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The entire big box economy is a big honking subsidy to people with cars living in the suburbs by the poor, the singles, the seniors, the urban, the cyclists.
It only works because of the highways and the parking lots and the infrastructure paid for by everyone (road taxes do not cover the cost of the roads) and enjoyed by the drivers. The companies charge twice as much for small packages as big ones because they can; the purchasers without cars and access to the big boxes, the ability to drive between the Walmart and the Costco and the Price Club, don't have a choice.
Read on for Treehugger's reasons. Is bulk buying bad after all?
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Does Buying in Bulk Save Money, or is it a False Economy?
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Confess your sins to the Lord and you will be forgiven;
confess them to man and you will be laughed at.
-- Josh Billings
(Score: 2) by Snotnose on Monday September 25 2017, @11:10PM (18 children)
A couple times a year I'll piggyback on a friend for things like tomato sauce, diced tomatoes, and such. But I don't have anywhere to store the toilet paper Costco wants me to buy. Likewise, veggies are useless to me. Who cares if I save 20% if I throw 50% of them into the trash? I can freeze the meat, but I've got a small freezer. Not to mention cutting a 10 lb hunk of meat into 3 hunks I'll use at a time. The gas lines are always a good 20 minutes. I'm fat, none of their clothes fit me.
That said, as they no longer require American Express things change. I can save $10/3 months on my prescription drugs. I'll no longer need to bug a friend when I'm out of tomato paste. I'm perfectly capable of dividing 10 lbs of meat into 3 packages.
My prescriptions expire in November, I suspect I'll be joining Costco then. I'll just be very effin careful when shopping.
When the dust settled America realized it was saved by a porn star.
(Score: 1) by insanumingenium on Monday September 25 2017, @11:21PM (8 children)
I dont know where you hail from. But in my state it is the law that they cant require a membership to buy drugs, glasses, smoke, or hooch. You might not require a membership.
(Score: 2) by Snotnose on Monday September 25 2017, @11:25PM (7 children)
Yeah, I'm pretty sure that's the law here too. I just feel guilty taking taking advantage of their price when not a member.
And yeah, I know that kind of thinking went out in the 80s when MBA's started invading management. But I was raised that way.
When the dust settled America realized it was saved by a porn star.
(Score: 4, Insightful) by Snow on Monday September 25 2017, @11:43PM (2 children)
Don't feel guilty about taking advantage of Costco! That's the most ridiculous thing I have heard! Taking advantage of Costco should warm the cockles of your heart.
(Score: 3, Interesting) by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday September 26 2017, @01:21AM (1 child)
I just use the gift card trick for those bulk stores. If someone gets you a gift card, they will let you into the store. You can get whatever you want and pay the remainder of your bill in cash, card, etc. The secret is to make sure one of your items is a gift card....
(Score: 2) by Snow on Wednesday September 27 2017, @02:32AM
Ooh, that's pretty clever!
(Score: 2, Informative) by insanumingenium on Tuesday September 26 2017, @03:59PM (3 children)
This isn't a little fraternal organization organizing a group buy by fronting the value of the whole order to the wholesaler and trusting that their members will reimburse them. Though even in this especially sympathetic case, I have never seen a group buy turn down more buying power.
This is one of the largest retailers in the world running their day to day retail business. It isn't like the membership fees have anything to do with how this business is offering goods at these prices, their shoppers tend to spend way more than their membership fees every single trip. If anything by adding to their bulk buying power you are enriching their membership.
As the article points out, one of the real effects of those membership fees is to limit access to life improving goods. Saving money on prescriptions could be the difference between eating cat food and Kraft dinner that month. Even if I saw an ethical dilemma, in that position, I think my choice is obvious.
(Score: 1) by khallow on Wednesday September 27 2017, @02:31AM (2 children)
Even the gift card trick works moderately to the business's advantage (which is yet another reason not to treat it as an ethical dilemma). They don't get the $50 or so per year, but they do get a repeat customer which what they wanted all along.
