Good Buys at Warehouse Clubs

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A friend wondered the other day what the best buys were at Sam's Club. We don't have a Costco here, so I can't address that (I imagine they would be similar), but I can address what I find to be a good deal at Sam's.

First of all, our membership is a group membership paid for through my husband's employer. If it were not, I am not convinced the savings would justify the cost of the membership. So that's the first step--pricing it out and seeing if it makes sense for your family.

That said, here is what I find to be worth the trip:

• Possibly laundry detergent (They used to carry ERA, and the price of All Free and Clear is comparable with finding it on a great sale at the grocery store; other detergents are probably less expensive on sale at the store)
• This is the only place I can find a large pack of flour sack towels, which I love to use for drying dishes.
• I buy almonds and walnuts from Sam's, as well as dried fruit (Craisins are a better deal at Sams than at the grocery)
• Romaine lettuce. You can buy a pack of eight romaine hearts for $3-something. A pack of three at the grocery store are $3. Wash them and store them wrapped in damp paper towels or flour sack towels, and they keep in the frig for a couple of weeks.
• Fresh produce at times. You can get 5-pound bags of apples for .99 cents per pound. Big bags of carrots are a dollar-something. Lately, the strawberries and grapefruits have been wonderful--better quality than I find at the supermarket. But the prices are comparable with produce on sale at the store.
• Frozen vegetables. Great quality broccoli florets and other vegetable blends for $4 for a huge bag (or two bags). Much better quality than I find at the store, and less expensive.
• Bread (when I don't make my own). The kind we like is less expensive at Sam's than at the grocery store.
• Dry Pasta (although great store sales can beat the Sam's price).
• Vitamins. I bought a large container of Flinstone's Complete on sale at Target. Then I went to Sam's Club. An even larger container was a dollar less.
• Meat. It is choice, which is a higher grade than select (what most grocery stores carry). Sometimes, you can find meat on markdown or you can find certain cuts for a good price per pound. Chicken breasts are almost always $1.99/pound (the sale price at most grocery stores), and sometimes they go to $1.79.
• Cheese, depending. I read once that shredded cheese is less expensive at Sam's than a grocer, but block cheese is cheaper if you wait until it's on sale at the grocery store. Tillamok is a great quality brand we have in our region; a friend told me it melts better in baking. If you can't find it on sale, it is a better buy at Sam's.  
• I buy frozen concentrate orange juice in a family-sized 6-pack at Sam's.
• Sometimes clothes. I usually walk through and see if anything's a great bargain. I just got my boys two-piece Reebok athletic suits (zip-up jacket and pants) for $4.91 each.
• Books/cookbooks, and the specialty books table. It's worth browsing through. Sometimes you can pick up some neat gifts for a good price.
• Dog food.
• Plastic wrap.
• Spices, oil, honey, maple syrup. A 25 pound bag of flour is about $6, but usually once a year (around Thanksgiving), one of the grocery stores will advertise flour for $1 for a 5-pound bag, and I stock up on white flour then.
• Oatmeal. I buy a box of Quaker Old Fashioned Oats with 2 large bags inside for about $6. This is the best price in town (unless it's the once-a-year-$1-a-large-carton sale).
• Eggs maybe, if you otherwise get them from a store. Sometimes they're .60 cents a dozen, sometimes they're more.
• Electronics sometimes. Worth checking prices. My husband has found the best buys at Sam's on the items he's wanted.

Here are some items I think are not good deals:

• Paper products (toilet paper, paper towels, etc.)--you can almost always find these on sale at the grocery store, or Target/Walgreens/CVS, which make them a better buy
• Diapers. Better on sale with a coupon at a different store.
• Most canned goods (usually less expensive on sale at the store, or in a case lot sale at Kroger affiliates), but if you don't feel like waiting, the prices are pretty good.
• Cereal, snack food bars. Grocery store sales beat the Sam's price.

I am probably leaving some things out. What do you find to be a great buy at warehouse clubs? (P.S. Jonni McCoy writes about this subject in her book Miserly Moms: Living Well on Less in a Tough Economy).