Mum 'furious' at ridiculous cost of supermarket bathroom staple

"It's price gouging at its worst." Have you noticed this too?

In expensive times, there are some supermarket luxuries I am still willing to shell out for and dark chocolate is one. But like every other budget-conscious shopper, I have noticed the sharp and ongoing rise in the costs of just about everything.

Even doing a quick dash into the supermarket for a top-up shop I would be lucky to get away with anything less than $50. 

And while I am not usually one to take to social media to express my outrage at the cost of something, this week while in Woolies with my youngest son, the price of two of my regular household items took my breath away.

I was about to pop them in the trolley when I noticed they weren’t on special.

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Image: Supplied / Instagram @lauracjackel

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"It's price gouging!"

Not only were they not on special, but the two items - my usual brand of shampoo and conditioner - favoured by my whole family, would cost FIFTY dollars.

FIFTY dollars. 

I know these are unprecedented times and that I am a forty-five-year-old woman who can remember when two litres of milk cost just $1 (yes, I am ancient), but it doesn’t seem that long ago when $50 would get a whole basket full of shopping not just two standard household items.

In my shock, I took to Instagram to conduct a one woman survey via my Insta stories and the post hit a nerve.

Over 340 people responded to my poll with 99 percent of them agreeing there is no way they would pay the insane amount of $50 for shampoo and conditioner.

“Does anyone ever buy that at full price?” one mum responded to me.

“If so, they must be the same people that are also still buying blueberries!”

Another budget-conscious Instagrammer said that it was, “bulls**t price gouging by the two supermarket giants. I’m going for the $7 for 500ml versions instead!”

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"Jesus Wept! What on earth is going on?!"

While most agreed that fifty dollars for standard shampoo and conditioner were way too much money, one dad pointed out it was still a lot less than buying the fancy brands at the hairdressers.  

Okay, a fair point for those with bigger haircare budgets.

But for everyone else feeling personally affronted by $50 bathroom staples and expensive groceries generally, taking to social media to express one's outrage has become something of a national sport.

You don’t have to go too far to find something that has been ridiculously overpriced and last week Kidspot reported how a woman was charged $6.50 for a can of Coke at a cafe in Bondi via a local Facebook group.

"Jesus wept! What on earth is going on?! This is unbelievable… take away kiosk and not even a proper full-size can of Coke!" the woman shared on Facebook.

According to the receipt attached to the post, the woman paid $6.60 for a takeaway 250mL mini can of Coke and $9.35 for a 300mL bottle of juice.

Her total bill for the two drinks came to $15.95, with an additional 'handling fee' of $0.24, bringing the final amount to $16.19.

"Daylight robbery!" 

Comments were mixed with most expressing their sympathy for Eastern Suburbs prices.

"Welcome to the Eastern Suburbs, you’ll pay $6+ for a terrible coffee," one said.

"Daylight robbery," someone else claimed.

"BYO water next time if you can’t afford it."

When it comes to shampoo and conditioner, I will be keeping an eye on specials going forward and I'll be sure to save that $50 for something more essential like, dark chocolate.

Originally published as Mum 'furious' at ridiculous cost of supermarket bathroom staple