Ask The Readers: Do You Buy In Bulk?
-1.jpg&description=Ask The Readers: Do You Buy In Bulk?)
Editor's Note: Congratulations to Donna D, @oshkoshbgosh123, and Raina Deichert for winning this week's contest!
Buying items in bulk is oftentimes a great way to save money. Many people will invest in memberships to warehouses just to have the option of saving money by buying in bulk. However, there are people out there who don't think buying in bulk saves money.
Do you buy in bulk? Why or why not? Or, are there certain items you will buy in bulk and other's you won't?
Tell us whether or not you buy in bulk and we'll enter you in a drawing to win a $20 Amazon Gift Card!
Win 1 of 3 $20 Amazon Gift Cards
We're doing three giveaways — one for random comments, one for random Facebook "Likes", and another one for random tweets.
Enter 1 of 3 Ways:
- Post your answer in the comments below, or
- Go to our Facebook page, "Like" us, then "Like" the update mentioning this giveaway (you can comment, as well — but you don't have to for entry), or
- Tweet your answer. You have to be a follower of our @wisebread account. Include both "@wisebread" and "#WBAsk" in your tweet so we'll see it and count it.
If you're inspired to write a whole blog post OR you have a photo on flickr to share, please link to it in the comments or tweet it.
Giveaway Rules:
- Contest ends Monday, May 16th at 11:59 pm Pacific. Winners will be announced after May 16th on the original post and via Twitter. Winners will also be contacted via email, Facebook, and Twitter Direct Message.
- You can enter all three drawings — once by leaving a comment, once by liking our Facebook update, and once by tweeting.
- You must be 18 and US resident to enter. Void where prohibited.
Good Luck!
Tagged: Giveaways, Ask the Readers
Disclaimer: The links and mentions on this site may be affiliate links. But they do not affect the actual opinions and recommendations of the authors.
Wise Bread is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to amazon.com.
I buy non-perishable items in bulk when they are in sale. Mostly soaps, moisturizers, detergents, diapers, paper products etc.
I buy Whole Foods Organic Apple Juice in the 1 gallon container in bulk, which is 6 at a time...I get a 10% discount when I do this.
I only buy bulk items that can be stored for long periods of time or items that I use every day. Since there are just two in my house, it doesn't make sense to buy bulk sandwich meat, for example, because it will go bad before we can use it all.
I do buy in bulk but and very picky about what I choose to buy. String Cheese in the brand I like is at Sam's for a quarter a piece...way cheaper than the grocery store. I also buy my berries and greek yogurt at the bulk stores too. Lately, the grcery store has offered same or better price on the yogurt but if I don't need to grocery shop, I don't make the extra trip (gas savings!). I buy paper goods there too but have to admit, I haven't done my comparison with grocery store to make sure its a better deal.
I don't usually buy in bulk because i find that I can usually get a better deal on smaller amounts with coupons.
Hi!
Buying in bulk is just like buying anything-you have t read the fine print. Sometimes, it is not a deal. Buying in bulk in my favourite store (bulkbarn) makes sense for spices and herbs (make sure you label them first) and for deals on after Christmas baking supplies but not, for example, for pasta-pasta is cheaper to buy when it is on sale at the grocery store. One thing I do like about bulk is that you can try a new product you are unsure of and just buy what you need to see if you like it. If it is a success, score when it goes on sale and if it is not a hit-hey you just tried something new and you're not going to try to find a use for something you do not like. It really pays to keep a journal with the prices - you will be amazed at the things you thought were a deal but really were not.
I buy from bulk bins and bulk stores like Costco. Bulk bins keep us from buying more than we need and saves money that way. Spices I think are the best buy (from the local DC market chain "MOMs), although I do buy other odd goods, like cat litter (from Petco).
Bulk stores save us $, but we do end up throwing away some fresh food (we don't buy dry food since it is too much for 2 people). A huge box of organic mixed greens costs the same as one of the two small boxes we would normally use in a week, but it is so much larger that we usually don't finish it before it goes bad. However we also save $ on alcohol, electronics, movie tickets, and non-food consumer goods (e.g. our mattress) with no waste. Last year we saved more than the cost of the membership just on eggs (which we eat most days for breakfast).
I buy a couple gallons of milk when it's on sale and freeze all but one; I buy lots of eggs when on sale and freeze them in ice cube trays (yes, it can be done). Certain things that we use often I try to buy the biggest size-- unless the price per unit is cheaper for smaller quantities.
We choose to buy in bulk because of the cost savings we can achieve by using coupons and store promotions. Often times, the manager will throw in a futher discount if you say, "If I buy 3 cases of X, can I get a 10% discount".
With a family of 7 and several friends that someitmes share in our deals, we rarely find that we've bought too much. Since we know that we'll eat X amount of gallons in spaghetti sauce every year, we have no problem buying 100 bottles when it's on sale for $.15 a bottle, or buying 200 boxes of cereal when it's going for $1 a box.
Although it may seem excessive, our annual grocery bill is less than most families of 3 people and it stems from jumping on deals when we see them and buying items on our terms.
I buy bulk as often as I can, though unfortunately the nearest store with bulk bins is 45 minutes away. I stock up on flour, sugar, nuts, grains, and dried fruit. I've asked if they can add pasta too, but they say they're out of room. If only more stores would embrace bulk!