Bulk Bins - Buyer Beware!

Bulk bin buying is always a better deal - right? I was of this mindset until one day as my arm was elbow deep in semi-sweet chocolate chips I saw the price $7.99 lb. I stopped shoveling the sweet morsels scratched my head and thought, “that sounds expensive”. So I decided to compare…bulk bins versus packaged. This is what I found:

Chocolate Chips

• Semi-Sweet Bulk Bin: $7.99 per pound
• Semi-Sweet Packaged (Ghirardelli) $3.88 per pound
• Semi-Sweet Packaged (Generic) $2.65 per pound

The bulk bin price was over 51% more!!! I saved $3.89 by buying generic packaged semi-sweet chocolate chips.

This same shopping outing I also needed to purchase turmeric. I was now reluctant to visit the bulk seasoning jars with the new mind set that shoveling = getting ripped off. So I grabbed a jar of turmeric and was surprised by the packaged price. So again I compared the two and this is what I found:

Turmeric

• Bulk Bin 2.2oz: $.92 + $1.50 Jar = $2.42
• Packaged 2.2oz: $5.79

Buying packaged turmeric was 58% more!!! I saved $4.87 by buying in bulk and refilling my existing spice jar.

Conclusion
So the conclusion of the matter is when buying in bulk - buyer beware! Just because you shovel your bulk goods into a plastic bag, tie it and mark it doesn’t necessarily = savings or it could mean drastic savings!

Have you been ripped off at the bulk bins? Or perhaps you saved two shiny bits - we would love to hear your thoughts!