"Half price" wine ripoff?

Gwynston

What's with the increasing number of so-called "half price wines" that are swamping all the supermarkets in increasing varieties over the past few months?

You know the ones I mean - the supermarkets won't have them on the regular shelves - it will be one unique truckload they've got in which they pile up in boxes at the end of a row. They'll have big signs insisting that the RRP is €13.99 and they're selling them at half price!

Trouble is, has anyone EVER seen these wines for sale at full price. Or at any price anywhere else for that matter? They all seem to be labels you've never heard of before, or else some known brand's limited edition with a fancy name like "Estate Selection" of "Special Reserve".

The thing is, are we being ripped off? I've tried a few and while some are quite good, there's no way they'd cut the mustard at anything above €10. And others have frankly been barely worth the €7 "bargain price".

I was under the impression that advertising regulations insist that "discounted" or "sale" items have to have been on sale somewhere for a certain amount of time at full price. Are these increasingly numerous "pretend limited-edition premium wines" getting around this rule somehow?

BeerNut

I've wondered about this myself. However, I regularly avail of Superquinn's Hardy's Crest Cabernet Shiraz Merlot and Kiwi Cuvee Sauvignon Blanc, both damned decent everyday wines, so I don't wonder too strongly. I *think* both do appear at the supposed regular price in small quantities for the statutory minimum period of time, but any regular customer is unlikely to buy them.

And yes, if you buy them at the regular price you are being ripped off, but I doubt if the supermarket is breaking the law by charging the full whack.

Gwynston

Yes, I doubt they're breaking the law (so long as they sell it at the RRP first), but it's obviously a clever marketing trick to make people believe the wine's better than it is....

And it's catching on like wildfire. I lost count of the number of different examples scattered around Tesco last week.

BeerNut

Gwynston wrote:

it's obviously a clever marketing trick to make people believe the wine's better than it is

Well, there's an awful lot of mediocre wine at permanently high prices out there as well. So it all balances out

An Citeog

Gwynston wrote:

Yes, I doubt they're breaking the law (so long as they sell it at the RRP first), but it's obviously a clever marketing trick to make people believe the wine's better than it is....

And it's catching on like wildfire. I lost count of the number of different examples scattered around Tesco last week.

This isn't illegal. The rrp isn't set by the retailer themselves and they are perfectly entitled to use this ploy. The problem would arise if the retailer were to say something like "50% off, was €14 now €7". In all honesty, from the moment you enter the shop to when you're waiting at the checkout being tempted by all that sweet chocolate, you're being bombarded with clever marketing tricks.

hoolio

Yeah it's fairly blatant. Either they just buy it dirt cheap off the supplier and then sell it at said "amazing" price.

Or else they just stick it on the shelves at either the full price, or above the full price, knowing it won't sell, then wait the legal amount of time (28 days i think?), then drop it and wave 50%/sale off at you.

Reminds me of a woman's clothes shop in a nearby town, that'd stock dresses a few months before debs season, pricing them at ridiculous prices, then when the time comes around, slash the prices back to the realistic, and stick an entirley legal "Sale! 70% off debs dresses" sign in the window.

An Citeog wrote:

In all honesty, from the moment you enter the shop to when you're waiting at the checkout being tempted by all that sweet chocolate, you're being bombarded with clever marketing tricks.

QFT

The Hill Billy

Looks like I'm going against the grain in this thread, but I've found quite a number of damn fine wines on sale at "half price" offers in a couple of my local supermarkets. (These being SuperValu & Gerry's in Skerries.)

Gwynston

I agree Billy, some are good, but not good enough to pay €14 for.
At €7 they're a good buy though!

Generally I tent to buy wine between €8 and €12, but almost always only buy when they're on special. i.e. "Buy 2 bottles and save €4" or something similar. There's always something good in that price range on some sort of special offer.

I just treat these "half price" limited editions to be at the same quality level, ignoring the supposed €14 RRP.

Laslo

Gwynston wrote:

The thing is, are we being ripped off?

Yes. Wine in this country is ridiculously expensive. Having said this, you can find a half-decent bargain from time to time. Marks are doing a nice Montepulciano for €6.50 at the moment.

rubadub

They can always charge more for the week or so limit, maybe have 2 bottles on a shelf somewhere. Anybody who falls for "half price" offers like that is a bit naive. "half price" translates as "possibly on offer" in my mind.

Lots of foods/products at "half price" or just "on sale", are more expensive than similar quality counterparts. Many furniture shops in town have permanent sale signs, works well since people are not shopping for furniture every week.

In tescos you regularly see huge signs, and it can be only 5cent off a €3 product!, yet I see some auld ones automatically making a beeline for "sale" products and stocking up, not even stopping to consider if it is a good deal. "the sign was fecking HUGE, must have been a good deal."