So I was mad at myself a few weeks ago. Well, not mad, just annoyed. I paid full price for toilet paper, which went on sale 3 days later. Since we really needed toilet paper, it's kind of irrelevant, but I could have been better prepared.
We were back down to the last few rolls, so I've had my fingers crossed for a decent sale price. That price came along Sunday, and matched with a recent coupon and my mad price book skills, I knew to buy.
We almost always buy Quilted Northern double roll package, unless beat over the head with an insanely cheap price for another brand. No particular reason for always choosing that brand, but it works for us. The only other brand that we bought since Aug 06 is Publix Greenwise, once because we were really broke and I didn't want to spend more than $2.59, and the other time it was the penny coupon item at Publix. Good penny coupon items at Publix make me happy.
a decent sale price if you need toilet paper asap
around $0.013 per square foot
consider stocking up
below $0.011 per square foot
buy as much as you can
at or below $0.095 per square foot
--- good rule of thumb for per roll price: low $0.40 range ---
Looks like the grocery shrink ray has hit Quilted Northern, the last two packages I've bought have been a smaller square footage. A Consumerist reader sent them a tip in March 2008 about the size of Quilted Northern at Sam's Club, but these last few packages have been the first smaller sizes that I've noticed. That could be a mistake on my part, but I'm pretty careful about checking unit sizes. The 12 double-roll package has been 528 SF since at least 08/16/06. Looks like the new size is 450 SF, as of January 2009. Hmm, I might be able to find some retailers with older stock, I'll have to keep that in mind.
It makes more sense to consider price per square foot as opposed to per roll, especially with the recent square-footage decrease, but I've included per roll pricing where it makes sense.
In a world without coupons and sales (aka regular prices)
I'm only looking at pricing for the 12 double-roll package for this category, which is what I almost always buy. The below numbers were not my final cost.
- ranges from $6.99 (Jan 09 Target) to $9.49 (Jan 09 Walgreens)
- Publix has been at $7.99 since Mar 07 (update 2/4/09 -- Spotted at Publix today, regular price of $8.49. I wonder if the Kroger price has gone up?)
- Kroger $8.99
My best deal by per square foot price
The highest per roll price matched the below numbers. Not including the penny coupon purchase, my best deal on record is 3/31/07 at Publix.
$7.99 regular price
-$2.49 store sale
-$1.00 ($0.50 coupon doubled)
$4.50 final price $0.0085 PSF $0.38 per roll
My worst purchase is Kroger in May 07, $8.99 -- $0.0177 PSF $0.75 per roll.
Coupons
Used coupons 13 out of 28 purchases, usually a $0.50 doubled. Coupons seem to come out about 3 times per year for Quilted Northern. I do typically wait for a sale, so it's hard to pinpoint exactly when the coupons come out. Lately, I've been seeing more $1.00 off one coupons, which is great because it evens out the field between grocery stores that double and places like CVS.
Differences between stores
Publix
average final price: $0.0117 PSF* $0.52 per roll
(doesn't include penny coupon purchase to give a better guideline to average pricing)
My main store is Publix, and that works out in my favor when it comes to toilet paper at regular price, as mentioned above. It works out for sales prices too.
I'll buy at another store for a good price, but Publix wins almost every time when it comes to this item.
The best store sale at Publix is $2.49 off, which is probably an Advantage Buy, I've only recorded that sale price twice. Typical sales prices range from $1.00 to $1.99 off regular price.
Kroger
average final price: $0.0127 PSF $0.56 per roll
I find it easier to watch for sales at Publix since I'm usually there anyhow, but if I need toilet paper and Kroger has it on sale, I buy it. Sales are typically $3.00 or $4.00 off, but the regular price is higher, so don't be misled.
Walgreens
average final price: $0.0149 PSF $0.45 per roll
only two purchases included in the averages
Target
average final price: $0.0128 PSF $0.54 per roll
only three purchases included in the averages
Looking at the big picture over time
- Average price per roll: $0.53
- Average price per square foot: $0.0123
2006 (first purchase 8/16/06) 6 purchases 73 rolls 3,696 SF $41.95
2007 9 purchases 116 rolls 5,324 SF $62.94
2008 11 purchases 125 rolls 4,774 SF* $61.00
2009 (as of 1/27/09) 2 purchases 24 rolls 900 SF $12.28
Looks like we have about 6 weeks between purchases.
Random notes
first purchase was 8/16/06
*I didn't record the square footage of a 6-roll package in 2008, and Quilted Northern has decreased the square footage of the 12-roll package. I can't assume a number, but the purchase is included in all pricing not related to square footage.
Introduction to price book analysis series
Click on the price book category on the right to see all the available posts about my price book.
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