The massive Easter Egg rip-off!

by Rachel Wait on 31 March 2010  |  10 comments
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If you've still got Easter eggs to buy, make sure you don't get caught out by this sneaky swindle...

With Easter just days away, all you chocoholics out there are no doubt dying to sink your teeth into some Easter egg.  

But if you’ve yet to make a trip to the supermarket to pick up Easter eggs for your loved ones, you need to watch out. That’s because Easter egg manufacturers are swindling us out of our hard-earned cash, and, according to mySupermarket.co.uk, have downsized their eggs by as much as 38% compared to last year!

To make matters worse, while the size has gone down, in some cases, the price of these eggs has actually gone up! So shoppers are getting far less chocolate for their money.

Although the price of Easter eggs has dropped by an average of 7% this year - thanks to numerous special offers - mySupermarket.co.uk reckons shoppers could be paying as much as £1 more for a smaller egg. What a rip-off!

The worst offenders

So, what we all want to know is which Easter eggs have seen the biggest decrease in size, without decreasing in price? To give you the answer, the chart below highlights the top five shrinking Easter eggs this year:

Source: mySupermarket.co.uk                                      

Other top offenders include the Guylian’s Seashells Egg which has also reduced the amount of chocolate by 14% compared with 2009. Meanwhile, its price is up by £1 in Sainsbury’s at £6.

Similarly, the Cadbury’s Dairy Milk Easter Chick & Buttons Easter Egg has also seen its size shrink by 10% since last year, but its price has not been lowered.

And finally, Cadbury’s Creme Giant Egg (529g) has also had a 16% reduction in size, but no corresponding price change in ASDA.

Get shopping

I don’t know about you, but this really rattles my cage. After all, food is expensive enough, and although Easter eggs are technically a luxury item, there’s nothing more frustrating than being swindled out of our hard-earned cash!

So if you don’t want to get stung by this great Easter egg rip-off, what can you do? 

One way to avoid paying more than you should be is to shop around to find the best deal available. And mySupermarket.co.uk is perfect for doing just that because it compares prices from four of the major supermarkets – ASDA, Sainsbury’s, Tesco, and Ocado.

So bearing this in mind, let’s take a look at where you can get the worst-offending Easter eggs (those mentioned in the chart above) at the best prices. Unfortunately, I could not find the Beacon Hot Wheels & Toy Egg at any of the supermarkets, so I have not included it in the chart.

*Special offer

Although Ocado has come up trumps for the majority of these eggs, this won't always be the case, and it still shows you how important it is to shop around to ensure you’re getting the best deal.  

Lowest price

Despite the fact that many Easter eggs have seen their prices increase, there are some which have actually lowered their prices. So if you’re after a bargain, the chart below highlights which eggs have decreased the most in price, plus how much they have reduced in size.

Source: mySupermarket.co.uk

So judging by this, if you're after a bargain, I'd go for a Galaxy egg - the size hasn't changed too much, but the price has dropped significantly!

The big brands

Of course, if you’re a real chocoholic, your favourite brand of Easter egg may not have been mentioned yet. So where can you pick up some of the other big names at the best prices? Take a look at the chart below to find out.

*Special offer

Apologies if your favourite Easter Egg has not been included!

So once again, it just proves that shopping around really can pay off! Finally, don’t forget to check out your local deep discounter – LIDL, Netto and Aldi are also packed full of top offers which are worth browsing.

Finally, don't forget to watch our video: The lovemoney.com annual Easter egg taste test, to find out whether the most expensive Easter eggs taste the best. 

Want to have more money to spend on stuff that matters to you? Learn to budget effectively using lovemoney.com’s brand new online banking tool. It enables you to categorise all your transactions from different bank accounts and credit cards so you know exactly what you're spending your money on throughout the month, using a single log-in. Find out more

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