Coles shopper slammed over markdown haul - but who's in the wrong?

Scores of shoppers have leapt to the defence of a Coles customer who received backlash for buying a trolley full of discounted grocery items, with many hitting back at "Karens" for criticising the Aussie bargain hunter.

The woman, who posted a photograph of her massive haul on a popular Facebook group, boasted of her purchase only to be slammed by some members.

"Got a trolley full of cakes and meat for $100 at Kotara Coles," she wrote alongside a photo of her takings, which included trays of vanilla slice and doughnuts that were on sale for a dollar or less.

Some members of the group took offence to the bargain haul, slamming the woman for purchasing so many cakes and not leaving some for others, while others claimed the food would "go bad" if not consumed straight away.

"I hope there was something left for other struggling families," commented one shopper.

"This group has really helped me to understand how all the toilet paper disappeared 2 years ago. I thank you all for clarifying," wrote another.

"Yeah but by the time U [sic] eat it it's mostly gone bad etc," someone else 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," another member chimed.

'Chill out'

Most of the members, however, defended the woman and reminded people in the group what the page was all about in the first place.

The shopper's mother even joined the debate.

"Well, I thought this group was about sharing bargains and letting people know where they are," the woman's mother wrote.

"Well, I am the girl's mum, just to let the Karens on here with the hate comments know, my lovely, caring daughter and her caring friend did get all those bargains, right place at the right time, they went halves in the price, they shared the food to me and I shared to others as well."

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"Omg y'all so angry about a person buying cake? Chill out," one member of the group commented.

"AGAIN, disappointed but not surprised by some comments in this thread!" someone else interjected. "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 mark down prices."

This is not the first time a member of the group has been slammed over purchasing bargain items in bulk.

Another shopper came under fire for purchasing every single block of butter after seeing it was marked down in August. The post sparked a big debate online, but many members of the group came to the woman's defence, saying they would have done exactly the same thing.

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