Rimping By River

[uptheos]

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.

I must have missed this.

[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.

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.

1)” I cited some examples above.”

This is mere cherry picking. What about good quality cold cuts? The stuff produced by local Germans is much less expensive that what’s on offer at Tops. And not just by a few measly baht. But by several hundred. Plenty of other examples I could cite, but statistically this kind of back and forth is not dispositive

1 “Rimping ‘’’gives you meaningless points towards things you don't want”

Among other things I apparently don't want which I got through Rimping points were Staub cast iron enamelware pots and Haenckels' knives. And I have my eye on the top-rated pressure cooker from Kuhn Rikon. Gee whiz! I thought I wanted them and I still think I do want them. Apparently not

2. "Number of people in stores has nothing to do with cost."

Absolutely nothing? 0 percent? Wow! I've seen lots of outlandish assertions onThaivisa.com. In fact sometimes I think Thaivisa.com should take as its slogan “The home of outlandish assertions”. But I've never ever seen one to approach this. Yes, of course, most farangs know and care very little about prices. That's why on thaivisa.com people display a shocking indifference to prices. Because they don't care. Of course, I'm talking about the thaivisa.com and farangs who exist in an alternate universe. On this one, farangs generally display an enthusiastic interest in finding bargains and an acute appreciation of prices. What’s more,8 years ago there were 3 Rimping supermarkets here. Before the influx of wealthy farangs and HiSo Thais . Doubt there were enough of them back then to sustain 3 stores. Or even now, for that matter.

3“Local products? They both sell pretty much the same stuff”

Absolutely not the case. For example, the new varieties of potatoes that were on offer at Lotus. Rimping has had a couple of new varieties on offer for months now. And always offering new things like locally grown ruby grapefruit. And a huge selection of locally grown herbs such as sage, tarragon, rosemary, etc. Even fresh bay leaves. And Charcuterie from Giraud and from the local Germans. Fresh dairy products from Dacheeo. Plus lots of locally produced Thai delicacies that Tops does not offer. And if there are local markets offering the produce I listed above,, can you please direct me to them? I go to lots of them and I haven’t seen any of this stuff at any of them.

The fact is that Rim Ping is a local company and they buy or offer lots of locally made products. Tops is an international company and in Thailand its purchasing is obviously very centralized.

4. “it [respective number of customers] has nothing to do cost”

Again with the dubious assertion about the effects of pricing on attracting customers. It’s you against microeconomics and common sense. There’s something almost heroic (or at least Quixote-esque (is this a word? If not it is now)) about your assertions.

Edited January 27, 2013 by butterisbetter

[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.

I must have missed this.

Well I might be wrong it might be 1090 a kilo. In the Deli. I guess I forgot a zero. When I buy it at Tops or Rimping I buy by the 100 gram. Last time I was in Canada I was paying about 170 baht a kilo

Blithe Spirit was great even with out a big name star.

[TommoPhysicist]

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

two for 70bht in Makro

[butterisbetter]

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

two for 70bht in Makro

The bars being referred to here are 35 grams each - not the standard size of 100 grams. I've seen standard LIndt milk chocolate bars there for 148 grams for 2 but never the 100 gram standard dark chocolate - much less the 70 or 85 percent Lindt dark chocolate bars. Or any other brand, for that matter.

[TheVicar]

To Butterisbetter:

You accuse me of cherry picking on prices and then go on to name one item (local cold cuts by Germans) as if that is dispositive of the issue. Can't you see how illogical your position is? You're happy to get the knives and the pots and pans at Rimping through their frequent buyer card? Fine. Wonderful. Kudos for you.

I prefer cash (and suspect most people do) and meaningful discount prices. Tops actually gives you money back based on your amounts of purchases and they give you not only coupons for reduced prices on lots of items, they give you a general discount like 5% or 10% on purchases over 600 baht. I prefer that to whatever is behind "door number one".

You need to study the difference between costs and very effective marketing. Rimping is excellent at marketing in the farang community. I think no one here would question that Makro has significantly lower prices than either Tops or Rimping, yet they probably have fewer customers. Get the drift? Many of the people who shop at Rimping simply do not care about costs. They'd rather shop in a clean, attractive store that plays Mozart and that has highly trained staff and pay more for it than shop elsewhere where prices are cheaper.

On local products, Dacheso products are horrible: nearly the same price you pay for much better imported cheeses and dairy products. They are not cheap and they are not good. And this is not just my opinion but that of other posters here too (it came up on another thread; check it out if you don't believe me). Despite your assertions, I find that most of the markets (Tesco; Big C; Rimping; Makro; and Tops) all pretty much stock the same things with minor variations (face it, they all buy from the same huge wholesalers/producers). If you want local things, go to a local market where you will find hundreds and hundreds more local products than those you've listed.

Tops stocks Yolanda brand yoghurt and it is much better than Dacheso's product line of yoghurt. It is also made in Thailand. And they ROUTINELY charge less for this exact same product than Rimping, and when it is on sale (as it has been twice in the last 3 months) it is even cheaper than the same thing at Makro.

If you read my above statements, you'd realize that I like Rimping for their bakery and cheese and wine sections. They have a horribly overpriced produce section, much more expensive than Makro and Makro has such fresh produce, it's got to be local. Rimping has very, very few items on sale store-wide ever; Tops has hundreds of products on sale that change weekly or so and it has a card for frequent buyers that gives back cash or a nice discount. Rimping doesn't. Rimping has excellent service but of course the customer is paying for that. I can speak enough Thai to get along with the very friendly Thais over at Makro so I don't need to show a picture of a product to someone and ask in English if they have it. If you need that kind of service, and many farangs here do, then go to Rimping but don't ever doubt you are paying for that service. So, there are pros and cons to all these stores; it depends on the customer and his/her needs and budget.

