Nowadays, more and more people are looking for relief from rising prices, but bulk buying has long been a solution for individuals and businesses alike. The concept is simple: buy in bulk and get discounted prices due to high sales volume.

It seems simple enough, but the risk-reward calculus of buying in bulk is more nuanced as it relates to hidden costs faced by consumers and society at large. If the buyer does not pay attention to these pitfalls, bulk buying can become costly for both the individual and the community.

The disadvantages of buying in bulk

The first cost is mostly personal: bulk purchases take up space, be it in your hands, in the car or at home. If you are unable to conveniently transport or store items above a certain quantity, that quantity is effectively your individual cap on the savings you can achieve by buying in bulk.

However, the other disadvantages are starting to have a negative impact on your budget and the environment. If it is perishable, items will start to deteriorate when you buy more than you can practically use in a given time frame. For example, even if there were a really amazing bulk discount for buying 50 gallons of milk at once, it would create both wasted money and permanent environmental waste from unused packaging.

Even outside of perishables, it can be difficult to accurately predict future needs when purchasing in bulk. When a contractor buys surplus construction materials for a job site, it either costs money to provide staff for resale or it costs money to store the surplus materials. Most of the time, items end up in a landfill, junkyard, or in our lakes, rivers, and oceans.

A solution hidden in plain sight

StableCouponsfounded by Ken Chester and Laura Wei, aims to solve these problems by lifting all previous restrictions on bulk shopping, allowing people to shop at levels previously thought to be…