Lessons from Life

Sorry I have no answer to that.
I know one membership store that charges 5,000.00 a year.
Direct Buy it's called.
Here in Minot we don't have members only stores.

Is this why the rich people in this country get all these good deals? They pay these membership fees, and they can get good quality products at low prices, while the rest of us have to pay ridiculously high prices for mediocre- and low-quality products.

Maybe they can afford the membership fees because they cheat on their taxes, like Timothy Geithner, Charlie Rangel, Tom Daschle, Chris Dodd... Oh wait, they're all politicians. How odd.

I hear you!
Prices for members are always cheaper...
Even if one has a card with Stop&Shop (our local supermarkets).
I am pretty sure that,
by having membership fees,
they estimate of how many products they will sell , that allows them to buy bulk,
a result of better prices for them as well..

pretty much the chain reaction....



as for "Direct Buy " Carol mentioned above,
Sophie my late husbands' niece bought the membership for 5,000USD this year. She had to maintain two houses before she puts them for rent. In the long run she made the 5,000USD work for her big time! Just in replacing her kitchen she economized 12,000USD
Yes, remodeling or maintaining is costly and Direct Buy makes things more affordable

I'm have never heard about members-only stores.
But no matter how cheap their goods are, they still have a profit. And whether you pay full price or pay fee+reduced price - I believe the store makes the same amount of money.

But that's what I think. I obviously don't know anything about it - it just makes sense to me.

I don`t know how it goes in USA. What we have here in some shops (the biggest ones) is a kind of plastic card, like credit cards, and every time you buy at their shops you have some discount (usually 5-10%). But prices are usually insane, especially for shoes. I have found that boots I like (Caterpillar Salvo) could be found in USA in disount price of 60 eur, full price with around 90eur but in Serbia they will cost about 150 eur this winter The same is with prices of Internet, electricity, phone, some food, clothes. Sometimes, when I go to neighbouring Croatia, I find prices that are similar to what we have here, but life standard there is higher than in Serbia (as far as I know, average salary in Serbia is 250 eur and in Croatia is about 600 eur)
Then, it is no wonder that big international markets are fighting to open their mega stores here, they are earning enormous amounts of money on us

Answer: Yes.

Are there any limitations as to which kind of people are allowed in as members?

Here we have shops that specialize in low prices for selected people. Like teachers, as an example.

In stores like that you can't do the "buy now, pay later" thing. Only instant money. That of course lowers the store's risk and helps prizes staying low.

I'll preface my answer by noting that I'm a kamikaze shopper. In the course of a week I'll hit two supermarkets, a produce stand or two, and a couple of department stores... because they all have their loss leaders, and I take advantage of that. (I don't have to go out of my way, so I don't waste gas doing it.) I happen to like the thrill of the hunt.

Part of the answer is know your prices. I have a Sam's Club card, and if you don't know what their competitors are charging, you will pay as much for certain items as you would at a supermarket. Every store has loss leaders; that's what I go for. That's the way the game is played.

Another part of the answer is marketing. How often do you see print or TV ads for your local supermarket -- and how often do you see ads for Sam's Club, or Costco, or BJs? The money they'd otherwise spend on ads goes toward keeping prices down.

There's nothing elite about it -- hey, they let me in! -- and my Sam's Club membership costs less than a dollar a week. That's a decent tradeoff.

The membership fees allow the store to buy better, in bulk, with less waste. They know what market they have.
I only live in a small town, but have 3 supers and a couple of mini markets to trawl.
The immigrants next door club together and 1 guy goes to a wholesale market (owned by immigrants) in a Big van and buys for several households...so Britain's high st. crumbles..