Comparing prices on AB/DL items

[Peachy]

Here's another (hopefully) interesting topic to discuss:

Do you compare prices before buying AB/TB or DL items?

What sparked that question, you may ask? That's easy to explain. A friend of mine asked me to send him a dozen NUK 5 pacifiers, which are available through every pharmacy here. However, I did not feel like going into one pharmacy asking for 12 adult pacifiers. They may think I'm either a drug addict or drug dealer, or a reseller, so I decided to go to four different pharmacies and get just a few from each of them.
Some background on the German pharmacy system: By law, all pharmacies must be independently run and staffed by at least one licensed pharmacist, so we don't have nationwide pharmacy chains. The result is: Every pharmacy uses a different system to calculate their prices, so I ended up paying four different prices for my NUK 5 pacis. I've scanned the relevant parts of the receipts:


This is the lowest amount: 5.25 per pacifier.


5.95 each


6.51 each

and the most expensive place charged:

6.75 Euros.

I understand that many of you are happy to get any TB/DL item at all and are too embarrassed to do anything else but rush into a store, grab the first thing you see that looks like diapers/a paci etc., pay and get the heck out of there.
However, I'd be interested to know from more experienced buyers if you do check prices and are prepared to walk out of a store without your diapers/baby item because you just find the store to be too expensive and think you can get your item cheaper elsewhere? Or maybe you have any stories on being ripped off that you want to share?!

Peachy

[daria7483]

I do check prices. I prefer to pick my diapers up at Target or Wal-Mart, because I know they'll be a bit cheaper - like $9.99 for a pack of Goodnites versus $10.49. I know it's not saving much and that that 50 cents really doesn't make any difference in my bank account, but the cheapskate in me would prefer to pay less for the same product.

However, I feel the need to remind everyone that with gas prices being what they are, it's stupid to make a special trip to a different store to save a few cents. The other advantage to Wal-Mart or Target, though, is that with them being further from my apartment I'm less likely to run into someone I know.

[dogboy]

If I go store wise, I'm definitely looking for people I won't know, blending in, and getting out. That's why I like on-line, though there is the rush of store buying. By the way, Peachy, I have often wondered if you were born English speaking, or German, because I am amazed at how well you handle the english language. I am such a foreign language moron. I think most Americans are. Part of our isolation thing, though soon we will all have to learn Spanish as that population is really growing. Anyway cudos to you.

[Jeremiah]

Price is important to me, but other things factor in more heavily. First off, it must be a location that no one i know will be at. Second, they must have a good product. I am willing to pay a little bit more for a better product at a discrete location. The third factor is price. My favourite location at this time is a little bit more expensive, but they are not in a strip mall complex. They also have parking behind the store for that extra discretion. Several times in the past, I have entered a store, saw their prices, and left empty handed.

[r0bino]

For me, price isn't really that important. I usually compare the price I paid to online prices, but I do that just because I'm curious. I don't care if I have to pay 3-4 euros more for a pack because I usually only buy 1-2 a year and 3-4 euros just aren't really worth all that hassle of maybe being cought by somebody who knows me while buying them and telling the pharmacist that I really want THAT kind of diaper

With other stuff I'm very price-sensitive. I always take way too much time comparing different prices online and in stores. This is still topped by the time I spend to find out WHA I wanna buy exactly, though. For example, I'm very picky when it comes to laptops or other electronic stuff, but luckily it's also been worth it

[Lukie]

The great lengths in between times I buy diapers now really plays into the fact I don't care what the price is. Now, if I did have to get a pack every week or so, then yeah, I would care about the price. But the money saved by not doing that allows me to get more expensive diapers.

[Pramrider]

I did check around before buying the one pack of diapers I've used. Food Lion supermarket had them on sale for a little less than other chain stores, so I purchased them there. Naturally, at a FL further away from where I live just to avoid having someone I knew spot me at the closer one where we usually shop.

~Pramrider

[Pojo]

I only compare prices when shopping online...I'll compare prices in stores if it's non-diaper related though

[ayanna]

I don't comparison shop...I shop at the place closest so it doesn't cost so much to cart things home (I can either bus (free 'cause I use my pass for work) or save $5+ on cab fare). For me transportation costs are the deciding factor on where to shop, for everything!

[BabyKat]

For me the biggest factor is who actually has what. I like to try different brands, but from my experience, taking the guts to go into a store generally pays off with money you save. So I try to go to the cheapest store. Since there isn't that much selection off-line, I go to whoever has it, but I do try to stay away from a few stores where I know certain people...Even if they know I wear diapers. If they are the only ones to have it though, I just buy them there. Transportation isn't an issue because I walk everywhere and it only takes 1 1/2 hours to walk from my end of town to the other. Since I do buy diapers a lot, cost and type are the two main factors. Most of the time though I'm forced to go online because of limited selection.