When it comes to shopping, consumers would do well to remember there are options to retail stores.
One is a local buyers club that features everything from fresh foods to new tires. Such clubs are usually billed “members only,” requiring an annual membership fee before they issue a card that permits shopping and other benefits.
Here are some of the leading players in the buyers club market, their membership costs and a summary of the benefits you’ll receive.
Sam’s Club, a subsidiary of Wal-Mart, is the largest buyers club in the world. The Chicago-area market alone boasts 19 outlets. According to company spokeswoman Elda Scott, membership has grown to more than 37 million cardholders.
“Wal-Mart is the largest retailer in the world, and so Sam’s Club has some major support,” Scott said. “In 1998, Sam’s Club had its largest sales total in the history of the company, and this year we’re projected to break it again.”
Scott said Sam’s Club operates as the buying agent for its members and uses volume buying to get items at the best price.
Membership is available in one of two packages: Advantage or Business. The former is for regular home shoppers and costs $35 a year; the latter is designed for small businesses and costs $30 a year.
“Advantage members get a free spouse card,” Scott said. “We also offer up to eight cards at $15 each for a secondary membership (in either plan). This allows an owner to let employees purchase supplies for the business; or, sometimes, the owner gives his employees cards as gifts.”
Sam’s Club offers fresh food in many, but not all, locations. Scott said more than 200 locations are currently being remodeled to provide fresh food, meat and bakery items. Its list of benefits beyond consumable and hard goods has grown.
“We started out in the 1980s selling a lot of items on the hard goods side–things like paper products, business supplies and janitorial chemicals,” Scott said. “We’ve expanded our goods and services, and our goal is to save the customer the cost of his membership every time he shops with us.”
The list of member benefits includes access to long distance phone and Internet service, travel services and help for business owners looking to provide employee health insurance.
“We have what’s called a Group Advantage Health Service that employers can use to search out the best value on insurance for their employees,” Scott said. “We also offer personal and professional development through seminars conducted by Franklin Covey TimeQuest.”
Another player in the Chicago-area market is Costco, with stores in Schaumburg and Oak Brook. Costco was started in 1983 and merged in 1985 with the pioneer of buyers clubs, Price Club. It has since grown to more than 300 locations nationwide. Costco has more than 12.6 million members and 28 million cardholders.
Senior vice president John Gaherty said three different memberships are offered.
“We have a Gold Star membership for consumers that costs $40 per year,” Gaherty said. “There’s also a $35 business membership for retailers and a $100 executive membership that offers credit card processing and check printing.”
Spouse cards are included free with a Gold Star membership. Business memberships offer a spouse card for $15, and up to eight add-ons for employees at $25 each. There are no extra cards for Executive memberships.
“Card membership gives you the right to shop and more. Our stores offer enough goods and services to make being a member with us valuable,” Gaherty said.
Costco features grocery, bakery, fresh meat and deli items, produce and rotisserie foods, plus special services such as one-hour photo processing, a pharmacy and an optical department with an optometrist on duty.
“Our Oak Brook location has a business copy center where you can reproduce documents,” Gaherty said. “Some of our stores even have gas pumps that are activated by using your membership card.”
Gaherty says the Costco philosophy is to offer everything at the best possible price. “If our buyers get a better deal, we pass that on to the customer,” he said. “Most of what we sell is marked up 8 or 9 percent. We use what’s called a `1-14 rule’: Nothing is sold above or below those amounts without executive approval. And over 14 percent is never approved.”
Those looking for just grocery items and food supplies can visit GFS Marketplace, the nation’s largest family-owned food service company. Unlike Sam’s Club or Costco, it is not a buyers club with annual membership fees.
“We work at lot with restaurants when they run out of supplies and with caterers that need various items,” said Sandy Wright, store manager at the Villa Park location. “Our business works a lot with the wholesale customers. The stores carry more than 2,500 items, and we have access to nearly 10,000 more if there is a specialty food item or brand someone needs We can usually get it the next day at no extra charge.”
The nine Chicago-area GFS Marketplace stores carry restaurant-quality frozen meats, deli items and a variety of produce options designed to save money for those throwing a party and doing the food preparation themselves.
“We help people who are planning special occasions by offering sliced meats and precut vegetables they can buy and arrange themselves and, therefore, save money,” Wright said.
There are no membership fees at GFS, and according to marketing communications manager Marianne Manderfield, businesses are offered shopping incentives.
“We issue businesses swipe cards to keep track of their purchases, and we refund 1 to 7 percent of the value of their annual purchases, depending on the level,” Manderfield said.
Buyers clubs seem to make sense, particularly if you are looking to buy more than just the weekly groceries. Gaherty says the hope is that more consumers will find them to be one-stop shopping centers.
“I think the merchandising is what makes buyers clubs an exciting place to go,” he said. “You can buy name-brand goods, but in addition to the savings, it’s fun to go into the stores. It’s like a treasure hunt. Two-thirds of the merchandise you see every day, but the other third is new stuff. People often say, `I can’t believe I found this item here.’ When you can buy everything at one place, I think that gives the members confidence.”
THE WEB CAN HELP YOU PINCH PENNIES
How can you squeeze just a few more pennies out of your monthly budget? Well, a cruise along the information highway might provide a few helpful answers.
There are a host of Web sites devoted exclusively to frugal living and getting the most bang for your buck. Here’s a sampling of some of the on-line penny pinchers out there:
– Frugal Family Network (www.frugal familynetwork.com)–On-line newsletter that provides helpful tips on how to stretch the family budget.
– SIS, or SHOP! Information Services (www.sis.org)–Web site devoted exclusively to providing consumer news for women, with monthly articles published by the non-profit Women’s Consumer Foundation in New York.
– The Dollar Stretcher (www.stretcher.
com)–Weekly articles on select topics provide frugal tips on saving money and improving your life.
– The Cheapskate Monthly (www.cheapskatemonthly.com)–Contains a bevy of information on ways to make ends meet through a monthly newsletter. There is a subscription fee to receive the Cheapskate Monthly newsletter.
– $AVVY DISCOUNT$ Newsletter (www.clis.com/savvynew/)–Another fee-based on-line newsletter that provides information on the best ways to save money.
— Knight-Ridder/Tribune
