Costmaker! (Costcutters)

Member Name: jennikitten

Product:	Costcutters
Date:	02/02/09 (57 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Convenient, fairly good selecion, cheap DVD rental

Disadvantages: Overly expensive - where does the 'costcutting' come in?!?

If you've read many other of my shopping related reviews, you'll know that I'm quick to jump in and have a moan about Costcutter. My local corner shop used to be a Tesco Metro, which was fantastic as it was open from 6am-11pm and often had great deals on sandwiches (e.g. 65p). But when I moved, my nearest was a Costcutter.

My local Costcutter is quite small and dingy looking. It is quite deceptive however, as it sells surprising things. For example, it has quite a good selection of baking goodies, which Tesco Metros don't tend to. However, there are some 'normal' things it doesn't sell, particularly in terms of fruit and veg. There are also randomly sized things, for example you can only get small bottles of Coke, and you can't get multipacks of crisps.

One of the best things about it is the freezer section, which is tiny but tends to stock a lot of things I eat such as various types of chicken, some Chinese style food, vegetables and chips. Pretty basic stuff really.

There is also an alcohol aisle, and a DVD rental section. This is pretty good as you can rent DVDs for £1-£2 per night with a free membership card. The prices depend on how new the film is, and there is a selection of probably 50 or so films. This is pretty convenient as the nearest Blockbuster is a lot further away and much more expensive for rentals.

So, on to the annoying things. The main thing is that Costcutter, like most corner shops, is ridiculously expensive. Most food items are double supermarket prices. There are far fewer sales and deals than at Spar and the Co-Op, which almost makes it worthwhile. It's a shame, because it's my nearest shop and much easier to get to than any other, but there you go.

The other thing is that the cash machine outside it is the nearest for miles - however it costs up to £1.99 to withdraw money; I think this is to make you go inside and spend as you can pay by card and get cash back (for a cost of 15p if under £5).

Overall, it's a good place to go if you need something in particular as it is open 7 days a week until about 10pm. It's good for magazines which are sold at the proper retail price, and DVD rentals which are cheap, but other than that it's way overpriced!

Summary: Good for a few bits and bobs