How often do you shop at a warehouse club?
When we’re short on time and our shopping lists are long, it can be tempting to just make a single stop at a warehouse club.
After all, Sam’s Club and Costco stock everything from groceries and cleaning supplies to electronics and clothing… often in bulk quantities and at low prices. Also, you should get your money’s worth from your annual membership fee.
Smart shopping move, right? …Well, not necessarily. While many warehouse club deals are reasonable, you might want to skip over some items. Frugal shoppers know that these outlets don’t generally accept coupons for discounts on items.
While you can save money on some pantry items and paper goods like toilet paper, when you’re buying in bulk, you can spend hundreds more each month by taking the easy way out.
Let’s take a look at the 7 everyday items stocked by warehouse clubs that you might want to pick up elsewhere.
Designer Clothing
Don’t be misled by the low prices you might find on designer clothing items at Costco, Sam’s Club, or BJ’s. This includes Nicole Miller, DKNY, and Calvin Klein.
These items are not the same high-end clothing items that you can buy directly from the manufacturer or at high-end retailers.
All the designer clothing items and accessories you see at warehouse clubs are generally constructed using lesser-quality materials and are designed specifically for these types of retailers.
But don’t worry! Warehouse clubs will offer competitive prices if you’re just on the hunt for a basic white t-shirt or simple pair of jeans and you don’t care about labels. Remember that you aren’t buying the same pair of designer jeans you’d find at Neiman Marcus.
Toothpaste
Stocking up on some extra toothpaste can be a smart move. It has a longer shelf life than any other personal care item. If you often run out at the worst times, buying toothpaste in bulk at your favorite warehouse club may seem like an obvious choice.
However, you’ll want to compare prices before throwing that big pack into your cart the next time you’re at Sam’s Club. You’ll likely find better deals at a local drugstore, especially if you shop weekly sales or save coupons.
Remember that you’ll need to be flexible on the brand and should expect variations in the product’s size versus what’s on-hand at a warehouse club. At Costco, we saw a five-pack of 6.4oz tubes of Colgate Total SF Advanced Whitening toothpaste for $17.49.
At RiteAid, you can buy a two-pack of 6oz Colgate Cavity Protection toothpaste with fluoride for $3.79 with no purchase limit. That’s less than at Costco for practically the same amount of product.
Name-Brand Cereal
Warehouse clubs sell name-brand cereals, but frugal shoppers know they can grab the breakfast staple for less somewhere else.
Kellogg, General Mills, and a few other manufacturers regularly have discounts and coupons that can be used at your local store, but not at Costco or Sam’s Club. Look for coupons in your Sunday newspaper or the manufacturer’s website.
You can also stack these coupons with any sale your local retailer promotes. This means you’ll get a better deal at the grocery store than at a warehouse club.
For example, Target’s recent weekly sale promotion featured a “two for $7” deal on select cereal brands, including a 24oz box of Kellogg’s Rice Krispies.
On Kellogg’s website, you can print a coupon for $1 off on 2 packs of Rice Krispies. So, you can buy two boxes at the big-box retailer and get a dollar offer with the coupon, which lowers the sale price to $6.
That amounts to roughly 12 cents per ounce – two cents cheaper per ounce than what Costco offered.
Dietary Supplements
Any supplement can be pricey, especially if bought at a pharmacy. For instance, at CVS, a 300-count bottle of Centrum Complete Multivitamins is $25.99. A two-bottle package of the same vitamins at BJ’s is $19.99.
If you’re only concerned about cost, BJ’s is the apparent better deal. Regardless, unless more than one family member shares the vitamins with you, they may expire before you finish the bottle.
Even though vitamins don’t really “go bad” after expiration, they can lose their strength. So, taking expired pills may not be wise if you’re taking a dietary supplement to help with a specific deficiency.
To ensure you get a good deal, you should check the expiration date and calculate how long it would take to finish that big-size bottle. You might want to buy your supplements in smaller quantities elsewhere if it’s after the expiration date.
Doing this math helps avoid tossing out half-empty bulk-size bottles of vitamins, which equals wasted money.
Liquid Cleaners
Liquid cleaning products tend to lose their effectiveness over time. Large bottles of laundry detergent or even liquid dish soap may not be an intelligent money-saving plan, especially if you have to use twice the amount of product to get the wanted result with a single wash.
Unless you do lots of loads of laundry or wash your dishes by hand, it’s best if you buy liquid detergents in smaller quantities.
If you would prefer to shop exclusively at warehouse clubs rather than taking multiple trips to a few stores, you should think about buying powder-based cleaning products instead. They have an unlimited shelf life when stored correctly in a cool and dry place.
Dips and Spreads
Do you like to keep your pantry chock-full of snacks for binge-watching your favorite shows? Then you might be tempted to buy that massive tub of artichoke dip at your local warehouse club. True, you get more for the money.
Yet, will you have eaten that entire 40oz container of hummus by the time you’re done watching your favorite show in just two days?
Unless you’re buying food for a big party or you have a large family, you should only purchase smaller quantities of cheese dip, refrigerated hummus, and salsa. That’s because these perishable items go bad after a certain amount of time once opened.
For instance, the packaging on Sabra brand hummus containers includes a disclaimer stating it should be consumed within a week after opening.
