Translation: more are buying at Sams and Costco
I am actually getting away from Costco... I buy some there because they are easy cases. Just toss em in the pantry and there ya go. It's a thing for management, compared to singles which must be stacked and are hard to move/rearrange after the fact...
But the cans are oversized... So you think you are getting more... But you're really not. I still use two cans of diced tomatoes in goulash, whether Costco's or otherwise, because what do you do with say, a half a can of diced tomatoes after the fact? So the 'more' gets used up as relative loss.
So I am moving toward Smith's (Kroger), because I can get regular cans in cases, and 12 instead of 8, for less cost. I talked to the buying manager there, and she told me if I make a decent order, like $200 or so, She will special order for me on a weekly basis (order, and the delivery is freight free in under a week), with a call to me when they arrive.
So I don't have to wait for case sales (even though the price is less then, the special order does not cost more than the regular retail price), and I will save all around.
I will still hit the Costco for their lost leaders... butter prices there are regularly hard to beat. As is cheese, and etc.