Toilet Paper question

[sona]

Hi
With so many different sales all the times on toilet paper and different varieties, how does everyone figure out what is the best deal?

Also, i am not sure if i am posting this in proper area. Sorry if it is not.

[mulh2370]

Google toilet paper cost calculator

That's what I use

[krrosell]

i always go by cost per roll, price/# of rolls- whatever is cheapest

[Arjon]

I learned on another site that it's more complicated than many people realize. For one thing, rolls can have different numbers of sheets, even withing the same brand. For instance, a double roll of regular 2-ply Royale has about 100 more sheets than a double roll of 2-ply Royale Velour.

Quality can also matter. For instance, if you'd use less Velour because it's better quality, it can be more economical even though it costs more per sheet. Or if a brand costs less per sheet but you have to use more because it's flimsy, it may or may not be a good deal depending on how much lower the cost is plus how much more you use.

And personal preference can matter too. For example, some people are willing to pay a little more for a brand that they consider softer. Others simply don't like buying and having to store even one big pack.

[bhlombardy]

Arjon is exactly right... brands and preferences all matter. As Arjon said... there's alot of diversity with sheet count, sheet SIZE, quality, etc. Dont just look at two brands side by side and try and compare them mathematically. Unless you're John Nash, you'll never wrap your head around it on the fly.


My idea is that personal preference comes first... the rest follows after that:

1.) Find a brand & variety you like. Why you choose your brand is your reasoning... be it value, packaging, texture etc. Just find a brand you prefer.
(for the purposes of my reasoning below... mine is Charmin: Ultra Strong)


2.) Figure out what their different roll sizes and sheet count packaging strategies are.
ie: Charmin has roll sizes marked as regular (1x), double (2x), "Giant" or "Jumbo" (2.5x), and Mega (4x) size rolls
Fortunately, Charmin will mark on their packages how many "regular" single rolls are 'equally' contained within the package, regardless of the roll sizes... so it makes assessing the value that much easier.

3.) Then determine prices and costs of that brand.
If you know what it costs normally then watch the sales for your favorite brand to notice any trends. For example:

Most often the Charmin package I buy is the 24 "Mega" size rolls package and contains "96 single roll equivalent" .
- It regularly retails for about $28... but I'd never pay that much for it. (rule of acquisition #141)
- Typically every other week someone has SOME form of it on sale for about $18-20... (or $9.99 for 48 rolls, etc) Regardless, that's about "19 cents per regular size roll" (this is the part that's important)*
*Knowing the cost per "regular" roll here is the key to knowing if your favourite brand is a good deal or not when it's on sale (If your brand labels the roll size differently, you might have to work it down to the cost per sheet... and then figure out how many sheets in a "regular" roll, etc. on your own)

If it's on sale at this price, I'll buy some if I'm running low... but I seldom am because I stock up when it's super cheap...

Two or three times a year, I'll see a sale where Charmin works out to LESS than 19 cents per regular roll. It all depends on what size rolls are in the package they have on sale. It could be the Mega size rolls, but sometimes it's the double rolls, sometimes it's the Giant/Jumbo rolls, but I dont really care the size of the actual rolls. Working the math backwards to figuring out how much that sale price is per REGULAR roll is how I determine if I should buy it or not.

So when Charmin Ultra Strong is on for about 15 or 16 cents per 'regular' roll (which equals my usual package size about $15 instead of $26) I load up as much as I can.
When it is this cheap, I buy my limits (if there are any), price match at other stores, and then pile up one corner of my basement storage area with TP.
Toilet paper fortunately never spoils or goes bad so long as it's still sealed in it's package.

Again, your brand and pricing may be different but if you know what the trends are, you'll know when it's best to buy or not.