I don t want to buy in bulk

I don't want to buy in bulk

In response to your article

on the front page of this

week's Midweek Herald,

regarding the young man

who wanted to buy just two

onions.

I can understand exactly

how frustrated he felt,

although do not condone

his actions. I wrote a letter

to the Co-op a few weeks

ago on the subject of their

policy of buy one get one

free and reductions on

large packs of produce.

Unfortunately, the

advent of the supermarket

in Seaton has put the small

retailers in the area out

of business and they now

have a virtual monopoly

on groceries and household

goods. We are fortunate to

still have three butchers

and one small vegetable

shop in the town but, for

every other item, we have

to rely on the Co-op and if

they do not have what you

require, you have to go

without.

It would appear to me

that they have one marketing

policy for all stores,

but what may work well

in a large city store, does

not necessarily work well

in all stores. At any time

that I visit the Co-op in

Seaton, the large majority

of customers (maybe

75 per cent) seem to be elderly

people, who are shopping

for households of one

or two people and, as most

are living on a small pension,

every penny counts.

We do not gain any advantage

from buy one get one

free on perishable foods,

as we will not be able to

consume them before they

rot. The large packets of

onions, carrots etc. may

be cheaper, but again you

end up throwing half of

the contents away, because

you cannot eat them before

they are out of date. This

means that you have to

spend more than necessary

to purchase the produce

you require, knowing that

you will only waste half of

what you have bought. The

cost aside, the sheer waste

of food in a world, where

people are starving, appals

me. When shopping on a

limited budget, you may

decide that you require

10 items and you set out

thinking that you can

afford all that you need.

On reaching the supermarket,

however, you discover

that a couple of the items

on your list are only available

in large packs, which

means you can no longer

purchase the 10 items you

require, because you are

being forced to buy more

than you need of some

items on your list. (eg you

have �10 and require 10

items, which you estimate

will cost �1 each, but two

of the items on you list are

only sold in large bargain

packs costing �1.50)

I have mentioned the Coop

above and Seaton Coop,

in particular, as this

is where I do most of my

shopping but, to be fair,

I think most supermarkets

are guilty of the same

marketing methods, but

in some towns people may

have other options available

to them, whereas in

Seaton, the supermarket

has the monopoly. I should

also mention that the

new delivery service that

Seaton Co-op is now providing

is excellent and for

anyone without transport

of their own, it really is a

life saver. I do feel that the

supermarkets have a duty

of care to the communities

that they serve, since they

have put the small retailer

out of business and left us

with no option but to rely

on the service that they

provide.

M Westlake

Beer