Coles shopper pays just $10 for $120 worth of groceries: 'Amazing haul'
A shopper in Victoria has shared the incredible discounts she found at a Coles store and sparked a discussion about shopper's tips and tricks.
Michelle Richardson posted in the Simple Savers Facebook group that after the discounts her weekly shop at Wodonga ended up being $10.30, but was worth $120.
Many were in disbelief, congratulating her on the "amazing haul" where she showed meat and vegetables heavily discounted.
"Those meat prices are absolutely unbelievable!" one person said.
"You would never in a million years get anywhere near that in Melbourne or Geelong."
Though some weren't convinced.
"32 cents for a punnet of olives, 66 cents for 8 pork sausages, 32 cents for chocolate milk - I call BS," one said.
"Guarantee they have a friend or relative working at the supermarket supplying the stickers."
Shoppers share advice on how to score discounts
However the few that didn't believe the woman were mainly shrugged off, with people saying they too have seen such low prices.
"So many negative Nancys! I personally have had very similar mark downs at my local Coles in the last two months," said one person, who revealed they found the markdowns at Coles, Edmonton, in Queensland.
"Doesn't happen very often! Must just be the right person on mark down & right time of day"
Ms Richardon said she was at the Coles store at around 7 to 7.30pm and from her understanding, the best time to go is between 6.30 - 8.30pm.
Another shopper also shared her tip in the comments section, telling people to go early in the morning and be notified of specials by employees.
"Then they can notify you the moment they go on special. It's usually very early in the mornings on a particular rotating schedule," she said on Facebook.
"Most of the bargain hunters already know the schedules and times though, so it's very hard to get any."
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Ms Richardson's newly purchased food appeared to have best before dates expiring the night they were bought, which some people were concerned about.
“I wouldn't risk it. End up with food poisoning,” one shopper said on the Facebook post.
Is food safe past its best before and used by dates?
A best before date “means the food is still safe to eat after the date as long as it is not damaged, deteriorated or perished,” according to Food Safety NSW.
A use by date means the item has to be consumed by this date and “It is illegal to sell foods after a 'use by' date.”
“After this date foods may be unsafe to eat even if they look fine because the nutrients in the food may become unstable or a build-up of bacteria may occur,” Food Safety NSW said.
Woolworths and Coles advise on markdowns
Yahoo News Australia previously reported the best time to shop for markdown specials, hearing from someone on the inside.
A Woolworths employee revealed the answer in Facebook budgeting group Retail Reductions Australia, explaining different items get reduced at different times of the day, so depending on what items you need will determine when you should shop.
A Coles spokesperson previously told Yahoo News Australia that customers can purchase products at a heavily discounted price when it nears its best-before date to provide value and reduce wastage.
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