Jun 19th, 2008
Costco Doesn’t Always Have the Best Price
It seems that Costco is a popular topic both for me to write about and for readers to search for when stumbling upon this blog. In any case, I’ve written on them multiple times, and here we are, once again. In fact, the example used for this post is the same as in an earlier post: Diet Pepsi.
I try to limit my forays to Costco to once a month, usually around the 14th of the month (because my American Express statement closes on the 13th, I then gain a bit of time to come up with the cash to pay it off). One of the staples of my trip has been the $8.99 36 pack of Diet Pepsi.
Except now it’s $9.29.
I noticed the increased price while doing my monthly run through the warehouse store this past Sunday. Given that another local retailer is selling the same 36 pack at $8.99 still, barring a sale at Costco, I’ll now buy from this local retailer. In addition, since I can use my Pentagon Federal Credit Union Visa at the local retailer, I get an increased reward–2% vs. 1% on the American Express card I use at Costco (and the reward is very quick, with the reward deducted from my monthly bill).
In addition, given my current obsession with gasoline consumption, there is a branch of this local grocer within two miles of home, versus the approximately 12 miles from Costco. Given that a 36 pack of Diet Pepsi is heavy, and I tend to buy multiple 36 packs, I may be saving a few cents on gasoline as well!
Does this mean I’m not shopping at Costco anymore? No. Far from it, actually. The moral of the story is that while, as I stated earlier, Costco can certainly help you spend less, not everything there is cheaper! Continue to shop around and compare prices for the best deals.
Getting the best bang for your buck is to combine purchases at costco (and similar stores) with stores that hold sales. Costco won’t have the best prices on everything though in general they do have good prices. By being a careful shopper you can really save a lot of money by mixing multiple locations for the best price.
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