Rimping By River

[uptheos]

Was in there this afternoon and noticed a few British items 2 for 1.....good stock.

McVities Chocolate Digestive

Cadbury's Chocolate Fingers

Large Weetabix

Cadbury's Special Cookies

and several others, which I can't recall.

[MESmith]

no Theakston Old Peculier @ 2 for 1?

5 quid for 4 bottles last year in Tesco UK, along with other selected fine ales.

One can only dream

Edited January 25, 2013 by MESmith

[jackr]

Only thing I've found with their deals is they tend to be near (or perhaps beyond) sell-by date and don't taste great; yep, Rimping even. One of those Mcvities' lines had suspicious-looking stickers with what looked like reprinted dates and really tasted old.

Ever noticed how little is 'given away' or genuinely knocked down in this part of the world?

[hellodolly]

Only thing I've found with their deals is they tend to be near (or perhaps beyond) sell-by date and don't taste great; yep, Rimping even. One of those Mcvities' lines had suspicious-looking stickers with what looked like reprinted dates and really tasted old.

Ever noticed how little is 'given away' or genuinely knocked down in this part of the world?

Pretty much find that true. except for the two for one sales. Some of the knock down prices are about 3% as though that would be a deal breaking price.

[PostmanPat]

From recent and past experience, chocolate items a waste of money. Guess they must have been left out in the sun somewhere because the chocolate on the biscuit is usually glueing the whole packet together, and as someone else said already the flavour and freshness you would get back in UK is just not there.

[uptheos]

Yeah you're both right. The expiry date on the Digestives are November 2013, so much too close to even consider buying for most people. I took a hell of a chance and right at this moment am dunking a few in my hot cup of tea, absolutely horrible, disgusting, so I suggest most strongly that you don;t go near them, so that I can pop in and buy a few more for the less fortunates in town so they might have some idea what chocolate biscuits taste like. I'm also going to UK in a couple of months time so I'll put one biscuit in a paper bag and compare it against one my daughter will buy and report back regarding the freshness...........geeez.

For the not so terrified and those who would like and can afford them......they are OK.

I bought a few of those home county granola bars that dolly recommended 2/1 a couple of weeks ago, they were great and cheap,

159 Baht for two boxes and I notice today they are 189 a box. (thanks dolly).

[TheVicar]

Only thing I've found with their deals is they tend to be near (or perhaps beyond) sell-by date and don't taste great; yep, Rimping even. One of those Mcvities' lines had suspicious-looking stickers with what looked like reprinted dates and really tasted old.

Ever noticed how little is 'given away' or genuinely knocked down in this part of the world?

Rimping, in my opinion, has very, very few items on sale.

Tops, on the other hand, has some excellent sales and they rotate the items on sale. I bought some Yolanda yoghurt there yesterday for B 49 (B 6 cheaper than at Rimping), and also some milk (B 41 vs. B 44 at Rimping). If you use their Tops card, you save even more because they send you discount coupons and money back coupons every couple of months. Rimping is nice but very, very expensive.

My "go to" store is Makro: great selection, great prices.

[TheVicar]

Only thing I've found with their deals is they tend to be near (or perhaps beyond) sell-by date and don't taste great; yep, Rimping even. One of those Mcvities' lines had suspicious-looking stickers with what looked like reprinted dates and really tasted old.

Ever noticed how little is 'given away' or genuinely knocked down in this part of the world?

Rimping, unfortunately, has very, very few items on sale ever.

Tops, on the other hand, has some excellent sales and they rotate the items on sale and there are lots of items on sale. I bought some Yolanda yoghurt there yesterday for B 49 (B 6 cheaper than at Rimping), and also some milk (B 41 vs. B 44 at Rimping). If you use their Tops card, you save even more because they send you discount coupons and money back coupons every couple of months. Rimping is nice but very, very expensive.

My "go to" store is Makro: great selection, great prices.

If you like chocolate, they frequently have Van Houten chocolate on sale there (high quality and tastes good and is definitely NOT old). Cadbury's has too much sugar in it.

