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+--- Thread: Costco/B&J/Sams Club membership: worth it or not? (/showthread.php?tid=92074)
Re: Costco/B&J/Sams Club membership: worth it or not? - AlphaDog - 01-30-2010
space-time wrote: good to hear that they caught the mistake and refunded your STOLEN money. I don't see that as a saving, but as a restitution of what was taken away form you (by their own cashiers)
It's so nice to hear from someone who has never made a mistake in his life. I'd like to see how long you'd last at one of those checkout counters.
Now tell me, do you feel better for having made that generalized statement, which was very rude and had no basis in fact that was evident from the post?
Re: Costco/B&J/Sams Club membership: worth it or not? - davester - 01-30-2010
We joined costco for a couple of years, but we quit because: 1) the portion sizes were way too big on many food items; 2) the selection was dreadful on many items; 3) I hate going there (crowds, parking); 4) I can get better deals on the big ticket items elsewhere.
Re: Costco/B&J/Sams Club membership: worth it or not? - Black - 01-30-2010
I have no place for big-box stores in my life, so I'm not going to read this whole thread to see if someone beat me to it, but . . . .
Where do I sign up for this BJ membership?
Re: Costco/B&J/Sams Club membership: worth it or not? - Black - 01-30-2010
AlphaDog wrote:
[quote=space-time]good to hear that they caught the mistake and refunded your STOLEN money. I don't see that as a saving, but as a restitution of what was taken away form you (by their own cashiers)
It's so nice to hear from someone who has never made a mistake in his life. I'd like to see how long you'd last at one of those checkout counters.
Now tell me, do you feel better for having made that generalized statement, which was very rude and had no basis in fact that was evident from the post?
Subjectively, it seems that checkout mistakes that are not in the customer's favor outnumber mistakes in the customer's favor by about 3:1. That could just be a matter of perception, though.
I'd be interested in any actual quasi-scientific studies about this, if there are any . . .
Re: Costco/B&J/Sams Club membership: worth it or not? - testcase - 01-30-2010
Over the years, I've belonged to Sam's Club, BJ's Wholesale Club, Price Club and Costco. My Sam's Club membership just expired a few days ago. If I can find a discount coupon (have seen $10~$25 at various times), I'll renew. Am currently sharing a Costco Executive membership with a relative. In store, Costco will only accept Amex. When I ordered tires on Costco.com, they accepted all major cards (I won't use Amex but love my Discover Card). As already mentioned; you need to shop and buy carefully. I agree that on "club size" quantities, it is easy to have perishables go bad before you can use then up. When done right, you can save a good deal of money.
Re: Costco/B&J/Sams Club membership: worth it or not? - space-time - 01-30-2010
AlphaDog wrote:
[quote=space-time]good to hear that they caught the mistake and refunded your STOLEN money. I don't see that as a saving, but as a restitution of what was taken away form you (by their own cashiers)
It's so nice to hear from someone who has never made a mistake in his life. I'd like to see how long you'd last at one of those checkout counters.
Now tell me, do you feel better for having made that generalized statement, which was very rude and had no basis in fact that was evident from the post?
It's so nice to hear from someone who has never made a mistake in his life.
I never said that.
I'd like to see how long you'd last at one of those checkout counters.
It depends on circumstances. If that was the only was to provide for my family, probably quite a long time. But as long as there are other ways to make a living, and I can do what I do best, then I don't see the point of thinking about how long I would last in such a job.
Now tell me, do you feel better for having made that generalized statement, which was very rude and had no basis in fact that was evident from the post?
Yes, I feel much better.
No, not really. I do not feel better nor worse than before. why would a statement like that affect how I feel?
Re: Costco/B&J/Sams Club membership: worth it or not? - AlphaDog - 01-30-2010
space-time wrote: No, not really. I do not feel better nor worse than before. why would a statement like that affect how I feel?
The comment seemed out of character for you; generally speaking, I don't remember you having a negative view of things. When someone does make a comment like that, it's very often because they feel the need to vent some frustration, and sometimes the target has little or nothing to do with the true source of their angst. And, venting usually does make a person feel better, at least temporarily. So, that's why I said what I said. If some other member(s) of the forum had made a comment like that, it wouldn't strike me as being anything besides business as usual. It did when you made it.
Re: Costco/B&J/Sams Club membership: worth it or not? - GGD - 01-30-2010
vicrock wrote:
[quote=Jack D.]
But I think my two universal gripes about all the warehouse clubs is the lack of staff at the checkouts that makes for a long wait to pay. And the receipt Police at the door. I don't like having to prove that I didn't steal anything before they will let me leave the building.
The receipt police have actually SAVED me money on a couple of occasions where something was double scanned -
I shopped at Costco yesterday, and when I got home I looked at the receipt, and it looks like the Receipt Police don't actually count/check all that carefully.
I bought two bunches of bananas but was only charged for one, so an error in my favor for a whopping $1.32.
Nobody mentioned the free meals at Costco while you shop, skipped lunch before I went and snacked on all of the free samples (I refer to them as "grazing stations" )
Re: Costco/B&J/Sams Club membership: worth it or not? - rz - 01-30-2010
Most everyone here has talked about Costco or Sams. Hardly anyone mentioned BJ's. We've belonged to all 3 at times in the past. Sams, we've been members of for over 10 years and is the only one we've had a continuous membership to. Costco, we were for a year. Once a year, we visit with family who are members and go with them. BJ's is the only one of the 3 that accepts regular coupons. At least I think Costco doesn't. I know Sams doesn't. The nice thing with BJ's is that if they have their own coupon for the item, and you have a manufacturer's coupon for the same item, they will take both.
We had a 15 month membership to BJ's that ended at the end of December. It was worth it, but we stocked up on the stuff we got there, and will wait about a year before they send out their "come back for 3 months for free" coupon, which they seem to send out every couple of years. The biggest thing we got there were diapers (we're stocked for about a year or so), lawn trash bags (270 bags ought to last several years) and my wife really liked some chocolate chip cookies they sold (we have a shelf full in our deep freeze).
Re: Costco/B&J/Sams Club membership: worth it or not? - LyleH - 01-30-2010
Of the 3, only Costco is near to me. I believe we save money on Kirkland Fish Oil capsules, Multi-Vitamins, Vitamin D, Glucosamine, hearing aid batteries. If you ever check Consumer Report you'll see how inexpensive some of Kirkland's vitamins are. And if you check the ingredients they are comparable to brand names.
We have 3 major chains really close to us (Albertson's, etc.) and by watching their ads we really save some bucks. So we don't buy a lot of Costco items, partly because there's only 2 of us. But items you don't think about, such as the Kirkland brand of "Bounce" is a good deal.
The trick for me is to occasionally wander up and down the aisles to really see what they have to offer.
LyleH