Kitchen Krafts has the latest version of the BBB. Pomona pectin as a single box makes up to 30 cups of jam. Regular pectins only make about 5-7 cups tops. A source I mentioned last year and earlier this year has Pomona at $3.64 a box, regular price $4.04 Its on special and is being sold by Krankferd Farms Foods. They don't do web orders, but will accept CC and phone orders. At least you have big enough Walmart stores there that offer these things cheaper. Here, we used to get Golden Harvest jars at Big Lots, but the last time that happened was two years ago. I buy jars and supplies whenever they are on clearance after the summer months.

Here is a link that might be useful: Pomona pectin link

It's very hard to deal with local hardware/mom and pop stores vs. Walmart when it comes to price regarding pectin and other similar items. Number one, you have to look out for your pocketbook. It does pain us to have to choose sometimes. I really try to buy American made so Walmart is not a favorite of mine either, but with rims, that is the place I get wide mouth lids, and I get the standard at BIG LOTS.
I feel bad that you had to pay so much for the Blue Book. They did restock the Walmart here and they have it in stock again. It's possible you could have ordered it online from
Walmart and they would have shipped it to the store with no shipping charges. I ordered a cell phone like that once.
I buy canning jars at thrift stores and yard sale to try and save. I even ran into a gentleman in a thrift store that had to get rid of 12 doz. quarts, as he saw me holding jars, asked if I wanted more. A friend ended up with them all, and they were free!! He was cleaning out his MIL's shed and they were all in canning boxes. She kept them neat and tidy.
Don't hang your head in shame, you seem to be dealing with you guilt by supporting the local farmers. Life is a trade-off, so many of us are in that group. You just have to balance it all out and do what you need to do for you.

I try to consider if I had to drive all over town looking for something. Where I live, the way the stores are, they are not going to have the one item you need....and sometimes, it is a simple, basic, common item that they should have. For example, I needed celery one day and stopped in the first grocery store that I came to. No celery! Who doesn't have celery? Had to drive to another grocery store that was really out of my way in order to get it. If it was a gallon of milk, they wouldn't have it either. (Not saying that I order groceries online, just saying how stores are!) Last week, I was going to buy my mother a dehydrator since she uses mine a lot. Stop in at Walmart (which I hate) and they have one model on the shelf and wouldn't sell it to me since it was the "floor" model. Told me I could drive to the other Walmart across town and they "might" have one. No thanks. I check Target, which I didn't really think they would have it and of course, they didn't. Bed, Bath and Beyond, with all the "crap" they sell didn't have one either. So there were 3 trips into 3 stores to locate something that probably should have been rather simple to find and I came home empty handed. It reminded me of why I like to shop online. So I consider, even with shipping being outlandish at times, ordering online saves me gas, time and frustration.

You may want to do some searching to see if you have a bulk food store close enough you can visit it at least a few times a year to load up on staples for canners, like pectins. I got two and one quarter POUNDS of pectin for six dollars and some odd cents. Since 1/4 cup makes six to ten jars of jellies you can imagine how many seasons of fruit this'll take me through all for the price of two stupid boxes at a retail store. When there is a price difference like that, you gotta know someone is making astronomical profits at the same time you're being serenaded with jingles telling you how much money you're saving. My bulk store also sells lids and rings by the case or bag. Ditto spices. I buy cinammon by the pound also, for about half the price I pay for one small jar of it at the conventional stores.

I buy books online from Amazon. Shipping at Amazon is standard and cheaper than most places plus it allows me to buy a good or almost new book instead of new only. I do buy from Ebay but shipping can be all over the place including highway robbery. Amazon seems to screen their sellers a little better.

I'd never hang my head as either a Walmart shopper or an eBay shopper. My $$ are too important to me.

Great bargains are available at both stores as well as at Dollar General, Big Box, and the like as well as at many other online vendors. Bulk supplies (not to mention the BBB) are available at many of the vendors Ken and others have posted links to in the past and the savings (even with shipping), not only in gas and time but in quality can be quite good.

One just has to be a careful, comparative, and informed shopper. It helps to recognize that the "source/publisher" is seldom the best price source. ;) Their focus is publication and distribution, not sales.

Dave

I don't "hang my head" because I am embarrassed but because I find their business practices to be somewhat suspect. And I love ebay - it may not be local, but at least my money is going to a small business.

Thanks for the heads up on the dollar stores. I've read that over and over on the boards and always seem to forget to go. I am going to take a ride this afternoon.

Careful when buying a lot of pectin in bulk. Most brands have expiration dates and once expired, they loose the ability to set. I had some that I had to double just to get a jelly. The ONLY pectin with no exp date is Pomona.

