BJ’s: The Rules

The Good:

- Bulk/lower prices on lots of things you use every day.

- Buying in bulk generally means less packaging, which is good for the environment.

- Offers Berkley and Jensen (BJ’s) brand items – some of which are great bargains

- Accepts coupons.

- Accepts multiple coupons on some items.  The general rule is that you can use as many manufacturer’s coupons as there are bar codes in a package.  (i.e. if the containers could potentially be sold separately, you can use more than one coupon.)  For example, you can use two coupons on a two-pack of peanut butter jars, and up to eight coupons on an 8-pack of soup, but you can only use one coupon on a big box of cereal (even if it has two bags within the one box.)

- Sends out a coupon book on a monthly basis to members that often has some great coupons in it.

- They allow you to “stack” coupons (use a BJ’s coupon and a manufacturer’s coupon on the same item) as long as it conforms to the above multiple coupon policy.  You may use one manufacturer’s coupon and one BJ’s coupon on one item.

- Some of their everyday prices are better than the best sale/coupon combinations.  (I’ve found this to be true especially on bulk juices.)

- Half price Hallmark greeting cards – with card prices in the threes and fours, I now buy most of my cards here.

The Bad:

- You have to be careful of expiration dates as well as the freshness of their produce.  I bought some yogurt there once and arrived home to find that it had already expired.  On the produce front, I think they keep their bananas too cold or something.  They always seem to get soft very quickly.  (I don’t mean brown spots.  I mean the whole banana seems to turn brown.) Make sure you can use your produce before it goes bad.

- Their prices are not necessarily better than other stores when you compare the unit prices.  You have to be very careful about what you choose to buy.

- Limited selection.  If you don’t like “powder fresh” deodorant, you’re pretty much out of luck.  BJ’s tends to carry whatever variety of something is the top seller.

- Bulk sizes are sometimes too much.  I don’t need 5 gallons of vegetable oil.  ‘Nuf said.

The Ugly:

- You have to pay for membership.  We don’t buy tons of stuff there, but the things we do buy are usually great bargains.  For our family, that makes it worth the membership fee.