I've got nothing to gain financially or business wise by saying that Makro is my go to store where I spend most of my money and that I split the other business between Tops and Rimping. Can you say the same?

Edited January 28, 2013 by TheVicar

[TommoPhysicist]

Rimping have great prices for G&M German sausages. I never buy any others.

And a really nice choice of breads, that actually taste like bread should.

Makro is much cheaper for most commonly available items.

(Bulk cheese, fresh meats, cornflakes, drinks, quality fruits, nappies)

Edited January 28, 2013 by TommoPhysicist

[TheVicar]

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

two for 70bht in Makro

The bars being referred to here are 35 grams each - not the standard size of 100 grams. I've seen standard LIndt milk chocolate bars there for 148 grams for 2 but never the 100 gram standard dark chocolate - much less the 70 or 85 percent Lindt dark chocolate bars. Or any other brand, for that matter.

Well, that's as clear as mud. And who says that 100 grams is the standard size? 100 grams is the 100 gram size, that's all.

Edited January 28, 2013 by TheVicar

[Ulysses G.]

I'm pretty sure that the 70 and 85 percent Lindt dark chocolate bars only come in 100 gram bars.

Edited January 28, 2013 by Ulysses G.

[TommoPhysicist]

I'm fairly sure it was the 2x 100gm pack of Lindt 70% that I was buying for 70bht in Makro.

I may have mis-remembered (getting old), I'll take a photo next time I go in.

[vagabond48]

The bars being referred to here are 35 grams each - not the standard size of 100 grams. I've seen standard LIndt milk chocolate bars there for 148 grams for 2 but never the 100 gram standard dark chocolate - much less the 70 or 85 percent Lindt dark chocolate bars. Or any other brand, for that matter.

The one I buy on sale for 78B is 100G Lindt swiss bitter sweet dark chocolate. It is 49% cocoa.

[butterisbetter]

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

two for 70bht in Makro

The bars being referred to here are 35 grams each - not the standard size of 100 grams. I've seen standard LIndt milk chocolate bars there for 148 grams for 2 but never the 100 gram standard dark chocolate - much less the 70 or 85 percent Lindt dark chocolate bars. Or any other brand, for that matter.

Well, that's as clear as mud. And who says that 100 grams is the standard size? 100 grams is the 100 gram size, that's all.

There's petty. Then pettier. Then pettiest. Then there's the above. It's almost awe-inspiring.

[butterisbetter]

t abo

I'm fairly sure it was the 2x 100gm pack of Lindt 70% that I was buying for 70bht in Makro.

I may have mis-remembered (getting old), I'll take a photo next time I go in.

I go to Makro just about every day and I know that the price for the two 35 gram bars is 69 baht. At least that's what it's been for a while including today. I checked it today. But as I noted above, I've never seen the 70 percent or 85 percent dark chocolate bars there.

[uptheos]

And the moral of highlighting that McVities, Cadburys Fingers and Weetabix were two for one.,,,,,,,..is.............

Edited January 28, 2013 by uptheos

[butterisbetter]

And the moral of highlighting that McVities, Cadburys Fingers and Weetabix were two for one.,,,,,,,..is.............

...proof that there is a God...or maybe that there's a Satan?

Edited January 28, 2013 by butterisbetter

[butterisbetter]

To Butterisbetter:

You accuse me of cherry picking on prices and then go on to name one item (local cold cuts by Germans) as if that is dispositive of the issue. Can't you see how illogical your position is? You're happy to get the knives and the pots and pans at Rimping through their frequent buyer card? Fine. Wonderful. Kudos for you.

I prefer cash (and suspect most people do) and meaningful discount prices. Tops actually gives you money back based on your amounts of purchases and they give you not only coupons for reduced prices on lots of items, they give you a general discount like 5% or 10% on purchases over 600 baht. I prefer that to whatever is behind "door number one".

You need to study the difference between costs and very effective marketing. Rimping is excellent at marketing in the farang community. I think no one here would question that Makro has significantly lower prices than either Tops or Rimping, yet they probably have fewer customers. Get the drift? Many of the people who shop at Rimping simply do not care about costs. They'd rather shop in a clean, attractive store that plays Mozart and that has highly trained staff and pay more for it than shop elsewhere where prices are cheaper.

On local products, Dacheso products are horrible: nearly the same price you pay for much better imported cheeses and dairy products. They are not cheap and they are not good. And this is not just my opinion but that of other posters here too (it came up on another thread; check it out if you don't believe me). Despite your assertions, I find that most of the markets (Tesco; Big C; Rimping; Makro; and Tops) all pretty much stock the same things with minor variations (face it, they all buy from the same huge wholesalers/producers). If you want local things, go to a local market where you will find hundreds and hundreds more local products than those you've listed.

Tops stocks Yolanda brand yoghurt and it is much better than Dacheso's product line of yoghurt. It is also made in Thailand. And they ROUTINELY charge less for this exact same product than Rimping, and when it is on sale (as it has been twice in the last 3 months) it is even cheaper than the same thing at Makro.

If you read my above statements, you'd realize that I like Rimping for their bakery and cheese and wine sections. They have a horribly overpriced produce section, much more expensive than Makro and Makro has such fresh produce, it's got to be local. Rimping has very, very few items on sale store-wide ever; Tops has hundreds of products on sale that change weekly or so and it has a card for frequent buyers that gives back cash or a nice discount. Rimping doesn't. Rimping has excellent service but of course the customer is paying for that. I can speak enough Thai to get along with the very friendly Thais over at Makro so I don't need to show a picture of a product to someone and ask in English if they have it. If you need that kind of service, and many farangs here do, then go to Rimping but don't ever doubt you are paying for that service. So, there are pros and cons to all these stores; it depends on the customer and his/her needs and budget.

