Aussie expat living in Germany stunned by the price of dishwasher tablets overseas: ‘We’re being ripped off’

An Australian living in Germany was shocked after noticing how much more Aussie shoppers are paying for common supermarket items. 

Due to the cost of living crisis and inflation, the price of dishwashing tablets has skyrocketed across the country. In Germany, however. this isn’t the case. 

Posting to Reddit, the man shared an image of a 43-capsule bag of Finish Ultimate Pro Dishwasher Tablets priced at €8.99 ($14.70 AUD) in Germany. 

The equivalent product Down Under costs $54 full price at Coles and Woolworths, which is more than double the price of the overseas version. 

‘Australian living overseas here. Never realised how badly we get ripped off at the grocery store until I saw this,’ the man wrote.

The equivalent product Down Under costs $54 full price at Coles and Woolworths, which is more than double the price of the overseas version 

A Finish spokesperson explained that the rise in prices for some of their products was due to ‘increased costs across our supply chain’.

‘Please know that we provide our retailers with recommended prices, with the final on-shelf price being set at their discretion,’ the spokesperson told News.com.au. 

‘We understand this is a challenging time for many Australians. We remain committed to making sure we closely monitor costs and pricing to continue delivering the best value possible.’ 

This comes after customers were taken aback when prices first increased to more than $50. 

Redditors were up in arms over the price difference and others shared their own tips when shopping. 

‘Tablets are a scam. That’s over $1 per load whereas powder is about 3c per load and you can regulate how much powder you need and reduce for half loads,’ one wrote. 

‘You don’t buy these from Woolies or Coles. Go to the reject shop or even Aldi or you are paying too much,’ another said. 

‘If you want to buy tablets, skip the supermarkets and grab them at Bunnings where they are much cheaper,’ a third said.

Earlier this year the price of Fairy dishwashing tablets cost up to $72 for 45 capsules. 

The surging price of dishwashing capsules comes as breakfast cereals, milk, eggs and bread also recently shot up.

Despite the hikes, Woolworths posted a 25 per cent profit increase, while Coles recorded an 11 per cent rise in the six months to end-December.

Chief executive Brad Banducci noted consumers were switching to cheaper private label groceries and canned food and eating out less often as they dealt with soaring interest rates and pressure on household budgets.

‘Inflation is continuing to affect the way that customers shop but the overall impact on our business at this stage remains modest,’ he said previously on an investor call.

‘Inflation is coming down but not as quickly as we would like. We remain very focused on ensuring that customers can get their money’s worth through our various programs of prices drops, low-price specials, personalised offers and range curation.’