Shopping and restocking updates

[travelover]

Sam's Club has been working out for us the last couple of times we went. They don't have any tips or mark ups and their prices on most items are very competitive. Some have curbside pick up. Our local Sam's does not, but if I go right before closing, they are not busy and the pick up is pretty quick.

I think I'll do something similar for Costco in the future.

 

[daylatedollarshort]

I think I'll do something similar for Costco in the future.

To clarify, I meant Sam's order online, pick up in store service. In our area Costco doesn't have any local kind of delivery or pick up kind of service except for Instacart.

 

[TrvlBug]

Did my weekly grocery run this morning ~11am. Very few people in the store. Just happened down one of the pharmacy aisles and notices lots and lots of hydrogen peroxide and 70% rubbing alcohol. Grabbed a bottle of both.

Still having trouble getting diet A&W root beer as well as DH's fave pancake mix.

 

[travelover]

To clarify, I meant Sam's order online, pick up in store service. In our area Costco doesn't have any local kind of delivery or pick up kind of service except for Instacart.

Gotcha. I may chance an actual store visit for a couple items - I have N95 masks.

 

[Telly]

Did my weekly grocery run this morning ~11am. Very few people in the store. Just happened down one of the pharmacy aisles and notices lots and lots of hydrogen peroxide and 70% rubbing alcohol. Grabbed a bottle of both.

Still having trouble getting diet A&W root beer as well as DH's fave pancake mix.

If you move to Texas, you can get all the diet A & W root beer you want!

But you'll have to give up on the hydrogen peroxide and rubbing alcohol.

 

[John Galt III]

Went to a super Walmart in eastern Pa yesterday morning around 9:30 am. Wonderfully sparse crowd. They were almost out of men's belts. The rack which could hold about 70 belts only had 4 left! And not my size. Over in the meat dept, there were lots of almost empty sections. Ground chuck was $5 a pound. (Usually only $3 a pound, right?) But the chicken breasts were the usual $1.99 a pound, and plentiful. I think the meat shortage thing is regional.

 

[copyright1997reloaded]

I do not plan to step in any stores, anytime soon, so I only order for deliveries.

I did 4 times with Instacart from Costco. I noticed for each individual item, the price could be 20% to 25%, higher than purchasing at the store, plus tips. I noticed other store prices for deliveries also higher: Walmart, Amazon Whole foods, etc.

It is the price we pay to keep ourselves a little safer.

I do not believe Walmart charges a higher rate for curbside delivery vs in-store purchase. I've done curbside a half dozen times now and in general love it.

Here's my tips:
1) If you don't know everything you want, do $30 worth of stuff to reserve a slot. You can always add to it or remove from it up to 1:00AM or so the night before your pickup time.
2) You can control substitutions on each item separately.
3) As with other services, sometimes things that were in-stock are no longer by the time you get to the date of your order. Be aware of this - I use this to influence my item selection, allow/not allow substitutions, etc. (see below)
4)Walmart's policy on substiution in general is to not rip you off. What I mean by that is if you order x, and x is $1.98, they tend to subsitute something of equal or better value. I use that to my advantage. For example, I will order somethings using the Walmart Value brand (i.e. generic) for example "Great Value Split Peas" and ALLOW substitutions. If they give me Goya, then that's OK with me!
5)Similar for large vs. small - I ordered some Velveeta (which I don't think I've eaten since the early 80's!) just to have some shelf-stable "cheese" (like) stuff. I ordered the 32 oz, Walmart substituted 2 16 oz packages - even better!
6) If you want a lot of something, consider ordering "similar" things. For example, they have Strawberries this week $1.56 for #1, $2.98 for 2#. I'm trying to get a lot of them as I want to dehydrate a bunch for summer hikes (given the good price). Since I'm limited to 2 of the 2#'s, I order both the 2# and 1# varieties. I've been using a similar strategy on meats - order a couple kinds of beef and turkey. Use what I can and freeze if needed, and just skip ordering some the next time. Also, I've been making some beef/turkey jerky so it doesn't go to waste.

Not perfect, but the strategy has been mostly working for me. I haven't had to go into a grocery store since the 2nd week of March.

p.s. If Walmart prices go up on an item, you still get the price when you added it to your order. If prices go down, theoretically you are supposed to get the lower price.

p.p.s. BEEF prices ARE going up. I happened to a 5# ground beef's in my order this week @ $2.796/#. I see on the web site that it is now $3.99/#. Glancing through other prices, I also see some increases. I'm doing some "organic grass fed" items (ground and strip steaks) as those prices are about the same as before (and thus not as much of a premium)

p.p.p.s. This post makes me sound like I'm a big beef/meat eater. Ha ha, I'm really not - most of my protein sources is not animal (but my kid loves it).

Hopes this helps someone...

 

[brewer12345]

I hit a harbor freight this morning. Shelves we're half empty. No idea why.

 

[Gumby]

I hit a harbor freight this morning. Shelves we're half empty. No idea why.

It has been my impression that virtually everything sold in that store is made in China. Maybe you are seeing the lagging supply chain effect of their Jan/Feb shutdown.

