Customers came flocking as LuLu made its name as a provider of value-for-money goods by eliminating middlemen and setting up its own manufacturing and bulk purchasing.

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To make things fair, we chose regularly replenished items that all three retailers sell, and we didn't include sale items. (While there are back-to-school sales galore right now, January is prime time for office-supply sales.) To bake in the effect of bulk purchasing, we chose 10 of the largest package of each item.

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And while she may not have come home with eight gold medals--she had to settle for three silvers--you'd think what eats and wears would carry weight with 30- to 50-year-old working mothers, who make the bulk of the purchasing decisions in their homes.

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Many retailers offer free shipping when purchasing in bulk.

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BofA is dealing with the bulk of repurchase requests from the GSEs mostly because of how big its mortgage business became after purchasing Countrywide.

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