Shop A is near the centre of town so I go to it more often than shop B, which is further away. I look around it but when I find something I want to buy I go to shop B. Most of the time shop B has it in stock so I buy it, and it's cheaper. Shouldn't I feel guilty about this? Not really. Shop B also has better customer service.

But how far would you go just for a bargain? Last year there was a huge queue of people halfway across the town square. I looked at the front of the queue and saw that they were being given a free Christmas tree each. Then I started thinking about economics. How long would it take to get to the front of the queue? If you spent the same time working, how much money would you earn? How much did the Christmas tree cost?

Supermarkets sell nearly everything cheaper than anywhere else. Sometimes they sell things for less money than it costs to make them in the first place (usually 'staples' like milk, bread, sugar and so on). Is this a bargain though? Nobody makes a profit if they sell everything that way. As you walk around the aisles, other things start to appear in your shopping trolley. The longer you stay in the shop, the more items you buy. That's how the trick works. Here's a tip: eat a big meal before shopping and the trick doesn't work so well.

For the ultimate bargain, why not make everything yourself? I can think of one good reason why not – time. Young children often make presents for family members when it's a special occasion like Christmas or a birthday. They don't usually measure the time it takes and ask if someone else could make it more cheaply. When you have a job, time and money are more closely related. I made a puppet cow (called Daisy) a few months ago. The materials I used cost about 15 PLN but I spent over eight hours making it (or should that be 'her'?). I could buy a lot of puppets for eight-hours wages. Mind you, you can't buy another Daisy anywhere in Poland. I've got the only one.

Questions

1) What were the people in the town square waiting for?

2) What are 'staples'?

3) What should you do to spend less at a supermarket?

4) Who is Daisy?

KEY

1) To get a free Christmas tree.

2) Important foods like bread, sugar and milk.

3) Eat before you go there.

4) The author's puppet (a cow).

Glossary

often często

look around rozejrzeć się

have… in stock mieć… w sprzedaży

feel guilty czuć się winnym

a bargain okazja

a huge queue duża kolejka

earn zarobić

in the first place przede wszystkim

make a profit osiągnąć zysk

aisle przejście

shopping trolley wózek sklepowy

trick podstęp

a tip wskazówka

ultimate najwyższy

family members członek rodziny

measure mierzyć

closely related ściśle się wiązać

puppet pacynka

wages zarobki

Mind you uprzedzam

EXERCISES

Match the items to the shops. Some items can be bought from more than one shop.

Shop:

fishmonger's

newsagent's

chemist's

jeweller's

DIY shop

stationer's

pet shop

florist's

Item:

a pair of earrings

a bouquet

ink cartridges

some cod

pain killers

a pipe (two shops)

a paint roller

a necklace

a bottle of cola

a rabbit

a roll of wallpaper

a roll of film

a pair of scissors

a hole punch

a stepladder

Note: We sometimes say, for example, go to a florist/a chemist rather than go to a florist's/a chemist's. A florist, chemist, newsagent etc. is a person.

KEY

fishmonger's: some cod

newsagent's: a pipe (the one for tobacco), a bottle of cola, a roll of film

chemist's: pain killers, a roll of film

jeweller's a pair of earrings, a necklace

DIY shop: a pipe (for water), a paint roller, a stepladder, a pair of scissors

stationer's: ink cartridges, a pair of scissors, a hole punch

pet shop: a rabbit

florists': a bouquet

Cow_01

Daisy the cow (Daisy is the one on the left).

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