Edited January 26, 2013 by onthedarkside
quote repaired

[vagabond48]

I usually buy 3 or 4 large Lindt dark chocolate bars when they are on sale for 78B at Big C. They are normally 90B.

Edited January 26, 2013 by vagabond48

[Ulysses G.]

The70-85% Lindt dark chocolate bars are normally 118 baht at Rimping. Are they cheaper elsewhere?

[gennisis]

From recent and past experience, chocolate items a waste of money. Guess they must have been left out in the sun somewhere because the chocolate on the biscuit is usually glueing the whole packet together, and as someone else said already the flavour and freshness you would get back in UK is just not there.

I bought McVitte Dark choc digestives in Tops yesterday...perfect condition.

I do find that the dark choc doesnt soften as much as the milk choc varieties so they dont stick together.

I also looked at the expiry date,printed on the pack ( not on a stick on label as mentioned by another poster) expiry date was 17/11/ 2013....so no complaints there from me.

I am guessing that there had been a big import of these biscuits around Christmas since Tops and Rimping both had big displays of them .

[vagabond48]

The70-85% Lindt dark chocolate bars are normally 118 baht at Rimping. Are they cheaper elsewhere?

The one I buy is the lower priced one which is normally 90B. It does not write the percentage of cocoa. It is labeled as Swiss Dark Chocolate in a white wrapper. For the same price, they also have other types of chocolate bars like milk chocolate etc.

[Saan]

From recent and past experience, chocolate items a waste of money. Guess they must have been left out in the sun somewhere because the chocolate on the biscuit is usually glueing the whole packet together, and as someone else said already the flavour and freshness you would get back in UK is just not there.

I bought McVitte Dark choc digestives in Tops yesterday...perfect condition.

I do find that the dark choc doesnt soften as much as the milk choc varieties so they dont stick together.

I also looked at the expiry date,printed on the pack ( not on a stick on label as mentioned by another poster) expiry date was 17/11/ 2013....so no complaints there from me.

I am guessing that there had been a big import of these biscuits around Christmas since Tops and Rimping both had big displays of them .

I don't know how Rimping can organise sales when they have trouble restocking their shelves. I have been looking out for Masterfood Hot English Mustard at their market beside the Ping for about three months now with no luck. Other items are there one week and gone the next and stay gone for ages.

Anyone know of an alternative to Masterfood hot English that is as hot?

[uptheos]

The70-85% Lindt dark chocolate bars are normally 118 baht at Rimping. Are they cheaper elsewhere?

No they are the same price in Tops and Tesco. Those Lindt bars containing 85% cocoa and up are hardly ever on sale and if they are its just a few baht, nothing dramatic.

Lindt do another variety which are not as good, which sometimes go on sale.

Just for the record I am no fan of Rimping, but I buy a few things there for convenience, like the Yolinda Yoghurt as already mentioned, albeit 4 baht dearer than Tops and yes, they do have some interesting 2/1 offers, but that's about all.

[uptheos]

Only thing I've found with their deals is they tend to be near (or perhaps beyond) sell-by date and don't taste great; yep, Rimping even. One of those Mcvities' lines had suspicious-looking stickers with what looked like reprinted dates and really tasted old.

Ever noticed how little is 'given away' or genuinely knocked down in this part of the world?

Rimping, in my opinion, has very, very few items on sale.

Tops, on the other hand, has some excellent sales and they rotate the items on sale. I bought some Yolanda yoghurt there yesterday for B 49 (B 6 cheaper than at Rimping), and also some milk (B 41 vs. B 44 at Rimping). If you use their Tops card, you save even more because they send you discount coupons and money back coupons every couple of months. Rimping is nice but very, very expensive.

My "go to" store is Makro: great selection, great prices.

You forgot to add that most discount items are only available to those with a Tops card.

The coupons they send are for products I would never buy anyway.

[Ulysses G.]

The one I buy is the lower priced one which is normally 90B. It does not write the percentage of cocoa. It is labeled as Swiss Dark Chocolate in a white wrapper.