You’ll probably spend more on a unit-price basis at your local grocery store, but you’re more likely to actually finish the small container.
But if you’re set on scoring a deal, pay attention to the weekly sales at places like Trader Joe’s, Target, or Walmart, which regularly offer discounts on dips and spreads.
Meats
If you’re planning on stocking up on chicken, beef, or seafood during your next warehouse club visit only to shove it in your freezer when you get home, you should reconsider.
Unless you’re prepping for a large family reunion or have a home full of kids, there’s a good chance you’ll forget it’s even there. And, by the time you DO remember it, that 4lb bag of chicken wings may be covered in freezer burn rendering it worthless.
There’s nothing wrong with storing meats you cook regularly, especially if you like to meal prep. However, do it in smaller quantities at your local grocer. You’ll be less likely to overbuy things you don’t need.
Also, watch for weekly sales at your favorite grocery store or coupons in your Sunday paper. For example, we regularly see buy-one-get-one-free deals on packages of sausages, pork tenderloins, chicken breasts, and spare ribs.
Make sure to leave a comment to let us know if you have any other tips and tricks when it comes to warehouse club shopping.
And in the meantime, we think you’ll also like: 15 Things To Buy From Duty-Free
29 Responses
Good luck finding a powder-based cleaning product anywhere. Most every product used to be powder years ago. Now everything is liquid in plastic bottles.
Comet and Barkeepers Friend are still available everywhere.
There are still alot of powder base cleaners around. Tide and Gain come in powder, Ajax and Comet cleanser still come in powder base. Not sure where you’re looking but they’re out there
Yes, and those discounted dips and spreads are likely close to their expiration date. Buyer beware!
where? Costco??? you made me look at the two containers of dips from New Year’s that were acquired at Costco. No where near expiration.
the turnover at Costco is so great that I highly doubt it….
I am a family of one, & do shop sams for meats detergent water bread tp & paper towels etc. It never occurred to me to just shop smaller. I am going to try yr suggestions.
I agree with what not to purchase at warehouse stores, but when it comes to meat and poultry the best investment is FOODSAVER sealing system NO FREZZER BURN
LEARNED A LOT…..THANKS.
using a vacuum sealer on large purchases and divide into package for family size
Unfortunately, this advice is too late. I just purchased a package of chicken breasts at Sam’s Club. Promptly came home, washed and seasoned them, and placed them in my freezer. Thank you for the advice going forward.
A MAJOR factor in freezing food is the difference between a typical refrigerator/freezer in your kitchen (which is generally self-defrosting) and a deep freeze, which is not. Freezer burn is almost exclusively caused by the slight thaw/re-freeze cycle resulting from a frost-free freezer.
nothing at this time
I like and will support local stores over Big Box all the time .
you do that! if you have the space to store, why not. no one wants to run out of TP. I buy once and I’m good for a long time!!
Agree!! Walmart went into small town America and literally wiped mom and pop from the earth!! I will never step foot in their stores.
An Okie from Muskogee’s rules for retirement:
1. Never let emotion interfere with your finances.
I like shopping at Costco specially for frozen vegetables as well as meats of in bulk. I like to take them home and put them in smaller bags and put them back into the large bag it comes in. That way I can just pull out what I need. Never sits in my freezer getting freezer burn. It’s a lot more convenient than having to run to town every time I need something.
I disagree about the meat. It is significantly cheaper and if you have a good freezer and divide it up and freeze it properly, it saves quite a bit.
In buying meats in quantity, if you break it up into smaller amounts and use a food saver vacuum sealer then store it in the freezer, does that solve the issue?
I had been using the meat in Sam’s Club and buy of meat and I separated them and put like maybe a pound in freezer bags, So tell me why is it not a good idea even chicken too.
Buying in larger quantities for a smaller family often requires repackaging for freezer or storage. The added expense of packaging materials adds to the cost of the items.
Your toothpaste comparison is not a valid one. You’re comparing the Colgate Total SF Advanced Whitening against the Colgate Cavity Protection toothpaste. That comparison is like buying a car saying that buying a Toyota is much cheaper than buying a Cadillac. Well – BOTH are cars! DUH!
Great suggestions. Thanks. ..
Those “Natures Made ” pills are made in CHINA…Read the back of the bottle…Don’t buy from our biggest enemy !!!
The meat at Safeway and Albertsons goes on a “buy one get one free” and the stores double the price per pound of the meat on sale so, in effect, you’re still buying it at regular price. I stopped shopping at those stores because of their stupid games, and I’m glad I don’t work for one of them any more as well.
Don’t forget to price it by the pound and compare it to house labels. They often sit next to each other, for quick comparison.
I think this must be written my Warehouse competitors. They miss the fact that particularly at Costco, the meat quality is excellent. They must take us for idiots that don’t realize we need to repackage large purchases for the freezer — I often put together several ready to cook frozen meals.
MEATS:
1.) We buy most of our meat from a local farm, and stored in a chest freezer, a year’s worth, side of beef, side of pig, and 30 grass-fed, organic-fed chickens, beef, and pork.
2.) Even if we didn’t you can save by nuying in bilk, then using a vaccuum sealer to break it down into smaller portions!