I've got nothing to gain financially or business wise by saying that Makro is my go to store where I spend most of my money and that I split the other business between Tops and Rimping. Can you say the same?

1)First of all, German cold cuts is not one item. Offhand, I'd guess it's about 20 items. Twenty items that offer huge savings compared to what Tops has on offer. So, for what it's worth, I've offered far more examples than you. But unlike you, I recognize that such instances don't amount statistically to a hill of beans.

2)As for the items available for Rim Ping points, again her is what you wrote: "Rim Ping gives you meaningless points for things you don't want". As I pointed out, they do offer things that people most assuredly do want. And not just things for people who like to cook. Stuff like various Ipods and Ipads are on offer. Of course, what's happened here is you got caught out in an untentable position so have decided to switch your argument by claimng that Tops offers better value in its program and hope that no one will notice.You were wrong. Dead wrong.

3)First of all, I just referred to Daecheeso fresh dairy products. I know a person here who makes terrific whey ricotta and and mozzarella. He made cheeses for 20 years in Switzerland. The dairy he chose as the best is the same one that Dacheeso uses. He selected it for the milk's high protein and fat count and the fact that the dairy takes great care in handling the milk. In making fresh cheese products, 90 percent of the quality lies in the milk. Dacheeso makes some absolutely fabulous fresh milk products. Their cream is brilliant. As good as any I've had. At least a double cream if not a triple.Their milk tastes just like the milk I used to get from a dairy in new england that pasteurized the milk at minimal temperatures so that it tasted like raw milk. Dacheeso's milk tastes like that. And it's not homogenized. Their cottage cheeses are great. Their ricotta is just like top quality american ricotta. The only fresh cheese of theirs I have a problem with is the mascarpone. As for their yogurt, exactly how could they make horrible yogurt. They start out with great milk and all they add is some kind(s) of lactobacillus. Nothing else. No stabilizers, no flavorings. It would take a kind of perverse genius to make bad yogurt out of such great ingredients. I'm afraid that there are no Dr. Evils at Dacheeso. Actually they make 2 kinds of yogurts" one thin and one thick. I acutally prefer the thin, liquid kind which is made with a different strain of lactobacillus but at the restaurant we offer the thick variety. Which gets us a lot of compliments. Compliments we openly acknowledge belong to Dacheeso instead. Anyone who could traduce Dacheeso's fresh dairy products is someone with highly suspect taste buds.

'I find that most of the markets (Tesco; Big C; Rimping; Makro; and Tops) all pretty much stock the same things." Tesco, Big C, Makro, and Tops are national chains. But Rim Ping is local. In addition to the products I've cited above, they actually have a program for selling locally produced goods from small manufacturers. The local manufacturer gets a bar code from Rim Ping for each item they offer and they have to stock the shelves themselves. That's actually how we got started. Rim Ping is very choosy - people were telling us how they got rejected and we shouldn't even bother. So we presented them with 11 items and hoped that they would accept one of them. They accepted all 11. So I know about this program. It's very big and the rest of the local supermarkets have nothing like it.

"Tops stocks Yolanda [sic] brand yoghurt and it is much better than Dacheso's product line of yoghurt. It is also made in Thailand. And they ROUTINELY charge less for this exact same product than Rimping, and when it is on sale (as it has been twice in the last 3 months) it is even cheaper than the same thing at Makro.

Do you believe that each time you mention Yolida yogurt it counts as a separate instance of proof? Why else would you keep bringing it up? And you mention that it is also made in Thailand. Is your idea of local "made in Thailand"? Since you mentioned it in comparison to Dacheeso, I guess it does. Dacheeso products are made in Chiang Mail. The local products I'm referring to that Rim Ping stocks are made in Chiang Mai or neighboring provinces. I think that corresponds to just about everyone else's idea of local much more closely than "made in Thailand" does.

"I've got nothing to gain financially or business wise by saying that Makro is my go to store where I spend most of my money and that I split the other business between Tops and Rimping. Can you say the same?"

I have to confess that following your posts a kind of perverse hobby of mine. And I've noted that whenever someone effectively disproves your points you either resort to verbal abuse or question their probity. Kind of sad, really. I believe you once suggested that the local book stores were engaged in price fixing. There is genuine entertainment value in much of what you say. As for any other kind of value, I leave it for others to find.

Edited January 28, 2013 by butterisbetter

[rene123]

I went to Rimping by the River about a week ago and actually found an item that was cheaper there than in Tesco. Of course, it was only 3 baht cheaper, but considering that Rimping is traditionally more expensive for everything I was surprised.

[hellodolly]

To Butterisbetter:

You accuse me of cherry picking on prices and then go on to name one item (local cold cuts by Germans) as if that is dispositive of the issue. Can't you see how illogical your position is? You're happy to get the knives and the pots and pans at Rimping through their frequent buyer card? Fine. Wonderful. Kudos for you.

I prefer cash (and suspect most people do) and meaningful discount prices. Tops actually gives you money back based on your amounts of purchases and they give you not only coupons for reduced prices on lots of items, they give you a general discount like 5% or 10% on purchases over 600 baht. I prefer that to whatever is behind "door number one".

