Buying in bulk

anything I don't mind · 10 Mar 2014 at 01:10

I have been considering buying in bulk. I found a website that sells beers, all types and i have been thinking about buying cases of the beers. Also some ice cream and other things that i always tend to buy.

Does anyone else buy in bulk? I know storage becomes a new problem when you buy in bulk which is not a problem if you have a big place.

If you do buy in bulk what things have you learnt is good for that and what not?

Also do you find you just eat/drink more of it when you have a huge supply of it?

JBuk · 10 Mar 2014 at 06:44

I buy a few things in bulk, it depends on how good a bargain as to what it is but things that are on bogof or half price and have a good shelf life or things such as clothes washing liquid, I also buy some cooking ingredients such as spices, vanilla pods, chocolate in greater quantities as you get much more for your money

Last time tesco sold 24x 330ml diet coke for £5 I bought about 8 crates, its taken months to get only halfway through even wih help haha

I don't find I use more of anything just because it's there

krooton · 10 Mar 2014 at 08:50

The only things I buy in bulk are kitchen rolls, loo rolls, and frozen mince from Donald Russell.

When I get more freezer space, I will also start buying chicken breasts in bulk.

Freefaller · 10 Mar 2014 at 11:10

We buy in bulk from Makro for things such as washing up liquid, laundry detergent, loo rolls, kitchen towels and olive oil.

I bulk buy meat which is about a month's worth or so - just put it in the freezer.

I don't really drink so wouldn't be able to help you with bulk buying alcohol.

booyaka · 10 Mar 2014 at 11:13

Freefaller said:
We buy in bulk from Makro for things such as washing up liquid, laundry detergent, loo rolls, kitchen towels and olive oil.

agree with this - dishwasher tablets, kitchen roll, loo rolls etc - from Makro.

cainer · 10 Mar 2014 at 11:33

its ok aslong as you dont use more of somthing just because you have loads of it,
i tried to stock up on some Stella when i went to france a few weeks ago.. erm, that didnt go quite to plan

boxman2000 · 10 Mar 2014 at 11:44

We have limited options here for discount stores but I tend to bulk buy when special offers are on.

Anything that will keep I bulk buy such as tinned goods (tuna and tomatoes), meat (esp chicken and beef), toiletries and kitchen supplies. My friend think I'm a bit nuts with the whole bulk buy thing, especially when I came back with 40 tins of plum tomatoes - they weren't laughing when I made enough chilli con carne to last for months.

We used to do the Amazon subscribe and save on a lot of toiletries but they have been going up in price quite a bit recently so have stopped.

tomparker95 · 10 Mar 2014 at 16:06

Makro do Jagermeister for £16...tempted

Deewon · 10 Mar 2014 at 16:15

If somethings on offer and doesn't go out of date quick I'll buy it in bulk. Such things like cartons of custard, tinned foods, toiletries etc.

Meat isn't too bad though if you freeze it once you get it.

Moobert · 10 Mar 2014 at 23:00

Pasta sauces

I tend to buy 5kg tub of chicken breasts as i get them for £17 quid from butchers but apart from that i normally tend to look at the value more, eg. 5kg rice, bags of spices vs jars etc

Freefaller · 11 Mar 2014 at 07:42

Pasta sauces? Just bulk buy chopped tomatoes and make your own!

pitchfork · 11 Mar 2014 at 09:06

Don't buy chopped tomatoes, buy whole plum and crush them yourself - way more flavour and they're a little cheaper.

Freefaller · 11 Mar 2014 at 11:59

pitchfork said:
Don't buy chopped tomatoes, buy whole plum and crush them yourself - way more flavour and they're a little cheaper.

Fair comment.

In fact, I've put that on the Makro list for the next bulk buy.

Moobert · 11 Mar 2014 at 13:53

Pasta sauce comment was in reference to this lol http://forums.overclockers.co.uk/showthread.php?t=18585958

Wouldn't bother with them personally

covenantuk · 13 Mar 2014 at 18:16

We do monthly shop at Costco because some things are much cheaper there even they're on offer at the supermarket.

Usual purchases are:

Part-baked Ciabatta - great if you run out of bread for breakfast.
Belgian Waffles - really cheap in bulk compared to supermarket
Granola bars
Lavazza Rosso coffee - literally half the price of supermarkets
Toilet Roll
Kitchen Roll
Rice
Nuts (Pistachio/almond or peanuts)
Kitchen Cloths
Detergent
Olive oil
Bundaberg Ginger Beer
Frozen King Prawns

D.P. · 13 Mar 2014 at 20:07

Go to costco monthyl, sometimes mroe often because their frsh food is also normally very good.

All of these are purchased in bulk:
TP, kitchen paper, tissues
food bags,
detergents, sprays, cleaning products, wipes
Pasta, rice
tins of toms, sweetcorn, tom sauce
Spices
beer
muffins/danish
chicken breasts, beef mince, steaks, other meat products
cheese
olive oil
maple syrop
cat litter, cat food
nuts and snacks
cereals

D.P. · 13 Mar 2014 at 20:10

pitchfork said:
Don't buy chopped tomatoes, buy whole plum and crush them yourself - way more flavour and they're a little cheaper.

Are you sure there is a flavour difference? I really don't notice and don't see how. everything is going along the same assembly line, just in one they bypass the crusher. The price difference varies from 0 to to quite a lot depending on brands and shops, supermarkets are pretty bad but when buying in bulk there is often no difference.

Sunbed · 14 Mar 2014 at 09:04

Ice cream and beer would be a bad for me to buy in bulk

Toilet rolls and washing up liquid I can understand, if you have the space.

On the canned tomato debate: just get passata. It's more expensive but well worth it.

pitchfork · 14 Mar 2014 at 09:28

D.P. said:
Are you sure there is a flavour difference? I really don't notice and don't see how. everything is going along the same assembly line, just in one they bypass the crusher. The price difference varies from 0 to to quite a lot depending on brands and shops, supermarkets are pretty bad but when buying in bulk there is often no difference.

By slicing them up you're allowing the natural sugars to further break down resulting in a more bitter tomato, sometimes you get bits of the seeds in it from the chopping process which are also very bitter (it is for this reason we always sieve tomatoes when liquifying, never blend).

Contrary to popular belief, not all tinned tomatoes are born equal, cheap ones tend to be the rubbish varieties that have been sat about a while.

More expensive varieties tend to be sweeter varieties and fresher when they are canned. King of which are Pomodoro di Pachino types in my opinion.

D.P. · 14 Mar 2014 at 13:12

pitchfork said:
By slicing them up you're allowing the natural sugars to further break down resulting in a more bitter tomato, sometimes you get bits of the seeds in it from the chopping process which are also very bitter (it is for this reason we always sieve tomatoes when liquifying, never blend).

Contrary to popular belief, not all tinned tomatoes are born equal, cheap ones tend to be the rubbish varieties that have been sat about a while.

More expensive varieties tend to be sweeter varieties and fresher when they are canned. King of which are Pomodoro di Pachino types in my opinion.

Ok, that makes sense.

Will do a blind taste test.

I use fresh vine tomatoes if I really want something authentic and tasty, tinned tomatoes are used when I want to be quick and throw something together. In Switzerland I always used whole toms because the price as you said was far cheaper, but here in the US I buy in bulk form costco and there is minimal difference.