'Next level price gouging': Fury over 'outrageous' price tag of single punnet of strawberries at Sydney store
It's tough out there for budgeters – and especially so for strawberry-lovers in one Sydney suburb.
The sweet and juicy fruit has seemingly become the latest casualty of the worsening cost-of-living crisis, with the price of a single punnet at Mosman's Harris Farm Markets raising locals' eyebrows.
"Apt this brand of strawberries at Spit Junction is called 'Hermes' because at $22.99 a punnet they would need, quite literally, to taste like the Nectar of the Gods to be justifiable," one infuriated customer wrote on a local Facebook group over the weekend.
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The price of a punnet of strawberries at Harris Farm Markets in Mosman has raised eyebrows among locals. Facebook
The customer included snap of Hermes-branded red strawberries being listed for $22.99 per punnet at the Spit Junction store, with Hermes-branded white strawberries sitting next to them.
"Time to call Peak Mosman?" the customer concluded.
Hours later, the customer came back with an update, claiming "apparently the sign is now gone" next to the red Hermes strawberries, with the white Hermes strawberries then being listed as $19.99 a punnet.
9Honey Kitchen has contacted Harris Farm Markets for comment.
Strawberries are a seasonal fruit and prices vary according to availability and the time of year in Australia.
Locals were not impressed with the price tag.
One local wrote: "More fool to the Mosmanites for buying them at that price!! Outrageous!!!"
Another joked: "Do they come with someone feeding you?"
"Holy Moly. That is next level price gouging," one local wrote.
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One Facebook user suggested it may have been a mistake, saying, "Jaysus are they kidding? It must have been a typo!"
Another highlighted a typo made in 'strawberries' on the sign, joking: "The extra $20 is for the extra s in strawberriess."
Not all locals, however, were upset at the fruit's cost, with one writing: "If people are happy to pay $22.99/punnet then that's what they're worth. If someone doesn't want to go to Woolworths or Aldi or another shop, and wants to pay $22.99 then that's what their price ought be."
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Strawberries at Coles and Woolies are currently retailing for less than $3.50 per 250 gram punnet. Getty
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Another local suggested the $22.99 price tag was actually for the white Hermes strawberries on the left, with the $10 sign actually being for two red Hermes strawberry punnets.
"It's clear to see that there are the white strawberries to the left, which are very expensive," they wrote. "The $10 price tag next to it is for 2 punnet of red strawberries (or 4.99$ea.per one) the tags where just on opposite sides. Not very difficult..."
On Harris Farm Markets' Mosman store website, a 250 gram punnet of Queensland strawberries is listed as this week's special at $3.25 each.
At Coles, meanwhile, a 250 gram punnet of strawberries costs $3.40 at the time of publishing, with Woolworths' 250 gram punnets being listed as $3.30 each.
