Warehouse stores

iVillage Member
Registered: 02-09-2004
Warehouse stores
12
Wed, 02-15-2006 - 12:23pm
What stuff do you find are good buys at warehouse stores. I have a Costco membership and probably don't utilize it as much as I should. I buy toilet paper and paper towels and juice for my kids, also lately they have had big containers of blueberries but I know people have mentioned buying meat and freezing it? What are your favorite finds?

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iVillage Member
Registered: 10-07-2005
Wed, 02-15-2006 - 2:16pm

I buy meat there mostly. And milk! Milk is always cheaper at a wharehouse store!

Michelle

iVillage Member
Registered: 01-25-2006
Wed, 02-15-2006 - 2:22pm

I love Costco but you do have to sort of figure out what is a 'good deal' not just by price but by whether you'll use it or not and how much storage space you do or don't have. Things I regularly buy there:

Paper products (TP, paper towels and tissue-all Kirkland brand. The name brand stuff is still a good price but not a GREAT price in my experience)
Colored Bell Peppers (either all red or the red/yellow/orange combo)
Whole Wheat Bread (ok price for the brand, not a killer deal over what I can usually get at the grocery store but I'm there)
Milk is a good price but not usually a purchase for me due to timing
Lipton tea bags are dirt cheap
Craisins are a fraction of super market prices
The bags of salad are a good price but I can't eat them fast enough
Juice is a great buy
Dishwasher and laundry detergent (again, Kirkland brands are a better buy)
Canned food: Tuna, tomato products, soups, beans all seem to be a really good price.
Diapers and wipes are well known bargains but I've never purchased them. I've had friends 'mooch' my membership though to get them.

This is where you can really get good use out of a price book. Often times, the prices at warehouse stores are not better than the 'loss leader' prices available at the grocery stores but the only way to know that is to track them. The prices are almost always better than the regular price at the grocery store.

Peg

iVillage Member
Registered: 04-07-2003
Wed, 02-15-2006 - 2:49pm

I put a response about Costco under your other thread, but I'll add a few more thoughts here!

- I found the BEST prices at Costco were for the spices. Those big huge plastic containers usually cost only a couple of dollars more than the teensy little bottles at the grocery store.

- case-loads of items like canned tuna, soft drinks, KD, etc, were usually very good deals, but I notice that Safeway often puts similar items on sale at very similar prices, fairly often. (Perhaps to compete with Costco!)

- hard cheeses like cheddar and mozza are a fabulous deal, if you eat a lot of cheese!

- clothing and appliances hardly seemed like great deals to me - the same things could almost always be bought elsewhere on sale, or even regular price.

- meat prices, though good, were almost always comparable to sale prices at the regular grocery stores.

Bottom line (unless you buy a LOT of the few exceptionally well-priced items), if you want to put a little time into reading flyers, you can get comparable prices almost anywhere, without paying the yearly membership fee.



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Avatar for mymartes
iVillage Member
Registered: 03-26-2003
Wed, 02-15-2006 - 3:05pm

i love the meats at costco including their seafood. we also buy their brand of toilet paper and paper towels, batteries, pull-ups, etc.

mym

iVillage Member
Registered: 08-23-2005
Wed, 02-15-2006 - 3:43pm
I buy frozen chicken breasts, spices are very affordable there, especially vanilla!

lvhunnie2005

iVillage Member
Registered: 07-27-2005
Wed, 02-15-2006 - 5:11pm

We use our card for diapers, wipes, t.p., paper towels, chicken nuggets, toquitos, sometimes movies and books, and sometimes they carry movie tickets a dollar or two less than if you went to the theatre to buy them.

Cristin

iVillage Member
Registered: 03-26-2003
Wed, 02-15-2006 - 9:06pm

We get all our perscriptions filled at the Costco pharmacy -that alone pays for the membership.

As far as other items . . . as previously mentined you do have to be aware of prices. .. .

* tp, paper towels, cleaning products are a deal if it's something I use - and even more so when they have an in-house coupon. I think I have it planned so that I only buy Downey every 6 months.
* salad is great -but only if we are having company or else it goes bad. I buy the spinach the odd time because when it looks like we aren't going to eat any more I can freeze the rest and use it in soups.
* large cans of pineapple (freeze in smaller portions & use in smoothies)
* large cans of beans (freeze in smaller portions & use in soups / stews)
* magazines (I don't buy them any more - but they are less than even Walmart)

That's pretty much it for me.

h.n.

 

Avatar for skthurber
iVillage Member
Registered: 03-27-2003
Wed, 02-15-2006 - 11:11pm

I have twins who are almost 2, so that really affects my shopping habits. We don't have a Costco close by, but I have a Sam's membership through work. We buy:

Diapers and wipes
Paper goods
Batteries (This saves us at Christmastime.)
Millstone coffee beans (DH used to get Gevalia by mail at $24/lb! This is much better on the budget than that.)
Kid snacks - animal crackers, goldfish crackers, etc.)
Quaker granola bars (Although sometimes they are on sale at my local grocery store for less.)
Members Mark (house brand) fruit snacks. My kids love the animal shapes, and I have never seen fruit snacks anywhere else for cheaper.
I've also bought kids' clothes there too. My SIL just bought my niece's Easter dress there for $11.

I like the big carts that have seats and seatbelts for 2 kids. I can actually fit both my kids in the same cart and shop with them. Of course, as has been discussed on this board before, you often come out cheaper if you can leave the kids (and sometimes DH too!) at home.

-Sarah

Sarah


Mom to Gina & Tony


 


iVillage Member
Registered: 01-06-2006
Thu, 02-16-2006 - 8:25pm
I had costco membership years ago, but being single at the time spent more money shopping there out of boredome than I would ever save. Having said that there are a couple of reasons I try and tag along to shop with co-workers a couple times a year.
1. Christmastime: they have the best prices on gift such as food baskets, ceramic canisters with biscotti etc.
2. the coupons during the summer months. I think it came out around Memorial day last year...they send out a coupon book with coupons good for a week each page. Usually there is one item a week I want but rather than go every week I choose the best value/most wanted item and ask a co-worker to take me that week. One year I bought my contacts buy a box get one free, their prices were already competitive on contacts and I got 6 boxes for the price of 3; this year I got the lysol wipes, 2 packs of 3 for $10 (420 wipes total)...each canister was twice as many sheets as the sheets as the grocery store and they are typically $3 for 35 wipes there, so I figure as many sheets at the store would cost about $36. There was a jacket I wanted to get, but it turned out Wal-mart offered a similar jacket a couple of months later and it was cheaper there.

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iVillage Member
Registered: 02-17-2006
Fri, 02-17-2006 - 6:03pm

Cassandramom,

I don't know, but I saw a program on CNN (I think) where a study was done on warehouse shopping and it showed that people spend more there than at regular stores simply because of the idea that "its a good deal for all that stuff". It also contributed to overeating. I had a membership to Sam's and have let it lapse and really don't miss it. I don't have small children at home any more so that may affect it as well.

JDH

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