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Cream Style Corn

I really don’t understand the concept of member pricing at supermarkets. Although the member pricing at supermarkets usually is not competitive with Costco, it still looks quite enticing when compared to the jacked-up non-member price. And, if you track prices at all, you will realize how completely ridiculous the non-member pricing is. LIke it’s a trick or something.

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So, I spotted S&W Cream Style Corn going for 4 for $5.00 at Safeway, or $1.25 per can. The club price is cheaper than canned corn at Piazza’s, but their non-member price is more expensive. I don’t know if Safeway is trying to instill this message in me, but the takeaway for me is that Safeway is expensive; even more so than the smaller Piazza’s, which already is not cheap by any means. And if Costco will just sell cream style corn, I would be buying it there for $0.783 per can instead. As good as canned cream style corn is, I should probably attempt to make it one of these weekends while fresh corn is still available.

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Ice Cream

This comparison is a bit different than all the others because Costco only sells one brand of ice cream: Kirkland Signature. Of course, you can pick up a box of Haagen-Dazs bars or occasionally a tub of gelato. However, for straightforward ice cream, I’ve never seen anything other than the house brand, which really is quite good.

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So, Costco sells 2 x 1/2 gallon tubs of Kirkland Signature Super Premium Vanilla Ice Cream for $6.99. I spotted a coupon for Breyers Ice Cream from Piazza’s Fine Foods. $2.99 gets you a 48 oz. carton of delicious, all natural ice cream. Since 48 ounces is 0.375 gallons, the cost per gallon is $7.97, or about a dollar more than the price at Costco. Of course, the big difference is that I can pick a flavor other than vanilla

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Cetaphil Moisturizing Lotion: Costco v. Target

If I wasn’t paying close attention, I would have completely missed this one. At first glance, I thought that Target sold an individual pack of Cetaphil while Costco sold a twin pack.

costco-cetaphiltarget-cetaphil

However, upon closer inspection, I discovered that the Target was selling a 16 oz. bottle, while Costco was selling 2 x 20 oz. bottles. Anyways, Target sells Cetaphil Moisturizing Lotion for $0.559 per ounce while Costco sells it for $0.388 per ounce. If Costco sold a 16 oz. bottle at $0.388 per ounce, the total would be $6.21, quite a bit less than the $8.94 Target is charging.

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Bona Hardwood Floor Cleaner at Lowe’s

I already know that Costco has the best price on Bona Hardwood Floor Cleaner. Who can beat $11.99 for a 1.25 gallon refill container and a 32 oz. spray bottle?

lowes-bona-hardwood-floor-cleaner

Lowe’s was selling a 128 oz. container of Bona Hardwood Floor Cleaner for $15.98, or $0.125 per ounce. Lowe’s price is half way between the $.0236 per ounce price at OSH and the $0.062 per ounce price at Costco.

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AA Batteries

Lowe’s sells a 16 pack of Duracell AA batteries for $9.97.

lowes-aa-batteries

Costco sells the same 16 pack for $8.49. The Target 16 pack costs $10.39.

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Allergan Refresh Plus

Previously, I had compared the price of Allergan Refresh Plus at Target and Costco.

walmart-refresh-plus

Wal-Mart sells a 30 single-use containers for $6.98 (or $0.233 per container) or 70 single-use containers for $13.94 (or $0.199 per container). Recall that Target sold the same 30-count box for $6.99, or one penny more than Wal-Mart. As usual, Costco sold Allergan Refresh Plus for lowest per unit price—$0.184 per single-use container.

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Brita Filters at Wal-Mart

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Comparison shopping within a store is pretty easy with a calculator in hand. However, unless you store all your prices in a spreadsheet, this task can be challenging because quantities for even standard goods may differ.

Case in point: Brita water filters. Costco sells a 10 pack, Target sells a 6 pack, and Wal-Mart sells a 4 pack. Wal-Mart sells a 4 pack of Brita filters for $19.44, or $4.86 per filter. The best price from my last price check was $4.199 per filter from Costco. However, Wal-Mart did edge out Target be a few cents per filter (i.e., $4.86 v. $4.948). However, I spotted a 5-pack of Brita Water Filters at walmart.com selling for $39.98, or $7.996 per filter! The lesson here is to not assume that the in-store and online prices are the same, or that online prices much be cheaper than within a bricks and mortar store.

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Mini-Wheats at Wal-Mart

Last month, I compared the price of Frosted Mini-Wheats at Costco and Safeway.

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This past weekend, I stopped by Wal-Mart to shop around. Wal-Mart sells an 18 oz. box of Kellogg’s Frosted Mini-Wheats for $2.33, or $0.129 per ounce. Costco is still the store to beat, but you have to buy a 70 oz. box. For 70 ounces, the Wal-Mart price will be $9.06, compared to $8.49 at Costco. So, I can save $13.71 a year if I can finish two 70 oz. boxes a month.

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Shout Gel

A few weeks ago, OSH was selling an 8.7 oz. bottle of Shout Gel for $4.99. So, was this a “great value” as the sign proclaimed?

osh-shout-geltarget-shout-gel

Target, which used to carry Shout Gel, did not have the product on its shelves. Instead, it stocked an 8.7 oz. bottle of Shout Advanced Gel for $2.64. Between the two, Target offered a greater value.

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Bona Hardwood Floor Cleaner

This exercise in tracking the cost of various products that I usually purchase has really focused my attention on consumer prices. I know that gas prices change daily, but what about the price of other consumer goods?

Since the last post on Bona Hardwood Floor Cleaner, I noticed that the Costco had changed its price. Since the schools only teach about inflation (and not deflation), you may think that prices will only go up absent a sale or rebate. But, there I was looking at the sign and sure enough, Costco now sells Bona Hardwood Floor Cleaner for $11.99 instead of $12.69. No sale. No instant rebate. Just a straightforward price cut. Wow!

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