Cost of incidentals in London
 

What are the prices of common items that are purchased on a daily basis? For instance:
Newspaper
Bottled water
Cup of coffee (not the fancy type)
Cigs
Candy bar, pack of gum
Pay phone call (local)
Sunscreen
Small bag of crisps

I am hoping the prices are simalar to what I am used to but probably should double everything. Anyway, just curious, thereyet

"I am hoping the prices are simalar to what I am used to"

The following applies if you are American: The prices are similar to what you are used to, except they are in £'s, so yes, you will be paying double. :-D That's always been my observation when traveling in London. I hope a British poster can give you more precise info.

BTW, tap water in London is quite good. I always refill my bottle from the faucet.

Newspaper - Mass market one like the Sun around 30p. Proper one like the Telegraph or Guardian - 70p

Bottled water - depends where you buy it - in supermarkets a big bottle costs bobbins. In central London a small bottle from a small shop can be £1 or more

Cup of coffee (not the fancy type) - there is only the fancy type. God knows - coffee is Satan's work.

Cigs - bout £5.50 for 20

Candy bar, pack of gum - chocolate bar 50p ish - Gum - no idea

Pay phone call (local) - minimum charge is 30p, after that it gets cheaper (phones in pubs etc cost a LOT more)

Sunscreen - In England?

Small bag of crisps - about 30p

Cup of coffee in a chain place - unlikely to be much less than £1.25, unless it's instant in a greasy spoon. More in a posh restaurant, obviously.

Sunscreen: well, it all depends. Here's the range at Boots:

http://tinyurl.com/337tku

It's easy for there to be a 3-fold variation in price or more, depending where you purchase these items. Except for the newspaper - that will be more or less the same anywhere.

Otherwise, go to Tesco.

The good news? No tax is added at point of sale. :)

Do;t know were you're from but don;t assume prices based on your home town. Assume prices in London will be double (due to pound/dollar difference) what you would pay in New York - not Peoria.

Audere, let me just wishfully think I'll need the sunscreen! I think an outing to Tesco will be one of my first adventures. Actually quite interested in looking for differences and simalarities to what I find here in California. I think grocers are Flanneruk's specialities are they not. Anyway, thanks for the loads of information my friends, thereyet

Thereyet - Do you have 'self-service grocery scanning' in the US? If not, that's one difference you might find, since some Tesco's have it here in the UK.

Having said that, our local store currently has the SS tills taped off - presumably due either to user incompetance or people deliberately forgetting to scan their HobNobs!

RM67, we do have SS checkout at select stores. Funny thing is I still see clerks waiting customers at those lanes and really don't see the purpose of SS. So, no I haven't used them. If I saw some benefit maybe I would. lets say a DISCOUNT for apperently saving the store money on employing real people! thereyet

If you're interested in differences and similarities to California, you're probably going to the wrong place.

Central London has exceptionally expensive property ("real estate" in some minor dialects) and a population that's often relatively rich, frequently very feckless but universally short of time.

So the overwhelming majority of its food shops these days are either mom + pop (sometimes franchised) convenience stores or else "metro" or "express" (tiny, highly tailored ranges, relatively high prices) versions of the major supermarket chains, all of them strongly influenced (though their management would let a supplier get a price increase before they'd admit it) by Marks & Spencer. A surprising proportion of central London residents get their groceries delivered through Web systems, often supplied from off-centre warehouses. The classiest version of this is Ocado.

If you want to know what a British version of a Vons or Albertson's looks and feels like, you've normally got to get out into the suburbs. There are few exceptions a tourist can easily get to: even the Sainsbury's in Victoria Street is now specially ranged (and, I understand, priced) for its office-worker-at-lunchtime clientele.

Sainsbury's in Chapel Market, N1 (near Camden Passage), or Waitrose by Gloucester Road tube are just about the the only two normal (over 30,000 sq ft) supermarkets in central London really convenient for public transport. The clear, overwhelming, leader in this industry is Tesco (so dominant, Wal-Mart publicly complain it's impossible to catch them up). Though they've got dozens of micro versions round central London, their only real stores close to the centre are at West Cromwell Rd, W14 and Kennington Lane SE11. Both are sods to get to by tube.

