What you will NEVER find at Sam's Club/WalMart...

[eauclaireliberal]

...despite what the labels say.

*Organic

*Dolphin-Free

*Fair Trade

*Made in the U.S.A

Is it just me, or is the whole concept of Sam's a bunch of horseshit? My guess: you are not being frugal just because you are buying what looks like bulk. It is just another right-wing shell game where, as usual, the "consumer" is getting screwed by buying shit that made them digusting mass-consumers in the first place, only this time much more of it and realistically the prices are higher for that much anyway.

Yeah, I really need a ten-pound bag of Chex Mix just in case I have to have three or four parties before the shit goes stale.

My wife likes going there every so often, which drives my nutty; she came back with many items, one which was a case of 10-pack of Chef Boyardee ravioli. That crap is loaded with some much sugar eating one makes me ill sometimes.

Okay, rant over.

[brentspeak]

1. Well said. I will never willingly purchase anything from a Mall-Wart or Sham's Club.

[eauclaireliberal]

2. What's worse is that scenario of the area of which I live

...Eau Claire/Chippewa Falls is a perfect example of one of those American towns whose manufacturing jobs and mom-and-pop stores that were wiped-out when the Chamber of Commerce approved letting the Thugs set up those blue monstrosities.

[PDJane]

3. No Sam's or Wal-Mart here.........

I do, about once per month, visit costco to purchase peanut butter, fair trade coffee, toilet paper and other necessities like flour and oatmeal.

Costco does have fair trade items and other stuff I will use. I haven't set foot in a walmart but once, and do not shop at sam's for the same reasons......I don't care for the "stuff." If I'm spending what little money I have, I want value.

[eauclaireliberal]

7. I have heard that Costco, Target, and Big Lots are the best to shop at

...especially Target when it comes to employee satisfaction. I have been told by several people that Target was a good place to work, some of them former WalMart employees. That says a lot.

[Ian David]

9. The only time I ever go to Wal-Mart...

is to take all the copies of Bill O'Reilly's book and hide them behind the feminine hygiene products.

[IntravenousDemilo]

15. Next time you go there,

Try hiding them among the 25-lb bags of falafel mix, eh what?

[pstokely]

19. They'll probably just make some underpaid slave move them back

[KansDem]

27. Probably after-hours, when they're "off the clock." (eom)

[tridim]

4. Get your wife a Costco membership

Their food actually tastes good. I live alone and am still able to buy in bulk, the freezer is the best invention ever!

[aquart]

14. CostCo is delicious.

When I go out to my Mom's, we go out to CostCo, and I stock up on favorites that cost much more in Manhattan. Prices are way cheaper on salmon, parmesan cheese, pasta sauce, aspirin, and prescription meds.

And they feed me tasty samples.

[sakabatou]

5. We go to Trader Joes for our stuff

[Obamarama]

26. Trader Joe's ROCKS....

My partner and I drive 200 mi round-trip to the nearest Trader Joe's (Ann Arbor, MI). I love the wine selection. Before going to Trader Joe's,if anybody would have told me I could buy three bottles of wine for a little over $12 and actually be able to DRINK them and ENJOY them I would would have laughed.

[kath]

31. We have neither Costco nor Trader Joe's in OK. Makes me very ,

very sad. :-(

I did purchase a Costco membership last fall so that we could get an even deeper discount on the So. Cal City Pass (or something like that) with tickets to Disneyland, Sea World, Univ. Studios and S.D. Zoo. (had a wonderful vacation)

Hopefully we'll get to make use of the membership at my mom's in Ohio or on a weekend trip to Dallas...
I need to email Costco and TJ's again and encourage them to open stores here!

Have boycotted Sam's and Wal-Mart for quite a few years.

[sakabatou]

34. I love costco's hotdogs...

[Hand]

6. I've been to a Sham's Club once.

In Colorado Springs yet--with my wife and in-laws. That weekend they were holding a big sale on Coca-Cola by the case... unfrigginbelievable scene. People were buying five and six cases of the shit. Never again.

[aikoaiko]

8. I hate to disappoint you, but one really can save a lot of money at Sams.

Especially if you have a family to feed. The price of membership was paid off on my first trip that included car tires.

Sure, you can buy lots of junk there too, but the meats, vegies, fruits, pastas and regular or good food is there too.

[Patiod]

10. I like Costco, but even there, too much processed food

Have saved big money on tires, and it was a life-saver when I had a big party, but for two people in a small place, the huge sizes and big multi-packs don't work.

Plus I always spend more than I plan to on temptations like discount books or giant containers of pistachios that I don't really need.

Wouldn't shop at Walmart or Sam's Club for any reason, but then again, we're lucky that in Philadelphia, we don't have to - there are plenty of other reasonably-priced outlets. Some folks live where there's no other viable option.

[Bobbieo]

12. Food stamps do go farther at Wal-Mart!!!!

[Connonym]

28. I'm sure Walmart employees know this first hand

I choose to not shop at Walmart but I'm lucky to have the choice. The sad fact of the matter is some people are stuck in towns where there are no other options or literally cannot afford the small extra cost to shop elsewhere. Poverty is all too scary and real in the US. As progressives, I think it behooves us to not be so judgemental about the ultimately self-damaging choices people are forced to make when they only have the means to consider their immediate survival. If I had only pennies and nickles between me and the soup kitchen I'd be unashamed to shop at Walmart and I'd say fuck you to anyone who mocked me for it. We're not going to win the cultural war by being smug.

