.00 per kg. 3. A well known fact, Kleenex balm boxes, the singles are cheaper than the shrink wrapped double packs. I guess they are counting on people grabbing the supposedly cheaper multi packs (most of the time it is right) or not checking the labels carefully. I am really annoyed at Walkers, as this is a real con. How many of us are checking the amount of content after we have bought it for years? Anybody else with examples? I think it would be a great idea to share theses so we are all aware and can avoid them. Off to send Walkers a complaint ...... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
..lay a little egg for me Posted February 24, 2009 Share Posted February 24, 2009 Ooooh, don't get me started. My personal gripe is with the BOGOF shrink wrapped veggies that are still more expensive than buying loose veg. I often see pensioners grabbing the BOGOF veggies and I have to stop them and explain that it works out more expensive (plus, poor dears, probably the extra one will go off before they can eat it) And another thing that gets me going is the kind of labelling that goes "With XYZ.." on the front of the box, but when you look at the ingredients list there is only a mere whisp of XYZ in the product. A good example is fruit smoothies/juices that say "With mango" usually less than 2% mango, and 98% apple juice Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Old Speckled Hen Posted February 24, 2009 Share Posted February 24, 2009 I too HAVE to check the £/Kg and do it on everything from fresh veg to dog food AND you're right, two singles are often cheaper than a double and BOGOF is sometimes a real con, you have to keep your wits about you. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ubereglu Posted February 24, 2009 Share Posted February 24, 2009 These are quite common, hence when we go to Tesco we make sure we know whether it's cheaper to buy two together or two singles. What we found a weird offer was that it was cheaper to buy two small drinking chocolates rather than a big one, (bit of a weird offer). Oh well, it's up to the shops pricewise I suppose, I just wish more people would think about the cost effectiveness of items, especially when it comes to value ranges. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stoice Posted February 24, 2009 Share Posted February 24, 2009 I always check if there is a brand cheaper than the one on offer. Often a BOGOF of say toothpaste at £2 or something is still worse than buying 3 or 4 tubes of a cheaper brand. Plus then there's the supermarket own stuff too. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TOMWARDFARM Posted February 24, 2009 Share Posted February 24, 2009 Wagon Wheels and Weetabix have definately got smaller Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Helly Welly Posted February 24, 2009 Share Posted February 24, 2009 Don't get me started on Wagon wheels!!!! OH does the majority of shopping and he's excellent at checking and comparing prices as he's more of a maths whizz than i am. However, if it's say 4 for £2, he'll buy four when he only wanted one, thereby spending more money. I need a big larder for his bulk buy purchases. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ardene5 Posted February 24, 2009 Share Posted February 24, 2009 Wagon Wheels and Weetabix have definately got smaller Hi Everyone Something else to note a Weetabix block usually is broken when it comes out of the white packet and is not solid but if you buy a Lidl whole wheat cereal biscuits " Bixies" the are solid and firm also made to the same as weetabix. The Bixies is also cheaper by about 70 pence so look before you buy. If you have an Adli , Lidi or Netto near to you have a look you might find some better buys! Best regards Ian & Valerie Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jackiepoppies Posted February 24, 2009 Share Posted February 24, 2009 Couldn't agree more Ardene5. We have a Lidl & Aldi here and they are brilliant Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BeckyBoo Posted February 25, 2009 Share Posted February 25, 2009 Hi, I use Sainsburys mostly as it's nearest and driving a 14 mile round trip for any of the others kind of negates the savings but most of Sainsburys own brand stuff has passed the kiddie test, they eat the Sainsburys weetabix, coco pops, baked beans, orange juice etc and it's FAR cheaper than "brand" stuff. And I can often be found in the toilet roll aisle working out how much it is per sheet before I commit to a purchase, and as I only s"Ooops, word censored!"ed a grade C at O level that's no mean feat The other thing I've noticed in Sainsburys is that they've started marking a lot of stuff at "Only £!!" so it's a nice easy figure, looks quite cheap but actually you can find that sometimes it was only 85p or something last week. Loads of their stuff is now £1 and I think everyone thinks they're getting a bargain! Pound shops are bad for this, I used to buy that irogning water stuff (I know I know ) and it was £1 in the pound shop (obviously) but it was only ever 75p in Sainsburys! think people thought that because it was in a pound shop it was therefore cheaper! Check EVERYTHING that's what I reckon! BeckyBoo Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sadietoo Posted February 25, 2009 Share Posted February 25, 2009 Hi... And another thing! Have you noticed (especially in Tesco's) that when you are trying to compare whether or not the larger packet is cheaper they give different information on the price ticket to make it harder? ...For example...a poly bag of apples 5 apples (no weight on packet) loose apples £1.39 a kilo...or, and this really made me cross, .....a pack of 5 chunky Kit Kat 28p a bar (or whatever) a pack of nine £1.40 or something per KILO..if they really wanted us to have the information why not just have the price per kilo or the price per bar on both tickets instead of making a trip to the supermarket a mental maths nightmare? Gosh I feel better to get that off my chest....how fantastic is this forum? a chance to have a rant before breakfast.... I'll go and have a cup of tea and calm down! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TOMWARDFARM Posted February 25, 2009 Share Posted February 25, 2009 sadietoo I have noticed this too it is extrememly frustrating. And makes life a lot more difficult just another way to con more money out of us! Christian Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chelsea Posted February 25, 2009 Share Posted February 25, 2009 1. Walkers Sensation crisps (jummy, ) They used to be 175 g, £1.45, now they have a new packaging (black) and the are only 160 g, but still £1.45. Does Walkers think they can get away with this? I am also complaining to walkers about these above crisps. Their cheddar and chutney crisps have animal rennet in them (never seen this before in walkers cheesy style flavour crisps) and sainsburys do not mention the ingredients on their grocery website on my home delivery so as a vegetarian I was most annoyed to discover this after I had bought them. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tiggerlady Posted February 25, 2009 Share Posted February 25, 2009 I wonder if trading standards should be informed of the misleading bits If it is,they'd be on them like a ton of bricks!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ecky Posted February 26, 2009 Author Share Posted February 26, 2009 1. Walkers Sensation crisps (jummy, ) They used to be 175 g, £1.45, now they have a new packaging (black) and the are only 160 g, but still £1.45. Does Walkers think they can get away with this? I am also complaining to walkers about these above crisps. Their cheddar and chutney crisps have animal rennet in them (never seen this before in walkers cheesy style flavour crisps) and sainsburys do not mention the ingredients on their grocery website on my home delivery so as a vegetarian I was most annoyed to discover this after I had bought them. Wow, thanks for pointing this out. I'm a veggie too and didn't know. It never crossed my mind that they would use rennet in crisps. Ah well, wasn't it Mars that wanted to change the ingredients of their bars to non-vegetarian to safe money. I love the crinkled crisps (McCoys) Flamegrilled Steak, they are actually all vegetarian, even the Ham and Mustard ones (no ham to be seen) perfect. As all of you said, keep an eye open, complain and spread the words (even if it is lost on the OH ) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dodge77 Posted February 26, 2009 Share Posted February 26, 2009 Wagon Wheels and Weetabix have definately got smaller My theory is that wagon wheels haven't got smaller its just that when we were kids our hands were smaller making the wagon wheel relatively larger and now are hands are bigger they appear relatively smaller but in fact have not changed in size Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lesley Posted February 26, 2009 Share Posted February 26, 2009 Hi... And another thing! Have you noticed (especially in Tesco's) that when you are trying to compare whether or not the larger packet is cheaper they give different information on the price ticket to make it harder? ...For example...a poly bag of apples 5 apples (no weight on packet) loose apples £1.39 a kilo...or, and this really made me cross, .....a pack of 5 chunky Kit Kat 28p a bar (or whatever) a pack of nine £1.40 or something per KILO..if they really wanted us to have the information why not just have the price per kilo or the price per bar on both tickets instead of making a trip to the supermarket a mental maths nightmare? Gosh I feel better to get that off my chest....how fantastic is this forum? a chance to have a rant before breakfast.... I'll go and have a cup of tea and calm down! I wrote to Tescos about this a few years ago - their answer was that they were happy with their pricing systems I very rarely go to Tescos now I am also complaining to walkers about these above crisps. Their cheddar and chutney crisps have animal rennet in them (never seen this before in walkers cheesy style flavour crisps) and sainsburys do not mention the ingredients on their grocery website on my home delivery so as a vegetarian I was most annoyed to discover this after I had bought them. I don't know why they've done this as there was a big hoo-ha a few years ago when a group of vegetarian children in Birmingham went public with the fact that Walkers Cheese and Onion were the only crisps in their range which weren't vegetarian (at that time) - Walkers amended the recipe so that they were. As a vegetarian I was always having to explain why I was eating Roast Chicken flavour and not Cheese and Onion Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Valkyrie Posted February 26, 2009 Share Posted February 26, 2009 Cadbury's Creme Eggs have also shrunk - as have the Twix bars! But the best laugh today when mum and I were in the aisle looking at the crisps was on Walkers. Their crisps are "made with real ingredients". After howling my head off, I said to mum, "what were they made of before?" Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Valkyrie Posted February 26, 2009 Share Posted February 26, 2009 PS does that apply to the squirrel flavoured ones? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chelsea Posted February 26, 2009 Share Posted February 26, 2009 I am also complaining to walkers about these above crisps. Their cheddar and chutney crisps have animal rennet in them (never seen this before in walkers cheesy style flavour crisps) and sainsburys do not mention the ingredients on their grocery website on my home delivery so as a vegetarian I was most annoyed to discover this after I had bought them. I don't know why they've done this as there was a big hoo-ha a few years ago when a group of vegetarian children in Birmingham went public with the fact that Walkers Cheese and Onion were the only crisps in their range which weren't vegetarian (at that time) - Walkers amended the recipe so that they were. As a vegetarian I was always having to explain why I was eating Roast Chicken flavour and not Cheese and Onion this is the reply from Walkers, Im still annoyed actually. ________________________________________________________________- We really appreciate hearing from our consumers who take the trouble to let us know their preferences regarding our products. We are very sorry to hear that you purchased this product without realising is wasn't suitable for your diet. The flavourings we use for our snacks are mixtures of various ingredients that simulate the taste described on the front of the packet. Very often, artificial mixtures are used but sometimes we do use the real ingredients like the cheese powder used in Walkers Sensations Vintage Cheddar & Onion Chutney. Before we launch a new flavour a great amount of research is done on the ingredients to determine the most suitable things to use and the best mix. This is vital because we want our snacks to have the widest possible appeal. Whilst we have our own panel of professional tasters, we also undertake extensive consumer research to help us make the right decisions about our products. Decisions have to be made by considering all of the available information. On one hand, we have a growing number of vegetarian consumers and on the other, we have a flavour with mass appeal. Our research continues to show us that the majority of our consumers do in fact prefer non-vegetarian cheese. _______________________________________________________________________- non vegetarian cheese!! why cant they let the meat eaters have all the "meat flavour" ones and let us veggies have the cheese & onion! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lesley Posted February 27, 2009 Share Posted February 27, 2009 Just about the same answer they came up with last time - unless a group goes public with the facts then they will continue. The odd thing is that most cheddar today is made with vegetarian rennet as it is cheaper to produce - this isn't mentioned on the cheese packs because it might put people off Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stoice Posted February 27, 2009 Share Posted February 27, 2009 Wagon wheels are definately smaller click here, so are creme eggs. I'd heard the 'it was becuase you were a child with small hands' arguement but I'm not sure it's true Click here Curly wurlys used to be larger, with a thicker layer of chocolate too. I remember them being almost the length and width of my 30cm ruler when at school but now they are tiny at almost half the size Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ecky Posted February 27, 2009 Author Share Posted February 27, 2009 PS does that apply to the squirrel flavoured ones? I thought you were joking, but I've seen them .... all naturaly heh. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mostin Posted February 27, 2009 Share Posted February 27, 2009 Wagon wheels are definately smaller click here, so are creme eggs. I'd heard the 'it was becuase you were a child with small hands' arguement but I'm not sure it's true Click here Curly wurlys used to be larger, with a thicker layer of chocolate too. I remember them being almost the length and width of my 30cm ruler when at school but now they are tiny at almost half the size Very interesting reading, I love trivia, especially when it is chocolate related Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ecky Posted March 5, 2009 Author Share Posted March 5, 2009 Got a wishy-washy answer from Sensations. So they don't increase the price but decrease the content, still feel badly conned. ---------- Thank you for your recent email regarding Sensations. We are sorry to hear your comments. We can advise we have taken grammage out of our sharing bags. We at Sensations, like many other businesses, are under increasing pressures from the rise in commodity costs. We do not want this to affect the price of your shopping basket, so have therefore taken a small amount of crisps out of our sharing bags instead. We do however, appreciate your comments and have forwarded these to our Marketing team for their information. Thank you for contacting us. Regards Amnah Ikram Consumer Care Advisor Customer Services ----------- I guess I go off Walkers crisps and buy McCoys instead (or for the wastelines sake go off crisps completely ) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
