SmartMoney.com went shopping for household staples and other items shoppers might regularly purchase to see which stores offer the best savings. We compared prices for 17 items from three warehouse clubs in the New York City metro region against one another and those at local stores, including supermarket chain C-Town, Rite Aid, Petco and K&D Wines & Spirits for items the supermarket didn't carry. Because warehouse clubs tend to carry bigger sizes, prices were adjusted for a unit-by-unit comparison where necessary. We also factored in manufacturers' coupons where available, since both BJ's and local stores accept them.Makes me wish I bought stock in this company back when it was cheaper.
The results: Even for nonmembers, warehouse clubs offer plenty of good deals, with some of the best savings on over-the-counter medications, personal-care products and pantry staples. There were exceptions to that rule, however -- most notably, bell peppers at the warehouse clubs were almost twice as much as they were at the supermarket, and prescription cholesterol medication was slightly more expensive at one of the clubs than at a chain pharmacy. The winner? Sam's Club's prices were consistently among the best, although BJ's coupon policy made it a serious contender in many categories.
Sunday, May 17, 2009
Another Coup For Wal*Mart
Ok, not really Wal*Mart, but Sam's Club.
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3 comments:
We have six children, so we've figured out what's cheaper, where. Bread is cheaper at the "Hostess thrift store." (Thrift store sounds like "used" stuff, but it isn't really. Just closer to expiration date and dumped off by truck for quick sale.)
Pizza sauce, 25-pound bags of flour, mega shredded cheese and pepperoni, etc. and we have pizza for the week. We also buy the large peanut butter at Sam's and our diapers. Even with coupons at the store, it's cheaper at Sam's.
BUT
Now we know our son Woodjie has a milk and egg allergy. We buy a special muffin pack for him at the regular grocery store each week when we pick up prescriptions. Prescriptions, btw, are the same price for *me* no matter where I go, if it's a place on our insurance plan.
Oh! And they have great school supplies, too, but you can't beat the Wal-Mart back-to school notebooks when they go on sale. Teachers usually ask for, say, an 80 page notebook college lined or whatever. I'll just buy a bunch of the cheap 70-page notebooks because I am just so past going to five stores and finally finding it for $3.75. Discouraging. I'm not sure teachers realize how tough certain brand names/sizes are to find sometimes when they are specific on the list. When you're specific, please tell us where to buy it. :]
Just think how much cheaper they could be if they really went for it, and took the leap to lease Chinese prisoners to work in the store . . .and, after a few years, they could harvest their organs and sell them through the pharmacy. Toilet paper and cheese slices would be almost free!
mrs. c, my doctor told me recently that i should go to walmart for my prescriptions, but tell them i don't want to go through my insurance -- just pay out of pocket. the result? 3 months supply of my meds, for the price i had been paying for 1 month.
maia_orual
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