Post a Meme, any Meme! (no politics)

[ibglowin]

That one is still a good deal IMHO. No increase since 2018. Living out in the middle of nowhere Amazon has been a life line the last 15 years or so. When you order as much as we do plus Amazon Prime Movies and Music it still seems like a good deal. You can always lock in the price for another year by doing this little hack if you want to:

https://www.cnet.com/tech/amazon-pr...how-to-lock-in-the-120-rate-for-another-year/

Amazon has one more before I start shopping at Walmart.

 

[Boatboy24]

That one is still a good deal IMHO. No increase since 2018. Living out in the middle of nowhere Amazon has been a life line the last 15 years or so. When you order as much as we do plus Amazon Prime Movies and Music it still seems like a good deal. You can always lock in the price for another year by doing this little hack if you want to:

https://www.cnet.com/tech/amazon-pr...how-to-lock-in-the-120-rate-for-another-year/

Agree. We order a ton as well. I just like to complain.

 

[sour_grapes]

Agree. We order a ton as well. I just like to complain.

 

[Khristyjeff]

Amazon has one more before I start shopping at Walmart.

I've started shopping Walmart online comparing to Amazon and have found some real bargains with fast delivery. I definitely like the competition!

 

[jswordy]

 

[jswordy]

Amazon has one more before I start shopping at Walmart.

Meh. Don't need the TV shows, and I group my orders, so I never have seen the need for Prime before. At $139, I certainly won't see the need. The stock jumped when they announced the price hike, but I think more folks are catching on to some of the competition.

 

[winemaker81]

 

[Darrell Hawley]

That one is still a good deal IMHO. No increase since 2018. Living out in the middle of nowhere Amazon has been a life line the last 15 years or so. When you order as much as we do plus Amazon Prime Movies and Music it still seems like a good deal. You can always lock in the price for another year by doing this little hack if you want to:

https://www.cnet.com/tech/amazon-pr...how-to-lock-in-the-120-rate-for-another-year/

If you owned any Amazon stock before the $20 increase, you would be a very happy person.

 

[jswordy]

View attachment 84344

They sure have! The behavioral research shows they spent far more in purchases than they would have in a non-warehouse club retailer, too. And they PAID COSTCO to do it! What's not to like – if you're the company. Just citing this source so I am not making the claims unbacked.
https://money.cnn.com/2017/11/24/pf/club-stores-study/index.html
I found this interesting, too...
https://www.yahoo.com/video/7-ways-costco-tricks-spending-211332277.html

 

[jswordy]

If you owned any Amazon stock before the $20 increase, you would be a very happy person.

It's true it rose a lot from its recent lows after the announcement. The longer-term picture is cloudier.

 

[ibglowin]

Amazon has been sideways for close to 2 years now. It's hard not to own Amazon if you hold most any Mutual Fund for the last 5 years or more. A lot of FAANG in a lot of funds.

If you owned any Amazon stock before the $20 increase, you would be a very happy person.

 

[JustJoe]

I seem to have lost my meme!!!

 

[ibglowin]

We shop at Costco and they pay us! Sorta. LOL

Our Executive Membership rebate was $200 this past year. Cost of Executive Membership. $120

Costco Citibank Visa (free no annual fee). Costco Visa annual rebate for last year $600.

Its a 200 mile RT drive for us to go to Costco. There is a Sams in Santa Fe which is 80 miles RT.

Absolutely hate Sams and refuse to shop there. Will drive 2X as far to shop at Costco any day of the week!

They sure have! The behavioral research shows they spent far more in purchases than they would have in a non-warehouse club retailer, too. And they PAID COSTCO to do it! What's not to like – if you're the company. Just citing this source so I am not making the claims unbacked.
https://money.cnn.com/2017/11/24/pf/club-stores-study/index.html
I found this interesting, too...
https://www.yahoo.com/video/7-ways-costco-tricks-spending-211332277.html

 

[jswordy]

We shop at Costco and they pay us! Sorta. LOL

Our Executive Membership rebate was $200 this past year. Cost of Executive Membership. $120

Costco Citibank Visa (free no annual fee). Costco Visa annual rebate for last year $600.

Its a 200 mile RT drive for us to go to Costco. There is a Sams in Santa Fe which is 80 miles RT.

Absolutely hate Sams and refuse to shop there. Will drive 2X as far to shop at Costco any day of the week!

