Rami Levy has it!

Good sales, that is. 

I just did a very quick run- through and found 6 packs of Mei Eden and Neviot water for 6.75 a package (limit 2 packages).  Rimonim are 3.90/kg (Shufersal had them for 8.90/kg).  The chicken line was out of sight so I guess they have good deals but I am not a fan of their meat (see previous post) so I don’t know what they were.  Delidag gefilte fish was 9.49- better than Shufersal at 10.  For those of you who buy mana hama, the Wili Food ones were 3/10 shekels.  They also have the Yoplait and other Tnuva dairy sales currently going on.

If you spend 49 shekels you ge a free calendar and if you spend 99 shekels you get a magazine with recipes and a coupon for free shipping from Prachim2u (flowers) if you spend over 150 shekels.

How much would YOU pay for Pringles?

I really like Pringles. All the flavors, all the time. Do I buy them here? Only when the kids deserve a special treat. For potato product, they are just too darn expensive, and there are perfectly acceptable alternative products here.

Yisrael HaYom checks out 180 grams containers of Pringles today.

United States- 6.6 shekels

England- 11.7 shekels

Israel- 11.3 shekels

It costs us more to smell good

Today’s pictorial post by Yisrael HaYom is not food, I know, but is also something that is OUTRAGEOUSLY expensive here.  Why?  I don’t know.  I tried the Israeli brands- worthless.  This one is another stocker-upper.

Gilette Clear Dry Gel for Men (70ml):

United States- 14.2 shekels

England- 17.7 shekels

Israel- 30 shekels!

Toothpaste costs HOW MUCH?!

One of the few things I require my American visitors to bring is toothpaste.  I cannot for the life of me understand why toothpaste cost so much here.  Once I run out of my stash, I know I will have to switch to the Israeli brands to save money, but so far that time hasn’t come.

Yisrael HaYom’s pictorial price comparison today is for a 100ml tube of Colgate Total toothpaste.

United States- 11 shekels

England- 13.5 shekels

Israel- 19 shekels

What’s more important- food safety or price gouging?

After numerous complaints to Tamat (The Ministry of Trade), Shufersal was brought to court for illegally charging customers more than the price listed on the package.  They were found guilty and fined 250,000 shekels for deceiving  their customers, and the manager of each branch that was found guilty was fined 1500 shekels each.

Now before you start cheering, hear this:

Shufersal earned 3 billion shekels during the first quarter of 2011, with a net profit of  140 million shekels the first half of 2011.

I am very happy that Shufersal was brought to justice for price gouging, and I am glad that they could be given such a large fine, even though relatively speaking, it won’t put a dent into their profit margin this year.

What I would like to illuminate is the difference between this fine and the fine that can be imposed for selling food that is not fit for human consumption.

Can you guess how much it is?

1000 shekels.

If the manufacturer repeats the offense within two years, the fine can be doubled to 2000 shekels.

What does this say to you as a consumer?

To me, it says that is OK to sell rotten food, food with pathogenic bacteria, or food of poor quality for whatever reason, because a fine that small means NOTHING to a company such as Strauss, Osem, or Tnuva.

Nobody likes to be cheated out of a few shekels, but that cannot compare to being cheated out of your health.

Something to think about…

Sources:

Shufersal fine- Ynet

תקנות העבירות המינהליות (קנס מינהלי – איכות מזון), התשמ”ח-1988- a legal web site

There IS a reason to cry over spilled milk

Yisrael Hayom is running a very cute and to-the-point pictorial comparing prices of various food items in the US, England, and Israel.

Today: A 2 liter plastic container of 3% milk

United States- 7.4 shekels

England- 8.8 shekels

Israel- 12.79 shekels 

 

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Mega’s coupon of the week

Print out this coupon to purchase a 1kg package of Mega brand sugar-coated cornflakes for 14.99.  Coupon expires 17/9/2011.  One coupon per purchase.  Not valid online.

 

Rosh Hashanah Price Wars- Full Steam Ahead

In today’s newspaper there are 5 supermarket sale ads.  I will provide the link to see the advertisement and a list of some of the best deals that I see in the ad.

