I used a guest pass to go to Sam’s Club yesterday, and while I was there I picked up a copy of their Christmas gifts catalog. I guess they are trying to position themsleves as the new Hammacher Schlemmer, which every year has some incredible, over-the top high-end gift that usually makes the news. Sam’s Club is offering a jet airplane…a Cessna Citation Mustang…for $2,734,600. Only one available.
So, is this a great, must-buy price? Oh, they are throwing in a Lifetime Membership to Sam’s Club, so you’ll save an additional $40 a year!
They also are featuring a wine vault for $33,000…some assembly required…that just might fit in my basement. It holds 1500 bottles, though, which is probably a bit larger than I need. Online only, so I can’t check it out at my local store…pity. Don’t mention the Lifetime Membership with THAT purchase however, so it’s definitely a deal-breaker.
I think I’ll just stick with my 2 lb. bag of pecan halves for $10.
The wine vault was a good deal although I believe most of the savings came from two of us struggling to get it put together in one weekend. At one point, we had the 53 degree cooling area confused with the 58 degree cooling area and it required a lot of rework. Like any do-it-yourself project, you can save money but you have to be willing to sacrifice time and be willing to learn.
The Citation isn’t that good of a deal IMHO for $2,734,600. The floor people at Sams don’t seem to know that much about the specifics of jet aircraft so I was less than impressed when they couldn’t answer anything other than the basic questions. Instead, an established dealer gave us the same thing for $2,735,000. I know that $400 is nothing to sneeze at but the warranty and service seemed much better.
Weird. As far as I can tell, the “list price” seems to be about $2.4 M, so I don’t see how $2.734 M is supposed to be such a steal.
http://www.findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m0EIN/is_2005_April_27/ai_n13656118
But if you live for 8,350 years, by the time you factor in the lifetime membership, you’re breaking even. Each year ater that is pure profit!