Makro

[Dirk_brijs]

anyone been there yet?

comments good no good??

let us know

I hear you dont need the famous Makro card to buy there yet?

[chris2155]

yep been there 3 time this week, you dont need a card, just your wallet,

great shopping there,

good saving can be had,

you need to bring your own shopping bags as non are supplied,

you can buy a shopping bag of makro for 11 baht.

it was a welcome change for me,

as there was some real saving to be made for me.

good luck.

chris

[elcent]

you ask for a day pass, - then cash only.

[William Osborne]

Boring as ... unless you are buying Cash & Carry (which is what it is ), although they do sell tha elusive Beer Loa..

Back to Lotus for me in the future...

[thaimate]

went yesterday ,wife got a card ,but to be honest prices were not that good for indevidual purchases,dont know about bulk , wouldnt bother again ,no point

ps the fish and cheese sections good ,but cheese very costly.

[bankruatsteve]

Macro is a pretty good place to get cheese and certain frozen foods. Well, it's pretty good for lots of stuff but I like CareFoure better (did I spell that right, I usually don't) for fresh foods, wine, and most things in general. So, we usually go to both when out for supplies.

Cheers

[mamanoodle]

I never buy any fresh foods in Carrefour, meat, bread etc. because I have seen too many cockroaches in the bakery, salads, cooked meats and fresh meat sections also on the fruit and veg counters. I sometimes buy the veg as it has to be peeled, cleaned etc before cooking but the bakery, meats and salad no way. Also have encountered the roaches and ants on the pre-packaged goods sections. Makro, as in the UK, only saves you money if you if you buy in bulk, or they have special offer items which will save you money on individual purchases when compared to local supermarkets.

[ignis]

Go every 6 months or so...

Always the best buys... Large drum of washing Power, same with Softener, washing up 1 gallon, Ketchup 1 gallon, Oil 5 gallon, cannot buy in a normal supermarket, and is a lot cheaper. T-bone steak very good buy + never seen in Supermarkets, veg is very fresh and much cheaper + have things that have never seen in Carrefour or Tesco, Frozen Fruits and Veg very good and very cheap... [eg: 1kg Frozen blueberries 119 baht.... Tesco 450grames 169 baht]

You will also need a big empty space in your Freezer..

Somehow always spend about 9 - 10,000 baht there

You have to look and also know what prices are in the normal supermarkets, as some things in Makro are more expensive, No it would not be cheaper to do just a normal weekly shop.

[raro]

I never buy any fresh foods in Carrefour, meat, bread etc. because I have seen too many cockroaches in the bakery, salads, cooked meats and fresh meat sections also on the fruit and veg counters. I sometimes buy the veg as it has to be peeled, cleaned etc before cooking but the bakery, meats and salad no way. Also have encountered the roaches and ants on the pre-packaged goods sections. Makro, as in the UK, only saves you money if you if you buy in bulk, or they have special offer items which will save you money on individual purchases when compared to local supermarkets.

I cannot agree more! I also avoid carrefour for any fresh food. Since I buy only few preserved food, Foodland is the place to go!

...will check out Makro and report back.

[wpcoe]

Also, see this thread: Makro Cash & Carry Grand Opening in the Pattaya News Clippings forum.

[torrenova]

Go every 6 months or so...

Always the best buys... Large drum of washing Power, same with Softener, washing up 1 gallon, Ketchup 1 gallon, Oil 5 gallon, cannot buy in a normal supermarket, and is a lot cheaper. T-bone steak very good buy + never seen in Supermarkets, veg is very fresh and much cheaper + have things that have never seen in Carrefour or Tesco, Frozen Fruits and Veg very good and very cheap... [eg: 1kg Frozen blueberries 119 baht.... Tesco 450grames 169 baht]

You will also need a big empty space in your Freezer..

Somehow always spend about 9 - 10,000 baht there

You have to look and also know what prices are in the normal supermarkets, as some things in Makro are more expensive, No it would not be cheaper to do just a normal weekly shop.

I use Macro in Buriram for steaks and yes, I find them actually surprisingly good. T-bone and rib eye are the ones I get. I buy some Wiltshire bacon as well, smoked and unsmoked. Most sausages are naff so I avoid those. Cheese - I used to get but BigC now has Tasty in ok sizes but Macro cheese is expensive, most of the time.

Veg quite good, no need for 40 pints of oil (just what are you cooking ?).

Many things are not cheaper, which is exactly the same as the UK 30 years ago. They make you think it is cheaper but many times, even buying in bulk, it is not. You do need a retentive memory for offers in the regular stores and be prepared to buy 6 months or 1 years supply of washing liquid in one go (if you have somewhere to store it).

A good option, but not the place for mainstream shopping. I still prefer the market for fresh things.

[dmax]

was in makro udon thani, u dont need the card to buy there, no different from prices in big c and tesco i have found !! but more variety

[dsfbrit]

Boring as ... unless you are buying Cash & Carry (which is what it is ), although they do sell tha elusive Beer Loa..

Back to Lotus for me in the future...

Same for me. The prices were a bit lower on some items, but for those of us who live past the north side of Pattaya, not really worth the extra driving. So back to Tesco and Carrefour for me. For those people who wont buy fresh meat and vegetables at Carrefour, I assume you would never buy these products at a local Thai market

[ignis]

Mostly always buy Fruit & Veg products at a local Thai market........ Lots of Fruit & Veg products at Supermarkets are imports = far more expensive......

Makro have some extras that can not be found in Tesco/Carrefour/Big C.....

