Is a Costco/BJ’s membership worth it?

[MrHT]

Originally Posted by urban_kowboy

It's not for everyone. I remember going for the first time with my then g/f and she was explaining how much money she saves and how she can buy in bulk. You know, the same line that everyone uses.
I go with her with my car on the weekend for a massive load that according to her should last her all month. I swear it was like going to a small amusement park. You spend pretty much all day browsing and shopping. And she was stressing out on if she's missing any item she didn't think about buying. My trunk and back seat were filled with groceries but get this; She or myself still had to make stops to the regular grocery store from time to time so I'm really not sold on the convenience. I don't want spend that much time at a grocery store and still need items elsewhere to shop for.

My uncle never shops at a grocery store. He does 100% of his shopping at BJ's.

But I do agree with you. These wholesale places do give you that adrenaline rush that you normally get at an amusement park. The store is just so massive and filled with a ton of great stuff. Very exciting feeling! That's actually why I really want to join.

[Ari_Gold]

If you are on the fence for Sam's Club or BJ's, there are usually perks for new members. I think Sam's is doing their $45 membership right now, where you get a $45 gift card back. BJ's usually offers I think $25 back for new members on a $45 membership.

The prices aren't always deals, compared to like Kroger stores around me. Produce especially, I hardly ever see any deals buying in bulk in that department. Costco has the best choices when it comes to non-grocery items. The prices are always fantastic on their general merchandise, and their selection changes all the time. In fact, if you ever see anything at any club store that is non-grocery, and you think you want it...get it. It may not be there the next week.

My wife and I have memberships at all 3. We probably won't renew BJ's after our first year expires in a few months. We tried to cancel Sam's last year after the first year, and they offered us a second year at no charge!

[Monterey Jack]

Just for clothes (mainly jeans, shoes & socks) and economy-sized tubs of Tums Smoothies, my annual $55 renewal of my Costco membership pays for itself. Plus, there's the occasional paperback book deal, batteries, what have you. I just miss the days when they had Blu-Rays.

[Clark Kent]

I have memberships at all three: Costco/Sam's Club/BJ's.

AMA, lol.

The value proposition goes down a great deal if you aren't buying for at least a small family with three members. I'm not sure it's a wise choice for singles.

One tip on BJ's is they'll offer you a yearly membership for $25 renewal if you let your membership expire. You just have to wait about three or four months for them to offer it.

Choosing which club greatly depends on your brand preferences. Each chain has their own little quirks.

Years ago, Costco was a much better value when it was called Price Club. Costco goes after a much higher end consumer now and has shifted to "premium" brands for most products.

For my needs, I rely on Sam's Club more than the other two.

[MrHT]

Oh man, I'm on the fence about this again. I just checked out the BJ's near me. Unlike Costco, you can actually walk in without showing your membership card. So I browsed through and this particular location is small. The Costco that my parents go to, which is a train ride away, is MASSIVE and has way more stuff. I can't see myself justifying a membership fee at a small place like this. I'll probably just continue to mooch off of my parents' Costco membership.

[Ari_Gold]

Originally Posted by MrHT

Oh man, I'm on the fence about this again. I just checked out the BJ's near me. Unlike Costco, you can actually walk in without showing your membership card. So I browsed through and this particular location is small. The Costco that my parents go to, which is a train ride away, is MASSIVE and has way more stuff. I can't see myself justifying a membership fee at a small place like this. I'll probably just continue to mooch off of my parents' Costco membership.

Different states have different laws, but here in Michigan, you can walk into Costco without a membership. When they ask for the membership card, you just tell them you are buying liquor. State law says a membership is not required to buy alcohol.

Out of curiosity now, I looked. Google says this law holds true in the following states: Arizona, California, Connecticut, Delaware, Hawaii, Indiana, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, New York, Texas and Vermont.

[MrHT]

Originally Posted by Ari_Gold

Different states have different laws, but here in Michigan, you can walk into Costco without a membership. When they ask for the membership card, you just tell them you are buying liquor. State law says a membership is not required to buy alcohol.

Out of curiosity now, I looked. Google says this law holds true in the following states: Arizona, California, Connecticut, Delaware, Hawaii, Indiana, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, New York, Texas and Vermont.

It's been a very long time since I've been to Costco, but when I used to go with my parents, they always show their membership card to the employee at the entrance.

I've never heard of a law requiring a store to let non-members in. So does that mean gyms are required by law to let me in and workout without joining?

[estrus]

Costco gas is priced great. My biggest gripe with them is the variety selection. Sure you can get a giant bag of Doritos, but only the "regular" kind. They rarely have more than two flavors of stuff.
I used to go there a lot, but not so much lately.
Don't forget they also have a pretty good optical shop, pharmacy, tire place, etc.

[Stereodude]

Originally Posted by MrHT

I've never heard of a law requiring a store to let non-members in. So does that mean gyms are required by law to let me in and workout without joining?

I'm not sure how you conflated state law that allows non-members to buy alcohol with gyms.

[MrHT]

Originally Posted by Stereodude

I'm not sure how you conflated state law that allows non-members to buy alcohol with gyms.

I just don't understand how a law can require a retailer to allow non-members in their store. Why shouldn't a retailer be allowed to reject non-members? Just doesn't make sense to me. You guys can very well be right. I'm not doubting you. I'm just saying that if a law does exist, then it's a silly one.

