BJs Wholeale vs Costco

[NYCDiane]

Years ago, I had memberships at both but liked BJs better because they had more of what I was looking for and they also took manufacturer's coupons. I then just stayed with BJs and never renewed the Costco membership.

Well, my BJs membership expired about 3 months ago and I haven't renewed. I'm trying to decide now if I should just go back to BJs or switch over to Costco.

Has Costco changed over the years (at least 8 years!)? Do they accept manufacturer's coupons now?

Can anyone give me pros/cons of each so I can make a decision?

Thanks!

(oh, and I never use BJs gas because the lines are always ridiculously long and you end up wasting a gallon of gas just to save 10 cents per gallon!)

 

[Shelly F - Ohio]

I prefer BJ because they take coupons. Especially a few months ago when I needed to renew I got an email that stated I had saved over $456 last year. Now mind you there are only two of us in our family but I do stock pile things like toilet paper, shampoo, toothpaste, asprin , ect. At least enough to get us through 6 months. I mostly use the coupons they send us and sometimes the mfg coupon too.
Once I saw the grand total of what I saved I was impress.

 

[GatorMama]

So glad you asked! We're considering a membership but don't know which to pick... I think I've heard that Costco has better organic selection.... which would definitely win me over.

 

[DawnM]

We prefer Costco over Sam's or BJs. This may sound snooty, but our Costco is so much cleaner and the food is high quality. The Sam's romaine for example is the same cost as Costco, but Costco's lettuce is larger and feeds 5 of us for a small salad vs. 1.5 of the Sam's club lettuce, making Sam's more expensive.

The other thing I like about Costco is that they carry a lot of organics for far less than the local grocery store.

I find I prefer almost all of the Kirkland brand items more than the Walmart (Sam's) brands. We buy Kirkland brand of the following: toilet paper, medicines, organic salsa, lamb and rice dog food, coffee beans, and a few other items.

I don't know if BJs has their own brands or not.

Anyway, we love Costco and even though we have a Sam's membership, we rarely go there. The only reason I keep it is because it is closer to places we go more often so if we are in a bind, we go there.

Dawn

 

[LorieDisneyLover]

We belong to Costco and BJs. Each has different items I like and both are close to my home.

However, if I had to go with only one it would be Costco. I believe their products are better quality overall -- and the prices are cheaper. I have found many times the price at BJs with a coupon is the same as Costco without the coupon. (Costco still does not accept manufacture coupons but they have their own coupons sent by mail.)

Also... the return policy at Costco cannot be beat! They basically will take anything in return at any date if you are not satisfied ... except electronics which is 90 days (still a great time limit). My BJs on the other hand has terrible customer service and the return policy is strictly enforced (I think it's 30 days?) I never buy anything at BJs that I think I might need to return. I also find I have to look at expiration dates closely at BJs b/c they are often pass the date or close to it. That rarely happens at Costco b/c they turn over their supply so quickly.

 

[girli565]

I adore costco for their dairy and meats. The meats are a better quality than BJs in my opinions They're less fatty and have nicer cuts than the BJs meats. I like costco skim milk better than BJs, it tastes less watery (if that makes sense).

But I will say that BJs has a better selection of processed foods and frozen items. I normally only buy meats, chicken broth, dairy, fresh and frozen veggies so this is not a deciding factor for me. I wish Costco allowed manufacturers coupons but I don't really buy those kinds of products. Also the Kirkland brand of most things is amazing! I love their chicken broth and it's organic which is nice.

If I had to chose only one it'd be Costco.