Sometimes can buy Leeks at Big C, but at Makro for the same price you get double the amount, never seen red onions, big Lemons [NOT Thai Limes] Parsnips or sprouts other than at Makro.. For me nice for a change 2x per year

Edited January 14, 2010 by ignis

[barryofthailand]

When using Makro like any other store, you need to pick and choose. Here in Korat we use, Big C, Tesco, fresh mart in the Mall, and Makro. You don't have to be Thai to get a card. i have one in my name.

Barry

[pgt99]

Haven't been in there yet as I keep passing and going to Tesco's. Hoew long do you wait in the que? Tesco's you start to grow a beard.

[ignis]

Haven't been in there yet as I keep passing and going to Tesco's. Hoew long do you wait in the que? Tesco's you start to grow a beard.

You must shop Thai style ?

Myself always go to supermarkets between 10 - 10:30, you can park where you want, walk around with just a handful of other shoppers, buy promotions things [not see empty spaces on the shelves] and NOT que to pay..

I have driven past all the supermarkets late afternoon where cars are in a Que on the main road to just get into the car parks.

So for me to answer your question, never seen a Que at Makro.

[popshirt]

Last week I was waiting to have fruit and produce weighed at Makro where there was a queue of about 4 people, all farang. An elderly non-farang woman ignored the queue and continued to place her bags to be weighed on the counter in the jumping-the-queue manner we all have experienced so often here. After several tries the Makro employee told her in no uncertain terms there was a queue and to go to the back of the line. (I was prepared to tell the woman "dtam queue na krap" when I reached the head of the queue!).

I have never seen an employee intervene to enforce no queue-jumping in Thailand in the six years I have been here!

For this, and other good reasons, I am very favourably impressed with Makro in Pattaya and I wish them success.

One thing I have been unable to find there is low-fat or zero-fat milk and yoghurt milk (boxed individual servings). I hope they stock it soon as they do in other Makro stores.

Congratulations Makro Pattaya!

[barryofthailand]

This is the Thai way. just place your bags of produce on the table, and the employee weighing them will take the bags in the order of which they were placed.

Barry

[Humphrey Bear]

When using Makro like any other store, you need to pick and choose. Here in Korat we use, Big C, Tesco, fresh mart in the Mall, and Makro. You don't have to be Thai to get a card. i have one in my name.

Barry

Here in Vietnam it's called Metro, but from the same parent company.

The one for Saigon is about 100m from y apartment, but I only go in there about once every ten weeks, to buy things like washing-machine powder in bulk.

The day-pass requires a photocopy of your passport, but does not seem to have a limitation on number of visits, whereas the full card requires that you are an owner/director of a business employing at least 35 people, with VAT number and so on. Judging from the number of people in there, who all seem to get into a queue just before I do, there must be an awful lot of businesses in Saigon employing the same workforce.

Not impressed here and was not impressed with Makro between Sri Racha and Chonburi, so if I find myself back in Pattaya, I doubt that I would visit.

Same here with cheese - Bega packs are about 80,000 dong each - 4.50 US or 150 baht. Too much when compared to everything else food-wise here.

And I can't get six-packs of Pepsi or Coke, only 24-can slabs. I want bottles, because I don't drink a whole bottle at once. (Not big bottles - six-packs of 300ml bottles) Never in stock. And you cannot reseal a can, so it's flat in ten minutes, whereas a bottle lasts a few hours if you pop it back in the fridge.

Good for buying those little bottles of baby-food - they are half the price of other shops.

Good for ham and pork products - but not over much less than utside shops, just more variety.

[ehs818]

I've found Makro stores hold good value when you buy large quantity or large sized items. The butcher section is very good and has some cuts of meat I've never been able to find before in Thailand (try the Tri Tip Roast). Produce is cheap, as are spices. I bake a lot and flour here is very well priced! This store is only 7,000 sq meters, down from the normal 10,000 sq meter stores. Most of this store space is devoted to food items, NOT to appliances. No fee to join, but they are not picky about you having a card anyway. DO bring your own bags.

[raro]

just gave Makro a test...meat selection looks indeed quite good. Cannot say that for the fish and fresh vegetables...rather not so fresh products there.

Anyways, samples a trolley full with groceries, proceed to the check-out and...bummer! The only credit card they do accept is Makro Citibank card.

Left the trolley with stuff worth some 3,000 Baht at the checkout. Won't be back.

Foodland next.

[Thaifan2]

just gave Makro a test...meat selection looks indeed quite good. Cannot say that for the fish and fresh vegetables...rather not so fresh products there.

Anyways, samples a trolley full with groceries, proceed to the check-out and...bummer! The only credit card they do accept is Makro Citibank card.

Left the trolley with stuff worth some 3,000 Baht at the checkout. Won't be back.

Foodland next.

In Makro Chiang Mai they accepted my Irish Bank (Aib ) visa card ,about 3 weeks ago .I normally use cash though .I was buying a washing machine though and they swiped the card at the electrical counter .

Edited January 23, 2010 by Thaifan2

[Humphrey Bear]

just gave Makro a test...meat selection looks indeed quite good. Cannot say that for the fish and fresh vegetables...rather not so fresh products there.

Anyways, samples a trolley full with groceries, proceed to the check-out and...bummer! The only credit card they do accept is Makro Citibank card.

Left the trolley with stuff worth some 3,000 Baht at the checkout. Won't be back.

Foodland next.

Should be a lot of ATMs as you enter (not at the pay-desk though)