I’ll throw in a qualified yes. In a small apartment without a car, bulk buying only works if you’re disciplined about what you buy and you compare unit price, not just package size.

For me, the clear wins are dry goods that don’t go stale quickly: rice, dried beans, oats, flour if you bake, coffee beans, canned tomatoes, chicken stock cubes, olive oil, peanut butter. I keep 20-ish pounds of rice in a snap-lid bucket under the sink and go through it in about two months. The unit price at the restaurant supply place is much lower than the 1-lb bags from the neighborhood market, and the quality is exactly the same. Same for dried chickpeas—maybe not for everyone, but if you’re willing to soak, they’re cheap and shelf-stable.

Things I’ve stopped buying in bulk: flour and nuts. Flour because even here, if you don’t bake constantly, it picks up moisture or just hangs around. Nuts and whole-grain flours go rancid if you’re not freezing them, and most NYC kitchens don’t have real freezer space.

The non-obvious cost is transport and splitting. A heavy bag on the subway after work is miserable. I use a folding cart and go on a weekday morning maybe once every six weeks. If you split with one other person, the savings can still be real, but only if the other person is reliable and you portion it out the same day. I once split a bag of oats with a neighbor and we both stored it in jars, no problem. I’ve also seen people drag home a 50-lb bag of rice alone and then let pantry moths set up shop. Don’t do that.

So yes, if you’re buying staples you already eat and you have a plan for storage, it can be a win. If you’re treating it as an outing and coming back with six jars of marinated artichokes, probably not.

Co-signing astoria_arch here. Been doing this on and off for years. 100% agree on the rice/beans/oil play. I don’t even split with anyone half the time, I just have a big plastic tote and a granny cart. If you can grab a cheap membership through a Groupon or a work discount, fine; otherwise I wouldn’t pay full price. The paper towels and toilet paper alone are worth it if you have closet space, but a lot of people in small places don’t.

One thing I’d add: check the restaurant supply stores that don’t need a membership if you’re only going for pantry basics. Some of them will let regular shoppers in, and you don’t need to commit to a year.

This is the content I live for. EastHarlem_E is right about the restaurant supply stores. The real trick is not just the pantry stuff—it’s the frozen seafood and dumplings if you can commit to repacking before the bag gets soft. Restaurant supply places can be weird about membership, but if you get in with a day pass or a friend, the frozen shrimp alone is substantially cheaper. I can’t stress enough how much better the IQF shrimp is than the tiny supermarket bags. Same with the big bag of frozen potstickers: you can cook from frozen in a pan and they don’t suck.

Have you tried the 10-lb bag of frozen broccoli? That changed my meal prep life. You need zero knife work, just dump into the air fryer.

For the social/energy part, I actually like making a solo errand out of it. There’s an earlier thread Solo counter/bar seats in downtown Brooklyn where you don't feel rushed or side-eyed? about solo counter/bar seats in downtown Brooklyn where you don't feel rushed or side-eyed—same urban chore mindset. Bulk runs are only worth it if you don’t hate the process.

Thanks, astoria_arch and greenpoint_guy — this is super useful. I just moved to my first walk-up and my roommate wants to go to one of the big stores in Queens for rice and oats. Do you need to bring your own bags or do they give boxes? Also, how do you know if something is actually a good deal? I get overwhelmed when the price tag is for 10 lbs and the bodega one is a small bag. Thanks for the freezer bag tip—I only have a mini freezer but maybe I can do the shrimp one if we split it.