Don't forget the phone!
I often call stores ahead of time to see what they have in stock before I drive there!
If they don't have the time to help me over the phone, they don't get my business. Large or small, that's what they're paid to do!

Sometimes I glean good information this way as well. For example, I called every natural/health food store in our town (and there's quite a few...we're know to be a "hippy" town. LOL) looking for Clearjel.
No one carries it, but I did find several that carry Pomona's!! Good to know when I run out and forget to order online or something!

I pack a phone book in my car too. Comes in handy for calling the "other" store in town to see if they have something in stock.

I'm not a Wal-Mart fan either (especially since my DH works for a locally owned drug/discount store), but sometimes thats where I fine the best price or availability. I agree...Ya gotta do what ya gotta do!

Now..........anybody wanna split a 25# bag of Clearjel? I found it at a restaurant supply place for $40, but geez! I don't know if my grandkids are gonna want that! It'll last me a couple of lifetimes! :-)

Deanna

Which reminds me ---

I drop a tear every time I use my little bottle of whole nutmegs with the grater inside.

Not because it hasn't been a "good buy" - (bought sometime in the 70's or so) - but because I know its going to be there long after I'm gone.

Just my 2 c's.

Bejay

Clear jel can be used as a coating for fried foods, in puddings, pie fillings, a slight thickener for syrups, and gravies. There are many uses and 25 pounds might be a lot, but if you have a canning friend who needs some, it can help to reduce your excess supply. Most places sell it in 1 pound bags too. To keep it fresh, store it in a large vacuum tight Food Saver canister under vacuum.

I frequently shop at Wallmart or K-Mart. I don't want to walk all over the Mall and pay premium prices and I don't care to feed the parking meters downtown and be treated rudely by clerks who would rather chit-chat then wait on customers. The downtown stores charge two and three times what Wallmart and K-Mart charge. I can and do call both stores if I am looking for a particular item. They treat me as if they want my business. This is important to me. I live out in the country and have a 25-30 mile trip each way. I don't want to drive all that way and not find what I want or need.
Donna

I'm surprised that some of you even still HAVE local "mom and pop" hardware stores. Here in suburban SE Michigan, I know of none of these left to speak of. About the closest thing we have is a local chain of about 80 stores, which in recent years has gone downhill as a hardware store per se -- they have changed into all-purpose mini-marts that sell a bit of everything, groceries, clothes, household junk, you name it. I mean, come on, does EVERY store have to try to be everything to everyone just to survive? Looking at the bi-weekly circular ad for this chain, the specials include things like pies and cakes, candy, hats, toys. Local Kroger stores here have a large section devoted to glassware, china, towels, small appliances, and are selling outdoor patio stuff and small swimming pool kits, etc., for the spring and summer.

You know, I really miss the old days when there were mom and pop stores, not just five thousand "big box" retailers that are duplicated every five miles down the road.

Progress, I say not.

Hi,

Just my 2 centsÂ

For everyday minor purchases (under a hundred or so dollars) I personally have no qualms about shopping at big box or chain stores. The one exception (at least in my local neighbourhood) is WMart. I could never seem to find what I was looking for so I donÂt even waste my time anymore.

When it comes to the food we eat, no question, I go local. Even though it may cost two or three times what I can get it for in chains, I know the person IÂm buying it from and the quality, freshness and safety more than make up for the difference in price. Consider this; in my area you can buy chain store garlic for 1/5 to 1/10 the price local vendors charge for locally grown. You see people stocking up on it without even thinking about the water it was grown with (let alone the living conditions of the workers). Most people wouldnÂt consider putting their toe in that water and shutter at the thought of drinking it or growing their food with it. Of course for items that we canÂt grow in my zone (ex. Oranges), I try to buy organic if possible from the chain stores. I do avoid buying items from questionable areas of the world regardless of how inviting it looks.

On larger purchases (not your regular batch of pectin or jars) of non-food items, I do give my local retailers a chance to match the "value" (not price). If they can offer the same item for the same price, great. If they canÂt match the price but can offer better pre and post sale service, I factor that in. In most cases, local vendors beat the big boxes hands down when you factor in value vs. price.

A perfect example was a recent purchase and a subsequent call to a local electronics mom and pop;

 Problem with surround sound;
 Called mom and pop store;
 George, (note: no voice mail trap) Bill here, my surround isnÂt working;
 Did you try this, this, this etc.;
 Yep, still not working;
 No problem Bill, IÂll get one of my guys to drop by this afternoon to see whatÂs up;
 Two hours later surround working and no charge for the call or the replaced faulty optical cable I purchased from a big box.

