Cheap beer!? Sounds a good shop to me... (Makro)

Member Name: stuff10

Product:	Makro
Date:	31/08/09 (120 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Cheap beer

Disadvantages: Have to be a member, some prices not so cheap, can end up spending quite a lot

My experiences of Makro are limited to the store in Sheffield, although I'll try to make my review about Makro as a whole.

I find Makro to be a fairly strange shop and one which I'm not so sure whether I actually like or not. On the one hand they sell a massive range of items from tins of beans to HD TV sets, but on the downside you have to be a business to shop there (entry is only via a membership card scheme) and once you work them out, some of the prices aren't actually that great.

I say "once you work the prices out" as Makro is aimed at business people and thus the prices on display don't include VAT. So whilst £599 for a 42-inch HD-ready Samsung TV might sound good, it's actually £688.85 once you've got it through the checkouts, which as you can see, makes it quite a lot more expensive.

However, there are still some good deals to be had. We only go to Makro 3 or 4 times a year and we do find it useful for some items, mainly cleaning fluids (soap, washing-up liquid, fabric conditioner and washing powder), odd gifts (toys, games, etc) and beer.

Makro is more geared-up for people to buy in bulk and so you're more likely to stock-up for a while than return there every week (hence, we only visit every 3-4 months).

One part of the shop I do like looking round is the beer aisle which contains almost every brand of beer that you can buy in the UK - usually with a much better selection than you can get in the supermarkets. For example, on Friday I picked up a crate of 15x330ml bottles of Bud Ice for £8.90, 24x330ml bottles of Peroni for £13.99, 24x330ml bottles of Corona Extra for £14.99 and 24x440ml cans of Beck's Vier for £13.99. I was especially happy with my Bud Ice as I haven't seen that around for years! :)

On the downside, with the range of beers they have, it's quite easy to spend a lot of money there!

Summary: Some good deals, but sometimes you're better buying in a normal supermarket