You need to study the difference between costs and very effective marketing. Rimping is excellent at marketing in the farang community. I think no one here would question that Makro has significantly lower prices than either Tops or Rimping, yet they probably have fewer customers. Get the drift? Many of the people who shop at Rimping simply do not care about costs. They'd rather shop in a clean, attractive store that plays Mozart and that has highly trained staff and pay more for it than shop elsewhere where prices are cheaper.

On local products, Dacheso products are horrible: nearly the same price you pay for much better imported cheeses and dairy products. They are not cheap and they are not good. And this is not just my opinion but that of other posters here too (it came up on another thread; check it out if you don't believe me). Despite your assertions, I find that most of the markets (Tesco; Big C; Rimping; Makro; and Tops) all pretty much stock the same things with minor variations (face it, they all buy from the same huge wholesalers/producers). If you want local things, go to a local market where you will find hundreds and hundreds more local products than those you've listed.

Tops stocks Yolanda brand yoghurt and it is much better than Dacheso's product line of yoghurt. It is also made in Thailand. And they ROUTINELY charge less for this exact same product than Rimping, and when it is on sale (as it has been twice in the last 3 months) it is even cheaper than the same thing at Makro.

If you read my above statements, you'd realize that I like Rimping for their bakery and cheese and wine sections. They have a horribly overpriced produce section, much more expensive than Makro and Makro has such fresh produce, it's got to be local. Rimping has very, very few items on sale store-wide ever; Tops has hundreds of products on sale that change weekly or so and it has a card for frequent buyers that gives back cash or a nice discount. Rimping doesn't. Rimping has excellent service but of course the customer is paying for that. I can speak enough Thai to get along with the very friendly Thais over at Makro so I don't need to show a picture of a product to someone and ask in English if they have it. If you need that kind of service, and many farangs here do, then go to Rimping but don't ever doubt you are paying for that service. So, there are pros and cons to all these stores; it depends on the customer and his/her needs and budget.

I've got nothing to gain financially or business wise by saying that Makro is my go to store where I spend most of my money and that I split the other business between Tops and Rimping. Can you say the same?

Just to put a little different light and reality on the subject. Both tops and Rimping sell G&M German sausages at 110 per 100 mg. Tops has a better cheese selection. Now these are cherry picked items that a lot of people cherry pick. Makro has some excellent prices the thing is a lot of them you have to buy in bulk for instance the G&M German sausages have to be bought by the kilogram, But this is cherry picking for over all shopping I will pick Rimping. If I want bulk I will go to Makro.

Tops gives money back and that allows them to buy you.

Rimping gives product and that allows them to attract you. To me they are one and the same. When I get enough points for an item I get it for free. When I get enough points at Top's for the amount of money I cash them in and go buy the item I want. Pretty sad argument when you have to compare the reward systems. One other thing people tend to do is sell them selves short. There time is worth money. Makro is a large store to be going thorough looking for items. Money wise I don't recall ever seeing any thing on sale. And as has been stated here when you see some thing on sale at the other two look at the best by date.

It would be interesting to here from some people who only shop at one store. I shop at all three because I live walking distance to Rimping I go to movies at the airport and go through the Tops there and some times I want bulk and will go to Makro. They are all OK none is better than the other it is just a matter of what the individual person wants.

[vagabond48]

Regarding the the yogurt, I used to buy the Yolida and liked it but I started to buy the yogurt at Dacheeso. I am not a connoisseur but the Dacheeso yogurt just about as good as Yolida. The low fat yogurt from Dacheeso is 75B for a 1000ml while the Yolida at approx. 54B is 450ml so buying from Dacheeso is a much better value.

[beb]

Reading this thread is like watching a knifefight at the Price Is Right Bar. I never imagined people were so passionate about the prices and quantities of grocery items.

[onthedarkside]

Reading this thread is like watching a knifefight at the Price Is Right Bar. I never imagined people were so passionate about the prices and quantities of grocery items.

That made me laugh. how long have you been reading Thaivisa ? Thanks for brightening up my day as a Thaivisa moderator

[uptheos]

I guarantee that whichever 'supermarket' I go in, there is a farang with wife/gf in tow, trolley with mostly western items for him and a small fish sauce for her. He is trying not to look worried or look at her and keeps some distance from his wife/gf, who is currently examining and considering trying some expensive western item, which of course he doesn't like. Sometimes I overhear "oh you won't like that", when she shows it to him.

[onthedarkside]

A very negative post has been removed. Let's keep on track folks, thank you.

[butterisbetter]

To Butterisbetter:

You accuse me of cherry picking on prices and then go on to name one item (local cold cuts by Germans) as if that is dispositive of the issue. Can't you see how illogical your position is? You're happy to get the knives and the pots and pans at Rimping through their frequent buyer card? Fine. Wonderful. Kudos for you.

I prefer cash (and suspect most people do) and meaningful discount prices. Tops actually gives you money back based on your amounts of purchases and they give you not only coupons for reduced prices on lots of items, they give you a general discount like 5% or 10% on purchases over 600 baht. I prefer that to whatever is behind "door number one".

You need to study the difference between costs and very effective marketing. Rimping is excellent at marketing in the farang community. I think no one here would question that Makro has significantly lower prices than either Tops or Rimping, yet they probably have fewer customers. Get the drift? Many of the people who shop at Rimping simply do not care about costs. They'd rather shop in a clean, attractive store that plays Mozart and that has highly trained staff and pay more for it than shop elsewhere where prices are cheaper.

On local products, Dacheso products are horrible: nearly the same price you pay for much better imported cheeses and dairy products. They are not cheap and they are not good. And this is not just my opinion but that of other posters here too (it came up on another thread; check it out if you don't believe me). Despite your assertions, I find that most of the markets (Tesco; Big C; Rimping; Makro; and Tops) all pretty much stock the same things with minor variations (face it, they all buy from the same huge wholesalers/producers). If you want local things, go to a local market where you will find hundreds and hundreds more local products than those you've listed.

