In my 3 month trial, I went to BJ's 4 times. The first two times I bought the objects I was scouting to see if I'd like them in bulk. On my 3rd visit, like a good scientist, I took my shopping list from Walmart to BJ's, recorded all the prices on similar brands, and then put it in a spreadsheet to compare my savings. I also examined which items and brands BJ's vs Walmart vs specialty grocery store carried. The last visit was the big purchase when I spent $350.
The good: I was able to buy challah (Jewish bread), kosher salami, and stuffed grape leaves for rock bottom prices I could not find anywhere else. I went a little wild and bought ALL of their two loaves of challah for $5 compared to my local grocery stores $7 per loaf. Similar issue with the salami - I bought all of it they had in stock and put 20 loaves of bread and 30 12oz salami in my fridge. I bought bulk plasticware, nuts, cups, and nice paper plates. I had enough storage space that I may not have to do that again for another year.
The so-so: I was able to find peanut butter $0.50 cheaper per container than Walmart. Not too exciting. I was underwhelmed by their bulk oreos, frozen vegetables, and Mrs. T's Pierogies. I found deodarant cheaper by $0.25 a container, if I didn't care about the brand. Morning Star Farms products cost almost exactly the same since Walmart started selling the 8 pack burgers.
The bad: CFLs were $0.60 more expensive per bulb than at Walmart! BJ's bulk diapers were more expensive than Walmart bulk diapers. Black beans, chick peas, and lima beans were $0.10 per can more expensive than Walmart-even though they come in six packs. Bagged sandwich bread was not cheaper than Walmart. Bulk fresh fruit - apples, oranges - were all cheaper at Walmart. Whole wheat nutrigrain waffles and egg beaters were the exact same price. Walmart brand protein bars were cheaper than the namebrand ones sold at BJs. They had very narrow brand selection and few whole-grain choices.
I also noticed how tempting it was to 'overbuy' things. Look, paper towels in bulk! I should buy those . . . except we use rags instead of paper towels and just wash them. There were tons of products I almost bought and then remembered that I did not miss the object before I saw it at BJs and it didn't have a place in my house. I think having so much on hand would tempt me to make larger meals and consume more items. For example, you make a tray of brownies for dessert on Monday (bought in the Duncan Hines brownie mix 4 pack) and have half left over - which you end up snacking on all week and put on some weight. Or you can use spend cut the recipe in half of the 5-minute Chocolate Mug Cake, even cheaper.
Quick, buy 30lbs of whole wheat flour . . . nevermind, don't need flour now that I froze all that bread . . .
Once I stocked up on my specialty kosher items, the difference in cost between what I regularly buy at Walmart and BJ's wasn't worth the temptation to overbuy. I am hoping that the next few months grocery bills will be lower because of this, but that remains to be seen. Should I ever need bulk purchasing of those items, I have some friends who shop there regularly and are happy to buy for me.
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