But anywho... I decided to give the $25 membership a try. I've spent more than $25 for more useless things in my life, so I figured there was no harm in investing a measly $25 to see how much it would benefit me over the next 12 months.

And just to confirm, you guys were right. On my BJ's online account, there's a very easy opt-out button for the easy renewal. So I can switch it off at anytime.

[urban_kowboy]

Originally Posted by MrHT

I've never heard of a law requiring a store to let non-members in. So does that mean gyms are required by law to let me in and workout without joining?

Probably not the best comparison to use. When it comes to these members only retail stores, there are exceptions to the rules.
For example, the ones that offer prescription medication allow anyone for that reason regardless of if they have a membership. The liquor laws are a no-brainer. Hell, in Virginia, no retail store is allowed to sell liquor, it's controlled by the state. In New Jersey, you can't pump your own gas. There are exceptions everywhere.

[qwertyuio]

Originally Posted by MrHT

I just don't understand how a law can require a retailer to allow non-members in their store. Why shouldn't a retailer be allowed to reject non-members? Just doesn't make sense to me. You guys can very well be right. I'm not doubting you. I'm just saying that if a law does exist, then it's a silly one.

.

You seem to be confused that a law was passed to allow nonmembers into membership stores, that is not the case.

The state has control over certain things being sold in stores like alcohol or prescription medications, just because a store is membership based does not give them a loophole to avoid following state laws. If Costco didn't want to adhere to state regulations on alcohol for example then they should get out of the business of selling alcohol in their stores. They cannot simply open a store and call it 'membership-only' allowing them to avoid laws that are already in place.

Back to the original question at hand, for the people reading this that do have cars and daily commutes one thing you may not realize is a huge savings is their gas prices. Use a website like gasbuddy.com and see how much cheaper these clubs are than normal stations in your area. My car uses 93 premium which on average is up to 50 cents less per gallon, which is 5 bucks on every 10 gallon fill-up. If I do it once a week that is $250 a year in savings on gas without even entering the store. They of course use these cheaper prices to get people in the door every week.

[GloveSlap]

Originally Posted by MrHT

I did some more studying and I just answered my own question on this. While some items like some food and paper goods might not save me all that much, surprisingly their prices on other stuff like batteries, Brita Filters, toothbrushes, soap and cereal are SIGNIFICANTLY cheaper than buying them on sale at the store. Just looking at those items alone, I've estimated that I would literally save almost $55 on just those. Add in some extra little savings with snacks, coffee and some other toiletries, we're looking at a MINIMUM saving of $60 per year... and that's putting it conservatively.

So it's not about how much you buy, but what you buy! But I think it's clear that the membership is worth a shot. I shall give it a try this weekend...

This is definitely true. Olive oil, walnuts, and rotisserie chickens are some other great deals at Costco.

[MrHT]

Wow, after having been a member of BJ's for just two days, I definitely underestimated how great this place is. I literally bought only 5 items this weekend and already saved about $25 compared to buying these at the regular supermarket. Their peanuts, snacks, tea, coffee and tissues were such great bargains and on the plus side, BJ's has a TON of great coupons that you can clip on your account and apply to your purchases. So with these coupons, I saved so much money. Life is finally great again!

[krishd]

I personally feel for singles it is not as useful

In fact one may spend on stuff and due to the bulk size - may not actually finish the items.

So overall one can spend way more than one needs to.

[MrHT]

Well, their one gallon milk is only $2.89. At a regular supermarket, one gallon milk is almost $4. So I saved $1 already by just buying milk alone. Surprisingly, for one person, I get through a whole gallon of milk in a week. And some of their stuff is really cheap. Even their big 40.7oz box of Cheerios is only $5.79 and I have $2 off coupon, so it literally only cost me $3.79 for that. A small 8.9oz box would cost $1.99 when on sale at the supermarket. That's a huge savings there. Their snacks too are very well priced as well. Even a pack of 20 Irish Spring bar soaps only costs $8.99. At the store, it cost $1 per bar. Another huge savings there!

While I may not save as much as a person who is buying for a big family, I'm saving enough to justify the $55 membership fee and that's good enough for me.

[urban_kowboy]

There really is no right or wrong answer.
If it's worth it really is contingent on your lifestyle and what lengths
you are willing to go to save money in a store that doesn't sell everything.
If you're that curious, you can be a guest with a member and browse around.

[MrHT]

Giving this thread a bump because now that inflation is a problem, it seems as though the savings of joining Costco or BJ's has become substantial. Also, all of my local supermarkets have little to no more weekly deals and prices have gone up quite significantly. Even a 24oz Ragu tomato sauce jar is almost $5 now. But when I go to BJ's, they only charge $7.50 for a three pack of 64 oz jars.

During the pre-inflation days, the savings wasn't that big. In fact, you will not only find a small jar of tomato sauce for only $2 a jar, but there would be frequent weekly sales on top of that. Now it's $5 with no weekly sales anymore.

It's strange why inflation seems to have hit supermarkets harder than wholesalers. But the way it's looking, keeping my BJ's membership is a no brainer. Shopping at supermarkets now has become very impractical due to the crazy prices they are charging.