Tops stocks Yolanda brand yoghurt and it is much better than Dacheso's product line of yoghurt. It is also made in Thailand. And they ROUTINELY charge less for this exact same product than Rimping, and when it is on sale (as it has been twice in the last 3 months) it is even cheaper than the same thing at Makro.

If you read my above statements, you'd realize that I like Rimping for their bakery and cheese and wine sections. They have a horribly overpriced produce section, much more expensive than Makro and Makro has such fresh produce, it's got to be local. Rimping has very, very few items on sale store-wide ever; Tops has hundreds of products on sale that change weekly or so and it has a card for frequent buyers that gives back cash or a nice discount. Rimping doesn't. Rimping has excellent service but of course the customer is paying for that. I can speak enough Thai to get along with the very friendly Thais over at Makro so I don't need to show a picture of a product to someone and ask in English if they have it. If you need that kind of service, and many farangs here do, then go to Rimping but don't ever doubt you are paying for that service. So, there are pros and cons to all these stores; it depends on the customer and his/her needs and budget.

I've got nothing to gain financially or business wise by saying that Makro is my go to store where I spend most of my money and that I split the other business between Tops and Rimping. Can you say the same?

Just to put a little different light and reality on the subject. Both tops and Rimping sell G&M German sausages at 110 per 100 mg. Tops has a better cheese selection. Now these are cherry picked items that a lot of people cherry pick. Makro has some excellent prices the thing is a lot of them you have to buy in bulk for instance the G&M German sausages have to be bought by the kilogram, But this is cherry picking for over all shopping I will pick Rimping. If I want bulk I will go to Makro.

Tops gives money back and that allows them to buy you.

Rimping gives product and that allows them to attract you. To me they are one and the same. When I get enough points for an item I get it for free. When I get enough points at Top's for the amount of money I cash them in and go buy the item I want. Pretty sad argument when you have to compare the reward systems. One other thing people tend to do is sell them selves short. There time is worth money. Makro is a large store to be going thorough looking for items. Money wise I don't recall ever seeing any thing on sale. And as has been stated here when you see some thing on sale at the other two look at the best by date.

It would be interesting to here from some people who only shop at one store. I shop at all three because I live walking distance to Rimping I go to movies at the airport and go through the Tops there and some times I want bulk and will go to Makro. They are all OK none is better than the other it is just a matter of what the individual person wants.

First of all I'd just like to note the rational, humane, and temperate way that you, hellodolly, have approached this issue. In other words, what is your problem, dude? We're not talking about relatively uncontroversial topics like politics and religion here. The topic at hand is SUPERMARKET PRICING, ground zero in the battle for civilization. Topics like this demand not the standard 22 caliber dose of rancor but a magnum at least, with an additional charge of wrath. I'm very disappointed in you.

I am going to have to question some of the points you raised. I looked for an appropriate typeface -- one that had flames licking from it -- but so far no luck. Your imagination will have to supply the hellfire.

1) I doubt that either Tops or Rimping sell G&M sausage at 110 baht per 100 kilogram. That sounds more like the price you'd pay for imported Italian prosciutto. I'm pretty sure that Rimping sells most G&M sausages for 289 baht per kilo. I've never seen G&M sausages at Tops but I could have overlooked them.

2)Are you sure you haven't got the cheese thing reversed? The cheese sold at Tops are mostly pretty bland and limited. On the other hand, Rimping has on offer the kind of cheeses that require a license certifying that you can either sing the Marseillaise or do a goosestep as well as that you possess a gas mask in order for you to be allowed to purchase them.

In closing, I'd like to advise you to choose one supermarket and stick with it. In a war like this there are no civilians and you will just find yourself in the crossfire. I hate to think of what I'd have to do if I found you in my sights. We shoppers at Rimping have a well deserved reputation for ruthlessness.

[hellodolly]

To Butterisbetter:

You accuse me of cherry picking on prices and then go on to name one item (local cold cuts by Germans) as if that is dispositive of the issue. Can't you see how illogical your position is? You're happy to get the knives and the pots and pans at Rimping through their frequent buyer card? Fine. Wonderful. Kudos for you.

I prefer cash (and suspect most people do) and meaningful discount prices. Tops actually gives you money back based on your amounts of purchases and they give you not only coupons for reduced prices on lots of items, they give you a general discount like 5% or 10% on purchases over 600 baht. I prefer that to whatever is behind "door number one".

You need to study the difference between costs and very effective marketing. Rimping is excellent at marketing in the farang community. I think no one here would question that Makro has significantly lower prices than either Tops or Rimping, yet they probably have fewer customers. Get the drift? Many of the people who shop at Rimping simply do not care about costs. They'd rather shop in a clean, attractive store that plays Mozart and that has highly trained staff and pay more for it than shop elsewhere where prices are cheaper.

On local products, Dacheso products are horrible: nearly the same price you pay for much better imported cheeses and dairy products. They are not cheap and they are not good. And this is not just my opinion but that of other posters here too (it came up on another thread; check it out if you don't believe me). Despite your assertions, I find that most of the markets (Tesco; Big C; Rimping; Makro; and Tops) all pretty much stock the same things with minor variations (face it, they all buy from the same huge wholesalers/producers). If you want local things, go to a local market where you will find hundreds and hundreds more local products than those you've listed.