[Patiod]

33. I believe I noted in my post that I'm lucky to have the choice

There are plenty of great low-cost options in my area, so I'm not forced to go to Walmart like people in small towns where Walmart has driven out local merchants.

Because of these options, even when I've been unemployed and counting every penny, I don't have to go to Walmart to save money. I don't mock those who go, but NO situation would make me go there myself.

[ccpup]

11. A friend of mine

worked a long time ago at a Wal-Mart and, as a way of getting back at them, would put anti-Republican literature and pro-Dem buttons and stuff (this was during the Clinton years) on the shelves when she was stocking for the customers to run across. Finally had to quit because her male Manager wouldn't keep his sticky hands off of her and the Head Office did nothing but turn a blind eye or suggest she wear different clothes. Funny, as I used to kid her that she dressed like a Sunday School teacher who wouldn't know what a Jell-O shot was if it hit her in the head.

[trixie]

13. Me

or anyone I know. :banghead:

[IntravenousDemilo]

16. Me either.

If it weren't for its ubiquitous and nauseatingly bad commercials, I wouldn't have the faintest idea of what one looks like inside.

[LTR]

17. Sams is my go-to place for cases of instant dolphin-in-a-can

Great for spreading on Ritz crackers.

On a more serious note, I stopped going to Sam's a long time ago because I really don't have the room to stash stuff like a 100 oz. box of corn flakes. It's not like I'm running a restaurant or anything. Besides, the pricing isn't that great. They repackage everything so it seems like it's lower. Not much difference.

If you want to save money, go to Aldi. They actually have some pretty good stuff. And the same company owns Trader Joe's.

[Bobbieo]

18. What are Aldi and Trader Joes's? Never heard of them!!!!

[slj0101]

20. They're a German-owned company,

that specializes in low-cost groceries under their own brand name. Aldi is more general purpose, while TJ's specializes in gourmet items. Both places keep prices down by keeping decor and stuff to a minimum. At Aldi, you have to bag your own groceries, put a 25 cent deposit on carts (to prevent theft and vandalism), and bring your own bags unless you buy theirs for a dime apiece. They are also incredibly generous to their employees. I love both places.

More info:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aldi

[NEOhiodemocrat]

23. I love Aldi's

especially since when it first moved to our town and my grade school daughter mentioned it at school another student told her "only poor people shop there". She laughed like crazy and told them "well, guess we are poor then, but I think it is more that my mom doesn't like to waste money."

[LTR]

24. Aldi's spreading to the suburbs

At least where I live.

They opened their first local locations in the city, but have been expanding to middle and upper class areas.

I used to think they were a joke, but I've been pretty impressed with the stuff I've bought there. They're best for canned and boxed food, but they do have some pretty decent frozen meat. I've been happy with the frozen fish and chicken filets from there. And the prices are much cheaper than Wal-Mart, Sam's or any of the big warehouse grocery chains.

And now they just opened up a Trader Joe's on the other side of town. I'll have to make a trip there sometime.

[Rosemary2205]

30. Out of the mouths of babes........

I think it is more that my mom doesn't like to waste money

:rofl:

[kineneb]

21. wish we had alternatives here

but the county has such a low population, all we have is Mall-Wart (10 miles away) and Kmart (30 miles away). The closest Costco and Trader Joe's is almost 2 hours' drive away, any direction. I do what little shopping I can afford online, but shipping becomes a consideration. What little I purchase from the evil Mall-Wart are generally simple craft supplies.

I buy groceries at a locally-owned store (I even know the owner), whenever possible. Their prices are reasonable, and they have good service.

[Nikia]

22. Walmart has poor selection too

They only carry high volume products and brands so you cannot always find what you need. It also makes it harder to become a high volume brand if you are shut out of selling your product at a chain that has such a large portion of the market.

[krispos42]

25. I go there to buy car stuff

Castrol Syntec in the 5-quart jug, and the really good Fram oil filters. I'm in the heart of Target country, and do all of my food shopping there, but they don't have a good automotive section.

I drop about a hundred bucks a year at Wal-Mart for oil and filters.

Occasionally I'll go there when I need something at 3am.

That's about it.

[RB TexLa]

29. So all the Tyson chicken they sell is not from those chicken houses in

Mississippi, Louisiana, and Arkansas?

[jmowreader]

32. I love all the bitching about warehouse stores

"I don't need a 500-pound can of coffee. Why would anyone go to a warehouse store?"

Well...someone out there DOES need a 500-pound can of coffee, like a restaurant or a store with a coffeepot for its customers. And those guys save a LOT of money.

A while back, a Mexican family came to my store and ordered a LOT of building supplies for delivery--enough to build a three-room building. Some of the stuff they took with them, and I helped them load it. They opened the back of their SUV, and it was full of masa harina mix--cases of it. Turns out they were in the grocery business, selling food to other Mexicans, and they discovered that they can buy their stock off the shelf at Wal-Mart far cheaper than they could get it from their old distributor. So they started going to Wal-Marts in the area, cleaning them out on the various SKUs they needed to stock their shelves, and reselling it. They even passed the savings along to their customers. I don't think Wal-Mart gives a fuck if you do this.

[ohio2007]

35. Is the Chinese slave labor making Chex Mix ?

Those people of the peoples republic should unite and form a more perfect union. The current leaders are stealing a living wage and claimning they are passing on the savings to us ?