As per title. I very, very rarely drink, and I generally just want to buy a single of something for a rare treat, however most beers/ciders/etc are sold in multipacks.
The pricing on the shelf is usually per-pack only, yet sometimes I see random products with single cans/bottles missing, and sometimes random products will have a little section of unpackaged singles, despite not having a separate price showing.
Is it generally OK to split an unopened 4- or 6-pack, or is that as weird and inappropriate as doing the equivalent in a supermarket? What even are the rules around this?
Is there a reason why you ask this here and not just ask the staff at the shop?
Stuff like that can differ from shop to shop. So better ask the person who knows the answer.
I once tried to do this in some country on vacation and was told that’s not how it works. I’m german. It definitely works like this here. You just rip out one bottle or can and put it in your shopping cart. It will say so very clearly on the packaging if you’re not allowed to do it. But it’s not like this in every country. Maybe just ask staff.
That would be rad if it was like that here. I’ve been kinda craving one of those canned margaritas recently, but I don’t really drink and they only sell those in packs of 6 or more. I just want 1.
It’s often like this in Canada but not always. Usually depends on if the individual cans or bottles have barcodes and are labelled for individual sale.
I’ve never had a cashier get mad for attempting to buy an invididual can/bottle not marked properly though
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Where I live, they will often have a label on the pack that says whether it can be “divided” or not. I agree though that it’s a grey area until you see packs that have already been opened. For example, I wouldn’t take just one yoghurt, and I would never open up a pack that had glass bottles, so it seems unique to plastic and cans.
These items are usually marked “not for individual sale“. I’m pretty sure what you are witnessing is people just stealing things. (At least some of the time, But smaller stores do break those “not for individual sell” rules too).
If you’re not sure, just asking an employee.
I’ve never seen “Not for individual sale” on alcohol.
If it is in a closed packb and no price is listed individually, then it is likely not for sale individually. You certainly should not be opening something to take one out.
The loose cans they sell come from the pre packed boxes anyway, I’ve had them tell me to grab one out of the box when I’ve been short one for a 6 pack, usually they take the box off so either a customer has grabbed one to buy or someone’s stolen one or both.
That’s going to vary by jurisdiction.
Where I am, retail can only sell in the package sizes provided from manufacturer due to various labeling (and other) regulations.
The cans in a 6 pack are labelled differently from the ones intended to be sold as singles.
Just go for it. If you’re not allowed, they’ll tell you and you can select something else.
I was quite impressed recently when I was in a vintage cellars (coles owned) and they had a sustainable 4 or 6 pack multi option. Basically, a way to hold them all together and allow pik n mix, but not plastic.
