We have three Warehouse Clubs around us. We have had membership at all three Warehouse clubs. The one we are currently with is our favorite. Though we do have to drive a distance to get there.
We shop at the club about once every month or every other month. Our bill ranges from around $300-$400 dollars. But that's because we usually buy about a month to two months worth of meat. I do supplement our meat with sale meat from the grocery store, but mostly we eat out of the freezer supply. While it might not be the cheapest option it is the most convenient at this time. I have to admit as a mom of five young children sometimes convenient trumps cheap. I'm just sayin'. :)
The first Warehouse Club we were ever members of was Sam's. It's a part of Walmart. Very, very basic. The prices were great and it was only about 10 minutes from our house. They had a good variety of stuff that we liked. The things we did not like was the dirtiness of the store, the rude sales associates, the crowded check out lines, the rude customers (someone was always jumping in front of us in line), the neighborhood the store was in and (when we were members) they would not let you use your debit card to check out. If you were not paying cash you had to either use a Walmart credit card or a credit card. We never carried cash around so once we ended up putting it on our Visa credit card. Not happy.
Membership for Sam's club starts at $40 for the year.
Our next club was BJ's. We liked BJs for the gas most of all. We were members when the gas prices were soaring sky high. Roy worked right down the street from the club so he could swing in on his way home from work and fill up at a good price. We liked the variety of food at BJs though the prices were a little higher than Sam's. We really liked that they had some organics. The store was pretty clean. The neighborhood was nicer. The Sales Associates at least respectable. No one ever cut into line line in front of us at BJs so I guess the customers were nicer. :)
After Roy lost his job BJ's was a trek. It took about 30m to get there. The lines were always long. I did not like their selection of produce. Some produce I do like to buy in bulk. We can eat the heck out of some fruit around here. And I use onions and garlic in EVERYTHING. Also to make potatoes for this crew it takes almost 10 pounds. BJs produce never seemed to last the week. So when Roy was not working over there any longer we let our membership expire. Just not worth the drive to us.
Membership at BJs starts at $45 for the year.
We finally landed at Costco. Our first venture was on a Saturday. Never venture to the only Costco in town on a Saturday. Never. Never. Did I say never? It was so crowded. BUT the store did not feel that crowded. And the check out lines? Well, let me say that we both agree that the check out lines at Costco are worth the price of admission. No less than two people are there to help. One to load the stuff on the belt and to load your cart back up, and one to check you out. It's amazing. There are almost no lines at Costco. I love their produce. I picked up a huge box of sweet potatoes last month and we are still munching on them. Their fruit was fresh and juicy. I love buying a case of plums. LOL They have a great selection of meat (although not the cheapest it's nice to have choices). A good selection of organics is nice. The store is clean. The staff is friendly and helpful. And hey lets face it lunch for my crew can be a hot dog and soda for $1.50 it can't be beat.
It is pretty far away from our house. About a 30-45m drive. But the quality makes it worth it. It's near a big shopping center we like to shop at sometimes so we try to combine the trip. The prices are a little bit more than the other two places, but once again quality trumps.
The price for membership starts at around $50 as far as I can tell from their website.
All in all we don't really need to shop at the Warehouse Club. I like buying in bulk because it keeps me at home more. We don't really save a lot of money by doing so, but it saves me time.
I have noticed though since we started at Costco that just having meat and some other staples on hand in bulk has saved us from ordering out as much. I try to cook up a load of meat when we get home so I can quickly defrost and throw together a meal.
We are happy with Costco and despite the drive we will probably stay there for awhile.
I hope this was helpful. All three clubs have their pros and cons.
If you shop Warehouse what's your favorite one and why?