Tops stocks Yolanda brand yoghurt and it is much better than Dacheso's product line of yoghurt. It is also made in Thailand. And they ROUTINELY charge less for this exact same product than Rimping, and when it is on sale (as it has been twice in the last 3 months) it is even cheaper than the same thing at Makro.

If you read my above statements, you'd realize that I like Rimping for their bakery and cheese and wine sections. They have a horribly overpriced produce section, much more expensive than Makro and Makro has such fresh produce, it's got to be local. Rimping has very, very few items on sale store-wide ever; Tops has hundreds of products on sale that change weekly or so and it has a card for frequent buyers that gives back cash or a nice discount. Rimping doesn't. Rimping has excellent service but of course the customer is paying for that. I can speak enough Thai to get along with the very friendly Thais over at Makro so I don't need to show a picture of a product to someone and ask in English if they have it. If you need that kind of service, and many farangs here do, then go to Rimping but don't ever doubt you are paying for that service. So, there are pros and cons to all these stores; it depends on the customer and his/her needs and budget.

I've got nothing to gain financially or business wise by saying that Makro is my go to store where I spend most of my money and that I split the other business between Tops and Rimping. Can you say the same?

Just to put a little different light and reality on the subject. Both tops and Rimping sell G&M German sausages at 110 per 100 mg. Tops has a better cheese selection. Now these are cherry picked items that a lot of people cherry pick. Makro has some excellent prices the thing is a lot of them you have to buy in bulk for instance the G&M German sausages have to be bought by the kilogram, But this is cherry picking for over all shopping I will pick Rimping. If I want bulk I will go to Makro.

Tops gives money back and that allows them to buy you.

Rimping gives product and that allows them to attract you. To me they are one and the same. When I get enough points for an item I get it for free. When I get enough points at Top's for the amount of money I cash them in and go buy the item I want. Pretty sad argument when you have to compare the reward systems. One other thing people tend to do is sell them selves short. There time is worth money. Makro is a large store to be going thorough looking for items. Money wise I don't recall ever seeing any thing on sale. And as has been stated here when you see some thing on sale at the other two look at the best by date.

It would be interesting to here from some people who only shop at one store. I shop at all three because I live walking distance to Rimping I go to movies at the airport and go through the Tops there and some times I want bulk and will go to Makro. They are all OK none is better than the other it is just a matter of what the individual person wants.

First of all I'd just like to note the rational, humane, and temperate way that you, hellodolly, have approached this issue. In other words, what is your problem, dude? We're not talking about relatively uncontroversial topics like politics and religion here. The topic at hand is SUPERMARKET PRICING, ground zero in the battle for civilization. Topics like this demand not the standard 22 caliber dose of rancor but a magnum at least, with an additional charge of wrath. I'm very disappointed in you.

I am going to have to question some of the points you raised. I looked for an appropriate typeface -- one that had flames licking from it -- but so far no luck. Your imagination will have to supply the hellfire.

1) I doubt that either Tops or Rimping sell G&M sausage at 110 baht per 100 kilogram. That sounds more like the price you'd pay for imported Italian prosciutto. I'm pretty sure that Rimping sells most G&M sausages for 289 baht per kilo. I've never seen G&M sausages at Tops but I could have overlooked them.

2)Are you sure you haven't got the cheese thing reversed? The cheese sold at Tops are mostly pretty bland and limited. On the other hand, Rimping has on offer the kind of cheeses that require a license certifying that you can either sing the Marseillaise or do a goosestep as well as that you possess a gas mask in order for you to be allowed to purchase them.

In closing, I'd like to advise you to choose one supermarket and stick with it. In a war like this there are no civilians and you will just find yourself in the crossfire. I hate to think of what I'd have to do if I found you in my sights. We shoppers at Rimping have a well deserved reputation for ruthlessness.

So sorry some times I get carried away. At any rate I have always considered you as my protector from the wrath of the expert on every thing you know who.

That being said I did make a huge mistake in my post and your response to it was as misguided as my statement.

It is 110 baht per 100 gram that works out to 1,100 baht per kilo. How can you miss it at Tops that is all that is in the display case. Your powers of observation must be honed to a higher degree,

Now if we go to Makro G &M sausage is sold for 690 baht a kilo. Enough of a savings to have you know who dancing with joy only matched by a climax in certain unmentionable situations.

I must concede to you on the cheese I do not make that much of a study of it.

But as you say the arena is here and the lines are drawn. And I shall sit on the fifty yard line and enjoy the battle please do not let it be to the death as I wish to savoir it as a fine wine.

[butterisbetter]

To Butterisbetter:

You accuse me of cherry picking on prices and then go on to name one item (local cold cuts by Germans) as if that is dispositive of the issue. Can't you see how illogical your position is? You're happy to get the knives and the pots and pans at Rimping through their frequent buyer card? Fine. Wonderful. Kudos for you.

I prefer cash (and suspect most people do) and meaningful discount prices. Tops actually gives you money back based on your amounts of purchases and they give you not only coupons for reduced prices on lots of items, they give you a general discount like 5% or 10% on purchases over 600 baht. I prefer that to whatever is behind "door number one".

You need to study the difference between costs and very effective marketing. Rimping is excellent at marketing in the farang community. I think no one here would question that Makro has significantly lower prices than either Tops or Rimping, yet they probably have fewer customers. Get the drift? Many of the people who shop at Rimping simply do not care about costs. They'd rather shop in a clean, attractive store that plays Mozart and that has highly trained staff and pay more for it than shop elsewhere where prices are cheaper.

