Common Shopping Mistakes to Avoid: 5 Things I Will NOT buy at Sam’s Club or Costco!

This is a post I stole from my lovely wife Tiffany who blogs at OneDealataTime (my litter). I thought it was an excellent example of what not to do at while shopping at the warehouse stores. If you have been to our coupon classes we don’t pretend to have always been coupon masters, in fact there was a long period of time where we were HORRIBLE at it. If you live anywhere near the Houston area you should come to one of our upcoming Coupon Classes, you will have a lot of fun and hopefully learn a little somthin’-somethin!

Guest Post from OneDealataTime:

I really wish I had not gone with the 5 things, this could really be a list of about 100. For all the wonderful deals I get at a warehouse store there are so many that are not a good deal. Unfortunately, buying in bulk doesn’t always mean that you get the best deal. The most important thing to do when shopping at a Sam’s club or other store is to price everything out BY THE OUNCE. This will let you know if you are getting something cheaper then at the grocery store with or without coupons. Of course this means that you need to have an idea of what you are paying at the grocery store, that is your homework! Start keeping a list, or paying attention to it!

These are the top 5 things that I think are the worst deals at a warehouse store:

1. Razors! Hands down! This was what I would GO to Sam’s for. A refill for mens razors last time I looked was almost $50. That was for 15 cartridges, I won’t pay more then about $1.50 for a new razor that has 2 blades in it. I am looking at about $20, worst case for the same thing plus all the new razor handles.

2. Toothbrushes and Toothpaste – A pack of toothbrushes at Sams is $13.88 for a 6 pack. People pay for toothbrushes?!! They pay $2.25 for one? My price point for a toothbrush is FREE, if I am paying more then that I don’t feel like it is a good deal OR it better be a pretty dang nice toothbrush and cost me $1! 🙂 Toothpaste, is also pricey, at over $2 a tube as well. We are getting it free again this week at Kroger.

3. Gum and Candy – First, I don’t really want a bulk amount of candy around my house, I don’t want anyone eating that much sugar. Second, there are too many coupons out for single packs to pay $9.88 for a bag of M&M’s. Even if I really like the Peanut Butter kind! If I wait I know that I can get the single serve bags and packs for as little as free to $.25 a bag. Gum should also be one of those things where you get close to free, not $5 for a 3 pack for Trident, when Walgreens had them $.12 each last week.

4. Photos – Now, I have purchased 100’s of photos at Sam’s club in the past, and if I need them asap same day, I would have to go back. They charge $.13 a print. I can get 100 prints for $.02 a photo if I order online to one of the 20 different places that myself and other bloggers post regularly. When you get a bunch at a time that is the difference between paying $13 for 100 or paying $2.

5. Cereal! This makes me sick to think of how much cereal I have bought in the past at Sams without even looking at the price. They have bags and boxes of cereal priced as much as $4-$5 dollars a regular box! That same box I can get at the store with coupons for $1 – $1.25.

I could easily keep going… tuna, soup, spaghetti sauce, pasta, cookie and brownie mix, yogurt, etc. are all much cheaper at the grocery store with coupons.

Although you can get them cheaper at the grocery store, it means that you still need to shop smart. If you are prepared with or with out coupons you will know when you see a good price and maybe the best price IS at a warehouse store. The most important thing to do is start paying attention to the prices of the things that your family uses everyday, some things break down to price per ounce, so you can even compare that from grocery store to grocery store. OR grocery store to Walmart.

Here are some free printable sheets to help you get started:

• Price Book Sheet – Track you prices by date, store, item, price etc.
• Shopping List – You spend 40% less when you have a list!

If you missed my 5 things I WILL buy at Sams Club you can go HERE.