I am a retired soldier, actually retired longer than I was on active duty, so I've been able to use the facilities for about 50 years, now.
The Commissary prices are higher than comparable civilian grocery store chains.
True, there are no taxes, but that surcharge will bite!
It's more than comparable taxes in some locations.
And the Commissary does not have the wide variety of selection that civilian grocery chains have.
The Commissary at Redstone Arsenal is always crowded, always being stocked, but usually out of the things that you bought just last week.
But it's clean and there are plenty of little old lady Koreans to pack your groceries and carry them to your vehicle.
For a price, of course.
Offer them a a five and see just how nasty a little old lady from Korea can look at you.
They even look down their noses at a 10, but they'll snatch it so quick you'll wonder if you actually had it in your hand.
So you gotta add that into the cost of shopping there, unless you wish to pack and tote your own...which will garner you much nasty looks, not only from the little old lady Koreans, but the cashiers and a large percentage of the shoppers that feel you are holding them up.
The PX charges no taxes...but the prices are pretty high, since most of what they offer is upper-level over-priced goods...as in $80.00 Levi jeans, $140.00 Cole-Haan shoes, etc.
Which I wouldn't buy in the first place.
Or the latest Nike wonder shoe signed by Colin Krapadick.
And the guns...an adventure in and of itself.
Beyond the usual paperwork (and overpriced compared to all the on-line deals), you must leave the base immediately with it and you will be escorted out and actually watched until you are out of sight.
Bottom line, the PX is one step above a Walmart, but no where near as well stocked, the Commissary is about two steps below your local Piggly-Wiggly or whatever you have...and far, far below what your local Kroger or Bi-Lo can offer on a recurring basis.
Don't get me wrong, I'm appreciative of the fact that they are there.
But it ain't nothing special, anymore.
And now that the nearest one to me is about 80 miles, it simply isn't worth the drive to go more than once a month, if that.
For the soldier that lives on post with his family, it's good for convenience sake, but realistically, a cost-aware housewife (or househusband, if we must), would do better to drive off post and use the chain grocery stores.
As far as putting clothes on a kid...I don't have the wherewithal to spend extra money on an item for a child that will probably destroy it before it's use is realized, just for the sake of a brand name.
To each his own, but I really don't see an advantage for anyone.
And for those that have advanced the argument that everything in the PX and Commissary is USA Made...no, not anywhere near that.
The only US Made clothing you will find in a PX is out of the Clothing Sales part, which is where soldiers buy their uniform items.
Other than that, most everything else, just like Wal-mart, comes from China, or is assembled here from Chinese-sourced parts.
Of course there are exceptions...as in the guns, some domestic stuff, etc.
All said and done...don't waste your time.
That’s a pretty accurate assessment from my experience.
The days of any real cost savings at the commissary and AAFES are long gone. Besides, I spend more in gas getting there and back than any savings could offset.
Love your homepage, btw.
Nicely written with obvious personal experience to back it up.
Thanks!
I pretty much got the same impression from the online ordering. Many, maybe even most, times it’s cheaper to get them through civilian sources. I just bought a pair of Pelton boots. I almost bought it through Amazon for the convenience but thought I’d look around a bit more and went to the sellers site and found they had a Cyber Monday sale still on and got it for 40% less.
It pays to shop around. I see the BX/PX as just being another option.
Walmart wasn’t around us stateside when I was in, but we called Kmart the enlisted PX.
Thanks for the info!
Excellent description. I said basically the same thing you did only much less detailed. I’ve been retired from the Navy for 21 years.