Thanks. I just went and looked. I'm pretty sure that it is 49%. Edited January 26, 2013 by Ulysses G.

[butterisbetter]

Only thing I've found with their deals is they tend to be near (or perhaps beyond) sell-by date and don't taste great; yep, Rimping even. One of those Mcvities' lines had suspicious-looking stickers with what looked like reprinted dates and really tasted old.

Ever noticed how little is 'given away' or genuinely knocked down in this part of the world?

Rimping, in my opinion, has very, very few items on sale.

Tops, on the other hand, has some excellent sales and they rotate the items on sale. I bought some Yolanda yoghurt there yesterday for B 49 (B 6 cheaper than at Rimping), and also some milk (B 41 vs. B 44 at Rimping). If you use their Tops card, you save even more because they send you discount coupons and money back coupons every couple of months. Rimping is nice but very, very expensive.

My "go to" store is Makro: great selection, great prices.

I'm sure you can always find a few items cheaper at Tops, but overwhelmingly Rim Ping has better prices. I think the objective evidence for this is really clear: Tops does much less business in areas where its and Rim Ping's customer bases overlap.

In addition, Rim PIng offer a much better selection of locally produced stuff, which isn't difficult, since Tops offers almost nothing local. Also, when it comes to service, Rim Ping is great. Not only is the staff really helpful, but the checkout lines tend to go quickly, too. Despite the fact that it has so few customers, checkout at Tops is usually surprisingly slow. Tops seems reluctant to actually assign staff to the checkout lines on the rare occasions when it's busy.. And, for what it's worth, if you have a Rim Ping Card, you also accumulate points to exchange for items in Rim Ping's catalog. All in all, I think it's a far superior store in every important respect.

[Ricardo]

When I first moved here, I found Rimping expensive, although unbeatable for the wide range stocked.

But nowadays I'm more of a fan, the quality is good for meats or breads or cheeses, and trad-jazz or classical muzak is another plus. They had good Haywards-gerkins @ 150B a big jar in the riverside-branch recently, but the pickled-onions were almost double that. The airport-branch sells nice coleslaw (59B), with a hint of celery, and egg-mayo sandwich mix, but I rarely find them at the other branches. So range does vary, from branch to branch, which is irritating.

Tops for imported Waitrose-biscuits, if they're not marked down, then just wait and they will be another time ! I'd love to buy the frozen-cheesecake, but at ten quid each, they're just too rich, and I'm not !

Tesco-Kamtieng also recently had some good marked-down tinned-ham (only 60B !) and Spam and peach-halves (30B from 100B), in their international/imported-foods section, thanks to the friends who gave me a heads-up ! Just wish the place was anything-at-all like Tesco in the UK. But it's not, that's life !

[scorecard]

Only thing I've found with their deals is they tend to be near (or perhaps beyond) sell-by date and don't taste great; yep, Rimping even. One of those Mcvities' lines had suspicious-looking stickers with what looked like reprinted dates and really tasted old.

Ever noticed how little is 'given away' or genuinely knocked down in this part of the world?

Rimping, in my opinion, has very, very few items on sale.

Tops, on the other hand, has some excellent sales and they rotate the items on sale. I bought some Yolanda yoghurt there yesterday for B 49 (B 6 cheaper than at Rimping), and also some milk (B 41 vs. B 44 at Rimping). If you use their Tops card, you save even more because they send you discount coupons and money back coupons every couple of months. Rimping is nice but very, very expensive.

My "go to" store is Makro: great selection, great prices.

I'm sure you can always find a few items cheaper at Tops, but overwhelmingly Rim Ping has better prices. I think the objective evidence for this is really clear: Tops does much less business in areas where its and Rim Ping's customer bases overlap.

In addition, Rim PIng offer a much better selection of locally produced stuff, which isn't difficult, since Tops offers almost nothing local. Also, when it comes to service, Rim Ping is great. Not only is the staff really helpful, but the checkout lines tend to go quickly, too. Despite the fact that it has so few customers, checkout at Tops is usually surprisingly slow. Tops seems reluctant to actually assign staff to the checkout lines on the rare occasions when it's busy.. And, for what it's worth, if you have a Rim Ping Card, you also accumulate points to exchange for items in Rim Ping's catalog. All in all, I think it's a far superior store in every important respect.

