4 ms·

What's so unbelievable about meal deals? It seems like a really straightforward bundle purchase.

by pdpi 4mo ago

nixgeek 4mo ago
A sandwich, bag of crisps and a drink for £5 is an actual deal. Sandwich alone in U.S. would be $10 and the “$15 Meal Deal” just doesn’t have the same ring to it.
- sam345 4mo ago
  Incorrect. Maybe you familiar with the high cost of living areas. There are similar $5 deals in the United States. The US is a big place and has many, many businesses offering very similar deals.
  - nrki 4mo ago
    Thing is, the meal deals are _everywhere_ in the UK. There is no "high cost of living" priced Tesco. Or Sainsbury's. Or 5 other supermarkets.
    - ralferoo 4mo ago
      Meal deal prices are higher in certain places, like motorway service stations. If there's a captive market, they'll sneak the price up just like every other company. If there's competition they'll use lower pricing.
- ffsm8 4mo ago
  Mmh, you can get 3 el cheapo sandwiches for 1.99€, a 100g bag of chips for 0.99€ and a liter of water for 0.90€ or flavoured /coke for 1.99€ in Germany Considering a £ is more then a €, supposedly at last - it doesn't sound like a good deal to me
  - mikestorrent 4mo ago
    I don't think I could find a sandwich anywhere around here in Canada save maybe one of those awful gas station ones for under $6
    - Symbiote 4mo ago
      The ones being discussed in the UK are in the triangular box like that, but there's so much competition between the shops that they're ok. It's also a dense enough country that they will be at most a day or two old.
  - Symbiote 4mo ago
    Can you give an example, as I'm not sure it's a fair comparison? https://www.tesco.com/shop/en-GB/products/262308005 https://www.tesco.com/shop/en-GB/products/262308005
    - ffsm8 4mo ago
      honestly, they depend on the store you chose to go to. they always taste the same. and the last time i ate one of the sandwidches in the UK they tasted the same there too - but it's been a pretty long time, admittedly (like 20 years or so) eg https://www.rewe.de/shop/p/ja-bacon-ei-sandwich-160g/7878218 https://www.rewe.de/shop/p/ja-bacon-ei-sandwich-160g/7878218 cheap sandwidches (2€) https://www.rewe.de/shop/p/lay-s-chips-red-paprika-150g/8940323 https://www.rewe.de/shop/p/lay-s-chips-red-paprika-150g/8940... chips 150g (99c) https://www.rewe.de/shop/p/coca-cola-1-5l/6730574 https://www.rewe.de/shop/p/coca-cola-1-5l/6730574 cola, 1.25l (1.19€) personally i'd skip the sandwiches in all cases - the wraps, baguettes or ready to eat salads are way better and cost the same. and i'd skip the chips too. i mean thats just pure calories. rather eat a great salad for 3€ instead of the el cheapo sandwidches and chips :)
      - Symbiote 4mo ago
        Then I misunderstood, I thought you meant you could buy 3 sandwiches for €1.99, 67¢ each. Tesco also have four choices for £1.50 each (€1.73), several 100-200g bags of crisps/tortilla chips for less than £1, and 2 litres of cola for 49p. This would be cheaper than the "Meal Deal". https://www.tesco.com/shop/en-GB/browse/fresh-food/chilled-soup-sandwiches-and-salad-pots/sandwiches-wraps-and-sushi/all?sortBy=price-ascending&count=24 https://www.tesco.com/shop/en-GB/browse/fresh-food/chilled-s... https://www.tesco.com/shop/en-GB/browse/treats-and-snacks/crisps-snacks-nuts-and-popcorn/sharing-crisps-and-snacks?sortBy=price-ascending&count=24 https://www.tesco.com/shop/en-GB/browse/treats-and-snacks/cr... https://www.tesco.com/shop/en-GB/browse/drinks/fizzy-and-soft-drinks/cola?sortBy=price-ascending&count=24 https://www.tesco.com/shop/en-GB/browse/drinks/fizzy-and-sof...
