The Domestic Chores - Shopping

It has been an interesting exercise lately to look at things in a shop. And also to look at the prices.

I find the irony in some of the refill products, like Vanish stain remover, is on average 10-50c more expensive than buying the whole product with the trigger bottle.

In recent weeks, I have also seen one of my favorites, Country Soft butter, two 500g containers are cheaper by a dollar than the 1kg tub.

The other day I went to get a refill for my dishing liquid bottle which was bought in a 1 litre capacity. The refill packets were all 600ml and there was a $1.20c difference between the 1litre bottle and the 600ml refill.

When I contacted Vanish about this pricing issue and they said from time to time that promotions are done where people would need new trigger bottles...and that would be fine if this pricing system were different occasionally. But it from my research has been pretty constant.

Why is it that a large chain like countdown stocks most vegetables 3 times the cost of most fruit and vege markets. For example, a 10kg bag of potato's at countdown is around $10.00. Yet I can get one from a smaller store for $4. Yesterday Countdown had a head of broccoli for $3 a head. You would think that their larger buying power would be able to draw down a lower price.

On the flip side of this argument Whitcoulls has box set DVD's of Star Trek series for well over $100 a set. Warehouse sells the same box sets for between $65-$79. If it can happen with product I'm sure it could happen with produce.

I don't claim to be a domestic god but the whole point of a refill pack pretty redundant after seeing the general trend in pricing.

Anyways...its also why we choose to do all our fresh fruit and veg shopping at a market garden store than a super market. We found that at one stage from buying all our fresh items at the supermarket was adding nearly $80 to $100 to our overall shopping bill. Now...we get all the fresh fruit and veg we need, as well as some extras for just around $60 in an average week including bread, milk and other odds and ends.

Watching for wind back sales and multi-buys also save money. Just a week ago, a 1kg block of cheese costing at times up to $12 was $8.99. Normally we buy a 3 litre milk for $3.58 but at times buy 2 2litre bottles for $5. Vege King in Hamilton East have 4 loaves of good Rivermill bread for $6 making it $1.50 a loaf.

Pays to shop around.

Maori TV and the Rugby World Cup

This is something that I have been mulling over for a couple of days and today my sweetheart and I had a good discussion about it.

One thing is for certain. It would be a massive coup for the broadcaster if it could pull it off...and I'm not necessarily just talking about the bid.

Should Maori TV be successful in gaining the free-to-air rights for the 2011 Rugby World Cup while it is here in New Zealand, there is a lot of work that they would need to do in order to be effective in its plans.

First. They do not broadcast to the entire country. Here in Hamilton, I get an overall OK picture and sound, but when it comes to broadcasting nationally, and such a significant event it needs to be crystal clear, even for those who do not have Sky or Freeview. Most times I have a better Maori TV reception than I do Prime but I also dont want to have to go out and spend $300 on a new aerial just to watch something on TV.

Second: Its about establishing infrastructure. Millions will need to be spent on making sure MTV can cover, let alone broadcast the games. We're talking cameras, broadcast vans and equipment, cables, personnel, and then multiple games at different venues means resources are going to be needed at many sites, and as far as I know, Hirepool don't do cameras like that.

An Idea: Perfect opportunity for a coordinated partnership with other networks. Maori TV does not have the infrastructure as TVNZ or TV 3/C4 so why not partner with them. This even allows avenues for a Maori broadcast commentary but also English commentary on 1, 2, 3 or 4. MTV could say to one or the other, lets simulcast the games at the same time, you do it in English with a mixture of content from MTV and the other broadcaster, but MTV broadcasts in Te Reo Maori. Perfect opportunity.

I don't know. I'm also concerned that this is going to cost more in the long run than its worth. $3m is just the bid. I don't think it reflects the total cost that MTV (via the tax payer) is going to have to fork out to make sure their bid is successful. I mean, funding comes from TPK and thats cool, but what other Maori developmental opportunities are going to be lost from taking this bid on.

Don't get me wrong, I would be happy if MTV wins the bid...the thing about bidding is pulling it off. Like an Olympic bid. You build the hype, you make your punt but the real test comes when the games begin...bring it on.