Agree, overall my vote is for Rimping for service and overall I believe their prices are no higher than any other super market. Many times, when i'm in one of their stores, I've asked a staff member to talk to my Thai daughter in law on the phone because she wants a Thai product which I've nerver heard of. Always totally cooperative and go out of their way to search for whatever it is. A couple times, the shop staff still not sure and have asked if she already has it at home. Yes, so please send a photo.

One example, Danish (I think) organic baby cookies. When the shop lady saw the photo, 'ahhh', and straight to the right shelf, then said 'I thnk we have more variety of these same brand cookies in the stock room, let me look'. I left the store with three different cookies

About two months back I was in the Rimping store shop at NIM centre, a farang lady customer had a photo of a food product from UK on her phone, she asked me if i'de ever seen the product in Thailand, I said 'no', so she showed the picture to one the the shelf stacker staff who very quickly brought a supervisor who spoke good English, she checked their computer stock records to be sure they didn't have it. She then asked the farang lady whether there would be other farang wanting this product. Answer was yes, so the supervisor said she would recommend it to her boss, and gave the farang lady her own mobile no., and asked farang lady to please send more close up photos to show the manufacturers name etc.

Last week I ran across the same farang lady at NIM centre, and she said 'please come with me', sure enough fhe item was on the shelf, and the farang lady had 4 or 5 jars in her cart.

Can't imagine this service at Tops or Lotus.

Edited January 26, 2013 by scorecard

[AngelsLariat]

no Theakston Old Peculier @ 2 for 1?

5 quid for 4 bottles last year in Tesco UK, along with other selected fine ales.

One can only dream

No but they have Hobgoblin for 165 baht per bottle if that's any consolation.

[MESmith]

no Theakston Old Peculier @ 2 for 1?

5 quid for 4 bottles last year in Tesco UK, along with other selected fine ales.

One can only dream

No but they have Hobgoblin for 165 baht per bottle if that's any consolation.

Lovely stuff, that was part of the offer at Tesco UK

Now, to win the lottery

Edited January 26, 2013 by MESmith

[AngelsLariat]

no Theakston Old Peculier @ 2 for 1?

5 quid for 4 bottles last year in Tesco UK, along with other selected fine ales.

One can only dream

No but they have Hobgoblin for 165 baht per bottle if that's any consolation.

Lovely stuff, that was part of the offer at Tesco UK

Now, to win the lottery

Even in Britain developing an appreciation for fine ales often impedes one’s ability to afford them.

Edited January 26, 2013 by AngelsLariat

[catmac]

Well we have got our share of Doubting Thomases here. Nearly all the supermarket chains stock up with special goodies for the Christmas/New Year period, and are now selling off cheap anything left over. Best time to treat yourself to something special at a good price.

Have to say that I'm a great admirer of Rimping. Their range of breads and local produce is excellent - not cheap, but good quality. I always seem to find something I want in the 2 for 1 display, and generally I don't find the shop too expensive.

[TheVicar]

Only thing I've found with their deals is they tend to be near (or perhaps beyond) sell-by date and don't taste great; yep, Rimping even. One of those Mcvities' lines had suspicious-looking stickers with what looked like reprinted dates and really tasted old.

Ever noticed how little is 'given away' or genuinely knocked down in this part of the world?

Rimping, in my opinion, has very, very few items on sale.

Tops, on the other hand, has some excellent sales and they rotate the items on sale. I bought some Yolanda yoghurt there yesterday for B 49 (B 6 cheaper than at Rimping), and also some milk (B 41 vs. B 44 at Rimping). If you use their Tops card, you save even more because they send you discount coupons and money back coupons every couple of months. Rimping is nice but very, very expensive.

My "go to" store is Makro: great selection, great prices.

I'm sure you can always find a few items cheaper at Tops, but overwhelmingly Rim Ping has better prices. I think the objective evidence for this is really clear: Tops does much less business in areas where its and Rim Ping's customer bases overlap.

