What are you "do's" and "don'ts" for shopping at a warehouse club?

[bookgirl]

Don't buy value sized of items you have a craving for while in the store.

I love cheese puffs. They sell those huge tubs of cheese balls. LOVE them. However, if I buy the value size I EAT the value size.


I'd have been better off to go buy a snack bag of cheetos and be done with the craving. With a huge tub I feel obligated to eat them for the next week to 10 days.

I only buy those things that are normal parts of my meal/snack plans (meats, vegtable juice/water, fruit, occasional crackers/chips) and non perishables that are cheaper in bulk (plates, bags, etc).

No random "ooooo look cheese balls" purchases.

 

[RadioNate]

this too for us.
I have to stick to my list and I do good. even if the price is the same as the grocery store, just going into bj's and buying in bulk saves me from making mulitple trips to stop and shop, which in itself for me is a huge money saver!
the things I buy consistently at bj's which are a great deal are grated cheese, pasta sauce, pizza cheese, butter, TP, paper towels, shampoo, chicken breast.

This is why Costco works for me. It keeps me out of the regular store which saves on gas and impulse junk. I can't get out of the regular grocery store for less than $50 even if I just "run in" for something I need that night.

I like to buy at Costco and then I play the lets see how long I can go before I need to set foot into a store again game.

I went to the regular store on Dec 27, which is the last time I went to the grocery store.

I go to Costco 1x a month unless I am printing photos or something like that.

I'm not a couponer and I'm not going to spend time going through sale flyers to find which store (there are 6 different grocery stores + Costco w/in a 5mile radius) has the best prices this week. I'm certainly not going to go to several stores wasting time and gas to save a few dollars.

 

[NotUrsula]

We are 2 people so we don't buy anything in a large size that will spoil quickly. You're not saving money if you are throwing it out!

Sometimes you actually are, but again, you have to know your prices to know which items this is true for, and generally there are not very many.

Example: Russet potatoes. They are $1.49/lb at my cheapest local supermarket, but $2.99 for a 10-lb. sack at Sam's. Even if we throw out half the bag we've saved quite a bit of money.

My favorite Sam's deal? Thomas' Bagel Thins. You have to buy 2 packs at a time, which is 20 split bagels, but those two packs together cost $5 -- as opposed to the $4.25 that the supermarket charges for one pack of 8.

My DD *loves* fresh blueberries in season. They are $3.50 for a 1/2 pint at my local supermarket, but Sam's sells a 2 lb. clamshell for $9. Again, even if we throw out half, we save money. (That never happens with DD at home, though -- she'll buzz through 2 lbs. in 3 days.)

I don't advocate wasting food, of course, so if the product will freeze we will put half of it aside for later use, but occasionally it makes fiscal sense to buy in bulk even if we know we cannot use the entire package before it spoils.

As for us, we are at Sam's twice a week so we seldom go for the impulse buys. My family has a 6-gallon/week milk habit, and 1% milk is nearly $1 cheaper per gallon at Sam's than it is at local supermarkets. We buy 3 gallons at a time at $2.64/gallon, vs. $3.49/gallon at the supermaket. (BTW, if you like real whipped cream on your cocoa this time of year, warehouse stores are great for that. My supermarket charges $2 for a half-pint, but Sam's sells a quart for $5.)