Is this a rip off?

That is terrible they are in actual fact ripping off their own people.

You get it wolfie, we are indeed being ripped off, completely. Problem is the prices in town are starting to go up too.

Hi bigplay, so basically you're saying that as a fellow resident of a tourist area you expect to be ripped off so that the businesses can make more money from the people who are travelling there. I get your point completely if it's businesses aimed directly at tourists, such as a lot of the restaurants that only open in the tourist season but I can't agree when it comes to basic necessary commodities such as foodstuffs.

We Can Do Nothing About these Super Markets .. They Act that Way Might Be Because They Have Political Support Or Because the Complaints Are not Reaching The Right Persons .. But Whatever the The Reason This Menace Has To Be Stopped .. They Are Causing Local Residents a Problem, I Do Understand ..

Hi prash, I'm not quite sure if I can go along with the politcal support for the supermarkets here, it's probably more a question of bribes. The irony is though that the guy who owns the supermarket which is locally owned rather than part of a chain has always been a supporter of the communist party

Good morning Prash, I can understand the reasoning behind it too, we are after all a captive audience as we don't have any other shops locally to pop into to buy our necessities, the two places are indeed our only choice. But I think they have just gone too far this time. I have no shame in putting an item back if I get to the checkout and discover a small melon when weighed comes to 4 euros when I know full well they are less than 1 euro in town. Multiply the price difference by all the other things in the basket and the trip to town becomes a necessity. But you'll be pleased to hear that when I put things back like the melon I do make a point of telling them it is way too expensive and how much it does cost in the town. So I am making a stand of not being taken for a ride.

i was only saying about our local supermarkets, we actually take the longer drive of 50/60km away to do most of our shopping.

It can be a drag sometimes though, especially this month when the only road is packed with tourists who have no idea at all of how to drive in Greece. Still I get to have a nice chat with all the locals when I get there about what a bother the road was getting up their that day

Oh come off it weasel, a 30 km hike through the bush is nothing to you aussies and I can't see you've got a thing to complain about with all those cheap potatoes to be had, very nutritous things potatoes, you could take them along to your friends houses when you pop along for tea and I'm sure they could cook them up for you. I'd suggest you make them into chips but know t

Hi Downwindz, it appears to be the same practice in tourist places all over, with the difference here that they forgot to put their prices back down again now at the end of the season. I've taken to shopping for everything an hour away where the prices are cheaper by far and will do this all year round from now on. I've found one of the best times to shop is during siesta hours, for foodstuffs, as all the shops close apart from the big supermarkets, so not only is it easier to park but they are generally empty as everyone is off sleeping the afternoon away.

It is also, to our cost, the most expensive country in Europe.

Hey Thea, A very clever move for you, unfortuately food isnt considrably cheaper if we go to the closest larger towns, so what we would save would be used in gasoline. Instead my mum is an early bird (i envy her talent for that) and are at the supermarket when they open, then it is atleast not so crowdy so you have more freedom to do the shopping. Im supprised it is so much cheaper for you to dot he shopping an hour away, but not on the other hand Greece is also more a turist country compared to Denmark.

Hi ellaprice, I think only an idiot would be willing to disclose their income source on an on line forum so won't address your first point. Also I was not referring to just myself, this issue touches the whole community, especially the older people who cannot get to town often and already rely on other people to take them there for necessary appointments and hospital visits. Selling on the street is illegal and I do not have fresh fruit to sell, I receive my fruit from friends and I could think of nothing more insulting to them than selling it on.

Hi, well I think that the only people who benefit from the high supermarket prices are the supermarkets but as I said earlier I expect one will close within the next year whilst the other one which is heavily involved in the local communiity will survive. I also presume they do offer a good discount to the local tavernas or else they would need to shop in town as well. One of them does offer a free delivery service which I've used the odd time when the car was out of action and they do open 365 days a year, so if forced to get something locally will use that one. They also let locals just pass over the money for an item when there is a large queue of tourists.

Sorry, I didn't know selling on the street is illegal, it's not very I am. I didn't really ask for your income course, what I was trying to say, if you life in a place that has a lot of tourist activity and the tourist activity does affect your income then you and the supermarket are in the same category. However if you income is totally none related to tourist activity such as you are on fixed income I can see the issue.

Hi scarlet_woman, interesting to hear it goes on in your place two. We actually have two places to choose from and i expect one will close down within the next year as it has no atmosphere to it, the other one is locally owned and does provide excellent service beyond selling expensive food stuffs and always previously reduced its prices again at the end of the season but didn't last year. I would say as the owner is a well respected person locally and does go out of his way to help locals his business will continue, I just won't continue buying the bulk of my foodstuffs there. Previously I would do a massive shop in town and then pop in there for the day to day stuff but now I try and buy everything in town and go up every week. Unfortunately there isn't the option here of buying food over the internet.

