A SAVVY expert has a little-known trick that can get shoppers up to 75% off their groceries.
The cost of living has forced everyone to tighten their purse strings.
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Food prices are going up and people will be looking for ways they can save money.
Tom Church, co-founder of money-saving hub Latest Deals, has a trick for customers to knock money off their food shop.
He discovered a secret way to get grocery shopping for cheap online – and it’s by shopping for nearly expired products.
He said: “Not many people know about this, but food, toiletries, health and beauty products are commonly sold for bargain prices on eBay if you know where to look.”
Tom said he started looking online for websites that sell discount items, or items that are going out of date.
“There are actually dozens of eBay stores in the UK which sell food that’s reduced to clear.
“It’s been reduced because it’s either near its best before date, or is past it.
“Many of us may think we need to strictly follow best before dates, but this is just a guideline.”
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For a full list of items you can safely eat past their expiry date, check out our guide.
Tom said some of the food he has found on eBay include:
- Chocolate
- Crisps
- Cereal
- Coffee
- Tea
- Soft drinks
- Pet food
When shopping, Tom said there are some search terms you can use to get the best results.
“I discovered that the best words to use are – best before, BBE, BB, out of date, OOD, short date, short dated, expired and clearance.
“You put the name of the product you want before one of these words – for example, you would search for Pringles out of date or Cadburys expired.”
We’ve got the full list of clearance stores Tom found below, though do shop around for the best deal.
Tom also said that you’ll be typically buying in bulk, like Costco.
Remember, it’s only a steal if you were planning on purchasing it already.
Here’s the full list of clearance stores, just search the name in the eBay search bar.
- Gronets- Free Delivery
- Csfulfilment – Free Delivery
- Zenoxhealth – Free Delivery
- Pricelesspat2 – Free Delivery
- Supetpets – Free Delivery Pet Food & Healthcare
- Snifferhann – Free Delivery
- Jmbargainslimited – Free Delivery
- Netmarked – Free Delivery
- Charnwoodbargains – Free Delivery
- Giftsdirect2ultd – Free Delivery
- Gifts4presents – Free Delivery
- Rebeccahall2009 – Free Delivery
- Minal.ansar – Free Delivery
- Walkerscrispsofficialstore – Free Delivery
- Groceries2go – Free Delivery
- Themarvellousgroup – Delivery Charge
- Spanishmarkettraderuk – Delivery Charge
- Mrjsuppliesltd – Free Delivery
- Greatbritishmarket17 – Free Delivery + multibuy Discounts
- Thebakersdream – Free Delivery
- Marspetcareuk – Free Delivery
- Crsnacking – Free Delivery
In addition, Tom said shoppers can get extra discounts with eBay voucher codes.
He said: “You can sign up for vouchers and discounts via email by going to the customer service page.
“Similarly, sellers will sometimes offer multi-buy savings.
“I’ve also found that adding an item to your watch list can result in getting a special offer sent to your inbox.”
How else can I cut my grocery costs?
Research what you need before you go.
Prices always vary by supermarket and it can pay to change up your shop.
One shopper ditched going to supermarkets altogether in favour of their local wholesaler, that way they could stock up in bulk, at lower prices.
You can also cash in on reduced foods like yellow sticker bargains – these will be items reduced because they’re about to meet their best-before date.
They’ll still be safe to eat or freeze to make them last longer, but it means you can pick up the same products at an even cheaper price.
Sometimes even timing your shop to stock up just as items are discounted on the shelves can help you get the best bargains – lots of shoppers have said this is in the evening typically.
Most supermarkets have their own loyalty schemes which customers can sign up to earn points and get discounts on products.
Tesco offers personalised coupons to its loyal customers through its Clubcard scheme.
Asda Rewards allows customers to collect “Asda pounds” every time they buy Star Products and complete Missions in store.
Meanwhile, Sainsbury’s revamped the Nectar loyalty scheme in 2019 to also offer personalised discounts.
Customers can see the deals on the website or app each week, and then collect the extra points if they buy the item in store or online.
Morrisons shoppers can no longer collect points through the My Morrisons loyalty scheme after the scheme was overhauled in May 2021 and points collecting scrapped.
Too Good To Go connects hungry Brits with food chains and supermarkets that have leftover food which would otherwise be thrown away, in a bid to curb food waste.
With Too Good To Go, shoppers can buy the food at a discounted price, making sweet savings.
Hard-up households can get free cash from their local council as part of the government’s £421million Households Support Fund.
The fund was extended until March 2023 to help the country’s vulnerable households.
And some councils offer supermarket vouchers for families who are struggling.
Families that qualify for the Healthy Start scheme get one or two vouchers per week, per child, depending on how old each child is.
These cards can be used for supermarket shopping to buy milk, formula, fruit and vegetables.
Some other places like convenience stores and drug stores will also accept them.
