This week, the ranunculus showed up in force. I had purchased two bags of ranunculus bulbs from Costco last fall, and finally managed to get them planted at the tail end of winter. Now, we have a nice row of red, yellow, white and pink ranunculus flowers in the garden.

Feels like Spring.

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Costco is selling the Le Creuset 4 1/4 Quart Cast Iron Soup Pot for $144.99. The same product from Amazon, though via a 3rd party, goes for around $200.00.

I had already picked up a cast iron pot a few months ago from Costco for much less. I really like the KitchenAid Cast Iron Dutch Oven, though I see that Costco is now selling its own cast iron dutch oven for much less.

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I’ve been considering GelPro Chef’s Mat as a replacement for the carpet runner I’ve been using in the kitchen. The carpet runner was relatively inexpensive at Costco, but it had been consistently getting dirty and may have made one too many trips into the washer such that the rubber back has started to break down. Not good.

>Anyways, Costco sells the 20″ x 48″ GelPro Chef’s Mat for $89.99. Bed Bath & Beyond was selling the slightly shorter 20″ x 36″ GelPro Chef’s Mat for $99.99 and the longer 20″ x 72″ GelPro Chef’s Mat for $199.99. Amazon sells the GelPro Mat in a variety of sizes and colors, but I just noticed that the reviews are a bit uneven.

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Last summer, I found a San Francisco Bay Area Target selling a 6 lb tub of Oxi Clean for $8.49, which reflected a temporary price cut off the $9.99 regular price. So, is $9.99 the real regular price? During the winter break, I was able to shop at a Southern California Target. I wasn’t really focused on the temporary price cut v. regular price issue, though it is good to know that items marked as discounted are truly discounted even if they are not discounted to a Costco level. I really wanted to figure out whether Target and other large retail stores varied their prices by regions, much like the gas stations. Turns out, that is not the case, at least for this item.

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Last month, I picked up a J.A. Henckels 10 Piece Forged Knife Set at Costco for $139.99 after an instant rebate of $30.00. Of course, unless you are actually tracking prices, you cannot tell whether the post-rebate price is a good price. Did the seller raise the price and then offer a rebate for difference? After the rebate expires, will the new price be the old post-rebate price?Well, at least for this item at Costco, once the rebate expires, the sales price reverts back to $169.99.

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After much thinking, I picked up a J.A. Henckels International 10-piece Forged Knife Set at Costco. Again, with Costco, the online price is not necessarily cheaper. I purchased the knife set in store for $139.99 after an instant $30.00 rebate. Costco took $30.00 off the price at the register. No mail-in rebate forms or other hassles.

So far, I haven’t experienced the rust problem that others have complained about. Out of the box, the knives were extremely sharp. In fact, I got nicked on the finger by the 8″ chef’s knife while trying to slice through ham, which wasn’t an all-too-pleasant experience. Sharp! After another close call, I finally put away the chef’s knife. Something about it just didn’t agree with the way I was working in the kitchen.

Since then, I’ve turned to the 7″ hollow edge santoku knife, which just feels better in my hand. No more close calls.

So, what prompted the purchase? Well, Thanksgiving is around the corner again and memories of last year’s attempt to carve a turkey with a dull chef’s knife still haunt me. A few months ago, I purchased a sharpening steel, which restored some zing to the chef’s knife I was using. However, lately, I’ve noticed that the chef’s knife was getting a lot duller a lot faster. So, I was looking for a paring knife, which my existing set did not include. I was also missing a bread knife, though that was not such a big deal since I only occasionally buy unsliced bread. I was looking for a better chef’s knife and a carving knife for Thanksgiving. With so many needs, paying $139.99 for a second set didn’t seem too crazy, especially since my back-up choice, the Shun Classic 3-Piece Boxed Flat Set, was running for $249.95 on Amazon.

After a week of use, here’s the quick round-up. So far, the 3″ vegetable knife, 4″ paring/utility knife and the 5″ utility/serrated knife seem a bit much. Not sure I really need 3 small knives. The 7″ hollow edge santoku knife is golden. That’s my favorite knife out of the bunch so far. I’ll see how the 8″ carving knife performs tomorrow during Thanksgiving dinner. The 8″ chef’s knife has already made a few attempts at my fingers. Since I’m so comfortable using the santoku, I don’t know if the chef’s knife will ever come out of the block again. I haven’t used the 8″ bread knife yet. I already have a sharpening steel and kitchen shears, so those items are duplicative. Also, while the block offers extra slots, it is missing a wide slot for a cleaver, just in case I ever get the Shun 7-3/4-Inch Stainless Steel Chinese Chef’s Knife, which incidentally costs more than the Henckels set.

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I already know that Costco has the best price on Bona Hardwood Floor Cleaner. Who can beat $11.99 for a 1.25 gallon refill container and a 32 oz. spray bottle?

Lowe’s was selling a 128 oz. container of Bona Hardwood Floor Cleaner for $15.98, or $0.125 per ounce. Lowe’s price is half way between the $.0236 per ounce price at OSH and the $0.062 per ounce price at Costco.

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Comparison shopping within a store is pretty easy with a calculator in hand. However, unless you store all your prices in a spreadsheet, this task can be challenging because quantities for even standard goods may differ.

Case in point: Brita water filters. Costco sells a 10 pack, Target sells a 6 pack, and Wal-Mart sells a 4 pack. Wal-Mart sells a 4 pack of Brita filters for $19.44, or $4.86 per filter. The best price from my last price check was $4.199 per filter from Costco. However, Wal-Mart did edge out Target be a few cents per filter (i.e., $4.86 v. $4.948). However, I spotted a 5-pack of Brita Water Filters at walmart.com selling for $39.98, or $7.996 per filter! The lesson here is to not assume that the in-store and online prices are the same, or that online prices much be cheaper than within a bricks and mortar store.

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A few weeks ago, OSH was selling an 8.7 oz. bottle of Shout Gel for $4.99. So, was this a “great value” as the sign proclaimed?

Target, which used to carry Shout Gel, did not have the product on its shelves. Instead, it stocked an 8.7 oz. bottle of Shout Advanced Gel for $2.64. Between the two, Target offered a greater value.

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This exercise in tracking the cost of various products that I usually purchase has really focused my attention on consumer prices. I know that gas prices change daily, but what about the price of other consumer goods?

Since the last post on Bona Hardwood Floor Cleaner, I noticed that the Costco had changed its price. Since the schools only teach about inflation (and not deflation), you may think that prices will only go up absent a sale or rebate. But, there I was looking at the sign and sure enough, Costco now sells Bona Hardwood Floor Cleaner for $11.99 instead of $12.69. No sale. No instant rebate. Just a straightforward price cut. Wow!

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