In addition, Rim PIng offer a much better selection of locally produced stuff, which isn't difficult, since Tops offers almost nothing local. Also, when it comes to service, Rim Ping is great. Not only is the staff really helpful, but the checkout lines tend to go quickly, too. Despite the fact that it has so few customers, checkout at Tops is usually surprisingly slow. Tops seems reluctant to actually assign staff to the checkout lines on the rare occasions when it's busy.. And, for what it's worth, if you have a Rim Ping Card, you also accumulate points to exchange for items in Rim Ping's catalog. All in all, I think it's a far superior store in every important respect.

1. Sorry, but I disagree. I like Rimping but it is far more expensive than Tops. I cited some examples above. There are hundreds of others. Rimping really doesn't have much of anything on sale, ever; and at Tops you can get money back, and discounts with their card (which you cannot do at Rimping which gives you meaningless points towards things you don't want).

2. Number of people in stores has nothing to do with cost. You are confusing marketing with sales. Rimping consciously has gone after the most upmarket people (and that includes most farangs who know very little about prices and many, don't care; most want the most modern and comfortable shopping experience and that is Rimping but it has nothing to do with cost, quite the contrary).

3. Local products? They both sell pretty much the same stuff; if anything, there is more European/American/Australian stuff in Rimping than in Tops which is out of Hong Kong. Especially in the wine and cheese departments. Neither store really has that much in the way of local products. If you want local products, go to an open air local market. There are plenty.

4. I agree with you that Rimping's staff is better trained; but then, they're charging a lot more and probably some of that goes for training too. I also like the classical music in the background (but they need to buy more than one Mozart CD). The friendlier staff at Rimping and the atmosphere are likely the two main reasons their stores are far busier than Tops; it has nothing to do with cost.

5. Most Tops have a cashier in their bakery section that is not usually too busy. Try it; it's fast. They also have excellent breads (and again, sometimes they are on sale which I have never seen for that product at Rimping). But if you want really slow service when checking out, shop at Big C. Awful!

6. I'm not endorsing one store over another. I shop for most of my things at Makro which is significantly cheaper than either store and also cheaper than Big C (and much better organized). Makro has a good cheese/deli section and maybe the best produce in town at the best prices (including the local markets). After that, I go to Rimping for their breads and wines usually and also check out what is on sale at Tops. Try it. They do have some excellent sales and there are hundreds of items store wide. Yolinda yoghurt for 49 baht (large size) is by far the cheapest in town, B 6 cheaper than at Rimping which is a 12% saving. It pays to check out several stores and not be tied to one.

Edited January 26, 2013 by TheVicar

[uptheos]

Only thing I've found with their deals is they tend to be near (or perhaps beyond) sell-by date and don't taste great; yep, Rimping even. One of those Mcvities' lines had suspicious-looking stickers with what looked like reprinted dates and really tasted old.

Ever noticed how little is 'given away' or genuinely knocked down in this part of the world?

Rimping, in my opinion, has very, very few items on sale.

Tops, on the other hand, has some excellent sales and they rotate the items on sale. I bought some Yolanda yoghurt there yesterday for B 49 (B 6 cheaper than at Rimping), and also some milk (B 41 vs. B 44 at Rimping). If you use their Tops card, you save even more because they send you discount coupons and money back coupons every couple of months. Rimping is nice but very, very expensive.

My "go to" store is Makro: great selection, great prices.

I'm sure you can always find a few items cheaper at Tops, but overwhelmingly Rim Ping has better prices. I think the objective evidence for this is really clear: Tops does much less business in areas where its and Rim Ping's customer bases overlap.

In addition, Rim PIng offer a much better selection of locally produced stuff, which isn't difficult, since Tops offers almost nothing local. Also, when it comes to service, Rim Ping is great. Not only is the staff really helpful, but the checkout lines tend to go quickly, too. Despite the fact that it has so few customers, checkout at Tops is usually surprisingly slow. Tops seems reluctant to actually assign staff to the checkout lines on the rare occasions when it's busy.. And, for what it's worth, if you have a Rim Ping Card, you also accumulate points to exchange for items in Rim Ping's catalog. All in all, I think it's a far superior store in every important respect.