- wil421 4mo ago
  If you want a shitty sandwich you can find it for $5 in the US no problem. Plus some variation of the sausage roll that will clean you out just as well.
  - mattoxic 4mo ago
    And by "clean you out" you mean financially or both?
    - mikestorrent 4mo ago
      Oh, you'll be able to afford it... but you may end up having to spend some time instead
- lbreakjai 4mo ago
  Gosh, it used to be £3 not that long ago. About £5 for a wrap at Prêt if I couldn't be bothered to go fight with the tourists to cross the road down Kingsway.
  - cryo32 4mo ago
    It's £3.85. Not that much more.
    - dspillett 4mo ago
      £5.50+ is for the better “main” options, some of which used to be in the base deal, in most places that do a meal deal.
- 8ytecoder 4mo ago
  Costco sells really good hotdogs with a large coke for $1.50.
  - sandworm101 4mo ago
    [dead]
  - swarnie 4mo ago
    Mechanically reclaimed meat and a half gallon of high fructose corn water isn't much of a comparison.
    - cucumber3732842 4mo ago
      [dead]
    - 8ytecoder 4mo ago
      I honestly can’t understand why not wasting meat is such a bad thing?
      - swarnie 4mo ago
        Sure from an efficiency point of view its fantastic, personally i like some texture from my meal deal.
- gib444 4mo ago
  Meal deal = main + snack/side + drink The "main" has expanded to Huel, salads, wraps, sushi, even hot food The "snack" can be more than crisps: small bags of fresh chicken, 2 boiled eggs, small sushi pack, gyozas etc The "drink" includes quality smoothies, acceptable vending machine coffee etc Meal deal value maximizing is the whole game lol. There are also lots of healthier options if you choose carefully In certain Sainsbury's you can get hot food as the main such as a small green curry or chicken goujons, and wedges or hash browns as the side But the price creeps up £0.50 practically yearly. I think it's £5.50 already in Sainsbury's It's better to view it as a cheaper alternative to eating at a restaurant rather than somehow saving money compared to bringing in leftovers. People who think £5.50 a day for lunch is saving money versus cooking themselves are delusional
  - jpfromlondon 4mo ago
    £3.85 in my nearest central-London Tesco, it even includes some premium energy drinks like Tenzing that alone would get close to the cost of the deal.
    - gib444 4mo ago
      Ah thanks I haven't been paying close enough attention. That's good
- pjc50 4mo ago
  There's a lot to complain about in the UK, but food price/quality is actually pretty good. Not the absolute best, but far from the worst and certainly not Scandinavian prices.
- cucumber3732842 4mo ago
  $6.5 is about what you'd spend to get a bag of chips, hot or cold sandwich and drink from any Walmart that's been renovated recently enough to have a "Grab and go" or whatever they're calling it.
- vel0city 4mo ago
  A sandwich, a bag of crisps, and a drink at the grocer near me is $8. I don't exactly live in a super low cost of living area, nor is it one of the most expensive in the US.
deleted 4mo ago
[deleted]

