Costco or BJ's

[ols386]

I've never heard of BJ's. I have a Costco about 45 minutes away from where I live. I always liked them.

 

[mnrose]

I prefer BJs, no contest. I miss BJs so much, I only have Costco and Sams where I live


Costco drives me nuts, because my location at least, NEVER HAS THE SAME THING IN THE SAME PLACE!!! It's like the re-arrange the store for fun every week. And they have so many "seasonal" items. I was told in December that French Fries are Seasonal and won't be in stock again until late Spring. ***??

And, while they may have great customer service if you can find someone, I can never find anyone to help me locate the items they decided to move since my last visit. The aisles are clogged with people giving out samples, but those people don't work for Costco and so can't really help.

I miss BJs so much. I did find a selection of unique products there, they take (and mail out) coupons, and I find their products are sized well for family use.

That is absolutely on purpose. In our store, they've always got stuff in the "same general area", but specific locations vary. We have a dairy cooler (huge) with dairy, so that's always there, and veggies/fruits are always in the same section. Same with bakery. But, canned mushrooms? Might be one aisle over. They do it so you HAVE to search, and see all the other "treasures" you didn't know you needed. LOL. There was a CNBC special on this a few years back. Look it up. It's fascinating. I love Costco!

I was a BJ's member years ago, and hands down, Costco is better. No question. I shop there at least once a week.

 

[tvguy]

No BJ's here.
My only experience with Costco was with our Little League, and we ended up just going to Smart and Final, which USED to be a membership store like Costco, (or Price Club) just smaller. They dumped the membership, and kept their pricing policy. Prices are within a few cents of Costco, and there are about 6 Smart and Finals that are closer than Costco.
For our home, we end up at the Neighborhood Walmart. I don't have the patience to deal with the Costco crowds. The Costco gas I don't get. Always a line several cars long, the usually the price is the same as, or one or two center lower as ARCO, which has no lines.

 

[AppleDumpling]

OP, it seems like you should try out both in your area, because clearly different locations of the same warehouse club can vary.

I remembered another thing that's different here at BJ's vs. Costco. BJ's has self-checkout lanes and at least one express lane (8 items or less) manned by a cashier. Costco does not. There are times when I'm only buying a few items where this comes in handy. When, for example, I'm going there just to pick up a sheet cake for a party, I don't want to wait in the long lines.

 

[pryncess527]

That is absolutely on purpose. In our store, they've always got stuff in the "same general area", but specific locations vary. We have a dairy cooler (huge) with dairy, so that's always there, and veggies/fruits are always in the same section. Same with bakery. But, canned mushrooms? Might be one aisle over. They do it so you HAVE to search, and see all the other "treasures" you didn't know you needed. LOL. There was a CNBC special on this a few years back. Look it up. It's fascinating. I love Costco!

I was a BJ's member years ago, and hands down, Costco is better. No question. I shop there at least once a week.

yeah, I guess I don't appreciate that "feature" so much . . .

I miss BJs so much. Especially the deli. With the Cooper's Cheese . . .

 

[soccerdad72]

I remembered another thing that's different here at BJ's vs. Costco. BJ's has self-checkout lanes and at least one express lane (8 items or less) manned by a cashier. Costco does not. There are times when I'm only buying a few items where this comes in handy. When, for example, I'm going there just to pick up a sheet cake for a party, I don't want to wait in the long lines.

Our Costco tried it for a while, but they went away last year sometime. Not sure why, as I agree with you - if I only have a couple items (not that it happens often ), it was nice to be able to just scan it myself.

 

[Micca]

As some have said here the place can be a complete madhouse.

I have found this too, but Costco here does a really good job of making some order out of the chaos. During busy times the checkout lines can stretch back into the aisles of the merchandise, but the checkout people move them along at a very high rate. Costco is great for electronics like computers & tvs due to generous warranty and return policies. I bought some eyeglasses there that were literally $200+ dollars cheaper than my local optician.

 

[Liberty Belle]

We don't have a BJ's here and we're not members of Costco, but I know a lot of my coworkers are and love it.

 

[Gigi@Disney]

Costco, hands down. Plus if you travel it's world wide.

BJ's was just meh.

