Store News

There has been a lot of discussion recently regarding BPA in plastic containers especially baby bottles. When exposed to heat BPA bottles can leach chemicals into the milk. While the FDA has not actually recalled these products yet, they are doing an extensive study given all the recent concern.

The easiest way to distinguish BPA bottles from BPA-free bottles is to look at the plastic. The hard clear plastic (polycarbonate) has BPA, the milky colored and non clear bottles are BPA free. If you are wondering if your bottles are BPA free or not, this is a great reference source http://safemama.com/2007/11/22/bpa-free-bottle-and-sippy-cup-cheat-sheet/

In an unusually consumer-friendly move Babies R Us and Toys R Us are actually taking back all your old BPA bottles. Now this is not across the board and some stores are not aware of this and some stores will not acknowledge this over the phone, but I can attest it is true. I took back five Dr. Brown’s bottles without receipt to Toys R Us and was a given a store credit with no questions asked.

I first heard about this from BabyCheapkate.com. I think that post has the most number of comments I have ever seen on BabyCheapskate. Many are sharing their stories, so you can see how others have fared with their return attempts.

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Target is famous for its clothing lines made by big designers such as Isaac Mizrahi and Liz Lange. Now its doing the same for home fashions. Target has already introduced the Dwell Studio line for children’s bedding, but it will roll out the entire line on February 24th. I am very excited since I am a big fan of Dwell bedding. Dwell has become famous for its great fabric designs as well as its comfortable quality. I am curious how quality and patterns will differ for the Target line but I am sure they will still be good as the children’s line is already getting good reviews.

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BabyCheapskate.com has a great post on Sears’ return of the KidVantage program. You can sign up for this free program in store and rest assured that if you purchase children’s clothing from Sears and it wears out, Sears will repair or replace it. They also reward you with 15% off whenever you purchase $100 or more of children’s clothing. The KidVantage program is particularly useful for school uniforms since they tend to get the most use (and abuse.)

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Wal-Mart got a lot of attention when it annouced its $4 generic drug program last year. Now Publix is doing it even better with its FREE program. Most generic antibiotics are Free for a 14 day supply. While the low prices are getting the attention these days, the fact is that prescription drugs and the pharmacy unit of grocery stores are big business. They have a higher profit margin than other areas. So watch your bottom line. To shop smart you might need to fill your prescriptions at more than one pharmacy. But with online ordering, it shouldn’t as much of a hassle.

Here is a run down of all the discount drug programs offered in stores:

1. Wal-Mart & Sams Club offer 300 generic drugs for $4 for a 30 day supply. For their complete list visit Wal-Mart’s discount drug list. According to their site: “The eligible drugs in this program represent over 27% of the prescriptions Wal–Mart pharmacies dispense each year.”

2. Costco has actually been the quiet leader in the discount prescription drug movement. They charge around $10 for a 90 day supply of most generics. Their prices are consistently lower than the corner drugstore. You can check all the prices on the Costco Pharmacy site.

Remember that you DO NOT need a membership to shop at the pharmacy at Sam’s Club or Costco.

3. Publix is offering a 14 day supply of the most common oral antibiotics for free. According to their site: “These antibiotics account for almost 50 percent of the generic, pediatric prescriptions filled at Publix.” You can find a complete list of the free drugs at the Publix Pharmacy site.

4. Meijer also offers free antibiotics for a 14 day supply. You can view their list at the Meijer Pharmacy site.

5. Kmart offers a 90 day supply of over 150 generic drugs for $15. Here is the complete list of KMart’s discount generics. They also have an On Time Guarantee program at their pharmacy. Your prescription is ready when promised or they will give you a $20 gift card.

6. Target’s program is similar to Wal-Mart. They offer 30 day generic supply for $4. They have a selection of over 300 drugs. Here is the Target discount drug list.

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As many of you know, I am a Costcoholic. I love the variety of products and the great prices (especially those that end in .97). Another reason is their very liberal return policy. It just makes me feel assured when I buy something to know that Costco stands behind their product. I have heard stories of people abusing the return policy especially with time sensitive items such as seasonal items or electronics that have new models coming out.

While Costco’s new return policy for some items is no longer open ended, I still think it is still generous compared to other companies. The new return policy relates to electronics. Most electronic items can only be returned within 90 days. In true Costco fashion, they have reduced the return period for electronics but have increased the manufacturers’ warranties most of the affected product categories.

 

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