Where do you do routine household shopping?

[disneysteve]

In various threads recently, different people have said they rarely shop on Amazon or they hate Walmart or hardly ever go to Target or don't belong to a warehouse club. So I'm curious where you all do your routine household shopping since those are the 4 places where we do 99% of our non-grocery shopping and some of our grocery shopping, too, in the case of the warehouse club.

I realize there are a lot of regional chains that others may not recognize so if you mention a place that isn't a big national brand, tell us what sort of store it is.

[LivingAlmostLarge]

Costco and Safeway. Mostly costco and occasionally it's Target if we get there. Costco is the closest grocery store to us and it has a substantially cheaper gas station. I hate amazon and I don't see the point of whole foods. You can get organic for cheaper at other places if it floats your boat. I buy mostly costco for stuff and safeway is in smaller sizes.

[kork13]

We do 95% of our normal shopping between Costco and the base commissary. In any given week, we'll typically make 1-2 trips to Costco, and 1 trip to the commissary. And really.... that's mostly the extent of our shopping. Most weeks, we don't really buy much of anything beyond food. We do also use Amazon for random stuff, or we'll go to the Fred Meyer (Kroger) across the street for last minute/"forgot to grab something" purchases, but those are mostly out of convenience or selection (not that waiting 10-14+ days for Amazon to ship to Alaska is "convenient").

[bjl584]

Walmart and Dollar General are my go to stores for odds and ends.

There is a Walmart near my work and there is a Dollar General in the town that I live in, so both are convenient when I need a few household things.

[~bs]

well i was the one that said i dislike walmart. and i dont do that type of shopping at amazon. For me, its costco and local grocery store/chinatown.

the bulk is at costco. At least in my area, overall prices on groceries and household goods are unbeatable. At best, other grocery stores might be even in pricing when they're on sale. Alcohol without a question costco beats other retailers as they have a max markup on liquor. They sell gas at cost. The difference in gas prices per gallon between costco and an average competitor (non-high tier additive gas) is like 0.85/gallon. Staples like milk and eggs are like 1/2 the price of grocery stores (again in my area). The costco $5 rotisserie chicken is hard to beat, as I use it for different types of cooking.

Drawback of costco is that their fresh fruits/vegetables, while high quality, arent that cheap. And you normally need to buy in bulk. chinatown and local grocery stores is a better option for me. I mean really, I dont need a 15lb bag of onions to cook with. lol

Overall I think the places that are "good" or "bad" really depends on your region. My tune would probably be different if I had access to the commissary or to discount grocery stores that sell 1/2 gallons of milk for $0.99, or to cheaper gas etc etc.

[disneysteve]

well i was the one that said i dislike walmart. and i dont do that type of shopping at amazon. For me, its costco and local grocery store.

the bulk is at costco. At least in my area, overall prices on groceries and household goods are unbeatable. At best, other grocery stores might be even in pricing when they're on sale. Alcohol without a question costco beats other retailers as they have a max markup on liquor. They sell gas at cost. The difference in gas prices per gallon between costco and an average competitor (non-high tier additive gas) is like 0.85/gallon. Staples like milk and eggs are like 1/2 the price of grocery stores (again in my area). The costco $5 rotisserie chicken is hard to beat, as I use it for different types of cooking.

We belonged to Costco for a year and found that they just didn't sell that much that we use, or not in package sizes that are useful to us. And they don't sell liquor here unfortunately. They aren't close enough to home to buy gas there. So we let our membership expire in August and didn't renew. We like BJ's much better and go there once a month or so to stock up on the items that they're best for.

[~bs]

We belonged to Costco for a year and found that they just didn't sell that much that we use, or not in package sizes that are useful to us. And they don't sell liquor here unfortunately. They aren't close enough to home to buy gas there. So we let our membership expire in August and didn't renew. We like BJ's much better and go there once a month or so to stock up on the items that they're best for.

Yeah, i really think this kind of stuff depends on one's personal situation, and people need to take a minute to think what's best for them. And it doesnt make sense to drive way out of your way to "save" gas. If you can get away with buying groceries at good prices without having to pay a club or membership fee, that's the way to go.

[Smallsteps]

My normal grocery and odds and ends are mostly done at Winco it is a discount grocery chain . / it is hit and miss on things sometimes so any add on items I go to Safeway Target or Walmart.

Its name was devised by where they are.... w= Washington I= Idaho n- Nevada c= California o= Oregon.
I too let my Costco membership expire it just did not work for us. If I ever need anything there I just go with my son.

[scfr]

HEB (much-loved Texas grocery store chain), Costco, Target, with the occasional odd purchase at Tuesday Morning.

[Homebody]

Costco, Winco, Amazon and today Target for a few items.

[myrdale]

Ingles for food goods.
Kohls for pots / pans/ towels etc.
Target or Walmart for stuff.
Ikea for most of my furniture. I did get a TV stand from BestBuy.
HomeDepot or Lowes for a few other odds and ends (vacuum cleaner).
Amazon for clothes.