On local products, Dacheso products are horrible: nearly the same price you pay for much better imported cheeses and dairy products. They are not cheap and they are not good. And this is not just my opinion but that of other posters here too (it came up on another thread; check it out if you don't believe me). Despite your assertions, I find that most of the markets (Tesco; Big C; Rimping; Makro; and Tops) all pretty much stock the same things with minor variations (face it, they all buy from the same huge wholesalers/producers). If you want local things, go to a local market where you will find hundreds and hundreds more local products than those you've listed.

Tops stocks Yolanda brand yoghurt and it is much better than Dacheso's product line of yoghurt. It is also made in Thailand. And they ROUTINELY charge less for this exact same product than Rimping, and when it is on sale (as it has been twice in the last 3 months) it is even cheaper than the same thing at Makro.

If you read my above statements, you'd realize that I like Rimping for their bakery and cheese and wine sections. They have a horribly overpriced produce section, much more expensive than Makro and Makro has such fresh produce, it's got to be local. Rimping has very, very few items on sale store-wide ever; Tops has hundreds of products on sale that change weekly or so and it has a card for frequent buyers that gives back cash or a nice discount. Rimping doesn't. Rimping has excellent service but of course the customer is paying for that. I can speak enough Thai to get along with the very friendly Thais over at Makro so I don't need to show a picture of a product to someone and ask in English if they have it. If you need that kind of service, and many farangs here do, then go to Rimping but don't ever doubt you are paying for that service. So, there are pros and cons to all these stores; it depends on the customer and his/her needs and budget.

I've got nothing to gain financially or business wise by saying that Makro is my go to store where I spend most of my money and that I split the other business between Tops and Rimping. Can you say the same?

Just to put a little different light and reality on the subject. Both tops and Rimping sell G&M German sausages at 110 per 100 mg. Tops has a better cheese selection. Now these are cherry picked items that a lot of people cherry pick. Makro has some excellent prices the thing is a lot of them you have to buy in bulk for instance the G&M German sausages have to be bought by the kilogram, But this is cherry picking for over all shopping I will pick Rimping. If I want bulk I will go to Makro.

Tops gives money back and that allows them to buy you.

Rimping gives product and that allows them to attract you. To me they are one and the same. When I get enough points for an item I get it for free. When I get enough points at Top's for the amount of money I cash them in and go buy the item I want. Pretty sad argument when you have to compare the reward systems. One other thing people tend to do is sell them selves short. There time is worth money. Makro is a large store to be going thorough looking for items. Money wise I don't recall ever seeing any thing on sale. And as has been stated here when you see some thing on sale at the other two look at the best by date.

It would be interesting to here from some people who only shop at one store. I shop at all three because I live walking distance to Rimping I go to movies at the airport and go through the Tops there and some times I want bulk and will go to Makro. They are all OK none is better than the other it is just a matter of what the individual person wants.

First of all I'd just like to note the rational, humane, and temperate way that you, hellodolly, have approached this issue. In other words, what is your problem, dude? We're not talking about relatively uncontroversial topics like politics and religion here. The topic at hand is SUPERMARKET PRICING, ground zero in the battle for civilization. Topics like this demand not the standard 22 caliber dose of rancor but a magnum at least, with an additional charge of wrath. I'm very disappointed in you.

I am going to have to question some of the points you raised. I looked for an appropriate typeface -- one that had flames licking from it -- but so far no luck. Your imagination will have to supply the hellfire.

1) I doubt that either Tops or Rimping sell G&M sausage at 110 baht per 100 kilogram. That sounds more like the price you'd pay for imported Italian prosciutto. I'm pretty sure that Rimping sells most G&M sausages for 289 baht per kilo. I've never seen G&M sausages at Tops but I could have overlooked them.

2)Are you sure you haven't got the cheese thing reversed? The cheese sold at Tops are mostly pretty bland and limited. On the other hand, Rimping has on offer the kind of cheeses that require a license certifying that you can either sing the Marseillaise or do a goosestep as well as that you possess a gas mask in order for you to be allowed to purchase them.

In closing, I'd like to advise you to choose one supermarket and stick with it. In a war like this there are no civilians and you will just find yourself in the crossfire. I hate to think of what I'd have to do if I found you in my sights. We shoppers at Rimping have a well deserved reputation for ruthlessness.

So sorry some times I get carried away. At any rate I have always considered you as my protector from the wrath of the expert on every thing you know who.

That being said I did make a huge mistake in my post and your response to it was as misguided as my statement.

It is 110 baht per 100 gram that works out to 1,100 baht per kilo. How can you miss it at Tops that is all that is in the display case. Your powers of observation must be honed to a higher degree,

Now if we go to Makro G &M sausage is sold for 690 baht a kilo. Enough of a savings to have you know who dancing with joy only matched by a climax in certain unmentionable situations.

I must concede to you on the cheese I do not make that much of a study of it.

But as you say the arena is here and the lines are drawn. And I shall sit on the fifty yard line and enjoy the battle please do not let it be to the death as I wish to savoir it as a fine wine.

In war, truth is the first casualty. What with all that fog of war obscuring your vision, how could one expect anything different? So what you saw as G&M is actually TGM. You are, in fact, referring to TGM salamis. Which do retail at Makro for 690 baht per kilo. AndI think that they are sold presliced at Rimping and Lotus for 110 baht per kilo. And they are very good, too. I know this because I have a sad and useless life with way too much time to kill, so I had occasion to compare TGM salami to imported Italian salami: I thought it was just as good.

But I stick with my assertion that G&M sausages mostly retail for 289 baht per kilo.

As for "the expert on everything you know who", I'm beginning to suspect that she is really a fictional character, a ploy by the enemies of truth to make us attack each other and distract us from our real enemy: the mentally well!

