I love shopping in bulk as a way to save money. The whole point of buying larger quantities is to get more items at a lower cost per item.
However sometimes bulk can be more expensive per item as I recently found out. Keep reading for more details!
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I was looking for a certain item that I purchase regularly in store. This item usually costs 50 cents per pack. I looked online and it showed a pack of 12 for $7.09. Lets break that down:
Cost analysis
Single item in store = 50 cents
12 singles in store = $6
12 items online = $7.09
You don’t need any fancy math skills to realize the cost difference here. It is cheaper to buy 12 singles (if you want that many) instead of one 12 pack.
I wondered if the price difference was just because of the online availability. I actually found that the 12 pack was also more costly in store as well.
I really do love this item and will buy 12 singles and save a few coins.
Have you ever found that a bulk purchase was more pricey per item? Let us know in the comments!
Costco sells billions of rolls of toilet paper per year. Yet you can find better deals per roll then what they sell? So why does Costco sell so much? Why am I one of the people that contributes to their sales of seemingly higher priced product? Simple, because we know exactly what we are getting. With certain items, toilet paper being one of them, you don’t want any surprises or unknowns and you want a certain level of minimum quality. Chasing different sale prices will inevitably get you times where the product is below what you’d consider unexpected quality. We’ve had issues where, well, it really doesn’t work. Or where it’s not a bad paper but it’s about 1/3 the width smaller than any other roll. Or it’s scratchy. But buying the Kirkland brand, you know what you’re going to get every time you use it. Is that worth paying a little more? In my mind (and apparently I’m one of many), it absolutely is.
Ah toilet paper. I am a Charmin Ultra Strong fan myself but I get what you are saying. For a basic item, especially non-perishables bulk buys are awesome…if you have storage space. But if you are particular about an item then you overlook the price even if you get less.