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Often, buying the store brand is a good way to save but a gamble on quality. See why Sam’s Club’s Member’s Mark brand seems to be an exception.
Sure, a lot of what makes warehouse stores, like Sam’s Club, good personal finance choices for many families is the quantity discounts. Everything you buy is huge, so your price-per-unit goes down.
But bulk buys aren’t the only way families save — nor are they the only thing behind the dedicated fan bases warehouse stores maintain. No, a good chunk of both of those can also be attributed to a popular, high-quality store brand.
For Sam’s Club, that house brand is Member’s Mark. And it offers a huge range of everyday goods and groceries under that brand. In addition to generally being very well-priced, Member’s Mark items tend to be highly rated. Here are some of my favorite picks.
1. Member’s Mark spices: $3.68 to $9.98
Properly seasoning your foods is a cheap way to make everything you cook taste better. You can find a wide range of common spices under the Member’s Mark label, from salt to cumin to granulated garlic. They’re pretty much all reviewed at 4.5 stars or higher, with lots of remarks on the quality. The containers are modestly sized by Sam’s Club standards, but they’re much larger than those little jars on the spice racks, so stick with seasonings you use the most often to avoid waste.
2. Member’s Mark nuts: $4.48 to $25.98
Nuts are nature’s perfect snack, not only packed with vitamins and healthy fats, but also providing that satisfying crunch. The Member’s Mark brand offers a ton of different options, including dry-roasted peanuts, shelled pistachios, and even organic pine nuts (ideal for pesto). Prices obviously vary a ton depending on the kind of nut, and you’ll be buying them in bulk, but there’s potential for good per-nut value.
3. Member’s Mark broth: $8.48
Broth is one of those pantry staples that I always keep on hand — and in large quantities (because you never need a tablespoon of it, it always seems to be measured in cups). Sam’s Club’s Member’s Mark chicken and beef broths both get 4.8 stars from thousands of reviewers, which speaks well of its quality. It’s also less than $9 for a six-pack of 32-ounce containers, which is a solid value.
4. Member’s Mark canned tomatoes: $9.48
Tomatoes are one of the most universal ingredients, showing up in all manner of cuisines from around the globe. They also happen to keep very well in cans and make a great bulk-buy choice. The Member’s Mark brand offers both diced tomatoes and tomato sauce, and you can get a 12-pack of cans of either for less than $10.
5. Member’s Mark garbage bags: $10.58 to $24.98
You interact with your garbage bags all the time, and a bad-quality bag makes all those interactions significantly less pleasant. Member’s Mark makes a variety of trash bags with nearly five-star ratings, from kitchen bags to yard bags to contractor-quality clean-up bags. Prices vary, but the value is good, and one Sam’s Club-sized box of bags will likely last you the better part of a year.
6. Member’s Mark coffee: $11.98 to $27.98
When coffee lovers get bad coffee, they’ll tell you about it. So when every Member’s Mark-made coffee has at least 4.6 stars — even the instant stuff gets 4.7 stars — then you have to reason it’s a decent brew. You can find a huge array of coffee options, from Kureg-friendly cups to, yes, instant, though arguably the most popular is the Organic Fair Trade Whole Bean coffee, which has well over 1,000 five-star reviews.
7. Member’s Mark toilet paper: $22.98 to $25.97
For something we buy just to literally flush down the toilet, the quality of your toilet paper is surprisingly important. Member’s Mark’s toilet paper gets a very high rating — 4.8 stars — from more than 10,000 satisfied users. There are large rolls and mega rolls (if you like the convenience of a mega roll, I suggest a roll extender!) in huge packages for just $0.02 per square foot.
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You can outfit most of your pantry (and fridge, and freezer) with nothing but Member’s Mark products, and you’ll likely be happy with the lot of them if the reviews are to be believed. Even better, the potential value is easy to see. But you can make it even better by making sure you take along your handy-dandy rewards credit card. Choose one with bonus rewards for warehouse stores to really get your savings on.
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