Packaging. Do you think people are more inclined to pay $0.43 for a cheese stick because there is a picture of a lumber jack on the package? And what do lumberjacks have to do with cheese? I thought cheese came from cows, not the forest. But I’m just a bored housewife living in high maintenance suburbia who notices these kinds of things, so what do I know?
I’m curious though, if you don’t live in suburbia, are they marketing packs of cheese with lumber jacks on them in your neck of the woods?
Chicken broth is on your list.
Do you pay full price or go for the discounted carton that’s missing it’s plastic do hickey?
All you wine drinkers out there… Wine in a can. Is this a new thing? How does it taste? My mother and Mrs. HB want to know.
Would you pay $1.00 for 5 pine cones? Seriously, because if you would, I think I might start selling them on Etsy or something. Has this been on Shark Tank yet? Maybe pine cones are a multi million dollar idea and nobody has tapped into it yet. Maybe I could get out of here sooner than anticipated. Hmmm.
Do you think there is anything wrong with walking into Costco around lunch time for the sole purpose of eating their samples? Curious minds want to know. Whenever I ask Mrs. HB these type of questions she just looks at me like I am crazy… for even wondering. What’s up with that? I can’t be the only one who thinks these things, right?
~Mavis
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Teri says
I might buy the pine cones if a child was selling them to raise money. Or if I lived someplace that didn’t have any pine trees. I bet there are many others who go to Costco just for the samples. I wonder if it’s less crowded on the days that there are none. Wonder what days that might be.
Mavis Butterfield says
I was told the best time for samples {meaning they are all out} is 1pm. 😉
Leslie says
Maybe the lumberjack has more too do with the town of Tillamook than the dairy? And lumberjacks probably need to eat on the go?
Michelle says
Tillamook is a logging town.
Mavis butterfield says
Well that makes sense then. Thanks
Lace Faerie says
I like Tillamook cheeses. If I’m feeling lazy and want prepackaged cheese snacks, I buy the Till-a-Moos at Costco.
Vicky says
The Tillamook area has a motto that has been promoted for as long as I can remember – Land of Cheese, Trees and Ocean Breeze. My grandparents were pioneer dairy farmers in Tillamook for many years.
Nancy D says
That was my thought Michelle!
Alice says
Once as my husband and I were walking out of Costco, he said, “I thought we were going to eat lunch.” I answered, “We did.” LOL
Erin says
Some communities don’t recycle glass, so wine in a can is great for that!
Julia says
I like cows on my cheese. I pick up my pinecones for free. I’d buy the broth with no plastic thingy. Wine in a can is a thing but I like mine in glass even though my city stopped recycling glass and yes I go to Costco to eat samples for lunch. I would only do that if I was running errands nearby. I stopped in yesterday at 3:00 for “snacks” because I was close by and had one item to purchase. I had a cheese ravioli, an Aussi bite (which is what I went in to buy, like a tiny dense breakfast muffin), brown rice, a piece of sausage, breaded chicken bite and several pop chips.
Donna says
My oldest brother used to sample everything at Costco, sometimes making a second lap. He was in his 70’s so no one gave him any problems.
Marcia says
I’ve been known to hit Costco at the right time for samples.
Some friends have had the wine in the can. They like it. I recently started getting a growler, which is 1 L and refillable. I have to take it to parties though. I can’t drink that much wine.
Deborah says
We don’t have too many pine trees in Tucson, AZ, so you’d have to go to the mountains to get them for free, or maybe go to Michael’s etc to buy them.
There is a Costco very close by, so I might go just to get one of their chickens, etc. It’s great when you are going to have lunch at the Costco foodcourt, but end up being too full because of all the snack samples that were available in the store while walking around!!!
Quite a few years ago, After we dropped the kids off at their elementary school we used to go Costco in the morning when they had bakery goods and coffee for the “business Card” holders. They don’t do that anymore.. Love those muffins
Julie says
We saw pine cones for sale last winter in Portugal they were 10€ for a very small bag! I went without even though I could have used them for decoration. So five for $1 seems quite reasonable.
