I used to assume that wholesale clubs were a great way to save money. Unfortunately, I rarely left the store without spending at least $200 on monster size containers of mayonnaise or shampoo. I now realize that I was the willing dupe of some great marketing. Here’s a little secret I’ve finally discovered – just because it’s packaged in bulk and stored on crates doesn’t necessarily mean you’re saving money!
Having said that, there are a few strategies that I would recommend if you plan shop at BJ’s:
Use a price book and pay attention to unit costs: I continue to shop at my local BJ’s for select items where I can’t do better on price – I know this because I keep track of prices in a price book.
Baking yeast is 90% cheaper at BJ’s than any other option I’ve found locally. Ditto for bagels. And when I score a “Free Breyer’s Ice Cream” coupon I head to BJ’s to get the double pack!
The tricky thing is the conversions to comparable units — BJ’s will often list their price per unit as pounds or gallons, instead of ounces or quarts, and you’ll need to break it down to a common denominator. That’s where my calculator and cheat sheet come in handy! I have a little pocket calculator that helps me with the math, and I’ve written out the conversion rates on an index card (you can get those figures here). With those tools, I can easily make informed decisions and insure that I’m paying the lowest price.
Try to avoid paying the membership fee: $40-45 a year is a hefty price to pay for the priviledge of membership. You have to save a lot just to break even! So avoiding this expense is definitely desirable.
-See if you can coordinate your shopping trips with a friend so that you go as their guest. The store will allow you to pay for your own purchases using their membership.
-Some churches, community groups or employers might already have memberships; perhaps you can volunteer to do their shopping trip and see if you can reimburse them for any personal expenditures that you add to the bill. Or you can be added onto their account as a supplemental member for only $20 a year.
-Additionally, the stores regularly issue “visitor’s pass” in their monthly flier so ask a friend if you could use that free pass (just read the fine print – sometimes there is a 15% surcharge for non-members to buy something).
-And here is a great tip submitted in the comments below – if you do pay the extra surcharge, save your receipt. The store will reimburse you for that expense if you buy a membership within 7 days.
Know the Coupon Policy: this is one important area where BJ’s differentiates itself from the other wholesale clubs. They have a GREAT coupon policy.
You can use:
- BJ’s coupons that are in the monthly journal (they regularly mail them to members, but you can also get an extra copy at the customer service desk)
- internet BJ’s coupons found at In Club Coupons when you create an on-line account. They are updated regularly so it’s worth checking every few days
- manufacturers coupons (inserts and internet printables).
But of course, the best part is that, you can use more than one coupon on multi-pack items.
The BJ’s coupon policy reads “if you buy a multi-pack (a pack that contains multiple full-sized packages of a single product shrink-wrapped together) you may use multiple coupons. For example, if you have 2 coupons for 50% off an 8-oz. bottle of face cleanser and you are buying a multi-pack that contains 2 or more 8-oz. bottles of face cleanser you may use both coupons.”
Isn’t that terrific?
If it’s three individually packaged items that are shrink wrapped together, you can use three coupons or one $1/3 coupon! There are several items that I can really save on when I use coupons like this – for example, a 6 box multi-pack of NearEast Rice Pilaf sells for $6.97. Since I can regularly get $1 off coupons for these, I can use 6 of them and only pay $0.97 for the set!
HERE IS WHAT I DID: Some stores might not know that this is the corporate policy, so it’s a good idea to have a copy of it with you when you shop. You can go here to print it out – look for section #2 called “savings opportunities.”
I then took it to the customer service desk before I started shopping and verified that I understood the policy correctly. The manager wasn’t very familiar with it, but when she read my print out she agreed that I could use multiple coupons on multi-pack items. I thanked her by name (Laura) and then,when I was checking out, I told the cashier that “Laura had reviewed the policy” for me and it was fine. The cashier had no problems with that and put all my coupons through. Ta Da!
In addition to all this great news about manufacturer coupons, many BJ’s stores will also allow you to stack coupons — meaning that you can use both a BJ’s coupon and manufacturers coupons on items. This can really translate into big savings so it’s worth it to ask. My store said yes, maybe yours will too!
With these strategic shopping tips I hope you will find some extra savings at BJ’s this month.
If this helped you out, please leave a comment and say hello!
{ 5 comments… read them below or add one }
You must be in Georgia, the only place where BJ’s Clubs still charge only $40 for membership (lucky you!). It’s $45 everywhere else. Great tip about hopping in on a employer or church membership. If you can get them to add you on to their business membership as a supplemental member, it’s only $20 a year and you get your own card! Also, when you go in with a friend or relative, or someone whose membership you’re shopping with, the club should let you pay for your own stuff. Even though it’s someone else’s membership, you can make your own separate purchases using it.
The “visitor’s pass” or “one day pass” issued in fliers usually only tack on a 5% surcharge to your bill, with the in-club passes charging 15%. But you’re right, always double-check that fine print at the bottom ‘cuz you never know! What some people don’t know, though, is that if you DO end up paying the surcharge, SAVE THAT RECEIPT! If you decide the savings at BJ’s are worth it for you to join, you can apply that surcharge you paid towards your membership fee WITHIN 1 WEEK of the date on the receipt, so the money isn’t wasted!
All BJ’s clubs should accept multiple manufacturer’s coupons if the item increments are correct, as well as their own coupons. Like you said, this is definitely company policy, I’m surprised the manager didn’t know about it. And according to your slick coupon tricks with the Rice Pilaf, by taking advantage of BJ’s coupon policies, you saved $6, or 15% (a little over 13% for the $45) of the membership fee! At that rate, you could break even in one shopping trip if you’re big on coupon clipping! I know plenty of people who can save $20 to $30 at the grocery store in one trip. When you add in BJ’s coupons on top of that, it’s no sweat for that membership to pay for itself! Considering those savings, you really can’t go wrong.
Wonderful!
Thanks for sharing your BJ’s expertise and I will plan to incorporate some of your insights into the main body of my post.
I’m so glad you added your two cents,
Sharon
Wish I had known about the multiple coupon use b4 I dropped my membership this past year. I was trimming the expenses and thought that even with the 1 coupons per item it was not worth the cost. I’ll have to rethink my choice.
I agree White Family! Until I learned about their coupon policy I had dropped BJ’s from my routine… Now, i shop their very strategically and really try to maximize the coupon policy. Another recent example: Mission Tortillas – I used two $1 coupons to get the big pack for only $1.00. I like that!
I agree that you have to be a saavy shopper when shopping at warehouse clubs, but I have to tell you that when we joined BJ's and it will be almost 14 months ago, they were having a promotion going and by time we were done with the coupons and rebates,etc. the membership cost nothing.
Since paying attention to shopping the warehouse way, as mentioned BJ's has some great coupons – for members to use, but they also accept regular coupons which is great and I have to tell you that through the different website, I have gotten such great coupons – for example Michealango's which is a coupon for buy get on free – and I bought them at BJ's and I got $10 off on a $24 purchase of Michael Angelo's Italian frozen foods that it cost me about $3.50 to make the dinner for my family – it's such a great deal – you just have to take advantage of coupons and spend time making a list.