CHOC LOT
Cheapest shop to buy Quality Streets this week for end of term teacher’s gift
You'll often need a membership card to score the best bargain
QUALITY Street chocolates have been spotted in supermarkets across the UK and many love them as an easy end of term gift.
The treat filled tubs, mostly associated with Christmas, are an easy win for busy parents buying presents for teachers ahead of the summer holidays.
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Usually, the octagonal tins don't make an appearance on supermarket shelves until the winter months.
However, containers of a popular chocolates were spotted piled high in Tesco earlier this month.
Commenting on a Facebook post, one shopper said: "Quality Street are for end of year teacher gifts."
The tubs have been spotted in branches across the country including in Suffolk, Essex and London.
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But it is not just Tesco that has a supply of the festive favourite.
The Sun has rounded up where you can buy Quality Street chocolates and how much each shop will set you back.
Tesco
The UK's largest retailer is selling a 600g tub of the chocolates for £6.
However, there is a way to knock £2.50 off the price.
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If you are a Tesco Clubcard holder you can purchase the tub for £4.50.
The loyalty scheme allows shoppers to earn points as they shop, which can be turned into money off food or other items.
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The supermarket also has exclusive pricing deals for people who sign up.
Quality Street tubs are available to purchase in stores and its website with the cheaper member prices.
If you order online you should factor in delivery fees.
If you are keen to buy the item in person it is always worth ringing your local store ahead of time to check its in stock to avoid disappointment.
Tesco also stocks other Quality Street products in a smaller size.
The retailer is currently selling a 300g bag of Quality Street for £4.50 or £3.50 for Clubcard holders.
Tesco is also charging £3.50 for a 220g box of chocolates or you can pick them for 50p less if you have a Clubcard.
But comparing prices is sometimes not enough to work out what the best deal is.
Shoppers should also look at the unit price.
Unit prices make it easier for shoppers to compare similar items of different sizes and choose the best deal.
You can usually see the unit cost of the product where its price is shown - it may be in the small print.
In this instance, Tesco is offering £1.00 per 100g on its biggest 600g tub or 75p per 100g if you buy using your Clubcard.
Meanwhile, it is charging £1.33 per 100g for its 300g bag or £1.77 per 100g for shoppers with a loyalty card.
Finally, the smallest 220g of Quality Street comes in at £1.59 per 100g if you buy it for full price at £3.50.
Tesco charges £1.36 per 100g if you snap it up using your Clubcard.
So, it actually works out the best value to buy the biggest 600g tub from Tesco as you get more bang for your buck in the long run.
What is unit pricing?
Unit prices make it easier for shoppers to compare similar items of different sizes.
You should be able to see the product's unit price where its price tag is shown - it may be in small print.
It displays the cost of different products by weight, or volume.
It helps you easily compare the costs of different products, regardless of their respective sizes.
Compare this with the unit price of a similar item - for example, the cost per 100ml or two different types of cola - and choose the item with the lowest unit cost.
For example at Tesco, a pack of 15 330ml cans of Coca-Cola Zero is priced at £7.90.
The unit price is shown as 16p per 100ml.
Shoppers can compare this original price to a 2litre bottle of Coca-Cola Zero which is priced at £1.85, and labelled as 9p per 100ml.
Those with a Clubcard can get the same multipack of cans for the lower price of £6.
But there is no label showing the equivalent price per 100ml.
It would work out as 12p per 100ml, making the bottle better value overall despite the discount.
The changes Tesco is making will make this clear on shelves.
Stores must show unit pricing under legislation known as the Price Marking Order 2004.
With this in mind, paying close attention to the unit prices of the staples in your shopping trolley could save you a fortune in the long term.
Sainsbury's
The popular retailer currently only has smaller 220g boxes of the chocolate in stock.
Sainsbury's is charging £.3.75 for the box compared to Tesco which has priced the product at £3.50.
This works out at £1.70 per 100g, if you also want to factor in the unit price.
As it is the summer, Sainsbury's stock of Quality Street is limited but they do offer alternatives.
For example, The retailer is stocking 290g of Cadbury Roses for £4.50.
Again, this works out at £1.55 per 100g.
However, Nectar loyalty card holders can pick up the classic chocolates for £4 or for £1.05 per 100g.
Asda
Asda's website lists the 600g tub for £5.50, which is still pricier than Tesco.
This comes in at 91.7p per 100g if you look at the unit price, which makes Tesco the best value in this case.
However, the major grocery store is one of the cheapest places to pick up the smaller 220g boxes.
Asda has priced the chocolate at £2.50 marked down from £3.00 or £1.14 per 100g.
Fellow supermarket Morrisons also only has the 220g boxes in stock and is charging £3 for the item.
This works at £1.36 per 100g.
This is also the exact same case for Iceland.
So in this instance, Asda comes out as the best value place to pick up a 220g box of Quality Street.
Christmas chocolates are difficult to find at this time of year.
Chocolate fans can order four 650g tubs of Quailty Street on Amazon for £44.99, but buying in bulk doesn't bring the price down in this instance - that's a far dearer £11.25 per container.
Shopping around for the best bargain
When hunting for a deal it is important to shop around make sure you are not being over charged.
There are plenty of comparison websites out there that'll check prices for you - so don't be left paying more than you have to.
Most of them work by comparing the prices across hundreds of retailers.
For example, Google Shopping is a tool that lets users search for and compare prices for products across the web. Simply type in keywords, or a product number, to bring up search results.
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Price Spy also logs the history of how much something costs from over 3,000 different retailers, including Argos, Amazon, eBay and the supermarkets.
Once you select an individual product you can quickly compare which stores have the best price and which have it in stock.
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Go own brand - if you're not too fussed on flavour and just want to supplant your chocolate cravings, you'll save by going for supermarket's own brand bars.
Shop around - if you've spotted your favourite variety at the supermarket, make sure you check if it's cheaper elsewhere.
Websites like Trolley.co.uk let you compare prices on products across all the major chains to see if you're getting the best deal.
Look out for yellow stickers - supermarket staff put yellow, and sometimes orange and red, stickers on to products to show they've been reduced.
They usually do this if the product is coming to the end of its best before date or the packaging is slightly damaged.
Buy bigger bars - most of the time, but not always, chocolate is cheaper per 100g the larger the bar.
So if you've got the appetite, and you were going to buy a hefty amount of chocolate anyway, you might as well go bigger.
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