Wednesday 3 October 2012

How supermarkets "rip us off"

Read the text on Supermarket Scams Tell us about your experience of buying what you did not intend to. What technique was used to attract you?

20 comments:

  1. Discount!!! When a person hears this word, he/she thinks about lower price for a product. Well, it's not my case anymore. I saw this big poster once on a showvcase of a store; it said:"75% discount to all products!". Of course, I entered and looked around. I saw that my favourite shoes are also for sale and with the above mentioned discount. I looked at the price tag and I started to laugh. First they climbed the price with 75% and after that they made the same discount! I was fortunate for knowing the original price. So, be carefull! "Not everything that shines is gold!"

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  2. First of all I would like to say that these 7 "scams" presented in this article are working just because people are sometimes stupid or are just in a big hury to get their shopping done and go home. For scams number 1, 2, 5 and 7 I think you just have to pay close attention, number 3 and 6... well, it happens! you can not say that they are scams, as for scam number 4, it's a scam, but I don't Think it belongs to the supermarket, it's just a good location for a coffee shop or a fast food to make money. Personaly I think it's a good idea, you don't have to go home to eat or drink, so you can have more time to look at what you are buying.
    Usually I don't get scamed in supermarkets, but when I do it is because they offer a "buy one get one free" or a "buy one get 50% off the second". It happened to me recently with some calcium tablets, I realy did not need them but they where on sale with buy one get one free, so i bought them. You never know, I might need them some day..

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    Replies
    1. Clau,
      do you know how the English call "buy one get one free"?

      On a different issue, would you customize your profile and include a pic? And thanks for the comment.

      Delete
    2. BOGOF I just lucked it up :D
      I did put a picture on my profile, hope you can see it now.

      Delete
  3. There are many offers these days at supermarkets. One of them is combining two products at one price tag. One of the product(that is not selling werry well) comes along with a top selling product but at a lower price. I think this is " an offer that you can not refuse" for many people. A scam that many stores do is the "and 99 cents"and the end of the price tag.

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  4. Often at the end of a season, clothes shops have many special offers and discounts on products remaining in stock. Products that during the summer have very high prices, are now even at half price. If in summer you see a product that you think it's too expensive and prefer not to buy it, now with these deals you will have the opportunity to buy it even if you do not really need just because you like it and you buy it at a discount. This kind of offers make us to buy things we do not really need in that moment.

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    1. Anca, don't you think is a wise attitude, judging from an economist's point of view? to buy the cart in winter and the sledge in summer, i.e. to rephrase an old Romanian saying?

      Could I ask you to customize your account with a photo? Thanks

      Delete
  5. I saw all this scams at the supermarket, but the delicious smells and the relaxing cofee shops affect me more, and i don't like at all when they change the placement because i sometimes I am in a hurry and I can't find what I am looking for because of that, but in my opinion this scams work very good for the supermarket but not for us :(. And a lot of times a lot of people don't realise that the special offer -50%, it's only a scam, because before that with 2-3 weeks that was the initial price.

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  6. Firstly, I want to say that I work for a cosmetic company. I am a leader and I participated to a lot of instruction courses about sales. I learnt a trick from there. If you open a brochure, in the middle of it you can see the best supplies and also the best supplies can be seen on the covers. In this way a brochure is structured. Even if I know all the scams they continue to manipulate me. I recognize that I am very influenced by the commercials. I realize this but I can’t stop buying. Finally, I think that everyone is manipulated by these scams, even if we don’t realize or we don’t want to recognize. These are like the computer’s viruses which destroy our confidence, thus we become more vulnerable.

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  7. I almost always buy something that I don't intend to when I'm out for shopping! It's very rare when I keep track of my shopping list. I don't think I am totally and always scammed of all these commercial techniques.
    In fact, it's pretty simple why we shop extra and the idea is that we all sell something! We are selling something right now. We are in a continuous interchange. We sell objects, products, goods, stuffs, hand works, middling, items, ideas, concepts... and why not, ourselves?
    We are not robots. I think it's human if my heart just sticks to a pair of shoes in a glance, a book, a present for my sweet baby or a new yogurt that just came out on the market. We shop extra because of commercial tricks, we shop for sympathy, because we have too much money, because we are bored, spoiled, in a hurry, too tired to tip the balance, etc.
    The important thing is to know when to stop and to try to manage your finances correctly and wisely.

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  8. Thank you very much, Teacher!

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  9. As we all know, the man have many needs that must be met in different proportions.
    In this continous search to satisfy desires, those who profit most are traders. Whether we want to feed our, to dress or to do anything else, they are always ready to give us in a more elegant manner while trying to buy and things that are not absolutely necessary
    Everything is organized with carefull; usually what is on offert is very well marked, placed in the most visible places, with colors that do not go unnoticed and drawings who arouse our curiosity and challenges us to buy.
    Not many times I went into a supermarket with the intention of buying only bread and water and when I go to the cash register had full shopping cart.
    For this reason we must be cautious about the price and the size not only on the colors of the packaging or advertising top where it says '' only X,99 RON''.

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    Replies
    1. And another pricing technique is introducing products at double the price only to be able to present them as Sales a couple of days afterwards!

      Georgiana,
      please print the other two comments and bring them along so as to correct them and then you'll be able to resend, ok?

      Delete
  10. In my opinion the whole ideea of supermarket is a bit of a scam.
    First of all you have a big variety of merchandise in the same place. It's almost impossible to stick to your shopping list, there's allways something that you think you need, or it's on sale, or, who knows, you might actually need it.
    But then again is better to find everything in one place than to run around your town for different goods.
    Second of all, they provide you with a big shopping cart at the entrance, wich, according to your list shouldn't be even half full. But somehow that "emptiness" in the cart pushes you to buy more.
    In conclusion, supermarkets are indeed usefull, if you keep your eyes open.

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  11. I usually go in a supermarket to buy what I need,but the big variety of products and the discounts that are made for some of them attract my atention and I decide that I will buy that product even if I don't need it,only beacuse it is at a good price.There are also promotions with two at one price,you buy four and you have 2 for free and more others.It is important also,how are the products arranged on the shelves.Almost every time I walk into a supermarket I buy more than I needed so their techniques to make us buy really work.

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  12. I am very influnced by the pack. A good looking pack can manipulate me even if i know that the taste or the product it`s not similar with the picture from the pack. And discount? that thing doesn`t exist. Evan if we buy something with a lower price that usually, we pay in addition besides the price at which it was bought by the employer. In a business you want to make profit, it is normal.

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  13. When you go to a supermarket a shopping list is required in order to be practical and to save some money. Sure, is easy to give into temptations, but if you really want to have a balanced life, you can easily avoid supermarkets’ traps by finding the best deals for you and your family. For example, if you have relative at the countryside, or if you have the possibility to grow animals and cultivate the vegetables and fruits you need, you will be a double winner because you can save some money and you are sure the food you eat is healthy.

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  14. The basic reason for purchases is simple: necessity. We need food, shelter and clothing. Still, no need to eat in a restaurant three Michelin stars, or live in a mansion or have a shoe collection. But even decide to be frugal, living means consuming. We can not simply stop purchasing. Our dreams and fantasies are powerful impulses that lead us to consume. Luxury goods are sold on the premise of achieving a lifestyle. In reality we all know that although we buy a high-end car, that does not guarantee an sexy appointment, but after seeing thousands of publicities reinforcing the connection between sex appeal and almost any product, we have reformatted the brain.

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