Corporate chains vs independent retailers

50% off the bestsellers of the month, hooray, that’s great! Or is it? You’re interested in literature, like to be up to date, don’t want to be the odd reader out when the latest mega seller is being discussed, don't want to wait until your local library has got the book in question but haven’t got much money or just don’t want to spend so much on a book you know you’ll read only once, what’s wrong with being happy about such enormous price reductions? Let’s have a look at the book prices in GB. When in 1995 the ‘Net Book Agreement’ (the abolition of retail price maintenance) collapsed, the promise was that books would become cheaper and the supply ...  Read the complete review

Giving You More Reasons To Shop Where Every Little Helps? But Who Is Helping Who? Supermarkets. Pros – Convenience, cheap(ish). Cons – Socially destructive, impersonal, high street mega-killing commercial machines. Places were there are pay offs, rip offs and things nobody saw.. Supermarkets? Excellent aren’t they? Wonderful places. And they’ve popped up just about everywhere. Few are the places these days, that cannot now boast at least one supermarket, if not a mega-store on the outskirts of the town, then a smaller version on it’s meagre high street, shoehorned between a charity shop and café. The ...  Read the complete review

I am following in the footsteps of other Dooyoo'ers who have brought this questionnaire about corporate foodstore chains v the little independents so, here are my answers:- Q1: If your food budget was £100, how much would you say you currently spend in big retailers – eg supermarkets? Explain why you spend so much or so little there? At present I usually spend around £65 each week in Asda. There is my husband and myself but I do tend to buy the odd item for the grandchildren too. It doesn’t matter how much I vary the food it always seems to end up at this magical figure. Then I may pop into the local shop during the week for the odd item. ...  Read the complete review

Having seen a few other of you lovely dooyoo bods bring this one over here from 'the other place' I thought I would too!! SO... here goes!! Q1: If your yearly food budget was £100, how much would you say you currently spend in big retailers – e.g. supermarkets? Explain why you spend so much or so little there? I would estimate that between my chap and I we spend our budget half-and-half. I live in the city and only realistically have access to major supermarket chains as I never get home before 6pm, but I do get organic free-range eggs from a bloke I work with! My fella lives in a small coastal town that is not particularly close to any ...  Read the complete review

This challenge was originally started elsewhere, but I see it's come over here so I've decided to join in too. My answers aren't what I'd hoped to give since I'm trying to get more ethical these days but here goes. Q1: If your yearly food budget was £100, how much would you say you currently spend in big retailers - eg supermarkets? Explain why you spend so much or so little there? Unfortunately I'd say close to 95 pounds (if not more) would be spent in the supermarket. We don't have any good independant retailers round here. The few we do have are unhygeinic and sell stale, out of code produce. I also live within walking distance of five ...  Read the complete review