Health and Beauty Aids: Walmart versus Costco, Kirkland Brand versus Equate Brand -- Which is the Best Deal?

Here are a couple issues I've wondered about for quite some time: which offers the best prices on non-food "health and beauty aids" (like over-the-counter medicine, personal hygiene products, vitamins, etc.), Walmart or Costco? And which is a better deal, Walmart's store brand (Equate) or Costco's store brand (Kirkland)?

Why have I thought about this? Because we often shop at both of these stores back-to-back -- starting at Walmart and then going to Costco -- and we've always tried to compare prices from memory, but it's never worked. So last weekend, I decided not to rely just on memory. I randomly selected six different product categories and wrote all the information about both branded and non-branded products down on a piece of paper to be able to compare prices between the two. Now, obviously this isn't a scientific study and it's only one weekend, but it should give us some useful insights. Here are the product categories and brands I recorded:

• Cold remedy -- Airborne
• Upset stomach medicine -- Pepto Bismol, Kirkland Pink Bismuth, Equate Stomach Relief
• Acid controller -- Pepcid Complete, Kirkland Acid Controller, Equate Acid Controller
• Fiber supplement -- Metamucil, Kirkland Natural Fiber Laxative, Equate Fiber Therapy
• Pain reliever -- Tylenol Extra Strength, Kirkland Extra Strength Acetaminophen, Equate Extra Strength Acetaminophen
• Whitening toothpaste -- Crest

Now before I get into the details, please note the following:

• I'm assuming that the store brand version works just as well as the national branded version. This is certainly my experience as a store brand user.

• I only used product comparisons where the store brand said "compare to" and then listed a specific brand name.

Now, for the results. We'll start with the overall findings:

• At Walmart, the Equate items were 52.0% cheaper than their nationally branded counterparts.

• At Costco, the Kirkland items were 53.6% cheaper than their nationally branded counterparts.

• For nationally branded products on a per use basis, Costco products were 14.7% cheaper than those same products found at Walmart.

• For store branded products on a per use basis, Kirkland products were 29.1% cheaper than those same products found in the Equate brand.

Now for my conclusions as well as some additional information for you to consider:

• You can save a TON of money by buying store brands versus national brands. Imagine saving 50% on all the health and beauty items you buy -- that could add up to some serious money through the years.

• I was surprised by the facts that Costco beat Walmart and Kirkland beat Equate. I was sure it was going to be the other way around.

• There is an additional cost to shopping at Costco (the membership fee), so this has to be added in here somewhere. But how much of it should be added to any specific item depends on how much you shop there (and thus how many items your fee is spread over.) For me, it's a non-issue since my employer pays my Costco annual fee, so a cost-to-cost comparison is valid without any adjustment.

• Costco's options usually only come in very large quantities, so you need to make sure you really like the product and will use it all. For instance, the Crest at Walmart was in one 8-ounce tube. Costco's Crest option had four 8-ounce tubes in a package. If you don't use one of those tubes, it changes the cost per use calculations dramatically (and ends up with a different "winner".) Same goes with acetaminophen. If you really can use 1,000 tablets before they expire, then Kirkland's a better deal. If you only use 500 of them, it's better to go with Equate. (Of course you could always split them with a friend to use them all.)

• Selection at Costco is very limited. Walmart has what seems like 18 kinds of Crest -- Costco had one. Walmart had what seemed like 30 different Tylenol options -- Costco maybe had a couple. If you want selection (or aren't sure of what you want), Walmart's a better deal.

• Walmart allows manufacturer coupons, Costco does not. Thus, if you have a coupon for a nationally branded product, it may be cheaper with the coupon at Walmart than even the equivalent Kirkland option at Costco.

My bottom line is that for me, probably the Kirkland brand is the best deal if I don't have a coupon. So I'll try to hit Costco first, then if they don't have what I'm looking for, I'll go to Walmart and shop the Equate brand. For people who have to pay the Costco membership fee, it's probably a wash -- the costs are probably close enough to equal to not matter. And if you have a coupon, the Walmart branded item may be the best deal of all. In the end, they're both very competitively priced.

I wonder how they'd compare to Sam's Club, Target, or a local grocery store. Anyone out there up for the challenge? ;-)

Comments

[GHoosdum]

What it comes down to is the business model. Costco puts firm caps on how much they sell their products for over the supply price. I think it's something like 14% for national brands and 15% for Kirkland branded products. Wal-Mart sells their products for as much as they can make while still being cheaper than their direct competition (such as grocery stores and Target).

Personally, I would buy a product at Costco rather than Wal-Mart even if it cost more at Costco for two reasons:
1. Unbeatable customer service. Costco has never let me down. Wal-Mart usually does.
2. Business Model. Costco's business model is friendly to customers, employees, suppliers, and even competitors. Wal-Mart's business model is friendly to those consumers who care only about the price of an item and to China, but very unfriendly to local small business, suppliers, and to the employees.

[Isaac]

2 notes about what you wrote:

1. Costco does not take manufacturers coupons, but often has their own coupons which are usually a great amount off. AN example of this is the Acne Free system that sells at both COstco and WalMArt. Walmart sells the 1 month supply for 16.99 while Costco sells the 3 month supply for 27.99. Well every couple of months they send out a Store coupon for $8 off. That cuts the price down to 19.99, only $3 more than the one month supply at WalMart and you have 3x times as much treatment.

2. You can keep and take medicines such as pain relievers after they expire. They do not instantly become dangerous on the date printed on the bottle. Again if you aren't going to use most of it within 2 years of the expiration date, a smaller bottle is still a better deal.

[Holly]

I completely agree with what the first commenter said about Wal-Mart's business model. I quit shopping there in 2003 and I will NOT go back. That also goes for Sam's Club, which is the same company.

Having said that, a more fair comparison would be CostCo vs Sam's.. but the brands at Sam's are the sale as WalMart, for the most part.

SuperTarget has very good grocery prices on many items compared to our local grocery stores here in the Tampa area FWIW. I buy my favorite cereal (Kashi) at CostCo, which happens to have the specific variety I like in large double boxes for a very good price, but Supertarget sells the same type, single box, 2 for $5 usually, while the same box at the other local grocery stores (Publix, Albertsons, Kash n Karry, now called SweetBay, and WinnDixie, whihc is still barely in business these days) ranges from $3.29 to $3.99.. for ONE box. :-p

[MissPinkKate]

Not all of the Wal-Mart brand beauty stuff is of comparable quality- I bought their generic version of the Neutrogena Healthy Skin Moisturizer, and it was not worth it.

[Lisa]

If you REALLY want to save money, check out the rebate programs at CVS, Rite Aid & Walgreens. After several months using these programs, I've come to the conclusion that I should never have to pay more than a few cents for the following: deodorant, shampoo, pain relievers, shaving cream, toothpaste, toothbrushes. You have to have absolutely no brand loyalty & take what's offered, but hey it's mostly free!

[Angel Burgueno]

Walmart is by far a better option. Huge selection of products, lower price and in reasonable quantities and more locations than Costco. It's a NO BRAINER