Costco, BJs, Sam's Club - Do You Have a Preference (Discussion)

[kdonnel]

We only have a membership to Costco but have a Sam's Club nearby as well. The nearest BJ's is too far away to be useful.

The worst part of going to Costco is having to enter the "Kill Zone" to get to or leave the store. I think it is amazing that people don't get run over every day. I think Costco should actually build tunnels to get people safely from the parking lot to the store and back.

 

[Moliphino]

And I only had the membership so I could shop there for our Little League snack bar. I haven't been involved in Little League in nearly 20 years, but we used to buy 60 pounds a week of hot dogs (thats 1080 hot dogs)

Those are some tiny hot dogs! Less than 1oz each.

 

[nancipants]

BJs is much closer to us and I prefer their variety of groceries. The prices are more expensive, but it's worth the time saved. It's also way less crowded than Costco, even on a weekend. We both work from home, so we usually go during our lunch hour and knock out our weekly grocery shopping. We have a toddler so he goes through a TON of snacks.

I prefer Costco for non-grocery items, though, and will probably keep a membership there.

 

[eticketplease]

We have all 3 and all have their perks.

Costco seems to have more high end products/brands than the others imo.

Sam’s offers free curbside and shipping for plus members (only way to get Rakuten cash back on shopping trips)
If you have the Sam’s Mastercard you get 5% back at any gas station. (Usually use at Kroger with fuel perks $ off )

BJ’s we feel has a bigger selection of groceries in manageable sizes. BJ’s also has an actual deli. Kroger has Boar’s head at $14.99 a pound vs $7.99 and yes I know it’s not the same quality but for that $$ difference I take it every time.

Agreeing with the others that have mentioned BJ’s has the least selection of clothes.

 

[leahgoogle]

We don't have a BJ's in the area. We have Sam's and Costco and we have a Costco membership. I feel like in my area, Costco is better.

 

[SharonZ]

Definitely Costco. Sam's Club is closer, and works in a pinch. To me BJs is a waste, not anything I could get at Costco or Sam's for a better price.

 

[MamaMermaid]

1. Costco
2. BJs
3. Sam's

 

[TiggerTrigger]

Our only options are Costco and Sam's. We are currently Costco members, but we've had Sam's memberships in the past. We're truly mixed with our preferences.

Sam's
We joined Sam's when we moved into this house (had been without any membership for a while). We had considered Costco, but Sam's was a little cheaper and we'd had good experiences with Sam's in the past. We had our products we liked and knew they'd be there with each return visit. This was a brand-new Sam's and they stocked a wide array of options, so we got our favorites and some nice variety on top of that. It was nice because sometimes you just want cheese and don't need anything fru fru and gourmet, but sometimes you also want fru fru gourmet and they had that too. Our nice new Sam's was one of the ones that closed when they started scaling back stores. I don't think it was open for more than 6 months! We were then stuck with a Sam's that was older, much farther from the house, and in a not so nice area. This is when we learned that Sam's stocks stores based on location. This inferior Sam's did not stock all of our favorites which we attributed to store location, so we ended our membership when the renewal date came up.

Costco
Costco is closer than the bad Sam's and about the same distance (in the other direction) as the good Sam's. Costco gets some really great options, although many are pricier than things we'd pick up at Sam's. We've also found that they carry fewer staples and often have to go with fancier options or just go back to buying these things at the grocery store in smaller quantities. The big issue is inconsistency. When you find something you like, you probably want to buy it again in the future. Unfortunately, Costco is like a pot luck. You never know what you're going to find when you go in, and it's highly likely that whatever you liked from a previous visit will no longer be in stock. It could be months before it shows up again...IF it shows up again. Even more basic things like cases of soda vary in availability. I might be able to get Diet Coke and Dr. Pepper this week, but in 2 weeks, there could be none. We've talked about ditching the membership, but it's still helpful for things like meat, cleaning products, toilet paper, and eggs. I know tires and travel are also popular aspects of the membership, which we may use at some point in the future.

 

[mmbrad02]

Team Sams Club here, although I currently have a membership at both Sams Club and Costco. I have no idea where the closest BJ's is, but this thread made me decide to go look - and there are none in our state (Kentucky)

I grew up going to Sams Club with my parents so by default its the one I'm most used to. Costco was never in our area back then, and still is not anywhere near my parents. A few years back, one opened up about 1 hour 15 minutes from where I live now and I had always heard just good things, I was super intrigued, but couldn't justify the cost to join plus the distance to get there (Sams is about 30 minutes from us).