Incidentally, the inaccessibilty of ordinary food shops to tourists is a partial explanation of the endless myths Americans cling to about British prices. We don't come out of branches of Ralph's flabbergasted at how cheap everything is: most of the time - having listened to Americans yabber on so much - we come out faintly puzzled at the trivial differences (as often meaning dearer in America as the other way round) between supermarket prices in California and Berkshire.

We do, however, often come out of a Tesco Metro flabbergasted at how much pricier it seems to be than the ordinary Tesco five miles down the road from our houses.

Flanneruk, this is exactly what I suspected. In San Francisco, where property values are also very high, there are few Albertsons or Safeways except for the very small version. A similar lack of filling stations exist and the people who live in the central area of the city are subject to inflated prices. Gee, sounds like I am parroting your post! So there are great simalarities between the urban areas we live in. Walmarts are only built in outlying areas where development is underway. Much resistance to this phenomenon these days as people begin to wise up to the cutthroat tactics employed by this dominent company. I don't want to fully get into what I really think about the state of affairs where walmart is concerned as that would be better debated on the lounge forum.

If I were in S. Ken. would I have to go far to find a regular grocer? You mentioned Cromwell. We will be at 15 Cromwell Pl. Thanks for the detailed analysis. thereyet

I didn't mention Cromwell, who was an experimenter with a bizarre, monarch-free, system of government we had the sense to get rid of three and a half centuries ago.

I did mention West Cromwell Road W14, which is a long way from any of the half-dozen Cromwell Places scattered all over London. If you mean Cromwell Place, SW7, it's a few hundred yards' painless walk from the Gloucester Rd Waitrose.

Don't get me started on Wal-Mart. I'd be a huge fan of them (they're the only food chain in the US that's really serious about keeping prices to the customer as low as possible, and if he'd been British Sam Walton would have been a national hero as well as getting the Lordship his Tesco and Sainsbury opposite numbers got), except that they turn into incompetent, second-division, pussycats the moment they set foot outside the Americas. They're not even that good at being big: strip out home-market sales and they're way behind Carrefour, Metro and Tesco.

The question is well worded...the answers? Is there a Fodor correspondent in London that can and will check the prices? Great project! 'thereyet', learn the exact prices in your city for your list, post them. English visitors will be interested. Later do the same during your visit to London. Next...sun screen...a report will be out soon saying that sunscreen may cause more cancer than no sunscreen. Sun light is essential in the production of vitamin D. The rosy cheeks of 'Nothlanders' is an evolutionary adaptation that increases sun exposure. One doctor suggests 15 minutes of sun a day to prevent osteoporosis.

I think the original question is answered about as fully as it can be by audere's and my posts. Those are what we would normally expect to see, which is probably more useful than having an exact price that turns out to be an outlier, given that prices vary shop by shop and brand by brand.

I recently bought a very small bottle of water at LHR so I could get some "change" and as things at airports can sometimes be, it cost considerably more than it would have in some neighborhood Sainsbury store.

Thereyet, it might have been more interesting if you had started out by telling people those prices you say you are "used to" and as a matter of fact I would be interested in what those prices are.

Can you elaborate? You might find there is some considerable variance in prices of those things within the country where you live.

OK, fair enough. I live in a simi-rural unincorparated town 16 miles south of Oakland, Ca.

Newspaper (daily)= 50 cents/ 1.00 Sunday
Bottle water=1.00- 1.39 16-32oz
You can get 32 bottle cases at Costco for about $5.00
Cup of reg. coffee at starbucks 1.60/16oz
Cigs (my brand) 5.50/20 pack
Candy bar .75
payphone when you can find one .50 for three min.
sunscreen I don't know my wife shops for that
Small bag of chips .99

Thats all in cents and dollars.
PatrickLondon is right. Audere did answer the OP well.
I burn like a match light bricket and need sunscreen so my wife doesn't have to hear about it later. As always, thereyet

Glad I don't smoke in the States OR UK with those prices. Benson & Hedges Deluxe cigarettes are $15.00 a carton here. I think a carton of 10 packs of Dunhills were about $16.00. Used to be an affordable vice for me.

