We received a 1-Day Guest Pass for BJ's wholesale club in the mail a few weeks ago, so we went today and did some comparison shopping. Our Costco membership expired a few months ago, and as much as it hurts us to part with the renewal fee these days, it hurts me even more to spend more on certain items at the grocery store. We definitely notice a difference in our budget, even with the added expense of a membership fee, so we have decided to bite the bullet this week and rejoin a wholesale club.
We spent about an hour at BJ's, checking out the merchandise and comparing prices on some of our staples from Costco. We did put some things in the cart, and I was trying to keep a running tab in my head, but I lost track after a few items. It would have been great if they had barcode scanners throughout the store, but I don't think any wholesale club does.
Anyway, as we're approaching the registers hubby says, "I like Costco more", and that was it. We took everything out of the cart, walked back to our car, and left. I didn't really feel like fighting him on it. Even though we're more likely to go more frequently (and thus spend more money), we're all for staying within a three-mile radius from home for our household errands, so Costco wins this one.
Posted by Amanda at February 6, 2010 9:43 PM | TrackBack
but you could've bought what was in your cart and avoided at least one trip!
Posted by: wRitErsbLock at February 7, 2010 10:32 AMWe thought about that, but they charge a 15% surcharge for non-members, so we would have ended up spending the same, if not more, if we got the items elsewhere.
We went to Target afterwards, so got what we urgently needed there, and since we need to go to Costco to renew anyway, we'll get the rest today.
I've done that too -- gone through the whole store and then after about an hour of shopping decide to "abort mission."
I have to admit, this post makes me feel better because we belong to Costco and I've been afraid that we spend more money there because we tend to get a little spend happy. If you ever saw the episode of Modern Family when they gay couple goes to Costco --that's us. I'm glad to know that Costco is cheaper and better than BJ's.
Posted by: Jenn Chamberlain at February 8, 2010 7:50 PMJenn,
Spend-happy is unavoidable. After all, you put four things in your cart and you've racked up $100 in stuff. We had a shopping budget of $50 (not including the membership renewal) and spent $79, but it's definitely things we need, and things that cost way more elsewhere (particularly meats and the Kirkland's bag of frozen chicken breasts...that thing is my lifesaver!)
And since I had some of the BJ's prices in my head, I realized that Costco is a bit cheaper, and they have more selection.