Markets but not so super

I have limited energy right now and what I have is not going to be wasted on walking round a supermarket putting food into a trolley that I have collected and paid for, unloading the food at a checkout, reloading the food at the other end of the checkout into bags which I have supplied and then wheeling it out to my car. So it's online shopping for me.

This week I realised something had gone wrong with the stock system of the supermarket I get deliveries from. My order comes from the biggest supermarket in the area, so how come they couldn't provide the following?

- Sensodyne - the pink one
- Carte Noire coffee
- mouthwash (the cheap one, not the posh one)
- beef in black bean sauce
- Port Salut cheese
- pork stock cubes
- roast chicken legs

I can remember years ago arguing with a supermarket manager that there was no way the shop could possibly have run out of melons. If the shop had computerised stock-taking, the 'just in time' system should ensure that what the customers need is there. Turned out the chain I was in didn't have computerised anything. I took my custom elsewhere.

Since I'm paranoid, I'm going to suggest something else is going on. I suspect manufacturers and retailers play a wee game with us customers:

So the pink Sensodyne disappears off the shelves for a while, forcing anyone who likes to use the product to buy the version the manufacturer wants to sell us. It's a wee bit dearer than the original pink one. Of course. It also seems to have a chalk base so it leaves you with white dots all over your clothes.

Same goes for mouthwash: if you can't get the 89p mouthwash, you'll have to go for the more expensive one. If you shop online, the one that's labelled 'You might want to try' is £3.15.

Carte Noire coffee is pretty dear but so is the replacement suggested by the algorithm and it isn't as good. The replacement for Port Salut is a pretty inferior (and not French) cheese. The replacement ready meal of beef in black bean sauce is a wee bit cheaper but a lot smaller.

I can't explain the absence of pork stock cubes. But if I couldn't get a pack of roast chicken legs, the shop my delivery comes from has a deli with a roast chicken counter. I could order from there. At a price.

Do I think we're being manipulated? You mean you don't?