Alexander (Sandy) Milne

The New Zealand one cent coin was withdrawn from use in 1990 and the five cent went out of use 20 years ago.

I am curious to know when our supermarkets will cease playing silly games with shoppers by continuing to price items in dollars and single cents.

Half of my items today had prices ending in 99 cents, eg $3.99.  Have they no respect for their customers?

Do the bosses or their backroom pricers think that we shoppers believe that a $4 item therefore costs less?

The other game they play is to juggle the cost of familiar items every Monday.  It is common for prices of vegetables and wines and other items to be changed by the exact same amount (often by $4) every time.  

And perhaps they could cease penalising shoppers who are single or have small families or are elderly and do not want to buy five or 10 identical items or, say a huge cabbage or pumpkin.  I attach a photo showing a large celery at $2 and a half celery only 20 cents cheaper.  Other vegetables are similar rip-offs.

I follow the weekly petrol prices on national radio and cannot recall Whakatāne ever having the lowest price.  The latest was a price of $2.25 per litre of 91 octane petrol in Epsom compared with $2.66 here.

It's time they got their acts together.

I know that many shoppers share my irritation on this  matter.

By the way, I have already advised Beacon readers that an accountant informed me that the biggest profiteers since Covid 19 hit us were owners of supermarkets and petrol stations.