Edited January 30, 2013 by butterisbetter

[hellodolly]

Just to put a little different light and reality on the subject. Both tops and Rimping sell G&M German sausages at 110 per 100 mg. Tops has a better cheese selection. Now these are cherry picked items that a lot of people cherry pick. Makro has some excellent prices the thing is a lot of them you have to buy in bulk for instance the G&M German sausages have to be bought by the kilogram, But this is cherry picking for over all shopping I will pick Rimping. If I want bulk I will go to Makro.

Tops gives money back and that allows them to buy you.

Rimping gives product and that allows them to attract you. To me they are one and the same. When I get enough points for an item I get it for free. When I get enough points at Top's for the amount of money I cash them in and go buy the item I want. Pretty sad argument when you have to compare the reward systems. One other thing people tend to do is sell them selves short. There time is worth money. Makro is a large store to be going thorough looking for items. Money wise I don't recall ever seeing any thing on sale. And as has been stated here when you see some thing on sale at the other two look at the best by date.

It would be interesting to here from some people who only shop at one store. I shop at all three because I live walking distance to Rimping I go to movies at the airport and go through the Tops there and some times I want bulk and will go to Makro. They are all OK none is better than the other it is just a matter of what the individual person wants.

First of all I'd just like to note the rational, humane, and temperate way that you, hellodolly, have approached this issue. In other words, what is your problem, dude? We're not talking about relatively uncontroversial topics like politics and religion here. The topic at hand is SUPERMARKET PRICING, ground zero in the battle for civilization. Topics like this demand not the standard 22 caliber dose of rancor but a magnum at least, with an additional charge of wrath. I'm very disappointed in you.

I am going to have to question some of the points you raised. I looked for an appropriate typeface -- one that had flames licking from it -- but so far no luck. Your imagination will have to supply the hellfire.

1) I doubt that either Tops or Rimping sell G&M sausage at 110 baht per 100 kilogram. That sounds more like the price you'd pay for imported Italian prosciutto. I'm pretty sure that Rimping sells most G&M sausages for 289 baht per kilo. I've never seen G&M sausages at Tops but I could have overlooked them.

2)Are you sure you haven't got the cheese thing reversed? The cheese sold at Tops are mostly pretty bland and limited. On the other hand, Rimping has on offer the kind of cheeses that require a license certifying that you can either sing the Marseillaise or do a goosestep as well as that you possess a gas mask in order for you to be allowed to purchase them.

In closing, I'd like to advise you to choose one supermarket and stick with it. In a war like this there are no civilians and you will just find yourself in the crossfire. I hate to think of what I'd have to do if I found you in my sights. We shoppers at Rimping have a well deserved reputation for ruthlessness.

So sorry some times I get carried away. At any rate I have always considered you as my protector from the wrath of the expert on every thing you know who.

That being said I did make a huge mistake in my post and your response to it was as misguided as my statement.

It is 110 baht per 100 gram that works out to 1,100 baht per kilo. How can you miss it at Tops that is all that is in the display case. Your powers of observation must be honed to a higher degree,

Now if we go to Makro G &M sausage is sold for 690 baht a kilo. Enough of a savings to have you know who dancing with joy only matched by a climax in certain unmentionable situations.

I must concede to you on the cheese I do not make that much of a study of it.

But as you say the arena is here and the lines are drawn. And I shall sit on the fifty yard line and enjoy the battle please do not let it be to the death as I wish to savoir it as a fine wine.

In war, truth is the first casualty. What with all that fog of war obscuring your vision, how could one expect anything different? So what you saw as G&M is actually TGM. You are, in fact, referring to TGM salamis. Which do retail at Makro for 690 baht per kilo. AndI think that they are sold presliced at Rimping and Lotus for 110 baht per kilo. And they are very good, too. I know this because I have a sad and useless life with way too much time to kill, so I had occasion to compare TGM salami to imported Italian salami: I thought it was just as good.

But I stick with my assertion that G&M sausages mostly retail for 289 baht per kilo.

As for "the expert on everything you know who", I'm beginning to suspect that she is really a fictional character, a ploy by the enemies of truth to make us attack each other and distract us from our real enemy: the mentally well!

Alas you speak the truth I am misguided where therefore would one find this G&M Sausage at such a ridicules low price. Tis indeed strange that you know who has not started a thread on it proclaiming for all to hear Makro is high priced. Sausage here for 289 baht a kilo Makro 690 baht a kilo,

[scorecard]

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?

It's at Rimping at NIM, bought a jar a few days back and yes it's nicely HOT!

[scorecard]

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.)

Agree with your point. I've had to wean my tribe off of quick visits (and parking) at airport plaza, especially on week-ends to buy something very simple and often not urgent or critical and easily bought elsewhere.

They know now to not suggest airport plaza, and on week-ends we also now avoid Big C Extra for the same reason.

[scorecard]

I guarantee that whichever 'supermarket' I go in, there is a farang with wife/gf in tow, trolley with mostly western items for him and a small fish sauce for her. He is trying not to look worried or look at her and keeps some distance from his wife/gf, who is currently examining and considering trying some expensive western item, which of course he doesn't like. Sometimes I overhear "oh you won't like that", when she shows it to him.

Yep seen this before and even more severe, have an acquaintance in Pattaya who has a Thai wife, and I'm surprised the marriage has lasted.

The farang tries to insist that his wife eat western food only and there is a large stock of western food producst in their kitchen. Nothing Thai whatever, not even a pack of mama.

This even extends to her underwear and lots more, he insists that she have everything from Marks and Spencer only.

For the food, the reality is of course she makes numerous excuses to get away from the house to quickly eat on the streets, and I don't blame her.