Top 10 Best Values at Sam's Club

As I have documented in great detail elsewhere, most of the purchases in bulk at places like Sam's and Costco are poor value purchases. These companies capitalize and exploit a deeply rooted psychological belief in America that bulk equals value. It is cheaper to buy from Walmart a good number of items Sam's sells in bulk. I challenge you to compare for yourself to see this reality.

There are some absolute avoid items at warehouse clubs. I have spoken to a regional manager about where their profit is. She confirmed to me that groceries are the only good deals in the warehouse and the club's goal is simply to break even with its groceries. Their profit, and it is substantial, comes from membership, electronics, home goods, and toiletries. You will find no good deals on these items, unless you happen into a clearance.

There are some true values to be found at warehouse clubs. At Sam's here are the top values I have found. Feel free to add your suggestions.

10. Avocados. Prices range from a current $3.98 for 5 to as high as $6 for 5. Occasionally I've gotten 6 fruits in the net packaging. The best prices I've found elsewhere always run no less than 25% more. Sam's avocados seem to be larger and have far fewer duds than found in the grocery stores.

9. Marifano's Pitted Greek Olive Medley. $6.98 for 17.6 oz may seem high, but when you bite them you realize these are not your average store bought olives. There are no commercially available olives in any grocery store which are superior. These are far better than the fresh olives I tried at Dean and Deluca and other high end olive emporiums.

8. Sam's Pesto. This is one of those items that, if you do not have a garden of basil, will cost more to make at home. At $7.98 for 22 oz, I always wait for the sale, which usually is $6.48 during the Spring. A jar lasts me a year. It's a quite nice addition to pizza and pastas.

7. Pepperoni Pizza Take and Bake. At a total weight of 1350 grams (nearly 3 lbs) the pepperoni take and bakes are good value if you are not worried about becoming fat. I find these pizzas seem less healthy than Domino's pizza, but by the weight, a better value. The pepperonis are rather thick and ample. Normally $6.99 for the next two months, they will be $4.99 making it an unbeatable pizza price. I have made friends with Mary Ellen behind the counter of the food court, and because we are now friendly acquaintances, she will sneak my fresh purchase into her oven for a few minutes so I don't have to use energy at home to cook it.

6. Cauliflower Heads. These usually go for around $2.48. It's important to bring your own scale with you, though, as I've seen some boxes have heads that ranged from 3.2 lbs to as much as 5.5 lbs! While this price isn't that much cheaper than Walmart, Sam's cauliflower is of the finest quality.

5. Romaine Hearts. Six large, leafy romaine hearts around $3 is a fabulous purchase. It's such a value that Sam's instituted several years ago a three bag purchase cap, as many restaurants were buying out the stock. Like the chickens, this a loss for the store used to entice people to shop.

4. Skin on Salmon Slabs. Six months of the year the price is $5.99 a pound, which is incredible. Most groceries are twice that price, and those that slice salmon into 4-8 oz pieces charge about $15-20 per pound for the tiny pieces. Unfortunately, Sam's recently returned to its winter pricing of 7.99 per pound, but it's still a significant value. What is funny is it costs $1/pound more to get it skinless. Don't they know the skin is some of the best part of the salmon? The quality of Sam's salmon is second to none. Their supply chain is superb and I'd rather Sam's salmon than the most expensive $25/lb, wild caught stuff Whole Foods has in the early summer.

3. Whole Rotisserie Chicken. The prices has fluctuated from $4.50 to $5.50 over the years. Unlike most groceries, they use a very large chicken, no less than 3 lbs. You will be hard pressed to find raw whole chicken under $1.25 a pound and some places I've seen it as high as $4 per pound! I do wonder if these chickens will harm my health

2. Carved Rotisserie Chicken Pieces. If you time it right in the mornings, you can get leftover whole chicken pieces at a great discount. I often will get 4 full breasts and the price is $3.99. The weight is usually around 5.5 pounds. It's a lot less messy than the whole chickens as well, as they've drained off all the fat. More than once have I made a mess on the bus with that fat juice from a fresh chicken.

1. NY Style Cheesecake. The frozen is better than the freshly made in quality and value. The frozen one is a full four pounds with twelve slices. At 12.99, there isn't a better value in the entire store. I once tried to make a similarly sized cheesecake, using all Walmart Value Brand items and it cost $12.15. I figure an hour of my time is worth 84 cents.