Perth influencer shares Coles capsicum hack to save money
A Perth woman has revealed why it always pays to double check the product tag after getting exactly the same items for almost half price.
It’s always tempting to just grab the packaged vegies at the supermarket over the loose ones, but a Perth woman has shown why it always pays to double check the price.
Influencer Ash Reid shared on TikTok how buying red, green and yellow capsicums cost almost half of what the prepacked version was selling for.
Claiming that “Coles doesn’t want you to do the math”, Ash explained how she had been able to save big simply by purchasing the capsicums loose.
“I have no doubt in my mind that this is very useless information,” she said.
RELATED: Photo shows ‘insane’ price of prepacked grocery item at Coles
“But if you go to Coles and want three capsicums, do not buy the three pack. That is $8.90 and if you buy them individually $4.50, you’re welcome.”
Coles’ three pack of capsicum costs $17.80 per kilo while loose red and yellow capsicum are $8.90 per kilo and green capsicums are $4.90 per kilo.
Her post got dozens of comments from people who equally thanked her for sharing the “very good tip” or questioned why most people didn’t know this “basic info”.
“You don’t even need to do the maths. The price tickets have the price per 100g/1kg,” one person commented.
“I don’t know why this is a ‘thing’ worth sharing,” another wrote. “This is basic info, buying the packaged stuff cost more. Check the ‘per kg’ amount on the tags.”
In response to Ash’s video a Coles spokeswoman told news.com.au: “Many customers tell us they prefer the convenience of prepacked fresh produce, as knowing the exact weight and price of the item helps them with meal preparation and managing their budget.
“The additional labour and packaging requirements means these products come at an additional cost.
We continue to review packaging and look for ways to reduce plastic in our stores and more than one billion pieces of flexible plastic have been collected by REDcycle through our in-store soft plastic program since 2011.”
RELATED: Shopper’s baffling find on Coles shelf
Plastic packaging of fruit and vegetables is common practice in all the major supermarkets, with Woolworths also pricing their fresh produce significantly cheaper if bought loose.
But it’s not the first time the cost of packaged versus loose fresh produce has caused a stir on social media.
Back in 2019 one shopper shared on Facebook how there was an “insane” price difference of $147 per kilo between loose and packaged Birdseye chillies at Coles.
A plastic-wrapped 20g container of Birdseye chillies were priced at $175 a kilo, while the loose product cost just $28 a kilo.
“In a packet vs not in a packet,” the shopper captioned two of the products which they shared to the Markdown Addicts Australia Facebook page.
“Not to mention the waste of plastic packaging.”
RELATED: Aldi shopper finds Woolies product on shelves
Many people couldn’t believe in the insane price difference and admitted that they rarely checked the price per kilo.
“I knew loose was cheaper but wow lol,” another commented.
“I always look at the unit price and have also taught my hubby who is slowly getting better at it and not just grabbing what has a sales ticket,” one commented.
“This is true of many packaged products including cold meats and veg! Always check the price,” another wrote.
“Everything is cheaper loose. You are paying the labour to pack it!” one person added.
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