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May 20, 2008
A breath of a bargain
It's probably all those years digging for ways to cut our readers' computer, internet and telephony costs that has made Bleeding Edge such a diligent avoider of those high mark-ups that the casual purchaser seems happy enough to pay. Or perhaps it's the fact that our great grandmother came from Glasgow.
This morning, for instance, we walked up to Fitzroy Street, St Kilda, to buy a packet of some nasal tapes called Breathe Right, that we recently discovered. If you've got any nasal blockages, before you go to bed you wash your nose with soap and water, stretch one across your nose, and they open your nasal passages. We're not sure of the physics, but they do seem to work. We've found them very helpful.
Anyway, the pharmacist tried to sell us a box of 30 of the things for $44.95. We could hear an echo of great-grandmother's broad Glaswegian accent as we declared, "That's an awful lot of money for some plastic strips!" The pharmacist suggested that we might instead like to buy a packet of 10.
"But wouldn't the price per strip be even higher?"
"Well, yes."
"Well, no, thank you. We'll see if we can get a better price."
We know that a lot of people feel that if they dared quibble like that, one of the fierce gods of shopping would descend on them and rip their tongue out, but we've never had any repercussions. Usually just a bewildered look on the face of the shop assistant, or the occasional "Suit yourself!"
We had to go to Aldi, and then to Victoria Market to pick up some fish - wouldn't dream of buying fish at South Melbourne or Prahran markets, by the way - so we called in at Priceline. They didn't have stock, but they referred us to the Priceline Pharmacy in Bourke Street, near the corner of Elizabeth. Sure enough, they were selling 30 Breathe Rights for $29.50 (or $29.95). We bought two packets to tide us over, then went on the Internet.
At ChemistDirect we found them for $26.95. We ordered four packets, which with $6.95 postage, was slightly cheaper than Priceline. But for immediate needs, we'll be adding Priceline Pharmacy to our list of money-saving destinations, of which Aldi is probably No. 1. Did anyone notice in this morning's Age the shocking difference in the prices Woolworths-Safeways charges Australian customers, compared to its New Zealand outlets? For shame! No wonder Aldi's market share is steadily climbing!
Posted by cw at May 20, 2008 04:56 PM
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Comments
Hi Charles.
I can certainly confirm the money-saving by shopping at ALDI.
Many years ago when still living in Switzerland we used to drive to Baden Baden (yes BB), Germany, just across the border to shop at Aldi.
Sure, they don't keep all paraphernalia of merchandise but for basics, it can't be beaten!
We save at least $150.00 monthly, and the quality is excellent. (don't buy anything of a technical nature there though!)
Posted by: lomaca at May 20, 2008 07:07 PM