The warehouse-size olive oil was cheaper per ounce and cost us $38 in the trash

The shelf tag made the decision look mathematical: two large bottles of olive oil for $42, compared with $27 for one smaller bottle at our regular store. The warehouse pack was cheaper per ounce, so we bought it.

Eight months later, I opened the second bottle and the smell was wrong. The first bottle had taken us much longer to finish than I guessed, and the unopened-looking backup had spent a hot summer in a bright pantry.

We had used about $4 from the second bottle before admitting the flavor was not something we wanted in dinner. Roughly $17 of that bottle went into the trash. We had also thrown away part of the first bottle near the end, bringing the wasted purchase to about $38 by my estimate.

The unit price had been lower. Our actual price per usable ounce was not.

I went back to buying the $27 bottle. It looks inefficient on the shelf tag and fits our cooking pace much better.

The warehouse pack was a bargain for a household we do not live in.