Good sam Club fading away?

[Gary RV_Wizard]

Here's an interesting article from the rvtravel.com website.  It's premise is that the Good Sam Club under Mark Lemonis is no longer an RV club and exclusively about sales promotion. My response to that is, "What's new?.  I'm a bit surprised anybody ever thought that Good Sam was intended to help Rvers rather than selling products for the owners of GS & CW, but glad to see them put it in writing.

https://www.rvtravel.com/good-sam-club-907

As for the evidence cited in the article, e.g. no more GS magazine and a dwindling number of chapters and rallies, I'd say it's a sign of the times rather than a result of Lemonis's leadership.  No magazine? Who reads magazines when they have the internet instantly at hand? Even if you give them away. Few chapters or regional rallies left anymore?? Guess what? Most all clubs are disappearing, whether RV or other. FMCA and Escapees, even the Elks and the VFW have fallen on hard times cause people have lost interest in that type of socializing (they are all on FB or Twitter these days).
Mark Lemonis unabashedly pursues profit for his companies.  I actually find it refreshing that he doesn't pretend to be anything other than what he his - a CEO of a major company making money for its shareholders. No pretense about helping communities or making peoples lives better.  None of the hypocrisy of the other CEOs who are continually blowing smoke up the public's butt about their alleged goals.

 

[Kevin Means]

Cyndi and I don't belong to any RV clubs per se, we have a Good Sam's membership, but ONLY because it more than pays for itself in fuel savings (at some stations) and campground savings (at some campgrounds.) If it didn't do those things, we'd dump it in a heartbeat.

We've met some great friends while RVing, but always at small personal gatherings like the annual KOFA rally, or at Forum rallies - not at company-organized membership gatherings whose true purpose is only to get you to spend money. Who wants to feel like they're just a number.

Kev

 

[John Stephens]

I watched Lemonis in a tv interview state un equivocally that he does not want to be known as a CEO of a company that sells RV's or RV equipment. He wants to be known as an insurance salesman. he said he makes more money from memberships and extended warranties than from his stores.

 

[SeilerBird]

I simply refuse to join any clubs or organizations. They are always 100% a money making scam.

 

[Isaac-1]

I see GS as a discount club, nothing more, I pay them $25 per year, and I get 10% off the daily rate at about half the campgrounds I use.  The break even point is about 5-6 nights per year, before considering any other discounts (gas, etc.).

 

[John From Detroit]

Many folks think CW is overpriced but I've done comparison shopping and found 'em fair on most stuff and you get a discount with the Good Sam's club

I save at Pilot/Flying-J stations

I do not often save at campgrounds but sometimes that too (I normally park in memberhsip CG's or government CGs)

So it cost me nothing

 

[Bill N]

  It's premise is that the Good Sam Club under Mark Lemonis is no longer an RV club and exclusively about sales promotion. My response to that is, "What's new?.  I'm a bit surprised anybody ever thought that Good Sam was intended to help Rvers rather than selling products 

Overall your comment is right Gary but as Good Sam Charter Member #0052 I can say that you are wrong about the original intent of Good Sam.  The club was formed in the mid-60s and it was very much designed to be a helpful organization and IIRC the magazine Trailer Life was the means of keeping up communication between members.  But when it became apparent that there was money to be made in the RV business ALL RV organizations slid to the dark side, i.e. - make money.  I haven't heard much about Wally Byam lately - is that still going?  I guess RV organizations just don't offer much anymore to their members.  I will say that Winnebago's owners group stays active but I can see reductions in their chapter activity also.

 

[Gary RV_Wizard]

Good Sam Club was always a corporate-owned, profit-making entity, Bill.  It's purpose was indeed to promote RVing, but primarily as a means of increasing the customer pool for CW and other associated businesses and marketing a variety of products and services.  A rising tide to better float their boat!  GS has long been known for flooding mailboxes with ads for services and products from the other companies under the corporate umbrella, Sure, there were (and still are) some benefits to RVers, but that's just frosting to make the cake more attractive.  Yes, a Trailer Life magazine subscription was included in a GS membership, but Trailer Life was always a profit-making publication, as is Motorhome Magazine and the two campground directories (TL and Woodall's, now merged).

The Good Sam Club was never any different than today's social media, where the members are the product.  The group offers enough benefits to attract and hold members, but there is nothing altruistic about it.  It's a ready-made pool of potential customers.

 

[Rene T]

I save at Pilot/Flying-J stations

John, on a $75.00 fuel bill, any idea what you would save?  I joined GS back a few years ago when I purchased a combo washer/dryer. I saved quite a bit being a member.  I did not renew when it was going to expire.

 

[phil-t]

John, on a $75.00 fuel bill, any idea what you would save?  I joined GS back a few years ago when I purchased a combo washer/dryer. I saved quite a bit being a member.  I did not renew when it was going to expire.

We typically get $.05/gal.  Sometimes inconvenient because you have to prepay.

 

[NY_Dutch]

Our Good Sam Swipe and Save membership card knocks the PFJ gas price down a nickel, and then we save an additional 5% by paying with our PenFed Visa Cash Rewards card. That and the occasional 10% RV park savings is enough to justify the membership fee for us. Sometimes CW has a good price on an item we want, but certainly not always.

 

[sightseers]

As a politically-incorrect resident in the state of California,  one of the best ways for me to vote .... is with my wallet.

I got that idea when I was asked not to patronize Camping World.

Thank you Mr. Lemonis      ) )

;D 

 

[Bill N]

Good Sam Club was always a corporate-owned, profit-making entity, Bill.  It's purpose was indeed to promote RVing, but primarily as a means of increasing the customer pool for CW and other associated businesses and marketing a variety of products and services. 