1. Sorry, but I disagree. I like Rimping but it is far more expensive than Tops. I cited some examples above. There are hundreds of others. Rimping really doesn't have much of anything on sale, ever; and at Tops you can get money back, and discounts with their card (which you cannot do at Rimping.

2. Number of people in stores has nothing to do with cost. You are confusing marketing with sales. Rimping consciously has gone after the most upmarket people (and that includes most farangs who know very little about prices and many, don't care; most want the most modern and comfortable shopping experience and that is Rimping but it has nothing to do with cost, quite the contrary).

3. Local products? They both sell pretty much the same stuff; if anything, there is more European/American/Australian stuff in Rimping than in Tops which is out of Hong Kong. Especially in the wine and cheese departments. Neither store really has that much in the way of local products. If you want local products, go to an open air local market. There are plenty.

4. I agree with you that Rimping's staff is better trained; but then, they're charging a lot more and probably some of that goes for training too.

5. Most Tops have a cashier in their bakery section that is not usually too busy. Try it; it's fast.

6. I'm not endorsing one store over another. I shop for most of my things at Makro which is significantly cheaper than either store and also cheaper than Big C. Makro has a good cheese/deli section and maybe the best produce in town at the best prices (including the local markets). After that, I go to Rimping for their breads and wines usually and also check out what is on sale at Tops. Try it. They do have some excellent sales and there are hundreds of items store wide. Yolinda yoghurt for 49 baht (large size) is by far the cheapest in town, B 6 cheaper than at Rimping which is a 12% saving. It pays to check out several stores and not be tied to one.

I agree with much of what you say. I tend to use these places for specific things and if I happen to see something that I think might benefit another I will post it. I remember the big pepsi max panic, some people would say such and such has just stocked their shelf and there's loads left and others would say such and such has 5 cases and I bought them all - tough shit!

Whether an item is good or bad is not my concern, but it doesn't hurt to let others know where some of this stuff is and they can make up their own mind whether to buy it or not....I'm not a food nanny.

I certainly look forward to the heads up from you for bargains you notice in TOPS.

You've already mentioned Yolinda, which I buy, but I buy it wherever I am at the time (Rimping or TOPS), for either 49 Baht or 53 Baht - I'm not driving around for it.

I always buy my produce at local markets.

Edited January 26, 2013 by uptheos

[TheVicar]

Only thing I've found with their deals is they tend to be near (or perhaps beyond) sell-by date and don't taste great; yep, Rimping even. One of those Mcvities' lines had suspicious-looking stickers with what looked like reprinted dates and really tasted old.

Ever noticed how little is 'given away' or genuinely knocked down in this part of the world?

Rimping, in my opinion, has very, very few items on sale.

Tops, on the other hand, has some excellent sales and they rotate the items on sale. I bought some Yolanda yoghurt there yesterday for B 49 (B 6 cheaper than at Rimping), and also some milk (B 41 vs. B 44 at Rimping). If you use their Tops card, you save even more because they send you discount coupons and money back coupons every couple of months. Rimping is nice but very, very expensive.

My "go to" store is Makro: great selection, great prices.

I'm sure you can always find a few items cheaper at Tops, but overwhelmingly Rim Ping has better prices. I think the objective evidence for this is really clear: Tops does much less business in areas where its and Rim Ping's customer bases overlap.

In addition, Rim PIng offer a much better selection of locally produced stuff, which isn't difficult, since Tops offers almost nothing local. Also, when it comes to service, Rim Ping is great. Not only is the staff really helpful, but the checkout lines tend to go quickly, too. Despite the fact that it has so few customers, checkout at Tops is usually surprisingly slow. Tops seems reluctant to actually assign staff to the checkout lines on the rare occasions when it's busy.. And, for what it's worth, if you have a Rim Ping Card, you also accumulate points to exchange for items in Rim Ping's catalog. All in all, I think it's a far superior store in every important respect.

