It runs on a similar principal as price clubs like Costco or BJ's Wholesalers. You purchase a yearly membership, and get to shop in their warehouse. The average price for most items is comparable to the weekly special price of a sale item in a regular store, and many times you can find high end items at wholesale...sort of like factory outlet shopping, but you pay for the convenience of not having to drive halfway across the state to get to it, and you have both grocery and department store type merchandise under one roof. On top of the normal savings, there are weekly or monthly sales. People pay to shop there because they get trusted brand names, at low prices, in volume.