Yesh

Yesh has the best price on gefilte fish jars so far-600 grams for 8.99.  You can also get 1/4 frozen lamb (Atara) for 49.99/kg, frozen salmon for 29.99/kg, and 3 Spring bottles for 8.99.  You also get a free fish head with a 50 shekel or more purchase.

Victory

As I mentioned in a previous post, this little store has some great sales.  You can 1/4 frozen lamb (Neto, glatt) for 29.99/kg with a 299 shekel purchase, 1 liter of Efrat tirosh grape juice for 9.99, and 18 eggs for 9.99.  You have to be a club member for these sales, which costs 19.99 per year.

Kimat Chinam

If you are a club member, you can get Jacob’s coffee for 24.99 (and use their credit card), a 6 pack of 1.5 liter Coca Cola for 19.99 (and use their credit card), and Hellman’s, Heinz, or Telma mayonnaise for 8.99.  1/4 frozen lamb sliced costs 49.99/kg and pomegranates cost 4.89/kg.

Shufersal

Shufersal still has the 20% off brand names and 30% Cherokee clothing sales for club members. Until tomorrow, you can get frozen Norwegian salmon fillet for 44.99/kg and whole cleaned carp for 12/kg.

Mega

YOU members can get fresh chicken in all sorts of different cuts (mix and match) for 5.99/kg until Monday, when you spend 400 shekels in the store.  Maximum 5 kg per purchase.  In their 10 shekel sale, you can get 670 grams gefilte fish, Maadanot potato burecas, and Sanfrost frozen green beans.  You should check out their “Basket of Subsidies Sale” which is offering up to 20% off basic food items.  I purchased the unsliced loaf of bread for 4.67,  a bag of 3% Tnuva milk for 4.79, and a 750ml bottle of Mega brand Tirosh grape juice for 10 shekels.  Most of the products are the Mega brand, but the prices are very good and I never noticed any quality issues with their brand.  You can check out the rest of the subsidized items here.

Rami Levy

Rami Levy is being awfully quiet this season.  I am sure they have great sales, they are just not advertising them.  An article in Yediot Ahronot on the 12th listed  many items which are cheaper in Rami Levy than Shufersal (see picture below).  Rami Levy is also advertising a television news show which also talks about how much cheaper the prices are in Rami Levy, but I can’t open it to watch.  You can try here.  I guess if Rami Levy is getting all this free advertising by journalists, they really don’t need to spend money on newspaper ads.

 

University Students vs. Tnuva- Rosh Hashanah Wars Part 2

After the successful boycott of cottage cheese, Tel Aviv University students have set their eyes on something much grander- Tnuva.  This time they are not satisfied with just advertising through Facebook- they have taken to the streets, trying to convince shoppers to support their cause.

Tnuva, of course, is not going to allow a boycott to get in the way of holiday profits.  In addition to their announcement that certain dairy products would come with 10-20% extra for free (see previous post), now  Tnuva is offering 50% off the second item when you purchase two.  Products include Piraeus cheeses, Shock shoko bags, Yoplait yogurts, and Emek cheese- many of which are items that rarely get discounted.

So who is winning?  Shufersal reports that there is no decline in the sale of Tnuva products, but “another large supermarket chain” reports a 3% decrease and Rami Levy reports a 4% decrease in Tnuva products and a concommitant 6% increase in the sale of Tara products and 7.5% increase in the sale of Strauss products.

Tnuva’s response?  “We will continue to offer new sales and surprises to our customers.”

Since one of our family’s major purchases is Piraeus brand bulgarit cheese (we are 1/4 Greek), I say to Tnuva- keep it coming!

Source: Yisrael Hayom, 14/9/2011

New Strauss Coupon Page on Facebook

Click here to sign up and get coupons from Strauss sent to your cell phone and email address.

This week’s coupon is for a 20 shekel discount on a 50 shekel or more purchase of Yad Mordechai products. 

Coupon code 322.

Coupon expires 19/9/2011.  Valid only in Shufersal Deal and Shufersal Sheli.

Next coupon will be advertised on 20/9/2011.