Thanks, thereyet...those prices seem to be pretty much in line with what I see here in the DC Metro area although the "Post" is only 35 cents out of a machine.

There are a few more "biggie" Tescos in central London, including one across from Liverpool St Stn and near Picadilly. Sainsbury has a large-ish store right across from Holborn tube stn and behind Green Parks. None are "Express", "Metro" rip-off venues, with better product range. Good for stocking up teas/biscuits/marmalade etc as cheap gifts.

In terms of supermarket pecking order, you can get el-cheapo stuff from Iceland (none in central London) or Somerfield (one along Edgeware Rd, close to Sussex Gardens). I'm always fascinated with how different supermarkets appeal to different socio-econoic demographic segments (A/B/C/D/Es).

For incidentals, avoid buying things from news agents and abovementioned Express/Metro superettes. Their pricing strategies are simple: they charge extra for convenience.

As for coffee, regular size latte at Pret A Manger is £1.85. You used to be able to get £1 coffee at Benjy's but they went bankrupt.

Ciggies are really expensive in UK (and the rest of Europe), as tax accounts for 50% or so of the retail price.

Thereyet - I agree 100% about the self-service tills - I boycott them, even when open. Bloomin' cheek factoring in the cost of staff to goods, then getting us to do our own scanning and packing! That'll learn 'em!!

There actually are times when doing self check-out is faster than waiting in a regular check out line.

Not very often though - since in general it takes twice as long to scan, then pack your own stuff afterwards as it does for two people to be doing scanning and packing simultaneously.

Also, on principle, I don't like the feeling that I'm not valued enough by the supermarket to get a scanner because I've only bought a small basket of stuff and I can b*gg*r off and scan and pack my own things. So I queue up at the manned tills just to make a point!

At the supermarkets I frequent, generally I can walk right up to the self scan and can scan pretty quickly and be gone. There are usually lines at the manned ones. I don't take it personally that I don't have someone there to exchange pleasantries with and have them ask about my choices of boxed meals or how delicious my fruit looks ... hmmmm

I also fill my own tank with petroleum and (yikes) pay at the pump. Perhaps I'm anti-social.

Besides, a little que time teaches one patiences and tolerence of others. Always a good lesson. thereyet

ps I just have a problem with the elimination of descent jobs just to improve the profit margin. especially with no added benefit to the consumer.

wojazz3, havn't had anyone in California pump my gas in decades. Don't think you could find a filling station that provides that service any more. thereyet

Pretty much everyone fills their own car in the UK, so I don't have a problem with that. And believe it or not I have plenty of patience too.....I just don't see why I should be charged for the cost of staff to help scan and pack goods, then not actually get that service.

Tesco Bishopsgate is a "Metro". Tesco Curzon Street is an "Express". The big Sainsbury Holborn is a "Central": the little one a "Local" (there are more words for "we rip you off" in British grocerese than there are for "snow" in Eskimo). The nearest non rip off Tesco to the centre really is Kennington.

But W9's right about the Stratton Street (behind Green Park tube) Sainsbury, and she's right to remind us of Somerfield (though more Beirutis and Saudis shop at the Edgware Rd branch than Londonders) And I was wrong about the Victoria St Sainsbury, which now charges normal prices.

I doubt anyone would see a drop in the cost of anything if suddenly the staff were replaced by SS checkout. The stock holders may see an increase in dividends though. thereyet

I remember the 1st SS checkouts about 10 years ago. They were a disaster & I don't think the current generation are much better - I always find that I can never get things to scan the first time and the "skip bag packing" and "there is an object in the bag area" messages drives me up the wall. The ruddy things are just too slow. I suspect the throughput is about 25-50% of a normal checkout

We have frequently stayed in the South Kensington/Glouchester Road area. We shop at Sainsburys instead of Waiterose because items are cheaper. After you exit the GR underground station, walk past Waiterose and continue on that street. A huge Sainsburys is located about three blocks away.

