Public Good membership service?

So I’m looking at providing shampoo/conditioner/body wash in a refillable pump containers that will be mounted on the bathroom wall for my 2/1 SFH rental. I’m doing this because we have a antique clawfoot tub w/ free-standing shower curtain and no where obvious to place said items.

I came across Public Goods refills in my search and had never heard of the company. Now I’m wondering if it’s worth a $79 annual membership and if their products are nice. I’d be mainly using it for personal care and cleaning items.

Have any of you used them or their products? As always, thank you!

Here’s the link: https://www.publicgoods.com/pages/about-us

Never heard of them. Why would you have to pay for a membership to buy products @heh1975?

In the US there are many companies that sell these kinds of toiletries in bulk without a membership. I also have not heard of this company and wouldn’t be interested in a membership based product.

I think it looks amazing. love the simple branding, and they disclose the ingredients properly.

it’s no different to Costco charging a membership, and i guess it’s their way of increasing profit and keeping you loyal. They seem to have a wide range of great products. I would also prefer NOT to pay a membership, but the prices look really good if it’s a quality product.

It’s a pity you can’t try a few products without the membership option.

Their website does indicate that they do some good works, so one could think of the membership as donating to charity and supporting an environmentally friendly company, if their hype is to be believed.

If they have a loyalty program, it’s no different. I have an executive membership at Costco and also a Costco branded credit card. My membership is basically free from the check I get from that and the check I get from Citibank from my fee free credit card is always over $100-$300 a year. Then there’s all the money I save shopping at Costco.

I didn’t click on the public goods website. If they have reduced prices like Costco then maybe it is worthwhile.

I personally don’t think Costco is really saving that much, at least not here in Australia. But it’s nice to have access to some different brands and things (no one does Christmas like Americans so I quite enjoy seeing all the things they have - even “simple” things like xmas tree bags and ornament storage are not common here).

mmm, I buy my tp from a company who donate to charity, and it’s on a subscription, but they don’t charge a membership.

Here in the US I find the savings to be well worthwhile. I definitely save enough on purchases alone to pay for the membership. Another aspect of membership is that if you don’t feel it’s worthwhile you can get your fee refunded. That means anyone could try it at no risk.

That said, once I’m not boarding dogs or doing Airbnb I probably will let it go because I won’t be purchasing enough for it to be worthwhile.

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Here in Mexico I joined Costco because there are a few things there that I just can’t get anywhere else. I don’t buy much- I never walk out with a shopping cart piled high with stuff, like a lot of people do. And the savings on the coffee I buy there, which is from Mexico and organic, the coffee cream, and the butter, is actually worth the membership.

A friend and I split the membership fee, too, as they give you two cards. It’s a good deal for her, because the membership is in her name, so she gets my points.

points? there’s points too?
we get very little bang for our buck here in Australia! Membership is $60 annually and I’m lucky if I go 3 times/year.

I’m just hooked on a few things you can’t get elsewhere, like the bin liners that perfectly fit my bin and come in a huge supply, like 1year’s worth.
And the maple syrup, also way cheaper than what we pay for it here, in such small bottles.
I quite like buying the bulk sizes of things, even with a smaller family I still prefer to have a stocked pantry with all the basics and then I can go to my local grocer for all the nice things.

Comparing warehouse stores which contain thousands of items in very favorable costs and quantities to a sole provider of a limited range of products is disingenuous. For example, I barely use $79 worth of product like the store is selling per year. It would effectively double my costs for this commodity to purchase through this company. And as we all know, “doing good things“ is what religious-based organizations do, using their income and their sheep to spread their fantasies while pay fair CEO time is billions of dollars.

We prefer choosing what “ good things” we do and for who and for why.

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Of course you can’t compare a small business to a place like Costco. Which is maybe why this company the OP asked about decided to use a paid membership model, to cover operating costs they wouldn’t be able to otherwise and still have low prices on their goods.

And of course just because an entity does good works doesn’t mean it’s something one would want to contribute to.

@gillian My friend calls them “points”, but I really don’t know what they are- maybe they are airmiles or discounts she can use at Costco or other affiliated businesses.

The interesting thing about Costco is that memberships cost different amounts in different countries, yet you can use your membership at any Costco anywhere inthe world. A membership here in Mexico costs the equivalent of about $30. So splitting it, I only pay $15, but I can use the membership card at Costco in Canada, where a membership is more expensive.

Thanks to everyone who chimed in. I’m really curious about the quality of their products so maybe I’ll try the 14 day free trial. I’ll let you know how it goes.

I think the annual fee is supposed to keep the prices low as they advertise “bulk” but it doesn’t seem that affordable when I break it down. I guess also the claim of environmentally friendly, sustainability, cruelty-free, etc is what you’re buying into.

Personally, I like the idea of simple design and limited choices. My hope is that means their products are well-curated. The reviews are all 5 star but it’s almost too many that it makes me suspicious.

I saw that you only get free shipping on orders over $49 and at first that bothered me. But I’m so tired of Amazon and Prime makes me lazy with ordering. Maybe paying for shipping under $49 would encourage me to be more intentional with my purchases… I also don’t like having to sift through Amazon to find genuine products from a company.

The Costco brand organic coffee was $5 a pound. In large cities they will typically have a local roaster’s brand available. I can get a brand out of Austin, TX locally. All for $9 a pound or less compared to $10 a pound on sale at my nearby “natural” grocer. I can save $50 or more on one dog bed compared to similar quality at local pet supply stores. 30 cents a gallon on gasoline in Austin this summer… I could go on.

The thing about dealing with a small company is that it’s obvious that they aren’t going to be particularly competitive with huge companies. So money isn’t usually the only factor that customers usually consider when deciding whether to patronize a small business. The small company may offer excellent quality products, they may source their base materials and products locally, they may have environmentally sound practices, they may pay their employees a living wage and provide good working conditions, which large companies may not.

While I realize it’s different with an online company vs. a small local business, when I was building my house, I bought most of my materials locally, even though it was a bit more expensive than going to the city and getting some huge delivery from Home Depot. Not only wasI supporting the local economy, it built relationships and local goodwill which usually pays off in the long run.

It’s basically all we use in our cabin. We like all their things.

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Math

Body wash $0.579 per oz
Dishwasher pods $0.373 each

Costco
Body wash $0.708
Dishwasher pods $0.232 each

Perhaps do a comparison with the products & refills you want. On the surface because I already have a Costco membership, it’s a no for me BUT if I didn’t, I would give it serious consideration