Agree, overall my vote is for Rimping for service and overall I believe their prices are no higher than any other super market. Many times, when i'm in one of their stores, I've asked a staff member to talk to my Thai daughter in law on the phone because she wants a Thai product which I've nerver heard of. Always totally cooperative and go out of their way to search for whatever it is. A couple times, the shop staff still not sure and have asked if she already has it at home. Yes, so please send a photo.

One example, Danish (I think) organic baby cookies. When the shop lady saw the photo, 'ahhh', and straight to the right shelf, then said 'I thnk we have more variety of these same brand cookies in the stock room, let me look'. I left the store with three different cookies

About two months back I was in the Rimping store shop at NIM centre, a farang lady customer had a photo of a food product from UK on her phone, she asked me if i'de ever seen the product in Thailand, I said 'no', so she showed the picture to one the the shelf stacker staff who very quickly brought a supervisor who spoke good English, she checked their computer stock records to be sure they didn't have it. She then asked the farang lady whether there would be other farang wanting this product. Answer was yes, so the supervisor said she would recommend it to her boss, and gave the farang lady her own mobile no., and asked farang lady to please send more close up photos to show the manufacturers name etc.

Last week I ran across the same farang lady at NIM centre, and she said 'please come with me', sure enough fhe item was on the shelf, and the farang lady had 4 or 5 jars in her cart.

Can't imagine this service at Tops or Lotus.

Agree that their service is excellent and that their stores are very clean and have a nice atmosphere. But you pay for it. They also have by far the highest prices of any chain store in town. They have consciously gone for the 'upmarket', farang shopper and it has worked for them.

Makro doesn't play Mozart, their workers don't speak much of any English (although I've found them to be extremely friendly), but the store is very well organized and has much better prices than Rimping. Also, they have a surprisingly good cheese/deli section and much better (and cheaper produce) than most open markets in town, let alone Rimping. Rimping does have the best bakery sections in town.

Edited January 26, 2013 by TheVicar

[market trader]

In my humble opinion Rimping is by far the best supermarket in town for quality and variety of product. The only Tops store I go into is at Kad Suan Gael and I would say the claim to fame at that store would be for empty shelves. For general all purpose shopping Makro is the go to store.

[WinnieTheKhwai]

Main reason I'm not even considering Tops is that they're located in big malls, where getting in and out takes as much time as the actual shopping.

In addition to being freshest and best price, Makro is also fastest to get in and out of. (Rim Ping not too bad in that respect either, except when they're organizing bullshit events in their parking lot.)

[TheVicar]

Main reason I'm not even considering Tops is that they're located in big malls, where getting in and out takes as much time as the actual shopping.

In addition to being freshest and best price, Makro is also fastest to get in and out of. (Rim Ping not too bad in that respect either, except when they're organizing bullshit events in their parking lot.)

1. One of the biggest Tops, near the Novotel just off Chang Puak, is pretty much a stand alone and easy to get in and out of. Big parking lot too. It used to be a Rimping. Agree with you on the getting in and out of the big shopping centers. They're very crowded.

2. Agree with you on Makro: I find it the best overall store for my shopping needs. But a lousy bakery and sometimes when you want to buy one thing, you have to buy 6 so that's why I also use Rimping and Tops. Went to Big C Extra yesterday and found it horrid; very poorly organized. Prices much higher than Makro. And very difficult to get in and out of because of its location.

[hellodolly]

I have no problem with any of the three Rimping Tops or Makro. I will use all three. If some thing is on sale and it is some thing I want I will buy it. As long as I have lived in Thailand (7 years) I have never gone to a store just because one item was on sale. I find there sale prices to be funny big promotion about 3 to 5 % off. Then all of a sudden they have an item 2 for 1 no in between. As for prices I don't really care if I am in a store I will get what I need. The cost difference would not be worth the effort to go to the other store. If I want bulk Makro hands down, Yes they do have some super sales. Salamis 690 baht for a kilo. Tops and Rimping 119 baht a kilo.