(Score: 1) by j-beda on Wednesday September 27 2017, @06:25PM (1 child)
Costco's membership fees do seem to be a significant source of their profits:
http://www.investopedia.com/articles/investing/071015/3-reasons-costco-has-membership-fees.asp [investopedia.com]
"....
In the volatile world that is the grocery business, Costco has a way to ensure a steady source of income: membership fees. In 2016 alone, the company's 86.7 million members worldwide brought in $2.6 billion in membership fees.
Revenues from membership fees are great. Aside from a few minutes of an employee’s time, plus the cost of the card and subsequent promotional mailings, managing membership isn't too costly. As such, Costco’s $2.6 billion in membership fee revenue is almost entirely profit.
When you consider that in 2016, Costco’s operating income was only $3.6 billion, you can see why the company needs membership fees to stay in business. Thankfully, its membership numbers keep growing: they were up 8% in 2014, 6% in 2015 and 9% in 2016. "
(Score: 1) by khallow on Wednesday September 27 2017, @07:54PM
(Score: 1, Interesting) by Anonymous Coward on Monday September 25 2017, @11:46PM (7 children)
If you have a problem using or storing vegetables, get a pressure canner. You can process them and store them at room temperature.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday September 26 2017, @12:19AM
Lettuce.
(Score: 3, Interesting) by TheRaven on Tuesday September 26 2017, @09:00AM (5 children)
sudo mod me up
(Score: 3, Informative) by Phoenix666 on Tuesday September 26 2017, @11:10AM (2 children)
Not quite true. Canning vegetables yourself preserves a lot more of the nutrition than buying canned vegetables because those are subject to much more intensive preservation. Also, canning makes sense with store-bought if you buy the vegetables in season when they're cheapest. It's also a factor if you care about zero-impact, low carbon footprint living. Canned vegetables produce a measurable waste stream, but with canning you use the vessels over and over for generations.
Washington DC delenda est.
(Score: 2) by TheRaven on Tuesday September 26 2017, @12:54PM (1 child)
Only if you're buying locally produced vegetables. Most of the stuff I see in shops has come several hundred miles to get to my shelves. The extra fuel burned to move it loose at high speeds (before it goes off) rather than densely packed at slow speeds in a tin is likely to offset any energy or carbon savings.
sudo mod me up
(Score: 2) by Phoenix666 on Tuesday September 26 2017, @01:21PM
I was mostly thinking of the packaging, but the carbon to move your veg from Chile to America is about the same if you move a lot or a little, so better a lot, once, for what you need, than a little, many times, on demand.
You are right that locally grown is still better that way.
Washington DC delenda est.
(Score: 1, Informative) by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday September 26 2017, @03:08PM (1 child)
My friend buys a bag of apples that he forgets to use. Instead of letting it decay, I peel them and can them in a watery syrup. Now the shelf life has been extended from a couple of weeks to years.
Everyone has bought fruits and vegetables that they have ended up throwing away. Canning [uga.edu] gives you an extra choice for foods you have an excess of, and the jars do not need to be stored in a refrigerator. You can even can your own meats and stock.
(Score: 1) by khallow on Wednesday September 27 2017, @02:45AM
From casually reading the story, it may well be that Mr. Treehugger doesn't have access to a nice enough kitchen along with his other, many tribulations, though he apparently does store cooking ingredients long enough for them to spoil or become bug-ridden. I certainly would hope that should he go this route, he learns about proper canning (and cooking in general) before risking food poisoning.
(Score: 2) by TheRaven on Tuesday September 26 2017, @09:02AM
I started buying vegetables from a local greengrocer a couple of years ago when I realised that buying them every day or two meant that I didn't throw any away, but buying them in the supermarket meant that I had a load that I didn't eat in time. They cost more, but the total amount that I'm paying is about the same and the vegetables are nicer.
sudo mod me up