Helen in Meridian says
This week a cooking show reviewed the canned wine thing. They were pleasantly surprised. Yes, I eat my monthly membership in grazing. Isn’t that what gray haired covered by hair dye seniors do? Tillamook had to chop down more trees to expand their store because they had so many visitors from all over the world. Their store was closed for several months to expand. You need to buy more of the FM $1 sugar to last thru the holidays. I haven’t seen .25# sugar in 2 years.
Mavis Butterfield says
I’m going to go back for more sugar. 🙂 It’s too good of a deal not to.
Lace Faerie says
Is the sugar on one of those mix and match must buy quantity to get the sale price? If so, I am really disappointed in Fred Meyer. I stopped shopping Safeway because of all their rules and hoops to jump through to get special pricing policy.
Mavis Butterfield says
Yes. You must buy 5 in a single transaction. I am going to go back tomorrow to see if they have fixed the buy 5 prices/problems and ask different cashier what her interpretation of the ad is since a few people commented that they were able to mix and match everything.
Lunch Lady says
I went to Fred’s last night to get a few of the things on .99
I got 3 milk 2 eggs all for .99 they were out of sugar and the cereal I wanted for .99 had to rain check. I looked at butter while I was there. For the off brand nearly 4.00/lb! Shameful.
This Fred’s is in Washington County Oregon. Rarely shop there because they RUN OUT of the good deals.
Sue says
If I was looking for chicken broth anyway, I would go for the damaged package mainly because I would probably use the full quart all at once and not need to store the opened box.
If it was something I would take longer to use, I might skip the discount in order to get an airtight lid.
In reality, I buy powdered broth and add the water myself.
Gina says
Very amusing!
Thanks for letting my mind rest a minute during hurricane prep! SE FL.
Angela D. says
Blessings to You and Yours, Gina!!!!
debbie in alaska says
I’ve tried Prosecco in a can and it was awesome. I usually stick to the Costco brand of Prosecco which I love, even more than La Marca — and I thought the can was excellent and easier to transport
Leslie says
I’ve had the small cans, and find them to be way more convenient than opening a whole bottle and letting it go to waste.
Deborah in Texas says
I don’t understand the selling of pine cones. Especially since I live in the Piney Woods of East Texas. I have pine cones in my yard! The squirrels love them! LOL Pine nuts that is.
Laura says
I would call pinecones at 5 for a buck a pretty good deal as those are pretty big. We just returned from Lake Tahoe where we gathered some of the ginormous cones for a basket by the front door (don’t worry, it was legal to do this). My daughter and I went shopping and saw a store selling the same pine cones for $4 each!
RE: Costco samples. If I happen to be there and they happen to have food I am interested in, I will try one piece of the samples and they might end up being lunch because I am no longer hungry. What makes me crazy is the large numbers of people who take 3, 4, or 5 pieces at a time, clearing the tray so that the people standing waiting to try one sample don’t get one and need to wait 5-10 minutes for the next batch to be completed. Also, I hate seeing employees on the clock standing around taking the last samples off a tray while paying customers wait to try the item. Just feels wrong to me somehow.
Gerri says
I agree. I think it is wrong to sample when one has no intention of purchasing. Not to be judgmental, but it would feel like theft to me, just my opinion. It matters not whether it is a ‘big corporation’, it would seem honest to me. , If one is unsure, and thinks they purchase, to sample is actually a smart idea. It is rude to take several samples, particularly if others are waiting.
Mimi says
Tillamook is (get ready for catchy slogan) “The Land of Cheese, Trees and Ocean Breeze”. Judging by the number of log trucks that roll past my house every day I’d say a lot of those trees are being logged. Loggers, cheese makers and fisher folk live here. I guess I’d be more puzzled if there was a fisherman on the label. 🙂
Melanie Considine says
Hey Mavis,
When I go to print your recipes lately, there isn’t a (single page) printer-friendly version. It’s always several pages long. Am I missing something? I click the printer icon from the list at the bottom of the article… Hoping you can help me out on this.
Thanks,
Melanie
Southern California
Melanie says
Hey Mavis,
Never mind my question. I figured out where the setting is for no images when I bring it up.
Thank you!
