I was shopping for birthday gifts this week for a little boy that’s about to turn 3. Is that even possible? This boy is particularly fond of playdough. Sometimes I like to make my own, but this time I wanted him to have some with vivid bright colors and decided to splurge for the real thing.
There was a 4 pack at the store for $2.96. I know I can get a 4 pack at Dollar Tree for, well, $1. It’s off-brand. The dough is fine, but the packaging is poor. The lids don’t fit well and the dough drys out pretty quickly once the seal is broken. It’s his birthday and all–I wanted to get the good stuff. But then I said that already. Now don’t laugh, but the $3 price for something I could get for $1 was bothering me. I stood there for awhile checking out all the options. Then on the end cap I spotted this:
Individual cans of Playdough in 11 color choices for $.50 each. I needed a snack or something, could this be right? I could buy 4 cans in any colors I wanted for $2. Or I could pick a 4 pack of colors they selected for $3? Another mother walked by like it was no big deal and filled her cart full of the individual cans. She said, “Easter Baskets.” As if that would explain her sudden interest in so much Playdough. (Which is a genius idea, BTW.)
“Excuse me,” I said. “But is it right that I can get these for $.50 each or buy a 4 pack for $3? Are the cans the same size? ”
“Crazy, Isn’t it?” She said as she confidentially pushed her cart away.
I bought one of each color, and used them for Easter Baskets too. I think I should note that these individual cans won’t scan at checkout and every one must be typed in individually, because each color has a unique number. If you go through the self checkout, start typing the number with a 6 then leave off the final 8.
Just goes to show that the conventional wisdom of things being cheaper when bought in a larger pack isn’t always true – it pays to check the prices! (I’m always surprised to see that I can buy 2 jars of peanut butter for less per oz than buying a two-pack of the same brand, same size jars. Makes no sense!)
Kris, You are so right. I think they have conditioned us to believe it’s cheaper to buy in bulk so often Mom’s are busy and don’t do the math. Though in many cases, like Wal-mart, they put the price per ounce or unit right on the shelf so all we have to do is look.
I think at our Target in Canada we also have a 20% off receipt coupon that we can use on any play dough. Good catch- I’m going to go check our Target!
I am now TOTALLY going to walmart and looking for playdough now!!!!! I NEVER buy the stuff but that’s a really good deal.
If you go on amazon you can get it for .47 a can 😉 you get 36 colors for 17 and change. If you have prime the shipping is free!!! however you can’t pick the colors and if you need it NOW then I would think that Walmart is better
That’s how I buy mine! It’s a good deal too, especially when you consider that homemade stuff doesn’t last. Namebrand stuff usually lasts for long as we take care of it!!
I am shocked…I mean about the bright colors…don’t you use the paste food colorings? (Amy Dacyczyn recommends them in The Tightwad Gazette. Do you use that?) The paste colors seem more expensive, but they last forever and I have so many colors most of them are quite bright. I use them when we die our Easter eggs, for cakes (obviously) and anything I color.
I’m in super frugal cannot spend a penny mode–no joke…we agreed to adopt a baby with only three months to pay for it and we already have 12 family members so it’s penny pinching time! 🙂
So my first thought was homemade, but I can’t figure out a way to package…so my second thought was why not buy him three instead? It’s his THIRD birthday and you will save 50 cents plus tax. You don’t have to package them in fours just because they did. It’s just a thought. But I think the really good point of your post is always be alert, be creative, and be patient! 🙂
Thanks for the inspiration though! I was thinking of making some for Easter baskets. Wasn’t it here that I saw the cute little “carrots” out of something? I was going to make some carrots out of orange play dough. I hope we have green ribbon! (I’ve been scoping out Easter baskets at the store. They seem to contain: candy, Easter grass, bubbles, play dough or something similar, and fluffy little things. So much can be made at home…)
Hi Liz, I do use paste colorings, but it takes a ton to get as bright a color and in as many variations. I only have red and blue paste on hand and the cost of buying all the colors would totally outweigh the savings. If you have the colors on hand, definitely do the homemade. Yogurt cups with the lids are nice alternative containers (Though we don’t normally buy individual yogurts. We get someone to save theirs for us.) My favorite homemade dough has cinnamon taking part of the flour. It’s a natural preservative and smells so great. Our cinnamon dough lasted 2 years! But it does rule the color.
P.S. Yay for adopting another baby! That is an awesome goal to pinch penny’s for. Life changing, right there.
*dye Easter eggs, I mean!
Oops. Can you tell I haven’t made homemade playdough for years and years? Last time I made it I didn’t have the paste color. It’s high time we try again. (I’m so fascinated by cinnamon and ginger being a preservative. I have a recipe for dough enhancer that has ginger in it, but you can’t taste it in the cooked bread.) Hmmm…I will try. Yeah, we don’t eat yogurt that way either and I often think it would be handy to have those. Hmmm…will have to be creative. Yes, we are very blessed. God is working out the details too for the adoption…I’m selling some things on line and finally budgeting! It’s all good in the end! Thanks for inspiring us week after week!
They scan with the hand scanner, or gun. Play dough at Easter is my nemesis. I work at walmart. Lol.
Ellie, lol. Good to know. I was at self check-out and it turned out to be assisted.