Coles shopper slammed for loading up on discounted items

A Coles customer has been slammed after she shared a photo of her heavily discounted grocery haul, with many branding her actions unfair.

A woman has been subjected to abuse after scoring a stack of discounted baked goods and meats at her local supermarket.

The woman posted a picture online of her trolley full of meat and baked cakes that were heavily discounted to $1 from Coles Kotara, in Newcastle, NSW.

She revealed she got the stack of products for just $100 – an incredible feat among the current cost-of-living crisis.

The woman shared her haul to a Facebook page called Markdown Addicts Australia – but many criticised her.

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A woman has been slammed over her grocery haul. Picture: Facebook/Markdown Addicts Australia

“Yeah but by the time you eat it, it’s mostly gone bad,” one person said.

Another added: “Just so you know, all those cakes have been frozen already so they shouldn’t be refrozen again. That’s why they mark them down so cheap.”

“This group has really helped me to understand how all the toilet paper disappeared two years ago. I thank you all for clarifying,” another posted sarcastically.

But others defended the woman, saying they were disappointed with the wider response.

One said: “AGAIN disappointed but not surprised by some comments in this thread!

“Shoppers can buy WHATEVER they want in markdowns and it’s no one’s business. If people ‘wanted’ them so badly they would have purchased before they hit the big markdown prices.

“You hang out for cheaper then too bad. Only time I would be annoyed if I was standing there and pushed away so someone could grab the lot. Otherwise good luck to the lucky shopper.”

Another added that the woman could be sharing the goods among family and friends.

Coles said it discounts items to avoid them going to waste. Picture: NCA NewsWire/Sarah Marshall

One said: “I say congrats on scoring your bargain. That’s what it’s discounted for. To sell! I’m coming over for a barbecue and cake though.”

Another wrote: “It’s first in best dressed tbh, and we take what we can use. We’ve missed out on bargains because other people beat us, but that’s our fault for being slow.”

Many asked when is the best time to get discounts so they could score a similar bargain.

In August, a Coles spokesperson said items are regularly discounted to avoid waste.

“We know our customers love good value so when a product is near its best before date we often mark it down so it can be enjoyed for a cheaper price, instead of being wasted,” the spokesperson told news.com.au.

“Markdowns do not uniformly take place at the same time across all stores.

“There are many things that can impact when this takes place including stock on hand, delivery schedules and team member rostering.”