Indian Groceries - Mustafa vs online/other shops that do home delivery

Discussion in 'Shopping/Restaurants in Singapore' started by AkilaMani, Jul 3, 2013.

  1. AkilaMani

    AkilaMani Local Champion Staff Member IL Hall of Fame

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    Hi all,

    Some of us order our groceries from an indian grocers who do home delivery and some buy from mustafa. Though I regularly buy from mustafa, I have tried ordering home delivery in the past as well.

    Recently, (this month to be exact), after too many friends chiding me for wasting a sunday morning sleep once a month, I ordered from Karthika store in Little India. I found that the pricing was a little high for many products and way to high for some, even more than double the price, especially dal (most were the shops own brand). I did not do a detailed check, but from the random list sampling and checking it against my previous month's mustafa bill, I found a difference of over $30!! and also the quality not so good (one of the idli rice bags has bugs/worms):spin(other two bags of the same rice are bug-free)

    When I checked with my friend who had given me the contact of this grocer, she seems to be unaware of the price differences and was shocked to know about it as she had been believing all along that she was getting the best price:drowning

    I understand that many find it a hassel to go grocery shopping (including me;-)) and find it unimportant to compare price ranges(not me :-D)
    I would like to know
    1. what do you do? order home deliveries or go to mustafa or other shops and pick up your grocery?
    2. can i negotiate with the grocer citing the price difference:rant?
    3. Since the rice bag is opened (MIL asked me to put it in the freezer and now does not have the active bugs), will the grocer take it back?

    Thanks all for your inputs :thumbsup
     
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  2. AkilaMani

    AkilaMani Local Champion Staff Member IL Hall of Fame

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    come on guys! 87 views and no replies... we can do better than this...

    Well to update you all, we called the grocer and he kept saying that his quality is superior... implying that the pricing is justified... well..... he just lost a customer.....

    I am still ready to try out buying from small grocers, but next time planning to visit directly and check the pricing and quality before ordering.
     
  3. easy

    easy Gold IL'ite

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    i order online at Murugan stores opp. to Mustafa. they deliver free if the order is 100$.I found the quality good. frankly did not compare the prices with mustafa.. i found it similat only not much of diff. I also ordered in Shivsagar..i found the quality good there as well.
     
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  4. AkilaMani

    AkilaMani Local Champion Staff Member IL Hall of Fame

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    Hi Easy,

    Thanks for the reply. Good to know that murugan and shivsagar have good quality products. With karthika too, I am ok with the rest of the grocery and yes he also delivered for free since the order was more than $100, but finding that they were charging me more than double in few products was the only problem. I would accept a reasonable price difference, but this was too much.

    I am visiting little india this weekend, and will check out few of the stores recommended by few friends, one of which is selvi's. Any idea how the pricing and quality in that shop is?
     
  5. jasenilaa

    jasenilaa Senior IL'ite

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    Hi akila
    Yeah grocery shopping is a tiring chore at times. I shop at Mustafa if list of items are more..just that worth the effort if purchase in bulk. Otherwise i manage buying in Sheng shiong and near by wet market indian shop sell all basic items for indian cooking. I also bought from selvi’s, karthika,Thandapani stores. Quality was good, and didn’t compare prices much. Usually 20~50 cents more or less..so for quick shopping I prefer going to these shops, very convenient…
    1/Never tried online, hope to get more info from other ILs and try in future.
    2/I won’t negotiate for the reason that I can choose to buy from the less/reasonably priced shops , instead. Just that we have some options to choose from. I think so..
    3/Hmm..i think if regular customer, they may consider return/exchange items. For big chains they have this return policy within a week or so. In karthika, there were some items labeled as NO EXCHANGE (for ex: I bought this pana vellam) very clearly mentioned, so I think they are not encouraging exchange of items in general.
    Really annoyed to see a bag of rava(From Sheng shiong) with some worms in there.Ughh..! each time I have to slightly roast it in low heat to prevent it,once opened. But luckily this time no worms as such, I better roast and store in advance..
    Thanks akila and easy for sharing ur experience.
     
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  6. Tavishi25

    Tavishi25 Gold IL'ite

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    hi akhila
    we stay in east, and I feel musthafa bit far so we just home deliver from lavanagro .
    The groceries quality is good I am ordering from 1 year and didn't face any problem of quality. rice also I order 25kg bag and no bugs, For groceries or rice we can choose the brand If we wish like house brand ,idhayam or something .but sometimes in vegetables only one or two will not be good but I think its ok.If our order is above 100$ they will deliver for free. They have one day particular day in a week to each side,like they come on Monday in the east.
    Coming to price I didn't compare,next time I will try it
     
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  7. AkilaMani

    AkilaMani Local Champion Staff Member IL Hall of Fame

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    Hi Jasenilla,

    Cute name :)

    I totally agree on the marginal difference in pricing in relation to convenience. I too buy from Fairprice, seng shiong or an indian grocery nearby, on an as needed basis. I visit mustafas only once a month for my full grocery.

    I did notice the No Exchange on Maggie noodles and had to check the expriy date. It is well within, still i did not like the fact that it cannot be exchanged.

    Also, in any shop (including mustafa) we have to be a little careful with items termed as 'offer' as the expiry dates might be quite near, especially butter. Though we may use them up quickly, I feel comfortable if the product is closer to the manufacture date and not its expiry date. Its kind of second nature to me to check each and every products expiry date when the pick it up. Again this is another reason I like to go in person to pick up my grocery.

    Thanks dear for sharing your experience.
     
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  8. AkilaMani

    AkilaMani Local Champion Staff Member IL Hall of Fame

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    Hi Tavishi,

    Good to know that the quality from lavanagro is good. I too stay in the east, but luckily my MIL doesn't mind watching my kids on the weekend morning when i go for grocery shopping to mustafa. I usually leave pretty early 6 am and am back by 9 - 10 am. The kids wake up about 9, so its ok :)

    Brand-wise, I had not specified and so had recieved their own brand, again I feel that since they are buying it in bulk and are packaging, the price should have been reasonable, if not lower at least in par with the other popular brands, and not doubled.

    I did go to little india this weekend and had a chance to check at selvi's and the corner shop that sells veggies, fruits and groceries across tekka bus stop (don't know the name, it is the first shop in campbell lane). The pricing is slightly better than karthikas in few of the products that i checked.

    Thanks dear for your inputs.
     
  9. Tavishi25

    Tavishi25 Gold IL'ite

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    Ok no problem
    Where do you stay akhila
     
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  10. Nakshatraa

    Nakshatraa Silver IL'ite

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    Hi Akila,
    If you are at Tampines, you can try Nikitha stores located opposite to tampines polyclinic, next to North CC. I used to stay there till a week back. They do home delivery for orders above $50. Priced reasonably too.
    The owner is quite a good person, in case, you want to exchange some things, that you ffind not upto your standard, you can do so.
    They get indian veggies every tuesday, thursday & saturday.

    Regards,
     
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