Coles customer reveals how she scored $126 grocery haul for under $2
The savvy shopper shared exactly when she bagged the bargain buy of a lifetime.
A Coles shopper in regional Victoria has managed to snag an impressive grocery haul at an unbelievably low price by arriving in store at what she referred to as "markdown o'clock".
The lucky customer shared her success story in a Facebook group dedicated to finding discounted products at stores around Australia. Along with a photo of her haul, which included 18 items ranging across grocery, dairy, bakery, produce and meat, the shopper revealed she had timed her shopping trip perfectly, having only paid $1.82 for what would normally cost $126.50.
Among the Coles items marked down were multiple packets of chicken thigh cutlets and barramundi portions, bacon, organic apples, bagels, dip, and milk, all reduced to an astonishing 10 cents. The customer also snagged pork belly and herbed chicken steaks for a mere 20 cents each, further adding to her amazing haul.
'What a score!'
The post was flooded with comments from other shoppers who were incredulous about the discounts. "That's incredible! Good on you," wrote one person. "What a score!" chimed in another. "Those bargains will taste even better knowing what you paid," laughed a third.
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Many fellow bargain hunters were eager to learn her secrets and find out the timing of her shopping trip in the hope of finding similar deals for themselves.
"When exactly is markdown o'clock?" asked one person, while another inquired, "What time do I need to be at Coles for discounts?" A third member of the group echoed the sentiment, imploring, "How do you know when these kinds of markdowns come up?"
Several members of the group shared their own experiences, expressing their disappointment at never finding similar deals in stores near them. "Why oh why can I never find bargains like this?" complained one member, while another asked, "I never manage to get markdowns, what time do you normally go?"
When to find Coles markdowns
The author of the post shared her strategy with the group, revealing that she timed her shopping trip to coincide with potential stock discounts. "I was there at dinner time (end of day markdowns) and all items were going out of date that day," she explained.
Another shopper corroborated this strategy, sharing her own experience of buying multiple discounted items, including pizza and potatoes, by shopping in the evening. "My local last night marked heaps down to 60c tops, so I cleaned up," she wrote.
Coles weighs in
However, a Coles spokesperson provided some clarity on the matter, stating that markdowns do not happen uniformly across all stores at a set time.
"There are many things that can impact when this takes place including stock on hand, delivery schedules and team member rostering" the spokesperson said.
"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 also pointed out that "food safety is paramount" to Coles, which is why they encourage all customers to be mindful of use-by and best before dates which determine the shelf life of food products, how long food can be kept before the quality deteriorates and when the item is unsafe to eat.
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