Sam's Club Food Prices (Anchorage, Fairbanks: sale, rental, coop)

[ozarksaints]

so I have always heard everyone talk about how high food prices are in AK, so I took it for granted that it was true...out of curiosity I went to Sam;s Club website and looked for prices for the Anchorage location and they are within pennies of the same prices we pay down here for rice/beans/etc and within a few nickles or dimes of what we are paying down here for milk/eggs/fruits/veggies.........meat was slightly more, but not much, depending on the item

is Sam's Club just THAT much cheaper than the reg grocery stores up there, and if so, why would anyone go the reg grocery store? or are their prices on the website different than there prices in store? I can't imagine that being the case, especially for such a major retailer and with them being listed for the Anchorage store location as being in stock?

are groceries just a lot more expensive if you are doing like most people and only buying a few days worth at a time at the corner market? do the prices on eggs/veggies really spike in the winter or something?

[akvarmit]

We had a Sam's club card for one year - and we rarely used it. In our case, we don't have the cupboard or freezer space to store stuff since it's usually in bulk. Just wasn't worth the extra trip to Anchorage for just a few items I can get locally in smaller quantities.

[Nephler]

Price of groceries in AK, all depends of where you are from, for me, many many things are cheaper, and the meats and veggies are much better. But like I said, it all depends on where you may be coming from.

[AKStafford]

My parents up visiting from Portland Oregon. Mom compared prices at Wal-Mart, Fred Meyers, Costco, Target and Carrs (Safeway) to what they pay at home. She was saying a lot of things were pretty close in price, but somethings were definitely higher. They get better sale prices.
She was shocked by the gas prices.
Fast food and restaurant prices were higher.
We have a Sam's and Costco membership through work and shop strategically to get our best price.

[stiffnecked]

Sams Club sucks compared to Costco. As long as I live in Alaska I will never buy another Sams Club membership. They don't have near the merchandise selection and the employess at Sams Club in Anchorage work at one speed........slow.

[starlite9]

If you live in the major cities, the prices aren't that much different. If you move to the Bush towns or smaller towns, the prices are much more expensive.

Use to be a three minute call to Seattle from Anchorage was $12.00, now it is free depending on what monthly phone service you have (Cell phones included).

Groceries are the same, competition has driven down the cost to what they pay in the states with a few pennies added for freight.

[melbern]

I think I mentioned when I came back from AK last January, I did not find the prices to be that out of line for what I would pay on the east coast, with the exception of a few varieties of fruit and veg. Some items were actually cheaper in AK. But this was *not* in the bush. Gas was about a dollar more a gallon. I think where I saw the biggest price difference was in rental accommodation. Holy guacamole, rents in AK are out of control, very similar to what I paid in DC.

[tigre79]

Yep, there are areas where the groceries are a lot more (like out in the bush or in a rural town like Valdez), but from what I saw in Anchorage when I looked for these terrible grocery prices, they were the same as what I was used to in Florida. And everyone here in Valdez complains about the quality of the produce, but it's about the same as in Florida too (where we don't have great produce despite what some people seem to expect). Even here, the sale prices on produce are pretty good, even though the regular prices are a little crazy ($3 for a mango!). Everyone here loads up on groceries when they go to "town" (meaning Anchorage or Fairbanks).

[roadfamily6now]

I agree. Having lived in a variety of locations around the US, I can safely say that the prices in Anchorage and Fairbanks and nearly identical to those in the lower 48. However, that is not the case for smaller towns on the road system as well as bush towns.
Now, I am blessed and can shop on Base. Combined with Costco, I'm getting a lot of great food for about 30-50% less then those that only shop at Freddy's or Carrs.

[ozarksaints]

that aint no **** bout the rent....here in OK we have a smaller 2 bedroom house with a quarter acre fenced in yard for 420 a month and we bought just under 3 acres in the ozarks with 2 wells and 3 sides fenced in a coupla miles from national forest and bout 4 miles to the river already set up with nice big walk in chicken coop and good size hog pen with a shed and a large garage on a concrete foundation for 5500 cash a few years back.....now admittedly, we were leisurely looking for a bit before we found that deal, but still....