Costco, BJ's, or Sam's

[Blondie]

I prefer Costco.

 

[HayGan]

I like both Costco and Sam's but I would have to go with Costco. We gave up our Costco membership becuase it was too far away (and I get a discount on our Sam's membership through work.)

To be honest, I really don't see that much of a difference between the 2 but I give the advantage to Costco because of their optical department!

 

[Mandabella]

I've shopped at all 3 at various times. I vote for Costco.

They have great meat quality and it's such a better price per pound than the local supermarket. I made a meat run last week picking up ground beef, steaks, chicken, ground turkey, and turkey bacon.

As someone already mentioned and it really needs repeating, Kirkland brand generic Claritin....hello...$12 for 300 10mg pills?!??! I've been all over that for the past year or so! I also get my multivitamins there.

Extra Virgin Olive Oil....I think it's like $14-$15 for 3 liters.

I forget the cost per pound, but Locatelli cheese is the cheapest here than any other place including several Italian markets.

I'm about to get my next pair of glasses from Costco too. I just compared the cost of lenses with LensCrafters. At Costco, the lenses I wanted were $126 and at LensCrafters the same lenses were $235. Although Costco had a much smalle selection of frames, they were less expensive too. Even with the AAA discount, LensCrafters still would have been more expensive than Costco.

And for you Churro fans, Costco has hot fresh huge churros for $1.00 where you buy the pizza and other goodies.

 

[Papa Deuce]

Our Sam's doesnt have a Mcdonalds in it .. They have the little place that sells, pizza , hotdogs, etc.. Its cheap, you can get a hotdog and a drink 1.50$, what a deal.

Trust me... the hot dogs at Costco are WAY BETTER.... I have had both.

 

[NewJersey]

The family has a BJ and Costco membership. BJ's is closer...but we like Coscto better overall. Although there are somethings BJ's offers that Costco doesn't that we like.

 

[sha_lyn]

Trust me... the hot dogs at Costco are WAY BETTER.... I have had both.

The buns at BJ's are better. I believe both BJ and Costco use the same brand of hothogs, but their own bakery buns.

 

[pearlieq]

Costco!

I've had Sam's and Costco is way better! I love the snack bar, the endless sample buffet, the great prices, the wonderful party cakes, the pharmacy, and the fact that they take AMEX (I can't shop without getting something for it).

 

[Libby X 3]

Also have both Sam's Club and Costco's and am getting ready to let my Sam's expire. I'm a Costco girl for sure. Better quality products. And as others have said just like at Target you will find things you didn't even know you needed but just have to have. Love- Love- Love- Costco..

 

[golfgal]

I have only been to Sam's club so I voted for that. I would like to try Costco but the closest one is 20 miles away and even if I saved $30 like someone posted I would spend that in gas getting back and forth right now (or almost). Hopefully they will build one closer to us.

 

[Laurajean1014]

I truly love Costco. The meats, bakery, lawn equipment, floral and eye care are fantastic. However, you do seem to spend more because of the items that you pick up but don't necessary go there for.

It's a great thing.

They also offer car buying assistance.

 

[Aimeedyan]

We have Sams and Costco. I have been to Costco many times with friends or on a guest pass and never saw a difference. The prices were the same as Sams, too (we compared the items we purchased from Sams to Costco). The same layout, food court offered the same stuff for the same price, same service, etc. Heck, they're less than a mile apart!

HOWEVER

We discovered Costco's dog food. That alone was worth the cost of the membership. I wish more people realized how good it is! We got a membership just for that and rarely bought anything else until we went leather furniture shopping last week. On a last ditch effort to find something affordable, we swung through Costco. There - in their furniture aisle - sat exactly what we wanted in a brand we didn't think we could afford (Natuzzi). I took 3 naps on those new sofas this weekend and they are perfect! The price was incredible.

So, the cost of the membership was worth it for dog food and leather sofas even if we never step foot in there for anything else. I am still trying to figure out why people think it's so much better than Sams so I can buy those items and try them myself but so far, we aren't convinced. Except for dog food and furniture, of course

I'd love to hear product recommendations of items that Costco carries!

 

[Poohnatic]

Recommendations of Costco Products? I think you'll get tons of them, but here goes:

The new Kirkland Sea Salt and Pepper Grinders. 3.99 each with at least 5 times the volume you'd find in the McCormick brands.

We use kirkland paper products and they're just as good as name brands.

Their detergent is one of about 3 that don't irritate my very sensitive/allergy prone skin.

Dishwasher soap. Can't beat the price (5.99 for a two pack). I once ran out and couldn't get to Costco-had sticker shock in the supermarket that the small store brand cost so much.

Their bakery goods are delicious. I love the muffins. The last time I got a sheet cake from there, it disappeared pretty quick.

Butter-a three pound pack of butter quarters costs what a pound and a half would cost in the supermarket. (We freeze packages)

Those hotdogs, although they've changed the brand (again).

Non Kirkland products that still make the membership worth it:
Printer Ink. Mine is sold in a 3 pack, and I save 45 dollars buying it at Costco.

My refrigerator. Same exact model in Best Buy was 200 dollars more.

Wine (if yours carries it). Until Total Wine and More opened iin Tampa, it wasthe cheapest place to get many popular varietals.

Books-great bargains. I can't pop in there without looking at the books.

Tires-many a year, my tire purchase alone made the membership worth it. I'd put 25k a year on my VW, so I was buying Pirellis on a regular basis.

Our current bed came from Costco. We shopped every bed place in town, got savvy to which model was really which. Saved roughly 300 bucks by getting it from Costco.

Suzanne

 

[Charade]

The people who voted They don't save money, it's not worth it are all wet.

 

[ead79]

We only have Costco and Sam's here, no BJ's. I much prefer Costco over Sam's.

 

[Linda/MA]

We have both a Costco and BJ's membership. I like them both for different reasons. I like BJ's because it sells more "local type" items. Costco has great food though. We shop at BJ's more often because it's closer and not as crowded plus they have self-checkout and Costco doesn't.

 

[cynsaun]

Thanks everyone!

Ok, we went with the Costco membership, and walked out $300 later plus the membership. Holy cow!

I'm not sure how I will ever finish the 10 gallons of windex that I bought today, though.

 

[Mandabella]

I'm not sure how I will ever finish the 10 gallons of windex that I bought today, though.

Well if you also bought a copy of My Big Fat Greek Wedding, then you'll have some other ideas on how to use Windex.

 

[cynsaun]

Well if you also bought a copy of My Big Fat Greek Wedding, then you'll have some other ideas on how to use Windex.

 

[agnes!]

I forgot...we bought our last car using the Costco Auto Buying Service . Price was nicely under MSRP for a VERY popular car...Toyota Prius. Most places now are charging *over*(ugh) the MSRP.

agnes!