KEY POINTS:
If you want overpriced food delivered to your door at Christmas, then look no further than a Chrisco or Mrs Christmas hamper.
A Herald on Sunday price comparison of selected offers for 2008 found the two major hamper companies are charging 24 to 100 per cent more for goods than a shopper would pay in the supermarket.
We selected four hampers containing packaged and/or frozen goods, and compared them with this week's prices at Foodtown Online. We also compared three alcohol hampers with prices from Liquor King online. The price differences ranged from 31 per cent more to a huge 102 per cent extra.
The rival companies - which offer a layby system where customers can spread payment for Christmas goodies over the year - say their customers pay extra for picking, packing and delivery of the hampers.
The schemes direct-debit customers' accounts each week, calculating the weekly charge based on how early the client has joined the scheme.
But budgeting advisers and the Consumer's Institute say Christmas supermarket vouchers are a better option for the budget-conscious Kiwi.
Chief executive officer of Mangere Budgeting and Family Support Services, Darryl Evans, said the layby schemes were overpriced and targeted towards lower income families.
"Overall they are much more expensive than saving throughout the year with Pak'nSave vouchers, for example. The food there is much cheaper and you can buy exactly what you need."
There were other ways to save extra money for the festive season. "Give $5 a week to your sister or your mother."
Next year, Mangere Budgeting will start managing Christmas accounts for their clients, offering them a better value means of saving for the festive season.
His clients had found it difficult to get out of the hampers schemes' weekly payments.
But Chrisco says it complies with the Layby Sales Act, meaning a customer can cancel or change their order at any time. Julia Dol, CEO of Chrisco Hampers, said the layby system cost more than just buying the items from a supermarket, as the consumer paid for door-to-door delivery.
She said it was important to note that any price comparisons between the supermarket and Chrisco hampers to be delivered in December 2008 must take into account price changes in the next 12 months.
Phil Walls, a director of Mrs Christmas, told the Herald on Sunday the company did not have the buying power of the big supermarket chains. "They buy in huge volumes so they get better prices."
He said packing and delivery were other main expenses. The Consumer's Institute recommends the supermarket voucher system over Christmas hamper companies.