But here's the point: It is hard to tell who's winning there without a full comparison of your pre-Costco shopping habits and extra costs on vehicle wear and fuel for the added miles. And Costco wants it as hard to tell as possible. Amazon uses the same basic formula. Which is why I rely on the research.

I've got a friend who shops Kroger exclusively and saves up their gas points. Gets his SUV filled for $2 and brags on it on FB. But is he really saving overall? Well ... hard to tell ... ☺

 

[ibglowin]

We do most of our day to day shopping at Kroger (Smith's local). Since were retired and go nowhere anymore due to being retired and Covid we don't use much gas these days. As the cost of groceries have gone up over the last year its pretty easy to acquire between $0.50-$1.00 a gallon off gas each month. Have to drive 20 miles RT up to LA to fill up at the Smith's gas station. Half the time its closed (no workers) or they are out of fuel making the gas points basically worthless for most folks like us.

We go to ABQ to get the hell out of Dodge about every other month I would say. Its just one way to keep your sanity when you live out in the boonies and have to drive an hour or so to get to civilization.......

But here's the point: It is hard to tell who's winning there without a full comparison of your pre-Costco shopping habits and extra costs on vehicle wear and fuel for the added miles. And Costco wants it as hard to tell as possible. Amazon uses the same basic formula. Which is why I rely on the research.

I've got a friend who shops Kroger exclusively and saves up their gas points. Gets his SUV filled for $2 and brags on it on FB. But is he really saving overall? Well ... hard to tell ... ☺

 

[ibglowin]

Found it!

I seem to have lost my meme!!!

 

[jswordy]

Found it!

View attachment 84346

That is such a classic, Mike!

 

[winemaker81]

But here's the point: It is hard to tell who's winning there without a full comparison of your pre-Costco shopping habits and extra costs on vehicle wear and fuel for the added miles. And Costco wants it as hard to tell as possible. Amazon uses the same basic formula. Which is why I rely on the research.

As with anything, we need to know prices. No store cares about my best interests. In the USA at least, most folks have a calculator in their pocket, so figuring out unit prices doesn't take too much effort.

We shop Costco with the understanding that not everything is cheaper and not everything is a good value. We don't buy anything we are not going to use, but do buy in larger quantities. The price differential for the jumbo jar of minced garlic is enough that I can throw out 3/4 of the garlic and it's still cheaper than jarred or fresh garlic. We eat a lot of vegetables, so a 6 count pack of sweet bell peppers is a large savings.

Meats are not cheaper, but Costco tends to carry better quality, so it's a trade off that we are not buying the cheapest meat.

It's not unusual for us to walk in for 2 items and walk out with 12. But none of it is junk and it all gets used. We would have purchased these things elsewhere, and Costco was a better value. [Impulse shopping is fun, as long as everything is honestly needed.]

The rebates on purchases and the Citi/Costco Visa card are significant ... if you use them. We get 4% back on all gasoline purchases with the Visa, not just Costco. I tank at Costco (when convenient) as the price per gallon is $0.04 to $0.30 less than other stations, not including the rebate.

As a child, I recall my parents scanning the grocery store flyers, looking at prices. They'd map out which stores they were visiting that week, depending on what was needed, what the prices were, and where the stores were in relation to each other. I learned to comparison shop, and to get the best value, which includes wear-n-tear on the vehicles.

All this said, a lot of people do over-shop when they see pretty things on the shelf ....

 

[ibglowin]

With Costco its not about winning. People (including us) freaking love to shop there. Its a fun treasure hunt every time you go there. That's why Costco stock is north of $500 now and Walmart is stuck at $100. I love that if I am not satisfied with any purchase I can bring it back (and I have) without any hassles. We usually save $0.15-0.40 a gallon on gas compared to LA so we always fill up when we head back home. We can buy a Rotisserie Chicken for $4.99 and eat on it for a week with just the two of us!

But here's the point: It is hard to tell who's winning there without a full comparison of your pre-Costco shopping habits and extra costs on vehicle wear and fuel for the added miles. And Costco wants it as hard to tell as possible. Amazon uses the same basic formula. Which is why I rely on the research.

 

[winemaker81]

We can buy a Rotisserie Chicken for $4.99 and eat on it for a week with just the two of us!

I debone the bird as soon as we get home (20 minute trip for us), then put the carcass in an electric pressure cooker with an onion, some celery, and 3-4 cups water. Cook for 15 minutes, let cool, and strain. This is fantastic stock for soups or whatever. BTW -- the amount of water I use is low, the stock gels in the fridge. I generally have to dilute by at least half when using it.