Everybody loves to get the biggest bang for their buck. Getting more for your money is the new way to go. Wholesale clubs are pretty much the best way to do that plus more. There are some benefis to having a wholesale membership that you just cannot find in a supermarket or department store.
Gas prices at wholesale clubs are usually cheaper
Costco and Sams both have gas stations usually connected to their clubs. A lot of the time you can purchase gasoline for 10 to 25 cents cheaper than traditonal gas stations even with loyalty rewards points.
Electronics
You could save up to 50% on big-ticket electronics when you purchase them at a warehouse club. That means that $2000 4K LED TV can be bought for $999.
Better food prices
At wholesale clubs you can usually buy bulk items of grocery and everyday needs at prices normally cheaper than what you would give for multiple quanities of the same items at a supermarket.
Today.com reports that, “according to a Consumers’ Checkbook survey published by the not-for-profit Center for the Study of Services, BJ’s prices were on average 29% lower, Costco’s 30% lower, and Sam’s 33% lower than the largest supermarket chains."
Prescription Drugs are usually cheaper
Usually, when you go to a drugstore like CVS, Rite Aid, Walgrens,or Walmart you can expect to pay slightly higher prices on even generic prescriptions. The average price per prescription at Sams Club is usually around $16 per prescription, with some being even cheaper.
Alcoholic beverages are cheaper to buy
Most times you can save up to 35% on hard liquour and 25% on beer when you purchase alcohol at wholesale clubs
Auto Services are also cheaper
You can usually buy tires, batteries, windshield wipers, and oil changes for less than traditional mechanics. Plus the installation is practically free after purchase.
You can get your eyeglasses, health screenings, and even hearing aids at lower prices
While not all the clubs outline their exact member benefits and savings on their websites, Sam’s Club boasts $40 off a regular-priced pair of prescription eyeglasses as well as free hearing tests and health screenings at some of their locations.
Free Samples every weekend
Who doesn't love free food? Most warehouse clubs have free sample events on Saturdays when the traffic is usually the heaviest. You can try anything from Frozen foods, fresh meats, coffee, ice cream, cookies, salads with dressing, and even laundry detergent. Sam's Club usually also offers wine and beer tasting samples for people of legal age.
Simple Meal Ideas for busy nights
Wholesale clubs can also offer simple solutions for dinner with already made and hot choices better than found in most grocery stores. Most stores have rotisserie chickens, baby back ribs, pizzas, hotdogs,cold salads,even cold sandwiches all at your disposal. They are usually a lot fresher than most grocery store deli aisles.
Most typical memberships start around $50 per year, but the higher range membership you buy the more benefits they include. For example: At Sams a $100 plus membership comes with a monthly coupon book, Early shop times sometimes as early as 7 AM, discounts on tires and batteries, plus much more.
Warehouse clubs are awesome! You can get lots of great deals on stuff you need at quanities and prices you never thought possible.
So, the problem with warehouse stores is... Nothing ever goes on sale there.
If you *don''t* strategically shop sale items at normal grocery stores -- like, if you tend to buy most things at regular price, no matter where you're shopping -- THEN, yeah, warehouse stores can be a better deal. But, you can almost always get a better deal on stuff by buying whichever brands are on sale at yr local grocery store.
Also, there's the time factor. Even if I could theoretically save a few dollars on a few items by going to a warehouse store... they're really far away, they're only open at certain times of day, and the lines are REALLY long. That time isn't worth a few bucks. (Granted, I'm a bit biased here, since my "non-traditional" sleep schedule means that I never ever EVER have to wait in lines... so, for me, even 2 people is "a long line" at the grocery store. But, I'm talking lines with 10 or 20 people ahead of you.)
Oh yeah, pro tip: You NEVER need a membership to use the *pharmacy* at a warehouse store. That's against US federal law.
If you're a non-member of Costco or Sam's and you want to use the pharmacy there, all you have to do is tell the front greeter person that you're going to the pharmacy... and they'll let you in. Done.
Good tips! Places like this can be very helpful, especially for those with big families.
One thing, though: I would never in a million years give these goobers my car. Speaking from experience and knowing a few people who have worked in such garages, I wouldn't trust them to change my oil.
We have a family of five people here. Plus my sister and her boyfriend are up here often, They have a baby on the way. So I think use of a membership club would be extremely beneficial.
It's fun to go to the grocery store here at 1:55 a. m. and watch the impromptu negotiations between people in line, as the people with alcohol try to negotiate with anyone who doesn't. (It's illegal to sell alcohol anywhere in California between 2 and 6 a. m., and the systems are auto-programmed to disallow such sales -- so, as soon as the clock hits 2:00, they won't be able to buy the alcohol.)
Lol, yeah. The laws were drafted way before 24-hour grocery and convenience stores were ever a thing. (Even 7-Eleven has only been around since 1946, and for their first couple decades they were only open from... well, 7 a. m. to 11 p. m., hence the name.) The point of the law, when it was drafted, was to create a uniform "last call" time for bars and such.
Kinda sucks, because the end result is that nightlife wraps up way too early here. In Miami, where alcohol can be sold 24/7, the nightclubs tend to go strong until at least 5 or 6 a. m., and the headliners don't take the stage until 1 or 2 -- as in European clubs.
Yeah, they do in most places. It's only weird when that happens in a legit big city. (:
I mean, even NYC doesn't have last call until 4 a. m., and NYC is a place where they roll up the sidewalks pretty damn early (despite that city's completely ironic nickname as the "city that never sleeps").
I mean... NYC is the only city I've visited where it's hard to even find somewhere to use the freakin *restroom* after a certain time of evening. Like, just *try* finding a place to use the restroom anywhere in Chelsea or Hell's Kitchen after, like, 6 p. m., without having to spring for a meal or at least a drink aha.
And NYC has a surprising dearth of late-night restaurants. I'm a big fan of the L'Express French restaurant in the Gramercy Park area, and the Empanada Mama (cheap South American eats) in Hell's Kitchen -- partly because those are actually good places with good food, but partly because basically nothing else is open!
It's weird, too, because NYC runs on a comparatively later schedule than most other cities. (Even the famously overworked bankers and big-firm lawyers tend to roll into work between 9 and 10 in the morning -- although of course they don't *leave* until after midnight at times.)
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