Do you realize how much baking soda a pound is? You picked a very obscure item to price match. And you’re right, online prices often don’t reflect the price in the store, especially if you’re looking at the price through a service like instacart (they increase prices at many stores on their app).

Many people buy those little orange boxes, which are a pound, and if you’re using it for cooking (in vegan baking it’s sometimes used, that’s the only reason I have a box) you never use the whole box. It sits in your cabinet for a year. If you’re using it for cleaning, sure, buy a big pack off the shelf. The point is for most uses you only need a small amount, and buying from the bulk section means you can measure out a small amount, that doesn’t cost $6. And regardless, baking soda often comes in a paper box that can be recycled.

Where bulk bins are especially helpful are for dried foods, like rice, beans, legumes, oats, spices, nuts, seeds, etc. Many stores sell bags of rice that are 3-5 pounds, and the bulk price per pound is almost always if not always cheaper. I buy a lot of dry beans, which are significantly cheaper than canned. And when you buy them from the bulk bin, they’re cheaper than the pre-bagged dry beans.

Last, out of the places I listed, Whole Foods and Riverwards have the cheapest bulk bins that I’ve seen. I listed Mom’s because it’s an option, but I don’t shop there often because the items I can’t buy in bulk are overpriced there. It’s more expensive than Whole Foods.