'Supply and Consume' Economist Goes to the 'BIG' Store

Having a big time has found a new definition in my vocabulary.
It used to stand for a night on the town with an elegant candlelight dinner in a fancy restaurant, followed by dancing under the stars and then a walk along the beach watching the sun come up.
Obviously, this kind of big time doesn’t occur often, at least not in my life. I think it happens mostly in commercials and soap operas. This new kind of big time is one I had last week.
My friend took me to a warehouse store where everything is big except the prices – that is the reason to go there.
We did it up a big way. We drive there in my car because it was bigger. I took a big purse with a big wad of money inside. I wore big clothes and we talked big.
I had been eager to go because every time I was at my friend’s house we would be eating something big and looking at something bigger that she had bought at this Big store.
She had a box of Grape Nuts so large you needed a forklift to raise it up to pour it into your cereal bowl, a round plastic container container of malted milk balls so oversized that when it is empty they plan to use it as a wading pool in the back yard, and a tube of toothpaste that must have been designed for King Kong.
“I’ve got to see this place,” I said, so we went to this land of paper towel by the mile and fingernail polish remover by the bucket. I think the first thing I said upon entering was, “This place is big.”
We picked out a big cart to hold all the big stuff we were buying, only to realize we could have used one like the flatbed semi-trailer truck another shopper was hauling behind him.
Our first stop was the office supplies aisle. I was out of computer paper but I won’t be again soon. The stock I bought would easily accommodate several printings of “Gone With the Wild.”
After each selection I made, I had to say, “Now I won’t need to buy that again for awhile.”
I was buying all sorts of big things I desperately needed, like the big bag of peanut M & M’s. I also picked up some things I didn’t exactly need but bought because I was getting carried away with the big savings I was making at the Big store. For example, the bag of big sponges wasn’t exactly a high priority. My friend tried to discourage me.
“You only want them because the colors match your house.”
“Not true,” I said. “I want to clean my house with them. They are so Big.”
“Too big,” she responded. “You can strap two on your feet, two on your hands and two on your needs and really mop the place up.”
“Good idea,” I said, and I bought them.
I also bought big stuff that didn’t last a long time.
The candy came in big bags and I bought one to have around for weekend company. The kids thought it would be good to have around for that afternoon but not for that evening. They ate it all up by 5 o’clock. OK, I helped them out a bit…all right, a lot.
My friend and I had in-depth discussions about the prices. Was it really cheaper to buy things in extra grand sizes?
We analyzed the jumbo box of detergent. I didn’t think it was a better deal than buying several regular boxes at the grocery store but I couldn’t decide if I was remembering the right price.
Blueberry muffin mix was another mixing bowl of contention. The Big Store sold three mixes in one, which was several cents less than the regular stores’ individual costs. Was the savings worth it?
I said no because at my house we live by the theory of supply and consume. I supply and they consume.
If we had one blueberry muffin mix, they’d make one. If we had three, all three would be opened, made, burned or dumped on the floor.
The bottom line is, did I save money? I don’t think so, but you can’t expect to in the big time.
July 20, 1988