Wholesale Clubs

A guide to clubs and bulk buying

Wholesale clubs, sometimes called warehouse clubs, can offer some great deals if you shop wisely. Here are a few of the clubs available and some tips for making the most of your wholesale shopping.

Warehouse Clubs - The Players

Costco. Costco has 500 locations worldwide, including stores in 40 states throughout the U.S. The club offers three levels of membership: Gold Star, Business and Executive. Gold Star and Business cost $50 per year, and Executive is $100 per year and comes with extra benefits, including rewards on some purchases.

BJ's Wholesale Club. BJ's has 180 stores in 15 states, all on the East Coast. BJ's offers two tiers of membership: Inner Circle for $45 and BJ Rewards for $90. Like Sam's PLUS memberships and Costco's Executive memberships, BJ Rewards includes rewards earned on some purchases.

Tips for bulk buying

Bring your calculator. The assumption some people make is that everything in a wholesale club is a deal. It's not. With the larger sizes and larger prices, it may be hard to tell whether the bulk version of a particular item is really cheaper than what you'd pay for the same quantity in a regular grocery store. You have to do the math and figure out the per-unit cost of each item. Some items will be a bargain while others will actually be more expensive than at the grocery store.

Only buy what you'll use. Again, you're buying more than usual of an item, so be sure it's something you actually want that much of. You're probably safe buying a huge quantity of toilet paper. That's eventually all going to get used - maybe faster than you expect! But do you really want 50 packets of instant oatmeal? Will your family eat it all or be sick of it when you're only halfway through the package? If you end up throwing stuff away because you can't stand the sight of it after a while, you haven't saved that much.

Beware of perishables. Many wholesale clubs have a produce section, but ask yourself if you really think your family can eat all of what you're buying before it goes bad. Some produce items can freeze, so if you have a large freezer, you can save some amount by freezing. Meats and cheeses freeze well, so those are a good buy if the price is right, but make sure you don't buy a bunch items that will just end up spoiled.

Split it. A good way to get in on wholesale club deals without ending up with way more product than you can store or eat is to share the cost with someone else. Bring a friend and shop for items you can split. You may not each need 10 cans of tomatoes, but 5 each is manageable.

Get your full benefit. Wholesale clubs are not just for food. Most also include electronics, tires, clothes, and even services such as prescriptions and eyeglasses. I frequently find the best gas prices in town at Sam's Club! Find out everything that your club offers so you can take advantage of bargain prices in as many areas of your budget as possible.

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