Were you a member of Good Sam in 1965?  It did have a good feeling at the time and, yes, the overall goal of any organization is to make money but I feel you are applying today's tactics to those of yesterday.  BTW, Camping World did not exist when Good Sam was founded and IIRC did not come into being for many more years.  No doubt the GS purpose was to gather members and sell magazine subscriptions but there were many articles to help new members figure out their RVing problems.  Oh yes, I wrote my Masters Degree thesis on the trailering industry and I don't recall the term 'RV' being used at that time either.  Mainly it was just campers and trailers.  My part-time job was working in a small factory that custom made coaches and that company converted hearses into 'motorcars' and even took on converting an Edsel into one.  Interesting days to say the least.

 

[UTTransplant]

I actually remember my grandparents commenting on how cool the original Good Sam Club was when it started. It was there to sell magazines, yes, but it was also about helping other campers and doing a good turn. Rallies, club meetings, etc. Now it is just a discount card.

 

[malexander]

I did the lifetime membership thing about 1997. IIRC it was about $350 I think. I'd venture to say I've probably saved that much in campground fees over the years.

 

[cadee2c]

John, on a $75.00 fuel bill, any idea what you would save?

Im not John but you get 5 cents off gallons of gas, and 7 cents off diesel. Plus you get a couple bucks off dump fees if you use their dump station.

 

[John Stephens]

I'm a different John, but I'll give my opinion of this topic with facts.

I opted to go with CW's 3 year plan on the GS membership this Spring because we have planned out the next three year's worth of trips. It cost $59.95 and they gave me $50 worth of gift certificates to use in their stores, so subtracting that from the cost leaves $9.95. Although, I will state that my opinion of their store prices being rather high compared to Amazon and a few other sources.

On the trip we are currently on, we keep our eyes open for the least expensive gas when we need a fill up and sometimes that means passing up Pilots or Flying J's because they may be too high on their price. But this trip has shown us they have been much more competitive and we have used them quite a bit. Every time we fill the tank, the 5 cent discount (gasoline) saves us about $3.00, figuring that we usually put around 60 gallons in the tank. We also have used their dump stations twice, saving us $2.50 each time, or a total of $5.00.

When you figure what this has saved us in gas purchases, we can only guess that we have used them half the time. This trip will be a total of over 8,300 miles. If we have averaged 7 mpg, that means we will use around 1,200 gallons. If we get the gas at Pilot/Flying J half the time, we will have purchased 600 gallons from them. With a 5 cent savings per gallon, we will save $30.00. Add to that the dump savings and the card has saved us $35 for this trip. That's more than the membership fee, so we're coming out ahead.

In addition to that savings, we have stayed at GS campgrounds and RV parks more than not and get a 10% discount on those charges as well. To be honest, we have stayed at those places for a week or two to get the weekly discount, which is more than 10%, so the GS discount doesn't apply. But for the places where we stayed for one or two nights, we are saving $3-5 per night depending on the prices. Over the entire duration of this trip, I can estimate we have saved between $35 to $50.

Ad this to the gas and dump savings and we have saved a minimum of $70 just this year, more than the cost of the membership for the entire three years. So the way I look at it, we're getting a free membership for the next two years because it has already paid for itself.

Mind you, this is a three month vacation. If you're only going to travel for two or three weeks per year, it might not be as good of a deal for you. We have used their road service twice in the time we have had our coach, both times saving us at least $130 in trip charges, once for towing out of a ditch and once for a dead battery.

Bottom line for me - I'll continue with GS as long as I travel.

 

[RedT]

Don't know when they started (I think 1996) but I became a member in 1969 when I bought an Open Road 10 1/2 foot pick-up camper. If I remember correctly, they had a camper magazine then that was a small, glove box size that was almost strictly about pick-up campers. And, yes, they had clubs. Problem was, Uncle Sam wanted me to serve overseas, and there were no Good Sam Clubs there! 

Met a lot of good folks in the club, though.

 

[garyb1st]

We've had Good Sams for probably 8 or 9 years.  Didn't join to save 10% on campgrounds.  Didn't join to save $.05 on fuel.  Already had AAA, ARRP, Escapees, Passport America, All Stays Pro, FMCA and the absolute best, my Golden Age Passport.  I've had it for 12 years and can't begin to calculate how much we've saved.  And since we try to avoid Commercial parks and resorts, don't have much use a Good Sam park discount.  As far as saving gas, I'd rather pay the extra $.05 a gallon than deal with the hassle of waiting in line for a register and then waiting again to check out or let them know the pump isn't working.  That $.05 a gallon savings on our current trip, which will take us close to 5,000 miles, saves us maybe $40.00 on a trip that is going to cost us maybe $7,000 in fuel and camp ground expenses.  It's just not worth the time and frustration. 

 

[darsben]

We've had Good Sams for probably 8 or 9 years.  Didn't join to save 10% on campgrounds.  Didn't join to save $.05 on fuel.  Already had AAA, ARRP, Escapees, Passport America, All Stays Pro, FMCA and the absolute best, my Golden Age Passport.  I've had it for 12 years and can't begin to calculate how much we've saved.  And since we try to avoid Commercial parks and resorts, don't have much use a Good Sam park discount.  As far as saving gas, I'd rather pay the extra $.05 a gallon than deal with the hassle of waiting in line for a register and then waiting again to check out or let them know the pump isn't working.  That $.05 a gallon savings on our current trip, which will take us close to 5,000 miles, saves us maybe $40.00 on a trip that is going to cost us maybe $7,000 in fuel and camp ground expenses.  It's just not worth the time and frustration.

You do not stand in line for the discount you swipe the card at the pump after your payment method