 

[Marchand63]

I love Costco, my DH loves BJs We have both memberships

 

[Frozen Canuck]

We were Costco members for years, then we moved and BJ's was closer, so we dropped our Costco membership and started going to BJ's. It didn't take us too long to realize what a mistake that was and found ourselves driving a little further just to be at Costco again. We found that the produce at BJ's was consistently horrible. They left the older stuff out languishing and wouldn't bring out the fresher stuff because the older produce hadn't sold yet. By the time the "fresher" stuff was put on the shelves, it was also on its last legs. It was a vicious cycle. At Costco, their fresh food is almost always very fresh due to the high turnover. I also found the quality of BJ's items to just be average...nothing super special to be found there overall. One thing that we did like about BJ's over Costco was the deli where they would slice lunch meats and cheeses for you. Costco only has their deli meat sold in pre-portioned packages and we didn't care for the thicker cut they use. There are lots of other great things about Costco, such as their cheque (check) printing, auto purchasing program, etc. Their Kirkland branded items are almost always as good as or better than the name brands. Plus, their rotisserie chicken was rated the best out of a number of candidates in a taste test done a few years back. We also shop a fair bit from Costco.com. They seem to carry a number of items that aren't available in their stores, the prices are really good, many items ship free, and returns are easily made in store if necessary. I have told my husband that we can not live in a location that doesn't have a Costco nearby ever again!

 

[mrsstats]

I belong to all 3 - I would rank them Costco, Sams, BJ's. The plus with BJ's (if important to you) is that they take manufacturers coupons. Costco has the $4.99 chicken, the $1.50 hot dog and soda lunch and great car rental prices. I think either would allow you in to look around.

 

[Frozen Canuck]

I bought some eyeglasses there that were literally $200+ dollars cheaper than my local optician.

I forgot all about the eyeglasses! But yes! +1 to this. We purchase all of our eye wear at Costco. Also, they sell a little package for about $5 that contains 2 small spray bottles and 1 travel-sized spritzer of eyeglass cleaner, a couple of eyeglass cleaning cloths, and an eyeglass repair kit/screwdriver thingy. From that point on, they will refill your lens cleaner bottles for free! (I know...it doesn't take much to get me excited these days.)

 

[Gigi@Disney]

I forgot all about the eyeglasses! But yes! +1 to this. We purchase all of our eye wear at Costco. Also, they sell a little package for about $5 that contains 2 small spray bottles and 1 travel-sized spritzer of eyeglass cleaner, a couple of eyeglass cleaning cloths, and an eyeglass repair kit/screwdriver thingy. From that point on, they will refill your lens cleaner bottles for free! (I know...it doesn't take much to get me excited these days.)

Yes! It's the little things!
When I go to California/Colorado and do a Costco run, I can get milk, eggs, produce and (of course) the 4.99 rotisserie chicken and that alone lasts me almost a week for one person for about $25 spent. So I'm with you on the "little things" ha ha! Costco, Trader Joe's and I'm

 

[Patch'sD]

BJ's, 5% cash back on all BJ's Purchases and 10 Cents off a gallon of Gas with the BJ's Credit Card. Coupons work great and Dietz and Watson Deli Meats. 7.99 per pound for London Broil Roast Beef can't be beat. Good meat and Chicken Selection.

 

[Dancind]

We are moving to Portland and will have a Costco a few blocks away. Guess we will go more. With just two of us now, we've quit buying in quantity. But we can buy things like a 5 pound bag of wild shrimp and vacuum seal it into smaller servings. And they are getting a lot more organic stuff, but again too large for us. DH likes the organic corn chips though, and the cheaper gas.

 

[Micca]

With just two of us now, we've quit buying in quantity

This would be us also as concerns large quantities of food. That's a shame because their food items are mostly excellent! We do still buy the ginormous sizes of things like paper goods (kleenex, toilet paper, paper towels, napkins), kitty litter, some OTC meds, etc. DW likes to buy some casual clothing at Costco and things like socks, sweats and so forth.

 

[Julie's Haircut]

We tried both but gave them up because neither really met our needs. Perhaps they had better day-to-day prices, but almost everything was cheaper at supermarket sale prices. I don't think we saved enough to cover the membership fees. And I really don't like the limited selection and having to buy larger quantities.

Of the two, I preferred BJ's. Costco had way too much organic, "natural", and "healthy" stuff, items I generally avoid.

In NJ, it's not necessary to be a member to buy gas or use the pharmacy and optical departments.

 

[dragonrider2014]

I have memberships to both Costco and BJs and prefer BJs for the following reasons. As others have said, BJ's has a great deli where you can get deli meat sliced to order and not just the prepackaged like Costco. I also feel that BJs has a much better Bakery with a wider selection. Also where I lived, BJ's has a bigger selection of items to choose from. At the BJs I shop, the produce is actually better than the Costco but I have heard that is not the case from friends in other areas.

I do think that Costco has a better selection of clothing and household items. I found sheets at Costco that I love and have purchased 3 sets and the price couldn't be beat. Same for towel...great price and so soft!

And it is because of those difference, that I keep a membership at both.

 

[low-key]

BJ please