Do you shop at a warehouse store, like Costco or BJ’s Wholesale Club? It seems like the free one-day shopping passes for these stores are popping up everywhere, like this one for BJ’s Wholesale. So I have to wonder if they’re having trouble getting shoppers in the door these days.
I used to shop at Costco, primarily to buy diapers and baby wipes, but then stopped when I realized I was not even saving $40 a year to pay the cost of the annual membership. It just seems to me that between coupons and sales I’m saving more money on the per unit price by buying smaller sizes elsewhere, rather than the large sizes at Costco.
What has your experience been like with the warehouse stores? Do you shop there or did you used to shop at these stores?
Monday, September 8, 2008
Do You Save Money at Warehouse Stores?
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23 comments:
I love my Sams!!! I don't know that I save large amounts of money, but I do buy things there that I can't buy elsewhere, good produce for example. I usually buy paper towels and toilet paper (if my stockpile is low), produce, meat (definite savings because I rarely see coupons for meat), and frozen foods (especially chicken breasts and fish fillets). I think the best deals I've ever gotten were non-food products, like tennis shoes, books, cookware, etc.
I used to shop at Sams all the time. The thing is--it is very easy to rack your total up. Before you know it you have one hundred to two hundred dollar bill and only a handful of items. You really have to be careful because everything is not a good deal. I agree that using coupons and looking for deals is a much better way to keep grocery bills down.
We used to shop at Sam's before we got into couponing. And yesterday, we decided to go back to Sam's (since May) to see if their paper towels were going to work out cheaper. Well, we quickly found out it's not.
But we decided to stroll around a bit more and did find out that we could get lunchmeat cheaper at Sam's if we buy it in bulk. It is only so because we're particular about our lunchmeat and we often don't get good coupons for it.
I agree with Meg. Although our Sam's club doesn't save us money on most items, they sell things there, that I can't get elsewhere in our town. If you live in a bigger city, you could probably find these items cheaper elsewhere, but not here.
I also used to shop at Sam's, but found I could save more money couponing, and didn't have to find the room to store all the bulk items.
I shop at BJs for certain things. Some of the things I buy there just because I like buying them in larger quantities - cat litter, bottled drinks.
BJs does accept manufacturer coupons and puts out their own. What I have found when I have really done the math is that the BJs normal price is like the regular supermarket price with a coupon.
So, the things I buy at BJs are things that we are brand loyal on that don't often have coupons: Gatorade, Fruit2O, Cat Litter, Pepperidge Farm cinnamon raisin bread. We used to buy diapers there, too.
For people who need to cut down their deal-searching time I think it's worthwhile - IF you have the room to store all that stuff!
I shop at Costco for things I can't get at the grocery store. Sometimes it's just a yummy product that is Costco specific. Also, Costco produce is pretty affordable and in fact often cheaper than at the market near me. Oh, and the free samples - no need to eat lunch!
I just gave up my Sams account for the same reason you said..I can get diapers cheaper with sales, coupons, ecoupons, and Caregivers Marketplace rebates. I used it just for diapers and wipes too. Since I'm a price Nazi, I paid close attention and it didn't seem worth it to me anymore!
I have a BJ's membership, and do find some deals in store, but mainly I have it because their gas prices are so much cheaper than the gas stations around me, so I know my membership is saving me money in gas alone! I also heard (maybe here? I can't remember!) that BJs will accept coupons for each item, even if it's bulk packaged. So if you get a 6 pack of something, and had 6 coupons, you could use them all -- haven't tried it myself though.
We did Costco for one year when they were giving away a free membership because they were new to Michigan. I always found that coupons/sales came out pretty similar so I never renewed my membership.
We did have a family member with a Sams card & they were great for birthday cakes, frozen food & meats.
The wholesale places are also good for Christmas shopping, they get some different stuff with good prices. I used to buy ink at Costco as well.
Still I usually find just as good deals at Amazon & Ebay, so it isn't worth the membership price for me. We have tons & tons of shops by me though, if I lived in a smaller area, I'd probably use the membership.
I agree--I don't think you save money at BJ's (that is the only one I have gone to) if you have to pay a membership fee. I think the prices are the same at Walmart or other stores. Sometimes if they offer BJ's coupons and you have a manufacturers coupon it can be a good deal but you have to know your prices. In Oct BJ's usually offers a free 3 month pass without any charges like they charge for the one day pass--I sign up for that but I have never paid a membership fee.
