The boys have been needing some new clothes for a while so on Saturday after I picked each up after their sports sessions we hit to the shops. First it was Tom and we headed to Gémo where I had a credit note and I came out with jeans for Ben and a T-shirt for Tom. Then into Decathlon where we got shoes and shorts for Tom. Well that was easy! I may have spoken too soon ...
Later I was back to collect Ben but we then struggled to find shorts he liked. Gémo only had cream ones which is not a good colour for an 11 year old boy; Decathlon only had the same as Tom's and there was nothing Ben liked in Kookai. That just left Styleco, which I had not been in before and it seemed we had hit Sale Time as everything was marked up at half price. Excellent, especially as the clothes were quite pricey. However at the till I learnt that the clothes were not in fact in the sale but had 2 prices. If you have a StyleEco Private Card you get the clothes at the reduced price and if not you pay full price .... and the card costs 30€ for 6 months. Bearing in mind the clothes we had picked were well over twice the price of those we had got in Decathlon and Gémo I did rather feel that this was not quite such a bargain. It also sucks you into buying more just to make the cost of the card worthwhile. Hmmmm - not impressed.
This is not the only time so called offers have not actually been a bargain. In the UK I would generally expect larger sized products to be cheaper per litre/kilo than smaller ones. In France that is often not the case. I needed some more hot chocolate recently and I had a choice of 3 packs in ascending size. So which was the cheapest per kilo? It was the smallest one with the largest one being quite a lot more despite the pack saying it was a "format economique"!?
And BOGOFs are not always what they seem - they are not as frequently seen here as in the UK and rather than being scattered throughout the shop they tend to be all together on the first aisle. Look carefully though at the price of other brands and you may well find 3 cheaper products are actually less expensive than the BOGOF on the higher priced brand. And some shops have one more trick up their sleeve ... rather than taking the money off at the till they add it on to your Loyalty Card. No Loyalty Card, no reduction.
In France's defence this is not always the case and there are bargains to be had. At a closing down sale I bought Tom 2 pairs of shorts. That was 3 years ago and he can still fit into them and absolutely loves them! And how much did they cost? 1€ each!!! Would that all my shopping trips were that successful and I suppose that at least that helps to offset the very nice but rather overpriced shorts I got Ben in Styleco on Saturday.
Have you been caught out by a bargain that was not quite so good as it first appeared? Or are you able to smell out the best deals every time? If so do let us know your secret!
My husband always has me looking at the price per 100g now and I often only by one even if they are on BOGOF as do I need two? I am just going to be spending more money if you see what I mean. Supermarkets aren't daft they know full well what sells and what makes people buy more of what they don't need. Clothing is a completely different area, sometimes i'll buy better quality stuff because it lasts longer, other times cheapness is key so they can just get it dirty in it but you get what you pay for so hopefully the expensive shorts will last ages ;)
ReplyDeleteRe shorts, I hope so too. I just know what Ben is like and fear the worst. It's why, given the choice, I prefer shopping for clothes in charity shops ;)
Deletelol, yes it is the best place. There aren't many over there though are there?
DeleteNo, very few charity shops in France so it's a real treat when I come back to the UK!
DeleteI have come across this so much here. Must particularly in Tesco, where a 'bargain' price is displayed for say a 6-pack... but the item individually priced is way less than the six pack. People just don't read the prices.
ReplyDeleteI think the shops rely on you thinking that bigger must be cheaper and slipping in a few that are NOT. It is one of the reasons I don't really like big supermarkets ... and there are plenty more reasons too but I'll save those for another blog post!
DeleteI'm awful at finding bargains, normally I save up for a big purchase and within a week of my buying it the shop drops the price!!
ReplyDeleteI know what you mean, that is such a pain and happens to me too.
DeleteEven in the UK you have to look carefully at prices. A large pack of sulatanas is often more expensive than too small ones. I do like that shorts often last a few years even for growing boys #PoCoLo
ReplyDeleteAs long as he doesn't so his usual thick of tearing things!
DeleteI do think shoppers are becoming more savvy though.and checking prices. I used to work for a manufacturer, and with the retailers, and we'd do price checks. We'd quite frequently notice shops having 2 for a price, and the promoted price was higher than buying 2 when it wasn't on promotion.
ReplyDeleteI definitely think places need to get a bit more real and compare to their nearest competitors in quality and therefore price and promotions. Here, some of the best ones are John Lewis which will mimic when Debenhams goes on sale.
I just thing retailers need to be more transparent but that is as likely as flying pigs!
DeleteAnd I thought that the UK were bad on offers compared to US but at least it's not as bad here as in France! I'm very good at working out if an offer really is a bargain or beneficial as I have had to be due to ill health and therefore a very low income but you do have to be careful as many companies try and catch people out! #pocolo
ReplyDeleteNot having time to work things out or view prices elsewhere is the thing that annoys me most about getting the bst deal - and I know shops rely on this to trick us into thinking a bargain is one when it isn't.
DeleteWe never really have money to buy those normal priced goods. So in Tesco (and any supermarket actually) we go near closing and we raid the reduced section. It is always priced a third of its original price. So we buy loads, freeze them and used them for the rest of the week. #pocolo
ReplyDeleteI bet you end up with some interesting foods shopping like this!
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