Why Are Neighbourhood Supermarkets So Expensive?

Question on 04/09/2017 - 16:14
Last edited 04/09/2017 - 16:42 by 1 other user

I don't expect them to be as cheap as Coles/Woolworths, but their prices are shocking sometimes. Stuff like instant noodles is cheap, almost everything else is insanely expensive. A bottle of oyster sauce at a small Asian mart can cost 2-3 times more. Any frozen goods they have tend to be extremely expensive as well…like $20-30 for frozen chicken or beef.

My local IGA is also insanely expensive…the cheapest chicken breast they had was $18 per kg.

I can't help but wonder who buys this stuff at these prices.

Food & Grocery

Comments

  • [Deactivated] on 04/09/2017 - 16:38
    +2

    rabble rabble rabble

  • dasher86 on 04/09/2017 - 16:39
    +3

    because when you shop local you're paying for a little girls dance lessons…

    • [Deactivated] on 04/09/2017 - 16:43

      And conversely, when you're shopping at a large retailer the only place your dollars are going is into the pockets of CEOs, high-up Directors and Shareholders.

      • Aniseed Steed on 04/09/2017 - 16:51
        +3

        And all the super funds that have shares in Wesfarmers and Woolworths, which would make you an indirect shareholder if that's your super fund.

      • Flying Ace on 04/09/2017 - 18:01
        +7

        And the wages of the thousands of employees.

    • onetwothreefour on 04/09/2017 - 18:53
      +2

      Yep but not your own little daughters dance lessons as you are now broke from paying too much at IGA!

  • scrimshaw on 04/09/2017 - 16:45
    +5

    Small shops buy things in smaller quantities and lack the bargaining power of a gigantic company like Coles / Woolies.

    Supermarkets also have loss leaders to entice you to shop. They may sell specials at cost prices, then you have a good reason to visit the supermarket and buy from them. However, their suppliers don't like it when they do that….

    • leiiv on 04/09/2017 - 18:20

      Except that they have been doing the catalogue specials every week since a really long time?

  • QW3RTY on 04/09/2017 - 16:48
    +3

    Increase size and scope of retailer increases buying power, better wholesale discounts, lower operational margins, lower cost price per product, lower price for end user.

  • [Deactivated] on 04/09/2017 - 16:49

    Do you live in Surry hills or the inner west?

    Cos for me its the opposite, the local supermarkets are way cheaper

    • Question on 04/09/2017 - 16:54
      +1

      I live in eastern suburbs actually, sydney.

      Again, i expect things to be a bit more expensive, but 2-3 times is pretty crazy. Of course, people do pay $20-30 per kg for chicken/beef, but thats usually the expensive kind, not some unknown frozen brand.

      Stuff like canned fish for $20+ per kg is also dumb as well. Honestly, who actually pays these prices?

      • Solarlux on 05/09/2017 - 11:06
        -2

        I buy my chicken at IGA cos I like Buying from an Australian farm. A lot of the 'fresh' chicken in the duopoly stores comes in from India. The small supermarkets don't have the power to screw our farmers down on price, and their green groceries usually come straight from the markets and not sent a few thousand kilometers to a processing plant where they are all made pretty in plastic bags and boxes, over refrigerated so if they warm up just a little they collapse into a soggy mass.
        And yes they employ local people and are far less efficient than the big two. My local IGA is open 364 days of the year from 7am til 6.30pm I am prepared to pay a little extra for the convenience, it is far less than the cost of fuel I would have to pay to get to one of the other stores as they are 55km away.

  • bobbified on 04/09/2017 - 16:52
    +6

    Convenience costs money.

    • Question on 05/09/2017 - 09:32

      But i can conveniently order from coles with delivery at $4?

      • bobbified on 05/09/2017 - 12:34

        If you order lots of things, then yes - the $4 delivery is worth it. But you still have to wait for it to be delivered at another time and when it eventually comes, someone has to be at home to receive it.

        I had the problem before - my local "convenience store" was a 7-Eleven. So if I simply wanted eggs, it was $7 for a dozen and the same dozen (same brand and all) at Coles was $5. But Coles was a 20 minute walk there and back. So on each occasion I had to weigh up whether I wanted to walk 20 minutes to save $2.

        With things like meat, there might be a huge difference in the price/kg, but most people don't buy meat by the kilo. Someone at home might decide they feel like getting 100 grams of meat for some cooking. In that case, for a small purchase like that, the difference in price is going to be a couple of dollars - which I think most people would be willing to pay.

        If you can plan out what you need, then it'll end up being cheaper. But if you don't, then the extra convenience will cost money.

  • tre180 on 04/09/2017 - 16:52
    +6

    Unrelated, but I once found a pube in the mushrooms at my local convenience store. I just wanted you to know.

    • Aniseed Steed on 04/09/2017 - 16:56

      How could you tell it was hair from the pubic region?

      • Diji1 on 04/09/2017 - 16:58
        +2

        Many hours of examination.

      • PVA on 04/09/2017 - 18:58
        +1

        Tasted like it.

  • altomic on 04/09/2017 - 17:25
    +6

    Wait till you head out to a small country town where prices are 50-100% higher than 100kms away because of "transportation costs" …oh, and they have a monopoly in the town as well.

  • Slippage on 05/09/2017 - 08:30
    +2

    I get what they are trying to do with the: paying for little girls dance lessons, etc, but F^%# that! When you see that all the staff at the local store are minors (cheapest to employ) and there is a brand new luxury car parked out back, I'm not interested in paying the outrageous charge for "convenience".

    Why are they so much more expensive? people have fallen for the support local crap and buying there makes them feel good inside.

    The only local i support is fruit and veg, because it's cheaper, tastes better and lasts longer.

  • skillet on 05/09/2017 - 08:33
    +1

    Because expensive is always better mind set.

  • Sensiekatie on 05/09/2017 - 09:13

    Their wholesalers charge a lot more to them than the large guys who buy direct from elsewhere.

    It was cheaper for a guy I knew to buy Certain products on special at Woolworths and sell in his store than to buy at his wholesaler..

  • Ozpit on 05/09/2017 - 09:21
    +2

    More people should support the big chains because the little guys are ripping everybody off so they can retire early on the Gold Coast, drive Ferraris and sail around the Greek Islands in private yachts. Don't tell me you've never seen these guys in designer clothes and with young babes on their arms.

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