“I’d Go for the Cheaper Option”: SA Woman Compares Woolies Sandals to Affordable Mr Price Lookalike

• Johannesburg content creator Nyasha GlamLiving Tips posted a side-by-side comparison of nearly identical gold sandals from Woolworths and Mr Price
• The Woolworths sandal costs R279, while the Mr Price version sells for just R79, sparking a fierce quality vs affordability debate
• South Africans flooded the comments with over 13K responses, and opinions were sharply divided on which store wins

A Johannesburg content creator sparked one of the liveliest shopping debates seen on South African social media in a while. Nyasha GlamLiving Tips, who runs a popular Facebook page with 238K followers focused on beauty, home décor and affordable finds, posted a side-by-side comparison of two gold sandals on 2 November 2026. One came from Woolworths at R279, the other from Mr Price at R79. The two looked nearly identical.

"Which one would you go for? I'd go for the cheaper option 😅," she wrote in the post.

The post pulled in 9K likes and more than 13K comments, with South Africans passionately weighing in on both sides of the price gap.

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Quality vs savings: The great SA sandal debate

The divide in the comments reflected a tension many South African shoppers know well. Budget-conscious buyers pointed to the R200 saving as a clear win, while others argued that cheaper footwear often ends up costing more in the long run through repeated replacements.

This kind of price difference is not always a mystery. Retailers across different market segments frequently stock products that look alike because manufacturers sometimes supply similar designs to multiple stores, with branding, packaging and store positioning doing much of the work in justifying the price gap. Budget retailers also keep a close eye on trends and produce lookalike styles quickly and at lower cost.

See the Facebook post below:

Mzansi weighs in

South Africans in the comments section on the Facebook page had plenty to say:

@Mirriam Sekuba said:

"Woolworths makes quality different."

@Keli Hariparsad shared:

"I have Woolworths clothing and shoes that have lasted me going on 10 years, so if the wallet can afford it I'd pick Woolies 😊 but I also love the good bargains at Mr P if it's something I don't need to last a whole decade!"

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@Masego Goodman argued:

"If you're smart with your money, you'll understand that buying a pair of sandals from Woolworths is a better long-term investment. They're durable and will last you much longer. Meanwhile, you might find yourself replacing a pair from Mr Price every month. Before you know it, you've spent more than R250 repeatedly buying cheap sandals. Sometimes, spending more upfront actually saves you money in the long run."

@Noluthando Nocanda-Luzipho took a practical approach:

"Take R279 and buy 3 of those from Mr Price cause you will need more than 1...but with Woolworths 1 is enough."

@Sianne Atheemulam sided with quality:

"I'll go with Woolies so I can use it this whole summer 🙈🙈 Not just 2 weeks."

@Mosa Nkone quipped:

"Mr Price shoes fart when you walk."

@Mpho Moroke summed up what many were feeling:

"The economy says Mr Price; the heart says Woolworths."

More on SA bargain finds and dupes

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• Briefly News recently reported on a homemaker who shared her R99 Checkers casserole dish plug for stews, baked pasta and potjiekos.
• A South African creator found a Le Creuset pot dupe at PEP Home, with some shoppers calling the retailer the new Woolies.
• Kyla Oosthuizen compared an R3,000 designer perfume to a Good Girl Blush dupe and could not tell the difference.

Source: Briefly News