I paid 20% more over the big box deal on the system but I know IÂll get that back at least 5 fold in service and support.

Sorry, a little long. I guess I needed to rant.

Bill

I make a hundred or two jars of jelly each summer and then hit it again with marmalades at Christmas. I am also planning on sharing it with my daughter. It won't last long enough to go bad. Being a bulk store, I could have bought less but know what I usually use in a year or two. I know it lasts two years.

i usually hit the local thrift stores for jars. pints are usually 10 cents apiece, and quarts are a quarter. i have never gotten a chipped one, and have also found some of my favorite 'quilted crystal' jelly jars there for a whole 5 cents.

The only thrift shop in my small town charges $1/canning jar. I have pointed out to them that I can buy new for less but they always say that someone will buy them. We do have a wonderful ACE Hardware. It has been in the same family for 30+ years. If they don't have what you want, they will order it. Tomorrow they are having a 25% off sale on anything you can fit into your shopping basket. There have been a few times when I was looking for something that they didn't have, they actually called up their competitor to see if they had it. Now that's service! We try to buy from them if they have what we need as the next closest town is 25 miles away.

Excellent idea about the thrift stores. I am going to hit a couple of the bigger ones while running my errands tomorrow.

Yes, Ace and True Value hardware stores are usualy locally owned and the one nearby here has many canning jars staked up about this time of year. You don't see big giants like Lowes and Home Depot offereing canning products. Most larger supermarkets also have smaller supplies of canning needs. I always check the clearance shelves every year about September to see if any stores are discounting their supplies to make room for other seasonal items. You can't believe that is hard to find rock salt in summer time. I used it to make ice creem and slush and always had issues about where to buy it in the heat of summer.

Today, thrift stores like Salvation Army tend to charge a lot more for the canning stuff. The local one had quart jars selling for almost double the cost of a case of 12 new ones.

Osh is also a great store for supplies. After finding this incredible site, I started looking for the BBB and couldn't find it anywhere, Amazon, Wal-Mart, Borders,or any other book store I could think of. Then somewhere on this site a hardware store was suggested and I found the book on my first call to Osh and when I asked how many they had, (thinking I was going to have to drop everything and drive 45 miles) they said they had 15 or so.

We also have a few small mom and pop hardware stores, or at least one that I am sure of, that might have had the book, but Osh had better hours for me.

Anyways I have learned to pull out my laptop computer or the phone book for names and phone numbers and call before I drive all over the place.

I keep learning so much from everyone,
Thanks,
Teri
Los Angeles California

Sometimes its cheaper to have it mailed.

Got to ask - what or who is Osh??

Dave

Looks a California Hardware chain, Dave!

Deanna

Here is a link that might be useful: OSH

Thanks Deanna. I've vaguely heard of Orchard Supply Hardware just not Osh. I was picturing some Swede named Osh Something who had a mom and pop hardware store. :)

Dave

Wow posts like this I am sure happy I live in Rural PA.
The mennonite stores have just about every spice you need,bulk or in smaller containers. I just paid $4.45 a lb for pickling spices, a seasons worth of whole allspice for $2.40 Instant Clear Jel is $2.27 a lb Cook Type Clear Jel is $1.80 a lb, Rennet Tablets for $1.40 a box. I use the Dutch Jel for Pectin, that also is shelf stable over 1 year in bulk Regular is $2.85 a lb and the Lite for Low Sugar is $4.57 a lb. Ball lids are 1.50 a box.

The grocery stores here sell canning supplies and the Ball Book.

We have a large Mom-n-Pop Hardware Store Chain in the 5 county area. They have survived the Home Depot/Lowes/and Wally World. They just built a huge new store in the neighboring town. They know how to service customers, if you want 1 nail they will go get it for you and sell you one nail. There are always sales people there to help you, and if you can't find it, they will order if they have it from their supplier. Today I had to return a defective Candy thermometer, didn't have the recipt, there was a credit when I traded for something else and I was going to buy some candy at the counter to make even. I was told nope, don't worry here's your $2.45 back.
Granted I know not to go there for a GFC breaker for $20.00 more than Home Depot but they make up for that 2 fold on the one nail sold a 1,000 times.

If any of you live where there are Senior Action Centers, you may want to post a Canning Jars Wanted notice, I just got another case from a Senior citizen that no longer cans.

I stumbled across the new Ball Blue Book at Lowe's for $5.49. I figured that was as cheap as I would find it so I went ahead and bought it.