I'm sure u know this but i have found if u open a bag of salad mix & put the rest in a tupperware container it will keep for awhile. Romaine lettuce lasts alot longer than a regular head of lettuce. doesn't any of it last as long as i'd like for it to. I know u probably have to buy some things there but it would be very few if it was me. y'all should get a petition started & present it to the greedy guts & just let them know how u feel. I hope all of the locals boycott them.

Hi Aunty, I do a massive stock up when in town about once a week but can't always guarantee that salad stuff will last that long and we get through loads. I get a lot of stuff given by local friends but the salad stuff was all ruined by the salt water recently. So I have the dimemna then, do I buy third rate salad stuff at 5 times the price, or hold out till I go to town again where it is fresh and cheap. I really resent paying 85 cents for a puny little cucumber when I can get 4 large healthy ones in town for 1 euro. Greed indeed.

Hi srganesh, you raise an issue with your theatre prices which shows how lucky we are here not to have theatres. Actually there are theatres but quite a long distance away and are of the outdoor variety sitting on stones. The order of the day there is bring your own snacks. As for starting a rival business I could never afford the brown envelopes involved (that's bribery money).

Hi jellymonty, I agree that most tourists probably don't realise as they are already dealing with the change in currency and as most taverana and restaurant prices have not increased that mush they actually consider it a cheap place to visit. However this year with the cost increased so much in actually getting here the number of tourists has declined steeply and many tavernas have lost much of their usual business. Luckily we have a few places which are cheap and populated just by locals and wouldn't appeal to tourists who want the nice views and menus whilst they eat.

Hi Iriene, just can't see a cooperative taking of here somehow. Anyway I'll be up to town tomorrow for a weeks supply of everything, and I'm going down to the fishing village in a little bit so will no doubt be told what fish and fruits are waiting for me. The rising prices even in town though now are becoming a problem, no more of items just going up a couple of cents, now they jump by about 30 cents so I really notice. I don't know if that particular kind of increase in food is normal in other countries at the moment.

Dear Thea, Oh yes, the price hike in Malaysia in substantial too. But certain necessary items is Governement Controlled like petrol, rice, flour, sugar, cooking oil.. However during Sale the price of other items are really cheap. One thing good about Malaysia especially the place that I stayed - Petaling Jaya, Klang Valley...too many hypermarkets - local and overseas. They tend to compete with each other.. Sometimes in a big Megamall, has two hypermarket in one mall. So they always have promotion. If you buy at normal price, it is very expensive, so we normally become smart buyer, buy during promotion only! Eg, packet drink like Yeo Hiap Seng soya bean drink. Normal Price RM2.89, Discount Price RM1.69 Thanks and Take Care :)

Hi Kitty nice to see you again, when you say prices are expensive there do you mean much more so than in other parts of the states.? I would expect Manhattan would be very pricey but didn't think the less glitzy areas around would be too. The latest figures I heard were that Americans pay 3 times less than Greeks for the same kind of thing, yet where minimum wages apply yours are double those here. This is a new development here and we are not on a par with the rest of Europe.

Hi thea Now see this is news to me,I always though NYC was the worst, guess I was wrong, still to darn expensive here, makes me sick lol

Hi zausiu, I'm inlcined to agree with the tourists paying a higher price and they do unwittingly subsidise certain things for all the locals without realising it. The cafenions would have increased the price of a Greek coffee by now if the tourists weren't paying more to drink different coffees so two of the places I frequent haven't put the coffee price up in 6 years now. But unlike you we don't have local convenience stores, we have 2 large food shops only, so we either pay the rip of prices or drive for an hour to town.

Hi cher, nice place to live. I know the sort of place you mean and I'd give them a wide berth whilst if it's a gifty type place the tourists are happy to pay for their momento from their holiday whereas locals wouldn't be shopping for that kind of thing in the first place. The ones I'm complaining about are the actual supermarkets selling food stuffs which we all have no choice but to buy.

Hi Hatley, nice to see you again. I agree that in a recession they would gain more good will by reducing prices rather than by increasing them, people will remember afterwards these ridiculous and unnecessary price hikes. In our instance the people here who are really being ripped off here are the older people who find it difficult to get into town but aren't receiving an increase in pensions to match the rising food prices.

Hi Opal, I believe the general concensus is we'll still all be trouping into town because we're all capable of working out the savings. One of the supermakets though is locally owned by a good chap and he does look out for us locals in a way, he opens 365 days a year well into the evenings. He even got arrested a few times for opening on Sundays but he still went back and did it again. And when my car was in the garage and it had gone dark i just walked in the office there and one of the delivery drivers drove me home. But they must have noticed the drop in trade from the locals and I expect it will contine. The other place which is part of a chain and lacks the personal service I don't think will last the winter as anyone local will favour the other one.