Yes also true.
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WH Smiths at Railway Stations
- Thread starter Butts
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Yes also true.
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Butts
Veteran Member
I wouldn't dream of purchasing any snouts at WH Smith -I only ever get a paper and perhaps some sweets on "special offer"
Talking of sweets Frys Turkish Delight- has anyone noticed they seem to be impersonating a match box in size these days
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I can't see the rental on a Station WH Smith would be any higher (proportionately) than a High Street outlet in say London or Edinburgh.
They don't charge inflated prices relative to the other branches
Wouldn't know, it's disgusting stuffTalking of sweets Frys Turkish Delight- has anyone noticed they seem to be impersonating a match box in size these days
Butts
Veteran Member
I love them, but they're so expensive for what they are! Mind you, all chocolate bars are now I suppose.
I can remember when 10p bought you a curly wurly bar about a mile long! Now you'll get a little baby finger of fudge for about 20p!
I can remember when 10p bought you a curly wurly bar about a mile long! Now you'll get a little baby finger of fudge for about 20p!
You'll note that the only WHSmith high street stores in Edinburgh city centre is a tiny one on Queensferry Street!
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By the way, while you're all here - would you like a slab of Galaxy chocolate for £1?
No I bloody well don't
I prefer B&Q myself. The only one of the "everyone gets one of these vouchers at the till" offers I've used has been the series of 10% or 20% off random future purchases.
P.S. What does "DO NOT MINT RETURN" mean?
merlodlliw
Established Member
WestCoast
Established Member
If you wan't cheap branded confectionery, WHSmith is not the place, even with the 'discounted' stuff they try and flog at the till - that's another rant arghh! You need the legendary Home Bargains (10p will get you something decent), which I don't think exists in town/city centres further south than Northampton!
Butts
Veteran Member
If you wan't cheap branded confectionery, WHSmith is not the place, even with the 'discounted' stuff they try and flog at the till - that's another rant arghh! You need the legendary Home Bargains (10p will get you something decent), which I don't think exists in town/city centres further south than Northampton!
Perhaps they'll open an outlet at a Railway Station
WestCoast
Established Member
Perhaps they'll open an outlet at a Railway Station
I doubt it very much.
Rail passengers are a captive market.However, I strongly believe WHSmith can be such a rip-off shop at times. I only tend to buy magazines/newspapers from there i.e. "fixed price". Most of the products can be purchased elsewhere for less, often exactly the same thing. I can think of one High Street where there is a Wilkinson's opposite WHSmith. The former tends to undercut the latter on many items, mostly on stationary which was, at one time, a core segment of Smith's business.
Where WHSmith really are bad is at airports past security, where passengers are forced to buy bottled drinks. They cash-in by charging £1.69+ for a bottle of water and rip-off sandwiches.
Boots are usually also present in the airport, and they, on the other hand, will sell two large bottles of water for £1.60 and decent value meal deals with a great selection.
No prizes for guessing who passengers prefer for their thirst!
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WestCoast
Established Member
Which is why WHSmith do it, it's good business for them I'm sure. However, my advice would be to head for Boots or Spar at an airport! Boots and Spar prices are far more realistic. Bottled drinks are BIG business at airports now and the price difference between WHSmith and the others is shocking...
I am not a fan of WHSmith, no matter how much of a British institution they are. From what I've heard from people that have worked there part-time, they aren't a great employer either.
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I've not heard good things about them from the side of the distributors that supply them, so I guess they're pretty much being attacked from all sides; yet they still continue to trade!
So, obviously rather a lot of people are happy to be ripped off.
So, obviously rather a lot of people are happy to be ripped off.
Eng274
Member
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Edinburgh Airport (specifically the staff!) was so so relieved when Boots set up there about a year and a half ago on airside. The poor quality, overpriced sandwiches and drinks that WH Smith sell now have a superior alternative - the meal deal! £3.49 for a decent sandwich, choc bar and a litre of water, or a similar offering from Smiths which could cost almost £6. When neither give staff discount you start to get picky..
