Bulk shopping group, anyone?

[CarolineG]

For a while now our family have been doing an occassional shop at the huge Costco cash & carry near Reading (when passing to and from family out that way).

The prices are amazing - and so is the quality quite frankly (it took some persuading to get me in through the doors of anything labelled "cash & carry" the first time!)... all of the brands we buy in the supermarket are there, and some that you usually only see on the shelves of Waitrose and our local expensive farm shops. They even have washing machines, plasma TVs, etc. etc.!

Anyway - skip straight to here for the point of this...

The downsides with shopping like this are:

1. You have to buy in bulk - everything comes in big packs, large boxes etc.
2. You have to 'join' - and to join you have to be VAT registered (even if you don't offset the VAT in your returns)
3. They aren't very local (unless you happen to live right by one, of course)

I was wondering if any other people local to us (near Reigate, Surrey) would like to start a group where we take it in turns to use a large car, or even hire a van, to do a regular shop at one of these places for the whole group?

The nearest Costco to here is actually in Thurrock, Kent.

The rough idea would be for members of the group to join (we are already members) so a rota could be devised. The shoppers would collect lists and do the shop AND use the vehicle to drop the various consignments off to the other group members.

Even if a van had to be hired, we have used a local company in the past who have large Transit vans for less than £40/day which would easily be swallowed by the savings to be made.

What do people think?

Please reply here, and I will start a group in the Social Groups area so people can join that...

CarolineG

[karmaking]

What a great idea... I have created a specific category under Social Groups ("Shopping Groups") and moved your group to this.

http://www.myayokay.com/group.php?groupid=3

I think this will catch on!

[CarolineG]

A quick update - a new Costco store has opened in Purley, so much closer than before which measn it will be even easier to buy in bulk and save some pennies!

CarolineG