First time I’d seen these at CostCo:
CostCo, I would think, doesn’t order things that it does’t see or anticipate a demand for. If that argument is valid, then when CostCo has things like Mountain House freeze drieds, water filters, solar panels, etc, it anticipates a need for them. So…whats the need? Is CostCo suddenly offering canning jars because they’re suddenly aware that people are growing food and might want to preserve it? I suppose, but why would CostCo suddenly come to that conclusion now? Or is CostCo anticipating an economic shift that will increase the demand for canning supplies as people try to squirrel away food against the upcoming Uncertain Future? Or did they just get a smoking deal from Ball? Beats me. Perhaps its a test market thing.
I haven’t checked prices on canning supplies this year because I’m pretty well set for jars and lids, but if this is a decent deal and you needs some jars…might wanna see if your local CostCo is carrying ’em.
Your Costco seems to be quite a bit better than ours.
Matt
The product offerings CZ has shown over the years tells me there’s a different inventory “out west” vs those of us “back east”. There seems to be a lot more self provident folks to cater to.
Dude, go walk through a supermarket, Sams Club, or CostCo in Utah and you’d be blown away by the stuff they sell.
Following. It could be a stuffing the channels with inventory from the manufacturer, they may have upped the volumes stocked there at these bigger stores, because they are not selling elsewhere. Costco etc grudgingly takes it in quantities not because demand, but they can warehouse and sell it at a leisurely or seasonal pace with no upfront costs from the manufacturer. A theory anyways. Also the Cannabis crowd uses them for product storage. Maybe out of staters shopping there for no sales tax reasons? And of course the 4 chan autists are calling for world War three by current macro political trends so there is that too in play in people’s sub conscious lizard brain thinking. Buy a few more anyway, just because if you are a canning Chad out there.
Im going to politely disagree with your premise in the beginning of your comment. Warehouse space has a cost, AND it has an opportunity cost as well if the product moses so slowly that you have to pass up buying better-selling stuff becaue your current storage space is taken up by that discounted slow-moving stuff.
Amen! If ain’t producing returns out it goes…
https://linkretail.com/retail-shelf-space-optimization-strategies-for-maximizing-sales-and-profits/
Every tree in my back yard is a fruit tree and I preserve fruits and make jams every year. I normally add to my supplies at Walmart. The only thing I really need is pectin and they did not have much last week when I went to get some in preparation for this year’s crop (if the deer and squirrels don’t rob me blind like last year). Walmart had an ample supply of jars, maybe stocking up for the season.
Hi Matt:
You could kill two birds with one stone if you start canning Squirrel and Venison –
You don’t need pectin for them!
Ceejay
The deer eating the fallen pears at my former AO could have been clubbed as almost nothing could get them away. If the DNR Cops weren’t watching many would have disappeared. BTW the price on those doesn’t look like a great deal but haven’t bought in a year so inflation?
Pectin can be made from those apples that can be canned.. There is a lot of info on the www. Be forewarned, there is a learning curve.
Pears too! And persimmons.
If you think you will need them this fall, better buy them now.
My theory is that Costco and some others were gambling on a Kamala win. If she won and the stock market dropped, as it has, then Costco was gambling that preppers would double down on canning supplies, and they’d be ready. Kamala didn’t win and conservative, patriotic Americans breathed a sigh of relief and many eased up on their prepping just a bit. As CZ explained, we have to consider warehousing and the cost of not selling those jars quickly, as they expected. If I were Costco, I think I’d drop the prices ridiculously low on those canning supplies and clear them out.
“Kamala didn’t win and INTELLIGENT, conservative, patriotic Americans breathed a sigh of relief…” There. fixed it for you.
Stock market is going gangbusters under Krasnov da. Egg prices have plummeted. How long will he blame it on Joe
Costco regional managers can make special purchases for their stores. CmdrZ’s regional might just be more preparedness minded…
And Costco has joined pretty much all the other retailers in sending unwanted or unsold inventory into the secondary market. They used to destroy it. You’d never see Kirkland products in the resale auctions. Now it’s so routine, that I don’t shop from the flyer, I wait an extra month or two for the unsold stock and returns to end up in the resale market…
If you aren’t shopping the online “returns” auctions, and local “bins” stores, you are probably missing out on cheap preps and a great way to stretch your household budget.
hibid.com is a national platform that has a lot of resale and ‘returns’ auctioneers selling all over the country. Most are mom and pop or small businesses. Many don’t figure out how to make a living at it but there are always new folks willing to give it a go, and the old school liquidation/surplus/salvage auctioneers are still around and many use hibid or other services to sell.
I rarely shop for anything other than food outside of the auctions as the Houston area has a lot of sellers and a lot of variety in types of goods, and business models for the sellers.
Like anything, you trade time for saving money, but I find it to be a great tool.
nick
Best tips for the bins stores wear nitrile gloves soaked in hand sanitizer for rooting thru bins. So many returned sex toys lurking under the top layer. Nothing like thinking you found a treasure only to discover you are holding onto a Kyle Rittenhouse endorsed Pocket Pussy™
oh yeah, lots of mystery wetness in the bins at Goodwill, and broken glass. I always wear my gloves. The bins at the returns places don’t seem so scuzzy to me. Most of the stuff is in boxes or plastic bags.
Never a bad idea to wear gloves though.
n
Sams, Costco, etc. don’t really sell product (unless it’s Kirkland/Members Mark, etc.), they sell shelf space. They do choose products based on what they think will sell, but the store doesn’t buy the item from the manufacturer until you ring the product up, and then they sell it straight to you. And then you can bring it back forever because Sam’s / Costco forces the refund back down the throat of the manufacturer. The manufacturer gets to offload overstock or bulk items because they still make more per pallet than through any other channel. (The club takes less overhead than any other channel, but shoves the risk back up the chain.)
Our Costco in the Denver area stocks canning supplies seasonally every year. I have been to the Costco in Salt Lake City, and it is not only the largest one in the nation, it has an astounding selection.