The name itself tells you everything you need to know about the goods therein: Convenience Store. It’s a store that provides things conveniently, with premiums charged accordingly. Yes, the gyro you ate for lunch may require immediate attention by way of overpriced breath mints, but for most other circumstances, patience will pad the pocketbook. Herewith, our tips on things you should never buy conveniently:
1. If you buy it more than once a week, it’s no longer convenient: It’s one thing to pick up a bottle of water because you’re parched and you left yours on the kitchen counter that morning. It’s another thing to find yourself buying a two dollar Dasani every day. Study your habits and adjust accordingly.
2. Dollar stores are almost as convenient as convenience stores. The wholesale dollarification of the high street is pretty much complete. If you need emergency gum, often there’s a dollar store in chewing distance of a convenience store. And, rather confusingly, dollar store gum generally costs less than a dollar. While convenience store gum always costs more.
3. Perishables are less pricey. Nonperishable items are where convenience stores make the most moolah, and where the chasm between grocery store prices tends to be most great. For nonperishables, the disparity is a bit less. Some convenience stores go as far as price matching or loss leading items like milk, knowing that you’ll invariably pick up something else once you’re there. Don’t do your weekly fruit shopping at a convenience store, but if you pick up a banana for an on the go snack, don’t beat yourself up over it. Or slip on it.
4. Never buy household goods or toiletries. Unless you enjoy paying $7 for a stick of deodorant.
5. Do buy coffee. If you’d otherwise buy coffee at a coffee shop, then buying brewed coffee at a convenience store will, at the very least, save you money. Sometimes, convenience store coffee is actually decent, too.