What's so unbelievable about meal deals? It seems like a really straightforward bundle purchase.

by pdpi 4mo ago

What's so unbelievable about meal deals? It seems like a really straightforward bundle purchase.

A sandwich, bag of crisps and a drink for £5 is an actual deal. Sandwich alone in U.S. would be $10 and the “$15 Meal Deal” just doesn’t have the same ring to it.

sam345 4mo ago
Incorrect. Maybe you familiar with the high cost of living areas. There are similar $5 deals in the United States. The US is a big place and has many, many businesses offering very similar deals.
- nrki 4mo ago
  Thing is, the meal deals are _everywhere_ in the UK. There is no "high cost of living" priced Tesco. Or Sainsbury's. Or 5 other supermarkets.
  - ralferoo 4mo ago
    Meal deal prices are higher in certain places, like motorway service stations. If there's a captive market, they'll sneak the price up just like every other company. If there's competition they'll use lower pricing.
ffsm8 4mo ago
Mmh, you can get 3 el cheapo sandwiches for 1.99€, a 100g bag of chips for 0.99€ and a liter of water for 0.90€ or flavoured /coke for 1.99€ in Germany Considering a £ is more then a €, supposedly at last - it doesn't sound like a good deal to me
- mikestorrent 4mo ago
  I don't think I could find a sandwich anywhere around here in Canada save maybe one of those awful gas station ones for under $6
  - Symbiote 4mo ago
    The ones being discussed in the UK are in the triangular box like that, but there's so much competition between the shops that they're ok. It's also a dense enough country that they will be at most a day or two old.
- Symbiote 4mo ago
  Can you give an example, as I'm not sure it's a fair comparison? https://www.tesco.com/shop/en-GB/products/262308005 https://www.tesco.com/shop/en-GB/products/262308005
  - ffsm8 4mo ago
    honestly, they depend on the store you chose to go to. they always taste the same. and the last time i ate one of the sandwidches in the UK they tasted the same there too - but it's been a pretty long time, admittedly (like 20 years or so) eg https://www.rewe.de/shop/p/ja-bacon-ei-sandwich-160g/7878218 https://www.rewe.de/shop/p/ja-bacon-ei-sandwich-160g/7878218 cheap sandwidches (2€) https://www.rewe.de/shop/p/lay-s-chips-red-paprika-150g/8940323 https://www.rewe.de/shop/p/lay-s-chips-red-paprika-150g/8940... chips 150g (99c) https://www.rewe.de/shop/p/coca-cola-1-5l/6730574 https://www.rewe.de/shop/p/coca-cola-1-5l/6730574 cola, 1.25l (1.19€) personally i'd skip the sandwiches in all cases - the wraps, baguettes or ready to eat salads are way better and cost the same. and i'd skip the chips too. i mean thats just pure calories. rather eat a great salad for 3€ instead of the el cheapo sandwidches and chips :)
    - Symbiote 4mo ago
      Then I misunderstood, I thought you meant you could buy 3 sandwiches for €1.99, 67¢ each. Tesco also have four choices for £1.50 each (€1.73), several 100-200g bags of crisps/tortilla chips for less than £1, and 2 litres of cola for 49p. This would be cheaper than the "Meal Deal". https://www.tesco.com/shop/en-GB/browse/fresh-food/chilled-soup-sandwiches-and-salad-pots/sandwiches-wraps-and-sushi/all?sortBy=price-ascending&count=24 https://www.tesco.com/shop/en-GB/browse/fresh-food/chilled-s... https://www.tesco.com/shop/en-GB/browse/treats-and-snacks/crisps-snacks-nuts-and-popcorn/sharing-crisps-and-snacks?sortBy=price-ascending&count=24 https://www.tesco.com/shop/en-GB/browse/treats-and-snacks/cr... https://www.tesco.com/shop/en-GB/browse/drinks/fizzy-and-soft-drinks/cola?sortBy=price-ascending&count=24 https://www.tesco.com/shop/en-GB/browse/drinks/fizzy-and-sof...
wil421 4mo ago
If you want a shitty sandwich you can find it for $5 in the US no problem. Plus some variation of the sausage roll that will clean you out just as well.
- mattoxic 4mo ago
  And by "clean you out" you mean financially or both?
  - mikestorrent 4mo ago
    Oh, you'll be able to afford it... but you may end up having to spend some time instead
lbreakjai 4mo ago
Gosh, it used to be £3 not that long ago. About £5 for a wrap at Prêt if I couldn't be bothered to go fight with the tourists to cross the road down Kingsway.
- cryo32 4mo ago
  It's £3.85. Not that much more.
  - dspillett 4mo ago
    £5.50+ is for the better “main” options, some of which used to be in the base deal, in most places that do a meal deal.
8ytecoder 4mo ago
Costco sells really good hotdogs with a large coke for $1.50.
- sandworm101 4mo ago
  [dead]
- swarnie 4mo ago
  Mechanically reclaimed meat and a half gallon of high fructose corn water isn't much of a comparison.
  - cucumber3732842 4mo ago
    [dead]
  - 8ytecoder 4mo ago
    I honestly can’t understand why not wasting meat is such a bad thing?
    - swarnie 4mo ago
      Sure from an efficiency point of view its fantastic, personally i like some texture from my meal deal.
gib444 4mo ago
Meal deal = main + snack/side + drink The "main" has expanded to Huel, salads, wraps, sushi, even hot food The "snack" can be more than crisps: small bags of fresh chicken, 2 boiled eggs, small sushi pack, gyozas etc The "drink" includes quality smoothies, acceptable vending machine coffee etc Meal deal value maximizing is the whole game lol. There are also lots of healthier options if you choose carefully In certain Sainsbury's you can get hot food as the main such as a small green curry or chicken goujons, and wedges or hash browns as the side But the price creeps up £0.50 practically yearly. I think it's £5.50 already in Sainsbury's It's better to view it as a cheaper alternative to eating at a restaurant rather than somehow saving money compared to bringing in leftovers. People who think £5.50 a day for lunch is saving money versus cooking themselves are delusional
- jpfromlondon 4mo ago
  £3.85 in my nearest central-London Tesco, it even includes some premium energy drinks like Tenzing that alone would get close to the cost of the deal.
  - gib444 4mo ago
    Ah thanks I haven't been paying close enough attention. That's good
pjc50 4mo ago
There's a lot to complain about in the UK, but food price/quality is actually pretty good. Not the absolute best, but far from the worst and certainly not Scandinavian prices.
cucumber3732842 4mo ago
$6.5 is about what you'd spend to get a bag of chips, hot or cold sandwich and drink from any Walmart that's been renovated recently enough to have a "Grab and go" or whatever they're calling it.
vel0city 4mo ago
A sandwich, a bag of crisps, and a drink at the grocer near me is $8. I don't exactly live in a super low cost of living area, nor is it one of the most expensive in the US.

deleted 4mo ago

[deleted]