Bargain hunters of mooncakes will do well to follow the saying: "the early bird catches the worm".
The Consumer Council has conducted a price survey on no fewer than 120 different mooncakes (the standard 4-piece pack) revealing a wealth of information for the price-conscious consumers in their search for bargains.
In general, prices of mooncakes were shown to vary and escalate steadily in the approach to Mid Autumn Festival. Conversely, the earlier the purchase the lower the prices.
The survey which compared the levels of discounts at two different time intervals of one month apart (August 17 to 19 vs September 15 to 18), showed that mooncake suppliers adopted a number of pricing tactics.
Some would sell initially at discounted price and revert to original price a few days before the festival; some would maintain a fixed original price offering no discount; and some would seemingly sell at discounted price without any variation all along.
The survey showed that discounts off the "original price" could be up to as much as nearly 50% but most discount offers were found in the range between 30% and 40%.
In one case, it was found that the prices varied at five different time intervals from as early as the beginning of July. For example, a standard pack of double egg yolk in white lotus seed paste mooncakes was priced from $114 (a 45% discount for the month of July) to $146, $156, $166 and $208 (original price on the day of the festival).
Consumers choosing to buy prepaid coupons to take advantage of discount benefits are urged to take note and enquire clearly of the expiration date and location arrangements to redeem the mooncakes.
In addition to pricing, the Consumer Council is concerned over environmentally-unfriendly practice of excessive package by the mooncake industry.
In general, it was found that most mooncake manufacturers have now reduced the quantity of disposable cutlery (knives and forks) accompanying their products, with some replacing disposable with reusable stainless steel cutlery.
Several of them had the corresponding 'Plastic Coding System' marked on the plastic trays for easy sorting and recycling.
Nonetheless, the Council found more than 20 mooncake gift sets using the "Box-in-Box" design. Inside one gift box alone were found no fewer than eight small metal boxes - a grand total of nine containers in one single package.
In the interest of the environment, consumers should think twice about making such purchases.
Consumers are also advised to practise green consumption and avoid unnecessary wastage of precious food resource. For families with mooncakes more than they can consume, they may consider sharing with others.
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