• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar

Potato Chip World

Complete chip coverage

  • Home
  • Brands
  • Flavors
  • Features
  • About
  • Contact
You are here: Home / Features / 40 Ounces to Freedom: a Case Against Buying in Bulk

40 Ounces to Freedom: a Case Against Buying in Bulk

By Nick on April 1, 2016 2

There is significant strategy that goes into the use of our family Costco membership.

We purchase items that guarantee a return in excess of the annual membership fee. This means olive oil, canola oil, batteries, chicken broth, aluminum foil, coffee, and ibuprofen are all “must buy at Costco” items. And it works out great. There’s little waste.

On a recent trip, I succumbed to a perishable. It was a deal that someone who writes about potato chips couldn’t resist: two 20-ounce bags of Natural Planet plain chips (a Shearer’s brand) for under $6.00.

Two 20-ounce bags is 40 ounces, or two and a half pounds. A quart of milk weighs a little less than that. A common grocery store bag is between 8 and 11 ounces, with a typical price point of $3. So $6 was a steal for the volume (roughly a 50 percent discount).

If you’re having a cookout for eleven adults, or you’re hosting a snack party for the local cub scout troop, two 20-ounce bags will disappear in a hurry. For one person, it’s a burden.

Put simply: I broke Costco strategy rules, and breaking the rules carries a punishment. I had to eat every last chip in both bags – before they go bad. The freshness window on a bag of chips is around seven days. So I had to finish the equivalent two family size bags of Lays in a week. Twice!

The chips tasted fine, but the task of finishing the bags took the joy out of consumption. Chips for breakfast? OK. Chips after chips with lunch? Sigh, I suppose. Kids, do you want some chips before bed?  No?!? OK, I guess I’ll just finish them off.

The lesson learned is that a good value loses its luster if you feel sadder during the course of consuming whatever it was that was a good value. So going forward, I’ll be sticking to foods with longer shelf lives, and getting my chips in smaller quantities. And with that, I’m going to heat the 24th bag in my 42-bag stash of microwave popcorn.

Share this:

  • Click to share on Twitter (Opens in new window)
  • Click to share on Pocket (Opens in new window)
  • Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window)
  • Click to share on Pinterest (Opens in new window)

Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Diane says

    April 2, 2016 at 12:01 pm

    I could easily finish all 40 ounces if only they were calorie free! I suggest you take the Costco bargain, eat one bag and drop the other off to a homeless shelter or soup kitchen.

    Reply
  2. A. Salter says

    October 11, 2016 at 4:32 am

    Love the honey heat barbecue chips.

    Reply

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

Primary Sidebar

Find your favorite chips

Recent Posts

  • Terrell’s
  • The Back of the Potato Chip Bag: an Unscientific Register
  • National Chip Festival Coming to Upstate NY This Summer
  • 40 Ounces to Freedom: a Case Against Buying in Bulk
  • Nick’s

Receive New Posts

Enter your email address to subscribe to this blog and receive notifications of new posts by email.

  • Terms of Use
  • Privacy Policy
  • Affiliate Disclosure Policy

Copyright © 2021