Melanie
Mavis Butterfield says
Sorry for the late reply, sometimes it can be hard to find if you don’t know where to look. I’m glad you found it though. 🙂
Marie says
How about running a boxed broth vs concentrated broth in the jar (both Costco) debate? Both daughters & myself tried it & wondering what readers prefer? AND, why didn’t more people speak up when the veggie broth in a jar @ Costco disappeared? Vegans want to know!!!
Donn says
My husband and I call the run through Costco the “Senior Buffet “
Patricia says
If the veggie broth was completely sealed I would buy the damaged box and freeze any leftover if needed.
As far as the wine in a can, I may never know, as my husband has taken on a new hobby of making wine with a kit he purchased online. We are reusing/recycling the glass bottles from previous store purchases. It’s a fascinating process, and I am looking forward to the end result, which will be ready in the next few weeks.
As far as areas no longer accepting glass for recycling…i am curious what the rationale is for that. I am lucky to live in an area that is very recycle friendly (our recycle bins are larger than our trash bins). I would be pretty bummed out to have that change.
I love the Costco samples, my husband will offer to take me out to lunch and then drive us to Costco for the samples. Often we will go with our two small boys who love locating all of the sample locations. I do go out of my way to be considerate of the other shoppers, if there is a long line and limited supply we will grab 2 and split them with the kids so that other people get some. We don’t always buy the products after sampling, but I have ended up making a few impulse purchases as a result. I figure the samples are one of the benefits of the membership and are partially covered from the annual dues.
Carol says
The market for recycled glass has tanked, so it costs more to handle and haul the glass than the profit for selling it.
Patricia says
Thank you for letting me know. That’s a bummer to hear.
Kari says
I just wanted to chime in on the wine in a can. I love the 4-packs of Barefoot refreshers for several reasons: they are small, they are sweet, they are bubbly, and they are convenient to tote to a BBQ or tailgate (no glass!) I don’t drink very often, and when I want a little wine I hate opening a big bottle and dumping most of it. I vote YES for canned wine!
Heidi says
Well, I’m going to be the odd one out on this but I HATE the samples at Costco! People blocking aisles and almost knocking over others to get a sample of something. Sometimes the sample is as stupid as an English muffin with margarine. Who needs to try that? Also people eating with hands that have touched the filthy shopping cart handle! Yuck. I wish they would set up an area for samples away from the end caps so those who want the samples can get all of them at once and then move on with shopping.
And yes, if you go there only for samples with no intention of shopping, you have crossed over from frugal to miserly.
Helen in Meridian says
Who can leave Costco without buying something. I would never have paid $8 for raspberry chipotle sauce etc. if I had not tried it on a piece of pork tenderloin. Also how man you with rotisserie chickens slice of the breasts etc. then put the remains with onion in your pressure cooker, or insta pot, and make 6 qts of great chicken broth. Then I make some soup and freeze, Mavis flat style, chicken broth in 2 cup amounts. Very thrifty from a $5 purchase.
Carol says
I’m going to try the wine in cans, after reading all the comments. I make my own chicken broth and freeze it. I’m guilty of eating the Costco samples, although I hardly ever buy the products I’ve sampled.
Mavis Butterfield says
Let us know how the canned wine goes!
Sarah Stauffer says
I’m ALWAYS the odd ball out in your comments… this will be no different! Haha! The lumberjack would probably work for me… why? Cause the bag is more visually appealing. It’s new. I’ve seen the same’ol tillamok bag for years… have to spice it up.
I would buy it with the cap. Unless I was planning on using the whole thing… maybe. But would probably still buy it with the cap.
And I DO buy pine ones every year. Why? Because I don’t have any pine cones around me. For hours probably. I’ll also admit though… I’m not very thrifty. I’d also rather buy pine cones than bake the “Wild” ones to make sure all the bugs died.
And I always take samples. My aunt is one of the sample people… and while it does reflect on them how much people actually buy (during sample day) it also reflects on them by how many samples they give out.
Mavis Butterfield says
Sarah, we love the oddballs. Keep on commenting! Mrs. HB and I are total opposites and that’s what makes our friendship so much fun. 🙂