Good Sam - Not Renewing

This is not a political post so please do not even respond. I just wanted to relate a recent Good Sam experience concerning renewing.  As usual they tend to send out literature and solicitations about two or three times a month.

A few days ago I got my annual renewal notice (3 months early of course).  I do not normally read their Good Sam Open Road Forum but this  time I went there and made a post which, as expected, was not accepted with joy.  I simply asked if Marcus Lemonis would be mailing an apology to Good Sam members (including me) for the comment he made about President Trump's remarks - the one where he dis-invited those who did not agree with him to not go into Camping World stores. 

The thread was shut down in pretty quick order.  I was not wanting to discuss the politics of the situation but rather see if he had ever apologized.  One reply before the thread shutdown said he had said he was wrong.  I wondered why with all the mailings they manage to do could he not include that statement in one of them. 

Since I have calculated my Good Sam savings from gas discounts, campground discounts and some minor Camping World purchases I find that the total does not match up to my annual membership dues. Therefore, as charter member #0052 of the Good Sam Club I say goodbye to an organization that has completely changed its purpose (to help other RVers) to just a money grubber.  Yes, it does offer benefits to some and I do not discourage those who feel it can benefit them from joining but when I cannot even post to their forum and get a decent reply from any administrator I felt it was time to quit.

Bill

It's their forum, and likely any mention of an elected official could be taken as "political" in a moderator's mind. If nothing else, rule #1, "We reserve the right to remove any post at any time for any reason." always applies.

Staying with the non-political aspect of your comment Bill, I am curious how your calculations came out when you checked your savings against the cost of membership.  Was it close to what you paid, or is there a big difference in the amount saved and amount spent?

I have often wondered if the membership clubs are really worth it or not. And not just GS, but all of them. I have just never taken the time to do the math. 

SargeW said:

Staying with the non-political aspect of your comment Bill, I am curious how your calculations came out when you checked your savings against the cost of membership.  Was it close to what you paid, or is there a big difference in the amount saved and amount spent?

I have often wondered if the membership clubs are really worth it or not. And not just GS, but all of them. I have just never taken the time to do the math.

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It was pretty simple Marty.  One year renewal is $27 - not a great amount but more than I spent in the past two years at Camping World (and there is one about 20 miles away).  Our campground discounts lately have always been veterans and in some they give 15 percent as opposed to 10 percent for GS.  Flying J credit card gives us a 6 cents per gal discount (they have right to withdraw from the bank) but we only make one or two long trips per year and Flying J is not always convenient.  Probably key to the decision (in addition to Lemonis comment) is the fact that Amazon has practically everything CW does and in most cases at cheaper prices. I have found the GS member prices to be about average retail and the non-GS member prices at CW to be totally ridiculous.  Of course all of this is just my opinion but I tried to base the decision on what I thought best for us.  By the way, we changed over to Coach Net a couple of years ago and we are way ahead  of them on the benefits received vs the cost of membership and exceptionally happy with their service.  Hope this helps Marty.

NY_Dutch said:

It's their forum, and likely any mention of an elected official could be taken as "political" in a moderator's mind. If nothing else, rule #1, "We reserve the right to remove any post at any time for any reason." always applies.

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Actually Dutch I was just asking if Lemonis had ever apologized but only one person replied that he said he was 'wrong' but no mention of an apology.  Then the thread got shut down by an administrator which is their right.  But I think that subject is totally taboo on their forum.  As I said earlier I was a charter member of Good Sam  and I have been in and out over the years consistent with my RV ownership  But I find that organization to be totally different in purpose than what was stated in its charter.  Just not a benefit I feel that I need now and I stated the reasons in my reply to Marty.

Bill

Good Sam Club was created as part of a profit-making venture and has never wavered from that goal as far as I can see. Maybe it's a little more obvious nowadays.

Bill N said:

I have found the GS member prices to be about average retail and the non-GS member prices at CW to be totally ridiculous. 

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I bought a Honda generator at one of my local power equipment supply stores for $969 after looking at CW (before we had a membership which came with our trailer purchase) where it was $1199 for non-members and $999 for members.

It's hard for me to Boycott Camping World. I have only spent $86. there in my entire camping life. I do belong to Good Sam's because it was required to get a Pilot/Flying J card.  The card comes in handy so that I don't need to go inside when I fill up.

I stay away since I'm not allowed in IAW their CEO.
I now use USAA for roadside and Amazon is better anyway.

    Good for you Bill! Our sentiments  "exactly"!

Just bought a Winegard G2+ locally for the same price as Camping World and didn't have to pay shipping plus the owner of the business came out and assessed my situation, made up the wires I needed which he did not charge me for. 

Lemonis did apologize several days after the comments were made.

FYI this topic was locked by a Moderator following several politically-motivated posts which violate forum rules. The offending posts were also moved out of public view. Having reviewed the posts in the context of this topic, I can say that the Moderator's actions were appropriate.