(my bold)
Are they? I never buy bottled drinks at airports - I take an (empty) bottle of water through with me and fill it up in the bathroom. Security staff themselves told me about this trick - their rules explicitly allow empty bottles as long as they're declared rather than hidden away in bags!
WestCoast
Established Member
Well, OK, fair enough.
However, most people either don't bother or aren't aware you can do that! Plus, I wouldn't drink the tap water in the toilets in some countries. 
Butts
Veteran Member
The makeover has been quite good retail wise but you now have to walk about 10 miles to some the gates
Just make sure it is potable (drinking) water though
Many toilets hand washing water is not which is why you sometimes see another pipe and tap. Could be full of all sorts of bacteiria such as listeria, legionela mm lovely
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Butts
Veteran Member
Smudger105e
Member
When I used to go to Saturday morning pictures, I had to decide whether to use my 9d for a circle ticket, or pay 6d for the stalls and 3d on a curly wurly.
God I'm old!!
Butts
Veteran Member
Not quite so old but 10p would get you the bus down 2p each way, 5p admission with 1p for 8 blackjacks or fruit salad
Flamingo
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If you wan't cheap branded confectionery, WHSmith is not the place, even with the 'discounted' stuff they try and flog at the till - that's another rant arghh! You need the legendary Home Bargains (10p will get you something decent), which I don't think exists in town/city centres further south than Northampton!
Wrong, alive and well in South Wales. The Mrs loves it *and I can live with it myself!). usually something from there in my lunch box most days.
WestCoast
Established Member
Wrong, alive and well in South Wales. The Mrs loves it *and I can live with it myself!). usually something from there in my lunch box most days.
Oh, I didn't realise they had expanded that far, Home Bargains used to be a 'northern exclusive'
. It appears they now do online ordering like Tesco, crikey, they've come on a bit!
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bb21
Emeritus Moderator
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One of my favourite games used to be "spot the price difference" with Greggs sausage rolls and I remember prices one particular year being:
Stratford London 73p
Boscombe 68p
Leicester 53p
Leeds 44p
Carlisle 2 for 75p
I did wonder if they would actually pay me money to eat their sausage rolls if I went into the Inverness branch.
Exactly my attitude. There is always an alternative. If other shops can manage with lower prices then surely the only reason their prices are so high is corporate greed.
When they charge more than Rail Gourmet do onboard trains, something is seriously wrong.
If you wan't cheap branded confectionery, WHSmith is not the place, even with the 'discounted' stuff they try and flog at the till - that's another rant arghh! You need the legendary Home Bargains (10p will get you something decent), which I don't think exists in town/city centres further south than Northampton!
Oh, I didn't realise they had expanded that far, they used to be a 'northern exclusive'
Edmonton Green I believe also have a branch.
Wrong, alive and well in South Wales. The Mrs loves it *and I can live with it myself!). usually something from there in my lunch box most days.
Mrs Greenback also adores Home Bargains. In fact, she went there today, and emerged with Golden Wonder crisps at some ridiculous price like 59p for 6 packets, a 2l bottle of Pepsi for 79p and a deodorant for 65p.
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Deleted to avoid confusion and to keep on topic, see WESTCOAST's post below:
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WestCoast
Established Member
This is going slightly off topic, but Home Bargains, is part of the 99p Store Group, they are AFAIAA registered as a company as 99p Stores but trading as Home Bargains
Are you sure about that? Home Bargains, established almost 30 years ago, are owned by Liverpool-based holding company TJ Morris, which is a retail firm with other ventures in property and the Far East. 99p Stores are a chain based in Northants, established in 2001, and they set up a subsidiary called Family Bargains, which was probably intended to compete with HB.
Getting back on-topic, we are stuck with WHSmith at stations. Fortunately most larger stations have access to cheaper/better retail options.
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