A flyer looks simple: a picture, a big price, a bright sticker. But between the picture and what you pay at the till sits the small print. That is what decides whether an offer is good. Here is what to check so you can read a flyer like someone who knows prices.
Dates first
Open the first and last pages. They give the period: from which day to which day the prices apply. Offers in flyers usually last a week or two. If you read the flyer on its last day, buy what you need urgently but do not stock up for a month, because tomorrow the price returns.
The opposite also happens: the offer has not started, but the flyer is already in your mailbox or phone. Do not run to the shop for a price that will only apply in two days. All current catalogues by store are collected on the catalogues page.
What a red price tag means
Red is not a law. It is design. In one flyer all prices are red, in another only the reduced ones. So look not for the colour but for proof of a discount: the old price next to it, or a clear note that it is a promotional price.
A good habit: compare the flyer price not with the crossed-out figure beside it but with your own memory and with what you saw in other shops. A crossed-out price shows how the seller chose to label the "regular" price, not what you actually paid. We wrote about the pitfalls separately, in the article on discount traps.
Here are today's best offers, see how they are labelled:
In the catalogues now: discounted products
Органайзер для багажа Travel 6 шт6 шт89.00 lei
DREAMZONE DUGLA saltea 160x200 cm6,500.00 lei
Raft pentru baie99.00 lei
DREAMZONE REVA saltea arcuri8,500.00 lei
Топ женский анжелика тонкие лямки треугольник с переди Simpischic45.00 lei
WELLPUR KVITA SALTEA SPUMĂ2,850.00 lei"From" and "up to"
If the flyer says "from" and a figure, the nice price belongs to one variant. The rest may cost more. This happens with yoghurts of different flavours, with different kinds of coffee, with sets. Look closely at the picture: often it shows the pricier item while the price is for the simplest one.
There is also "up to": "discounts up to half". Read it like this: one item in the whole selection has that discount, the rest have less. It tells you nothing for your basket until you find your own product in the list.
The loyalty-card price
Part of the offers work only with the store card. It is written next to the price: the words "with card" or a symbol. Cards are usually free and made at the till, but not everyone carries them. If you always shop in one or two stores, the card pays for itself.
If you have no card and do not want one, look for prices without the note. Do not waste time on a lovely offer that is not for you.
Weight, volume, count
The most common flyer trap is the pack. Two packs of coffee side by side, one of 100 grams, the other of 250. The second has a higher price but its kilogram is cheaper. Or the other way round. So always find the weight or volume on the label and work out the price per kilogram or litre. How to do it is in the article on price per kilogram.
Look at the count too: "3 packs for the price of two" and "price per piece when you buy three" are different things. There are limits as well: "no more than two per person", "while stocks last". That means by the evening of a weekend the offer may be gone.
As an example, coffee in different stores:
Where it is cheaper: coffee
- Cafea 3in1 „Petrovskaia Sloboda” 18 gr18 gr2.70 lei−27%
3.70 lei150 lei/kg - Cafea "Himmel", 500 g.500 g
Jardiuntil 19 Oct84.99 lei−7%91.80 lei169.98 lei/kg - K-Classic Cafea măcinată 250 g250 g
Kauflanduntil 31 Oct59.90 lei−24%79.00 lei239.6 lei/kg - Cafea Tchibo Gold Selection macin. 250g250g
Bonusuntil 31 Oct59.99 lei−45%109.95 lei239.96 lei/kg - MOCHA Cafea măcinată 250g250g
METROuntil 28 Oct64.90 lei259.6 lei/kg - Cafea Cappuccino 3/1 18.7g18.7g
Nr1until 31 Oct5.30 lei−28%7.40 lei283.42 lei/kg - Tempelmann Cafea Crema 1000g1000g
Slavenauntil 20 Oct299.95 lei−33%450.00 lei299.95 lei/kg - BRISTOT Cafea măcinată sortiment divers 250g250g
Linellauntil 21 Oct79.99 lei−33%119.99 lei319.96 lei/kg
The photo and its caption
The small note "illustrative photo" means exactly what it says: the picture may show a plate, a salad, a nice table, while the offer is only the product itself. Read the line under the photo. It tells you what you actually get.
Watch the name too: "milk product", "cheese product", "drink" are not the same as milk, cheese or juice. It is not a trick, that is how they are named, but these goods usually cost less and cannot be compared with real milk.
See what the milk offers look like:
Where it is cheaper: milk
- Căsuța Mea Lapte 3.5% 1L1L17.99 lei−26%
24.19 lei17.99 lei/l - Căsuța Mea Lapte 0.93l0.93lNr1until 31 Oct16.95 lei−28%
23.50 lei18.23 lei/l - Lapte 3.5% Milk Mark 900ml900mlBonusuntil 31 Oct16.99 lei−26%
23.05 lei18.88 lei/l - ILYS Lapte de consum pasteurizat, 1 litru1 litru
Ocean Fishuntil 1 Nov19.60 lei−30%28.00 lei19.6 lei/l - Lapte Căsuța Mea 2.5%, 0.93L0.93L
Alvi Marketuntil 21 Oct18.90 lei−14%21.90 lei20.32 lei/l - Lapte 2,5% Căsuța Mea, 0.93L0.93L
Rogobuntil 21 Oct18.90 lei−14%21.90 lei20.32 lei/l - Lapte 3,5% “Căsuța Mea” 930 ml930 ml
Family Marketuntil 28 Oct19.90 lei−17%23.90 lei21.4 lei/l - Lapte covăsit "Incomlac" 4,5%, 0,5 l0,5 lJardiuntil 19 Oct10.99 lei−9%
12.05 lei21.98 lei/l
A short reading order
Here is an order that takes five minutes:
- Find the dates and make sure the offer is valid today.
- Mark in the flyer only what is on your list.
- Check whether a loyalty card is needed.
- Find the weight or volume and work out the price per kilogram or litre.
- Read the limits: pieces per person, "while stocks last".
- Compare with two other stores before you go.
That is enough to make the flyer work for you and not the other way round. More general habits are in the article how to save on groceries.
