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Written by CH Cheah
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Monday, 09 June 2008 13:56 |
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 Prices of consumer goods are on the rise each day. The increase is both fast and furious. If this had been the index of the stock markets, it would have been the super bull-run of the century. But unfortunately the bull-run is on the prices of goods and services. This is bad news for us consumers, especially since wages are not rising like the bull-run of prices.
Obviously we need to have a plan for this kind of thing. The immediate reaction would be to buy less and consume less. This is good, as consuming less will benefit the environment as well. But there is a lower limit and tolerance on the amount that we need to consume. There are stuffs that we need to buy to survive each day. Like food for example.
We need to be more sensitive to price. The next time that you go for your groceries in the Hypermarket, pay attention to the difference of price, even for the same goods. For example the same red apples sold in a pre-packed set of 10 may typically cost 3 to 5 times more as those sold in the loose form. Also notice that certain vegetables in supermarkets do not carry the same price each day. Some supermarkets randomly increase the price of a certain vegetable for each day to earn more from customers who does not notice this. Take notice of this and buy different vegetable today. Be flexible with your recipe. Supermarkets take advantage of people shopping with a recipe list on hand.
When shopping for your favorite food on the shelves. Notice the price difference between the goods at eye-level and on the top of the shelf versus those at the bottom. Goods are typically stacked on the shelf in such a way that you will buy the more expensive goods. This is logical but in order to beat the system, you need to stop, think and look at the whole shelf before deciding on the purchase.
Buy house brands. The next time you go shopping in Tesco, Giant, Carrefour or any of the major shopping chain-stores, look out for the house-brand products which are typically sold at a cheaper price than the regular branded stuff. Their quality is not necessarily inferior to those branded goods, most of the time they are on par. At the very least try them. If you don't like them you can stick to the branded stuff the next round. But if they suit you, you'd have set yourself to save some money into the future. Have you ever wondered why these house-brands products often have unattractive packaging? That is because the supermarkets prefers to sell the higher priced branded products but still would want to keep customers who are sensitive to price.
 Some off-hand thoughts about grocery shopping:
- Buy in Bulk for non-perishable stuff. But pay attention to the price, even when things are packaged in bulk, the per-unit price may be exactly the same as in bulk form. You may not want to buy in bulk in this case and just get the quantity that you need.
- Set up a budget and bring a calculator to keep the running total so that you don't spill your budget. Use the memory button of the calculator to store your running total.
- Divide all cost down to the per-unit cost (for example per gram, per piece etc) with your calculator to level the playing field for price comparison. A roll of tissue paper for 20cents may not be more expensive than a roll for 10cents if the former has double the ply (pieces) of the latter per roll.
- Don't buy prepared food like pre-sliced and deboned chicken, beans that have been trimmed or carrots that have been cut into squares. These are typically much more expensive. Are you really that lazy?
- Don't use your credit card if they will make you spill your budget.
- Don't buy snacks (they are not good for you too).
- Use the supermarket discount card and coupons.
- Compare prices with brochures or websites at home before going shopping.
- Buy what you need, don't be sidetracked with the on-sale items always placed in very strategic locations.
- Supermarkets reduce prices of perishables sometime in the day or night to get rid of them. If you are using these immediately, it will be your gain. Find out when the price reduction occur.
- Reduced to clear shelves are not bad products. There are bargains here. Do you really care if your washing detergent bottle has a dent in it?
- Make a list before shopping.
- Don't go grocery shopping with an empty stomach. You will tend to buy more if you do this. Statistics show on average people will buy 20% more stuff if they go shopping hungry.
- When you reach the supermarket, don't just grab a shopping cart and roll it into the aisle. Instead stop and get the latest discounts and sales information at the entrance. Modify your original shopping plan, if necessary, based on this new information.
- Bring a pen and notepad with you during shopping. Note down discount details that you observe. This information will help you save in your next trip.
When shopping for electrical appliances. Look out for products that use less consumables. For example don't get vacuum cleaners that use disposable dust-bags as these will cost more in the long run, albeit at just a slight convenience for you. The manufacturer also typically sells these bags at a price premium. And since they are the only manufacturer, you don't really have a choice. Buy quality appliance but never use the price tag as an indicator of quality. Look at the running cost of the appliance on top of the purchase price. For example if you buy a printer, also consider the price that you need to pay for ink or toner. If you don't factor these into the purchase you will end up paying a lot more. In the case of the ink-jet type of printer, for example, the price of the ink may be equivalent to the price of the printer itself! The laser printer, on the other hand, cost more initially but you end up with significantly lower running costs.
What about your old appliance? Don't just throw the old one away into the junk pile. Sell it off to the recycling dealer to recoup some of its residual materials value. You gain some cash and help the environment along as well.
 Go for sales, all the time. Change your mindset that sales are a discount on goods. In fact sales are the actual competitive price on goods and the normal non-sale prices are a premium that the shops charge you in order to take more profit. Nowadays we can get information on sales and even the prices of individual goods in our mailboxes each day. Use these information to plan your purchase of essential goods each week. Don't go shopping on the whim, instead plan to go shopping once a week and going to the shop that offers the best average price for the goods that you want for the week. All you need to do is to make a list, have a calculator handy and a collection of the prices from the sales flyers, mails and brochures.
Ultimately, the prices of goods and services are set by the collective mindset of us customers. If we can all be sensitive to prices and demand goods that are sold at a market competitive rate, the prices of goods and services will cease to skyrocket. Essentially we consumers need to work collectively to remove the element of greed from the current price tags. We consumers need to be sensitive to prices for this process to start.
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How to be a Smart Consumer, Save Money and Buy Things Cheaper
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