I shop at my Sam's Club for certain items I can't get anywhere else. I like their produce too. I am on our PTO and I go there to buy treats for Staff Appreciation and bulk items for our special events. However, my work pays for my membership at Sam's. If I had to pay for it myself, I would probably not do it for many of the reasons listed above.
We shop at BJ's. We've saved more than the membership fee in about two months. They accept manu. coupons. For example We bought a 4 pack of a large size toothpaste and had four coupons and got the toothpastes free, did the same for yogurt, deodorant and other things. Bj's is great.
We live in Southern California, and a lot of the great deals listed at national stores, like CVS etc are not as good here. (eg. Many parts of the country are getting free Chex and Razors after coupons this week, we are not) And coupon doubling is disappearing fast.
So we do shop at Costco. I find I consistantly get a better price on baking supplies and staples (such as rice) even compared to buying in bulk. Also I can consistently get better quality meat and produce at a better price.
Oh, and I usually save at least $1 per gallon of milk, even comparing sale prices.
Plus Costco has been issuing coupons monthly which can almost never be matched.
So I do a big mix of Costco, coupon, and bulk food shopping, plus a lot of make it myself!
We use to have a membership to BJ's Wholesale club, but we decided not to renew it this year. Their prices just did not justify the membership fee. I have found that by combining coupons and rebates with sales I am able to get much better savings.
I TOTALLY agree! I once had a free Sam's membership because I worked at Wal-Mart, but other tha that it has NEVER paid for me. However, I think it's a good idea to split a membership between friends. My mom and I go and when I do I save tons. But she pays for the WHOLE membership! ;) Geez, is that even allowed???
I have a Sam's membership, but it's only worth it to me because I buy my vitamins and calcium supplements there. I have to take A LOT of those, so it makes it worthwhile for me to buy it there.
I have a Costco membership. I recently priced everything I usually bought at Walmart and compared it to Costco. Somethings were better at Walmart. But my biggest savings was at the optical department. Their prices on glasses and contact lenses are awesome. It's really the only reason I keep my membership.
I got a Sam's Club membership a while ago before I got into couponing. It's true that Sam's is good for stocking up or finding items cheaper that don't really have coupons. It was also nice to make one trip and have the items last for a while, since I get really busy during the school year. Even though couponing is great for saving money, it is time consuming and I may rely on Sam's more than drugstore deals when it gets crazy later this year. Also, I share the membership with my mom and she pays for it, so really there's no reason to end it.
We have a very large family (5 kids) and Sam's is great for those bulk items that I need. It keeps me running to the store everyday! I do think you have to watch what you do and I always make sure that I don't have a coupon, or can't get it somewhere else a little cheaper. We do love Sam's and the items are such great quality!
Shannan
www.chubbiechica.blogspot.com
www.thefelixfive.blogspot.com
We shop at SAMS. I share a membership with my dad (shhh!). We buy margarine, butter, cheese, eggs, lunchmeat, frozen veggies, nesquick, bbq sauce, flour, sugar, rice, oil, bisquick, krusteaz, applesauce, and sometimes diapers. Some of them have gas stations also. Sometimes my husband buys jeans there.
Not everything is a good deal, you have to know your prices and decide.
We have a Sam's membership. I get cat food, milk(when I go, never just a trip for it), seasonings(salt, taco seasoning, etc) and usually pick up some nice produce(bananas are usually cheaper there).
Before I started couponing, I bought tons of stuff there(diapers, etc) and our bill was always at least $100.
I just made a trip last week for 20 pounds of cat food, 4 pound box of salt, Firefly Season 1 on DVD(shhh! christmas present for hubby), a pack of their muffins from the bakery, and something else for less than $39(the dvd set was $19)
I think it can used to supplement if you shop wisely.
My husband and I love BJ's. What we save between their coupons, mailed coupon book and gas prices have definitely made up for the membership price. We especially love to buy cat food, cat litter,meats,eggs,juice,paper goods and the list goes on. We can shop for most staples for a month and not have to worry. They do take manufacturers coupons and now they take EBT. We love BJ's.
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