I purchase sunblock in London because I can get sunblock with mexoryl; the USDA has approved the sale of sunblock with mexoryl but options are limited and expensive.

I purchased my sunblock with mexoryl at Boots. There is a Boots in the same shopping arcade as Waitrose at GR. Boots are located everywhere throughout London (Victoria Station, Piccadilly Circus, Covent Garden, Gatwick Airport, Heathrow Airport). The last time that I purchased sunblock at Boots, there were having a buy one get one free.

BTW at Boots you can purchase snacks, toiletries, bottled water (I drink tap water in London), and over-the-counter medications that require a prescription in the US. You do have to confer with the pharmacist.

There are two sorts of self-scan checkout. With one sort (in the U.K. at some branches of Marks and Spencer, and seen in the U.S. recently at a Swift market in Moab, Utah), you scan everything as you exit the store. The Waitrose version in the U.K. requires you to scan each item as you put it in your basket while you go round. That means you can pack items in the way which suits you, and paying when you leave is a quick process.

We always use the self-scan and quick-pay at our local Waitrose, because it is so much quicker. We can also use long-life square carriers, rather than floppy plastic bags which break if you buy too many bottles of wine.

Waitrose may be more expensive than other stores, but the range is more upmarket and the staff better trained. The store does not have shareholders, and profits are distributed to staff as a percentage bonus - this year, I think it was 18%. Despite the apparent bureaucracy of its management (I am told it is like the Civil Service used to be) it has been highly successful in recent years, and middle-class towns plead to have a branch of Waitrose, while they protest against Tesco.

Waitrose also have the best wine buyers of any supermarket.....and they have Green and Blacks Toffee ice cream! 8-)

Americans can't shop in Waitrose because it's a communist organisation.

Like Cuba with better cheese.

My favorite pizzaria just turned communist and the service is still great. they are personally invested so they have a good reason maintain high quality goods and service. Otherwise it is kind of like shooting yourself in the foot. thereyet

>>>>
Americans can't shop in Waitrose because it's a communist organisation.
>>>>

america has many employee owned companies. for example, publix supermarkets are very popular.

additionally, partial employee ownership through share ownership programmes, compensation with options, etc is much more common in the US as compared to the UK.

i assume employee ownership is what you are referring to when you say that waitrose/john lewis is a communist organisation.

I think you'll find that London really isn't as expensive as you might think it is. I've lived here for over a year now, moving from Canada, and prices seem to be comparable, if not cheaper.

Newspaper - just grab a Metro in the morning found at all tube stations, those are free and provide the daily news, but another newspaper will be less than a pound.

Bottled water - At a tesco express, 35p up to £1.

Cup of coffee (not the fancy type)- 60p+ ,but a Starbucks coffee will set you back £2-5 depending on what you get and how big. My tall white mocha sets me back 2.35.

Cigs - Again, depending on the brand, my bf's Marbolo cigs cost him £5.10, but there are cheaper brands.

Candy bar, pack of gum - No more than 40 p.

Pay phone call (local)- This is now 40p, it has just risen, and you can only speak for a minute or so, only for short phonecalls.

Sunscreen - Dont know actually, but you'll need some! It's been super warm.

Small bag of crisps - 30p +

These prices are fairly accurate. I work around Tower Bridge, so its a fairly central area and these are the prices I pay on a daily basis.

Hope this helps, and enjoy your trip!

Thereyet,

If I were you, I'd pack my own cigarettes and sunscreen. :) You'll most likely need to check luggage anyways because of the limited carry-on allowance.

Margy

however derided, the wetherspoons pub chain has good, cheap coffee...they are always doing different promotions on it so i don't know the price of a cup today. they use only lavazza coffee and use proper machines. much better deal than starbucks (and better coffee anyway) or nero.

Definitely bringing my own smokes and sunscreen (funny no one new the price of that one). By the way, my wife says that sunscreen here in Norcal is 3.50-4.99/bottle. thereyet