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BARGAINS GALORE
I run UK’s ‘cheapest corner shop’ that sells all your favourite snacks 30% CHEAPER than supermarkets – punters love it
A SHOP OWNER who runs Britain's "cheapest corner shop" sells your favourite snacks 30 per cent CHEAPER than at supermarkets.
Ben Whitehouse, 38, opened up low-cost shop Bargains Galore seven years ago.
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He spends 50 to 60 hours a WEEK shopping around for the best cut-price deals at wholesalers to keep his shop stocked with the cheapest goods in Sheffield, South Yorkshire.
These include a 95p punnet of eggs - compared to £1.35 in Morrisons - and a 95p loaf of Warburton’s bread which costs £1.05 in the shops.
He now has a band of loyal regulars who hail his store the "cheapest in the world" - never mind Britain.
Ben - a former postie who dreamed of owning his own shop - told The Sun: "It is hard work – 50 to 60 hours a week, shopping around for the best prices.
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"At the end of the week, I’m knackered and ready for a rest.
"We make enough to pay the bills and have a bit of spending money.
"It has become a lot harder these past six months - because prices are going up everywhere.
"It’s just a matter of finding the best prices for the customers to keep them coming back.
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"I often go on price comparison sites to see what the supermarkets are charging and try to keep things like bread and milk the same as them.
"There is not so much margin on bread and milk but it increases footfall.
"We get what we can – end of line stuff, short dated stuff.
"On those Walkers crisps I paid 10p a bag so I make a nice profit and the customer gets a bargain at the same time.
"Greeting cards are my biggest turnover. That’s where my profit is. I keep them cheap and turn over loads."
Shoppers in the village of Eckington heap high praise on Ben for his stellar deals.
His special £1 offers includes four packets of Walkers crisps, three boxes of chocolate fingers and hand-made greeting cards.
But he doesn’t just sell Britain's favourite snacks.
We found he also beat the nearby Morrisons on price for a range of staples including eggs (95p compared to £1.05), Warburton’s bread (99p against £1.25) and four pints of milk (£1.35 compared to £1.45)
Meanwhile, two kilos of red potatoes are £1 in Bargains Galore - compared to £1.59 in Morrisons.
And he matched or bettered his rivals for healthier options.
Grapes come in at £1.70-a-punnet, raspberries at £1.50 as well as eight satsumas for a pound.
Electrician Michael Marshall, 40, said: ";I come in every single day whether it’s for a chat or to buy something.
"For me it’s probably the cheapest corner shop in the world, never mind Britain.
"They have always been very good to me. If I don’t have money one day, they’ll give me food and I pay them back the next day.
"You can’t get many places that will do that for you."
Marilyn Slack, 67, had come in with husband Maurice, for a lottery ticket and left with bag full of bargains.
She said: "We’ve got four packets of Walkers crisps for a pound. In Morrisons that would be £1.95 for six, as well as cakes and biscuits.
"I come in a couple of times a week. I buy bread and milk and bags for my wheelie bin and they have greeting cards for £1 which are very reasonably priced.
"There’s a bit of everything. You can get your fruit and veg and the staff are really friendly."
Asked if it could really be Britain’s cheapest corner shop, John Donnelly, 78, a retired engineer said: ";I can believe it yes. We do all our shopping down here.
"We use the supermarkets of course but we know the price of stuff and if it’s cheaper here we’ll come in here.
"Biscuits for a start – much cheaper here and we buy a lot of bird food – fat balls and mealy worms. It’s cheaper here by a country mile. I don’t know where Ben goes but he’s doing a damn good job."
Meanwhile, Christina Chaburin, 78, added: "I live across the road and I look out of the window and see Ben all the time being friendly and kind to people. We call him Uncle Ben.
"‘In the winter he will see an old person and bring a cup of coffee out to them and talk to them and I’ve never heard him passing on any malicious gossip of any kind.
I come in every single day whether it’s for a chat or to buy something. For me it’s probably the cheapest corner shop in the world, never mind Britain.
Shopper Michael Marshall
"He will let people use his washroom. He is a credit to this country and he is appreciated.
"Today I have bought a plant for 50p. I don’t know what it is but I know you can’t buy a plant anywhere else for 50p."
Another big fan is Janet Cresswell, 80.
She volunteers to help Ben out with his trips to buy goods to stock shelves.
Lugging in a tray of bread loaves, she said: "Everything has gone up and up and up but he shops around to keep the prices down.
"I have been helping him out for seven years.
"Helping keeps me going. I can’t sit about. It would drive me up the wall if I stayed inside all day.
"You have got to support your local shops."
Ben said he realized just what a lifeline he was to the village during the Pandemic.
He said: "All the way through we offered deliveries and we have kept quite a bit of that custom.
"I just love my customers. I fell like a counsellor sometimes and people rely on me.
"Even on Christmas Day I’ve had people message to say they need some milk and I’ll come and open up.
"But it’s got really hard these past six months. People are watching their money and with the gas prices going up, I fear it is going to be a horrendous winter."
Meanwhile, shoppers have been grabbing a bargain at 'Russian Lidl' store Mere, which opened its first store in Preston last summer.
Customers are promised prices up to 30 per cent cheaper than its rivals.
And a dad-of-one claimed HE he owns the UK's cheapest supermarket - and sells everything from cleaning products to toilet paper up to a third cheaper than his rivals.
Trucker Richard Williams, of Redditch in Worcestershire, has filled the shelves of Overstockers with budget-boosting essentials.
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In West Yorkshire, Steve Nelson runs a shop that sells all his wares for just 20p - including £120-worth of jewellery.
Everything YOU can get for £10 in 'Britain's cheapest cornershop'
Warburton’s Wholemeal Loaf – 99p
2.5kg red potatoes - £1
Six large eggs – 95p
4 pints of milk - £1.35
Pack of bacon - £1
Tin of chopped tomatoes – 40p
Tin of baked beans – 40p
Pack of Fox’s Sport biscuits – 50p
Buttery spread – 50p
4 packs of Walkers crisps - £1
Three cans of 7 up - £1
And came away with 12p change…
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