 

[jollystomper]

Today's shopping safari adventure:

Costco - Arrived at 8:30 for the 9AM COFSTASH, and had the longest line and wait to date to get in. They still opened before official time, and I was inside by 8:55. PT and TP in stock. Disinfecting wipes were in stock for about 10 minutes before the pallet was bare. Disinfecting spray in stock but half the stock was gone in about 15 minutes. Beef, poultry, pork in stock, but bins were not full to the brim as usual, and 3 package limit still in effect.

Walmart: very small amounts of "Great Value" PT and TP in stock. Fresh meat department low, but did not look ravaged, 3 package limit.

Local store: Happy to see the baking aisle back to (my estimate) 80% capacity. The neighborhood folks are either completely stocked up on baking needs, or are tired of baking. Fresh meat in stock, but 2 package limit.

 

[MRG]

Went to Walmart today as they had some prescriptions ready, one I had to wait over a week for them to get it in. I stopped by the meat section as our grocery stores hasn't had pork, Walmart did. Found a small pork butt and some chops.

I had noticed a guy stocking the beef section when he finished he announced that was all the beef Walmart had for today. Get it quick.

No limits and the tourists are back. No mask or social distancing, arriving in town with no groceries and TP! They get sick they'll go back home to 500' leaving those who live here to see which of the 8 hospital beds we can use. At this altitude probably won't matter. It's not just the elders who have issues, we have 20% less O2 here.

 

[Dtail]

Went to Publix today.
No disinfectant sprays or wipes. Saw anti bacterial soap for the first time.
About 80% were wearing masks and they put in self checkout counters for the first time.

 

[brewer12345]

It has been my impression that virtually everything sold in that store is made in China. Maybe you are seeing the lagging supply chain effect of their Jan/Feb shutdown.

Never set foot in one before. What a dump. I would agree everything there appears to come from China, so you are probably right.

 

[Chuckanut]

A lot of what is available is luck. I finally got some Clorox wipes only because I entered the store 15 minutes after the one pallet of wipes Costco had received that week was being put out on the floor. I found hand sanitizer hidden at the end of an aisle camouflaged by paper towels and baby diapers. OTOH, the prosciutto is just gone. But, there is plenty of cheddar cheese from Jolly Old England.

 

[Car-Guy]

I hit a harbor freight this morning. Shelves we're half empty. No idea why.

It has been my impression that virtually everything sold in that store is made in China. Maybe you are seeing the lagging supply chain effect of their Jan/Feb shutdown.

Lot's of new shiny tools and stuff at Harbor Freight... Very appealing to the eye and wallet. Most of the stuff actually works but usually not very well or for very long. Be especially careful if you are buying anything for heavy duty use from HF. Easy to get hurt.

Remember the old adage: you get what you pay for.

 

[REWahoo]

Most of the stuff actually works but usually not very well or for very long.

Harbor Freight tools: Cheaper than a three day rental, with a lifespan to match.

 

[Chuckanut]

Harbor Freight tools: Cheaper than a three day rental, with a lifespan to match.

IOW, some of the most expensive tools you will every buy.

 

[brewer12345]

Harbor Freight tools: Cheaper than a three day rental, with a lifespan to match.

Yeah. I needed a grease gun and zerks for hopefully a one time use. Local hardware store did not have it.

 

[travelover]

Harbor Freight tools: Cheaper than a three day rental, with a lifespan to match.

I wouldn't buy a parachute there.

 

[CardsFan]

Harbor Freight tools: Cheaper than a three day rental, with a lifespan to match.

Exactly!

I only buy there when I need the tool once every 5-10 years. Of course I will forget I have it and buy another

 

[Walt34]

Harbor Fright stuff is okay if you keep your expectations in line with the prices. I had a miter saw I bought there for a one-off project and it turned out it worked for three projects. Just as the last project was finishing up it finally broke, so I got a bargain.

But as Travelover said, that's not the place I'd pick to buy a parachute unless it was a gift for someone I didn't much care for.

 

[Car-Guy]

But as Travelover said, that's not the place I'd pick to buy a parachute unless it was a gift for someone I didn't much care for.

A little harbor freight humor... But easy enough to understand if you have bought anything there before.

 

[brewer12345]

,

 

[jollystomper]

TP and PT and Wipes - Oh My!

This morning's COFSDASH adventure:

Arrived at Costco at 8:25. I was the 22nd person in line. By 8:53, when they opened, I counted about 80 people in the line.

They both TP and PT. The "Out of Stock" sign at the entrance said they out of hand sanitizing supplies and disinfectant wipes. HOWEVER...

After picking up a few things and heading towards checkout, I observed other shopper's carts and noticed some had boxes of Kirkland disinfecting wipes. I followed the trail like an ant following the scent and located the pallet in the electronics section with about a dozen boxes left. After picking one up I went around the corner and there was a pallet of hand sanitizer as well - very well priced at $9.99 for a 32 ounce bottle. Someone had not updated the sing outside - I do not know if this was unintentional or deliberate.

Within 5 minutes the rest of the boxes of wipes were gone. There were still a good amount of hand sanitizer. The sign did not indicate a limit, but when checking out it only allowed you to buy one. I asked the store employee of the wipes were also limited (no indication on its sign either), and they said yes. I noticed about a dozen folks with multiple boxes of wipes are going to be surprised.