On Sun, 27 Jan 2019 22:24:21 -0500, Ed Pawlowski > wrote:

>On 1/27/2019 8:59 PM, Leonard Blaisdell wrote:
>> I dislike the notion of paying money to shop somewhere. I have shopped
>> Costco as a guest a few times in the distant past. The store was not
>> easy to get to, and the experience didn't appeal to me. There's a new
>> Costco with ample parking a few miles from me now. It still didn't
>> appeal. My wife has friends who shop there so...
>> We needed a new TV. "You just gotta get it from Costco!", they said. So
>> I turned my wife loose with them for a new TV. She bought a membership
>> and started shopping. "You just gotta get a premium membership!", they
>> said. "It pays you back!", they said. Now we have a premium membership.
>
>I would not join a club for the same reason, but, I finally saw the
>value. On a good month, with a family of four, I could save enough to
>pay for the annual membership.
>
>Now, with the two of us, some things have changed. My wife takes a OTC
>medication that covers most of the cost, but, other portions are less.
>I think we are still going to come out with good savings.

For most OTC meds Amazon's prices beat the drug stores, only they are
usually in bulk amounts like 500 tablets... I take four of these each
day and they are half the price of Rite Aid:
https://www.amazon.com/Mucinex-Conge...ds=mucinex+500
Why pay twice as much for boxes of 24, each individually packaged in a
plastic bubble which are a PIA to open.
We buy most toiletries at Amazon, they beat the brick & mortars, plus
they carry the old timey brands I like that few brick & mortars carry
(Pinaud).
https://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_n...eywords=pinaud
We gave Amazon brand batteries a try, they last as long if not longer
than Duracell and cost a lot less:
https://www.amazon.com/AmazonBasics-...batteries&th=1
Amazon can have lower prices because the customer is not paying the
outrageous overhead of brick & mortar stores; high rent, high
utilities. high insurance, high taxes, high payroll, pricey shopping
carts, parking lots are very expensive real estate.

I love shopping on line at my convenience and in the comfort of home.
Shopping at brick & mortars give me no pleasure, in fact I find that
kind of shopping very aggrivating... spending a day driving from store
to store and half the time having to *settle* for a different brand, a
different color, an incorrect size, and being subjected to surly know
nothing sales clerks is not pleasurable. We have four flat screen
TVs, all purchased from Amazon, no schlepping, all delivered right to
our door... we love Vizo TVs, best value for price.