Every special gets a score out of 10 and a word: Great buy (8 to 10), Good buy (6 or 7) or Fair price (5 or less). The score is our opinion, worked out from the pamphlets we have collected. It is guidance, not a promise, and it does not mean a shop has endorsed it.
Other shops right now. If the same item at a similar size is on special at another shop, we compare the prices. The lowest price we can see scores highest. If it is cheaper somewhere else, the score goes down.
Earlier prices. If we have seen the same item on special before, we check whether this price is lower than usual.
The shop’s own saving. If the pamphlet prints a usual price or a saving, we use it, and we say clearly that it is the shop’s figure, not ours. On its own, a shop’s saving earns at most 7 (Good buy) until we can check it ourselves, and it cannot earn more than 6 when a cheaper option is on the shelf right now.
A 10 needs two checks that agree. One check on its own stops at 9. A 10 is for a special where two things line up, for example the lowest price we found at any shop and cheaper than that item usually costs, or the lowest price we found and a real saving printed by the shop. As we collect more pamphlets, more specials can be checked this way.
Specials with a condition. Some prices are for loyalty-card members or for one store only. They are a lovely saving for shoppers who qualify; because not everyone does, we keep the score at 6 or less to be fair to everyone.
Not enough to go on. If there is nothing to compare with yet, we say “not rated yet” rather than guess.
The rating is about the price. The order of the list is a separate thing: by default it puts everyday groceries first, with the odd item from home, garden or tech in between, and leans towards what shoppers on MyMandjie add and open (counted without names) and towards what you add and skip yourself. Your own taste is worked out and kept on your phone. You can change the mix, or start fresh, under Filters, Your feed.
When you open a special you can give it a thumbs up. That helps decide what comes first in the list. It never changes the rating, which is only about the price.
Pamphlets are read partly with the help of AI, and stock, prices and sizes can differ between stores and towns. A score can be wrong if a price or size was read wrongly or has changed. Always check the price in store. Tap the (i) on any special to see exactly what we compared it with.
Use “Report a problem” on the special, or email hello@mymandjie.com. We correct ratings as soon as we can check them.
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