Business & Tech

Patch Readers Weigh In on Value of Membership-Only Stores

We asked Patch readers whether paying up to $110 in membership fees was worth the possible savings.

If you’re like us, you’ve been to your favorite wholesale club at least once this summer to stock up on everything from hot dogs and watermelon to beach towels and pool chemicals. 

According to an article in Forbes last month, while big-box retailers like Wal-Mart and Target struggled last quarter, Costco reported revenue growth of almost 8 percent with new memberships increasing 19 percent last quarter over the same period the previous year. 

A recent trip to Costco of our own found us unloading about $300 worth of merchandise – like Rice Krispie Treats, Tide Pods and organic milk – from our car and wondering: Are we really saving money? 

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We decided to put that question out to Patch Facebook followers and comments poured in not only for or against membership warehouse stores, but citing cost cutting tips and tricks. 

Laraine Savino Sgroi posted one of the over-60 comments on the Brick Patch Facebook page on whether paying a membership fee helped keep costs down. “No, I think it's just another place to spend money and who has the room to store in bulk?” she wrote. 

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“Like everything else, you have to know your prices,” wrote Marlboro-Colts Neck Patch reader Lanie Mindlin. “When you get the Amex card, you get money back and that’s all we use for their gas (3% back!).” 

Matawan-Aberdeen Patch reader Pt Fernicola agreed: “The trick with … bulk wholesalers though is knowing your base prices to begin with. Sure, $14.99 for two bottles of Dove Body Wash sounds great, but at Walmart, you can get one bottle for $4.99 ... buy two there and you save $4 off the wholesale-club price."

But Manchester Patch reader Mary Napoli-Smith isn’t so sure paying a membership fee – which can be as high as Costco’s $110 Executive membership – equals savings, “Most coupons double so it can be cheaper on the outside. I happen to love Pathmark.” 

But, she adds, “Then again have been a member of BJ's for 9 years.” 

One local business chimed into the conversation and pointed out that consumers should “support local small business.” Shrewsbury Office Supply, Inc. wrote, “Otherwise, someday as is happening [on] main streets there will be nothing but empty stores. We are also the ones that support the local charities not to mention other small businesses.” 

But for Princeton Patch reader Marjory Klein, it all comes down to practicality. She writes that shopping at any wholesale clubs makes no sense “when you’re single, living in a one-bedroom apartment!” 

We’re still not so sure whether our recent outing saved us any money but stop by if you need a cup of milk. We’ve got gallons.

What do you think, does it pay to join membership-only wholesale stores like Costco, BJ's and Sam's Club? Tell us in the comments below.

 



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