Alice.com

A few days ago, the Diva alerted me to a website, Alice.com, where I could buy household products for super cheap. I checked it out, and was impressed to find that they ship every order for free. Some of the prices looked good, too, so I decided to give it a shot. Anything to save a few pennies while giving Wal Mart the finger, right?

My first order included:

12 rolls of Charmin ("big" rolls)
2 bottles of Lysol toilet cleaner
a book of 20 stamps
a bottle of Pantene shampoo
a box of Cascade dishwashing detergent
a tube of Colgate toothpaste

The order was delivered via UPS about 48 hours later. Impressive!

Yesterday I went to the devil's playground, and I had my invoice from Alice.com with me so that I could compare prices. It turned out that on the few items that I bought, I didn't save as much money as I hoped. I saved about a quarter on the Colgate, but only because Alice.com automatically applied a coupon. Their list price is higher than the local Wal Mart. The same was true of the shampoo-- the coupon saved me about a dime.

My location probably has something to do with the fact that the prices at the local Wal Mart are similar to the Alice.com prices. Things are cheaper in different parts of the country. I could never afford to live in San Francisco or Chicago on the income we make here, but you don't have to go as far as California or Illinois to see a major difference in what things cost. A 12-pack of Coke products costs over $5.00 in Yazoo City, MS, and about $3.50 in Hattiesburg, MS, yet the two towns are only about 100 miles apart. When I moved from the Memphis area to South Mississippi, I was pleasantly surprised to find that a six pack of beer was about a dollar cheaper down here than up there. The same may be true of Mississippi versus Oklahoma, or Missouri, or whatever hillbilly haven you call home.

I didn't have time to go compare the prices on every item I purchased, but I think most of them are about the same. I'm planning to check next time I go to the playground; I'm withholding judgment until then, but my current opinion is that you can save money at Alice.com if you're careful. There are deals to be had. For instance, you can't beat .58 for a stick of deodorant, and that's what it costs there right now. Choose your items wisely, look for items with coupons, and know what they cost elsewhere. Also be aware of the difference in sales tax. In Mississippi, it's 7%. Alice.com charged me 4.86%.

It's nice to have things like toilet paper and stamps dropped off at my front door for no charge, and even nicer to know that I didn't get them from the devil's playground. I'm willing to pay an extra quarter for that as long as I can pick up the occasional cheap stick of deodorant, so I'll definitely be placing another order with Alice.