Sam's Club sells its first-and only-Citation Mustang

Shoppers at Sam's Club, the warehouse chain owned by Wal-Mart, tend to load up their carts with bargain-priced consumables like potato chips and toilet paper as well as flat-panel TVs and computers. Recently, though, one buyer made a somewhat larger purchase from the club: a Cessna Citation Mustang jet.

The Mustang, which reportedly sold online in less than 60 seconds, features a 41,000-foot service ceiling, two Pratt & Whitney PW615F engines with 1,350 pounds of thrust each, two exterior baggage compartments and a Garmin G1000 modular avionics system. The $2,734,600 price included a lifetime membership in Sam's Club and two private jet trips to Cessna headquarters-first, to pick exterior and interior options and then, in the fourth quarter of 2007, to take delivery of the aircraft.

The retailer offered only one jet for sale, so you're too late to order. At press time, however, you could still buy a luxury Italian vacation for eight for $54,000 or a Windsor Craft Yacht for $495,000. Not bad, especially since both prices include lifetime memberships in Sam's Club. Just think how much you could save on potato chips and toilet paper.