However, I follow deals sites and have now had a Costco membership twice (just a year each time) when a $25 membership with coupons rolled out. I do like Costco and if the two clubs were side by side, I might feel differently about my loyalty I love the unique items from Costco (we got our Christmas tree there) and I love their clothing section for women, but overall food brands, we are able to do better at Sams Club for our family. Our current Costco membership expires at the end of November so I plan to go for one last haul of my favorite items soon!

 

[jimmymc]

I only have a Sam's club membership since it was discounted to $15. None of them are worth it for me at full price.

If I had to pick one, I would say Costco is better than Sam's Club, and I've never been to the BJ's. They all have similar gas prices, which is a large draw for me.

 

[tvguy]

Those are some tiny hot dogs! Less than 1oz each.

2.5 ounces per dog.

 

[Moliphino]

2.5 ounces per dog.

Must've been a typo somewhere then. 60 lbs with 1080 hot dogs would be .89oz dogs.

 

[Leigh L]

Yeah, my Costco is insane and it's one of the older warehouses so smaller. It's like doing battle there, although the checkouts usually run smoothly. I can always find something unique or unusual and seems like a treat to buy. Fortunately I didn't spend a lot on the BJs membership, but it was depressing. I think they have really gone downhill but I'll check out another one to verify that. At least the gas station will be a bit more convenient!

You might find some gift cards deals since you have it anyway.

For years, I had the $ 10-a-year online BJs membership, I easily covered it with savings in gift cards (esp during Black Friday or other promotions during the year). They discontinued this membership in the spring so upgraded me to a full membership. I went into the store and also made an online order we picked up. Was fine, but Costco is better.

It expires the end of the year and I'm not renewing, going to stick with Costco

 

[RangerPooh]

I have memberships at both Sam's and Costco. I shop at Costco regularly and Sam's only on occasion. Usually for scout camping trip items that are needed in bulk that Costco does not have (ie. pastries, individually packed muffins). Costco employees tend to be nicer and the store cleaner than Sam's.

 

[Lord Manhammer]

We have Costco and BJ's out here, which is fine since I don't care much for Walmart (who own Sams Club).

BJ's isn't very close to us but we love our Costco.

 

[NotUrsula]

We have both Sam's and Costo (BJs not available here.).

We use Sam's more often for grocery items, their bakery breads are superior to those at Costco, I find, though Costco excels at cakes. In general, Costco tends to have a better non-grocery selection. Costco also has very good automotive services, and the rental car savings tends to pay for the membership after one rental.

 

[bobbiwoz]

Never have been to BJ’s. The Sam’s is 30 miles away and Costco’s is more like 50 miles away. I have been to the Costco with members, and my impression was it was better than our Sam's, but it’s too far to get to for us.

@mmbrad02 , I just read your post. We have a very nice musical, lit, ceramic Christmas tree that we ought at a Costco. It even has moving parts, we love it! Glad you got a nice tree at Costco, too!

 

[Cannot_Wait_4Disney]

Those are some tiny hot dogs! Less than 1oz each.

2.5 ounces per dog.

Must've been a typo somewhere then. 60 lbs with 1080 hot dogs would be .89oz dogs.

 

[mumto3girls]

I currently have all three but think that is crazy.

Years ago Sam’s was the only option and I had it and used it. Then Costco came along maybe 15 years ago and I tried it out and loved it. I thought their produce was fresher and more variety, they had more organic items, I liked their clothes and their holiday items better. There was almost nothing I preferred at Sam’s. I let the Sam’s membership go even though it was closer.

Then the pandemic hit and I started shopping for my parents. My mom had dementia and was pretty far along. She couldn’t be left alone and she was not capable of wearing a mask or protecting herself—never had any idea there was a pandemic. My dad had a Sam’s membership and wanted specific items from there. I started buying things for my family while I was there and we discovered a number of things we really liked—frozen burgers, bottled tea, frozen chicken (similar to chik fil a), more variety in snacks and I found the produce to be much improved as well as the clothing. It’s also still closer. And now they have scan and go—love, love that. When I stopped shopping for my parents I got my own membership.

Then BJ’s came to down and I decided to try it. Not as impressed, but it is by far the closest. I mostly use it for gas. There are other items I am fine with, but not enough to keep the membership if not for the gas. They do have a deli that the other two don’t have and also sell liquor. I am in Pennsylvania and Costco and Sam’s don’t sell alcohol here. I don’t buy enough lunch meat or their limited selection of alcohol to keep the membership. And their clothing isn’t great. They do have the scanning thing. I might give that one up, I hesitate because of the gas though.

I will not give up Costco and will probably keep Sam’s. BJ’s is on the chopping block with me though.

 

[fla4fun]

We have a BJs about four miles away. I am not a member, although I used to be. We don’t have a Sam’s Club anywhere close to us. Costco is finally opening a brand new store next week (we haven’t had them either). As a single person right now, so many warehouse items are way too large for one person.