Sam's, BJ's, Cosco, etc. Which warehouse do you prefer?

[hrh_disney_queen]

OK, I know the grass is always greener on the other side. I have a BJ's and Sam's warehouse both within a mile of each other, and both about 10 miles from my house. I belong to both, and find them each a great place to get bargains. But yesterday I was watching Oprah (I swear, I never watch her, only once in a while-LOL!) and she did a "bargain hunter's" show. She went into Cosco (It was really quite comical at how "amazed" she was at the deals-like she is EVER going to wear that $50 Cashmere sweater when she probably spends 10X that amount.) and was just in awe of the deals, and SAMPLES in there. From my "other side of the fence" perspective, I was wishing we had a Cosco here, too.

Which warehouse do you like best? I am especially interested in comparisons between two if you are lucky enough to have more than one.

It really tickled me (and Oprah) when the cashier quoted company policy about "check approvals" and had to call a manager to approve Oprah's check!

 

[binny]

we only have a Costco and I Love it!

 

[Blondie]

I used to belong to B.J.'s but once Costco came to town, I let my B.J.'s membership expire and I signed on with Costco!

Costo is brighter, cleaner and I think some of their products are a step up from what B.J's sells.

I've never been inside a Sam's before, so I can't comment on them!

 

[Dax]

We have a Sams about 10 mins away...and I hate it....So I drive the 35 mins to Orlando and go to BJ's to get my bulk stuff.

It was rumored we were going to get a BJ's locally, but that doesnt seem likely now....


I have been to Costco though, and I enjoy them the most...

 

[oogieboogie]

We have BJs and Sam's and I prefer BJs hands down. Why?

BJs has self-serve check-out lanes, takes debit cards, credit cards, checks, etc. and I don't have to stand in a long line.

I hate going to Sam's. No matter what time of day, there are 20 million people in line and only 3-4 cashiers. Urgh!

 

[FroggyinArk]

my favorite ware house is lowes followed by home depot,,, i really never liked sams, costco or bj's they always seem to have same stuff the discountstores have, not much cheeper, you have to buy these big bulky packages , when i am out of paper towels,, 1 or 2 rolls for a buck at grocery is just as good as 10 bucks for 25 rolls at the warehouse... plus i still have cabinet space and the sheds not overflowing, etc..

 

[mom2grace]

We have Sam's and Costco. Sam's was here first, Costco came in and gave free memberships.......$$ well spent on their part.

I love Costco, will never go back to Sam's. I agree about waiting to check out, plus Costco has these "seafood road shows" that are to die for, they are clean, the produce is top-rate, they have a lot more dry foods (such as sweetened condensed milk).

We even booked a cruise with Costco (not DCL, Celebrity) and saved 20%!!

 

[HollyJoy]

We have both a membership to BJ's and Costco... it's really a toss up.. We like Costco better for some things, then for others, we go to BJ's.

 

[Alice28]

COSTCO! I have nothing to compare it to, but it and Target are where most of my food and household expense $$ go every month. I get the best bang for my buck there by far. I have bought TV's there (including a portable DVD player), get my film developed there, buy produce, meat, order birthday cakes there, and Christmas gifts! Oh my goodness! They usually have the hottest stuff for kids every year at a good 25% less than Toys R Us; and books! It's clean, it's well-stocked, their employees are almost always incredibly helpful and friendly (I think they are paid well- it's a good company to work for), and I like that with my executive membership (which does cost more) I get 2% of my purchases back, I get car service (like AAA) for only $29 a year, I get check printing for about $7 for 400 checks....

My ONLY complaint about Costco is that they close kind of early on the weekends (6ish)

P.S. We LOVE to go there for lunch and feed our family of 4 for WELL under $10.

 

[mickeyboat]

We only have BJ's. But I have been in a Sams before and I liked it much better.

Denae

 

[cinmell]

I prefer BJ's Wholesale. I went to Cosco to see what it was like but they didn't have some of the products I purchas at BJ's and a few of the items were slightly higher priced.

Also, BJ's accepts coupons. They send out flyers with coupons and you can use the BJ's coupon in addition to the manufacturer's coupon for the same item.

 

[Saffron]

Costco! We used to belong to both Costco and Sam's, but we let our Sam's membership expire. I agree with Blondie ... Costco is much brighter, cleaner etc. I'm not afraid of their meats or their bakery products (we buy them all the time ), at Sam's I was. Costco also has a lot larger selection than Sam's. I love Costco! Their brand Egg Beaters products are fantastic! So are their paper towels and liquid fabric softener.

 

[gdulaney]

We have a BJ's (5miles away), a Sam's Club (10miles away) and a Costco (35miles away). I never joined Sam's Club, have let BJ's expire and love my Costco!!!

Costco seems to have more name brands and better deals (even taking into consideration that BJ's accepts coupons and I'm a BIG coupon user). For paper items, I hit Kroger (double coupons) or Target (when on sale). I also break down the cost/ounce or cost/pound to ensure I'm getting a better deal. And you can get great deals on meat (love the Costco deals on flank steak, ground beef, chicken, etc) and clothes (name brands at great prices).

Also...Costco has this great deal -- a giant yummy hot dog and soda for $1.50. Fruit smoothies and pizza are reasonable priced too. Yep....we've eaten at Costco too.

Ginny

 

[castlegazer]

I have been a member of Pace (old one that has snce gone out of business), Sam's and Costco, and am now a BJ's member.

I prefer BJ's to Costco - and most definately way over Sam's - not due to food quality because I sometimes like Costco's food selection better, but due to the new life-sizing of products in the clubs (food sizes that fit a family of three rather than an Army size household), the focus on family memberships rather than Costco's focus on business membership (this means that BJ's has aisle markers and tries to have a wider range of food and ready made foods for busy Moms like me), the range of payment options at BJ's is a necessity for me also as I do everything by Debit card and I use coupons a lot due to buying really expensive diapers a lot.

and because the OP mentioned Samples - I just want to note that I can have a full lunch in my BJ's here on almost every day of the week off of the samples. Earlier this week I sampled huge raviolis with Lobster, shrimp and mushroom and was encouraged to try each one as many times as I liked, and on another aisle I could get some yogurt, and then a chicken sandwhich shocasing three products at once on yet another aisle.

I am a die hard BJ's member.

 

[binny]

one more plus for Costco, we just refinanced our house through Lending Tree and because were members there we got a $350 Costco card! They also cut our closing costs because of our Costco memebership.

Costco coupons are great too. granted you cant use manufacturer coupons but their coupons are wonderful!

Also, if you guys like seafood, try Trident Seafoods Salmon burgers and Halibut. Thats the company my brother works for in Seattle and they are to DIE for!!

 

[monarchsfan16]

We have BJ's and Sams memberships. I HATE Sams. BJ's has higher quality stuff, is clean, has better food choices. I love the self checkout lines at BJ's-at Sams you are there forever. The people at BJ's are friendly and helpful-not so at Sams. And mom loves the fact she can use all her coupons at BJ's-but she can't at Sams. And since we buy everything in bulk anyway, we're at BJ's all the time.

 

[KarenC]

We have Sam's Club and Costco. When the Costco opened, I let my Sam's membership expire. The store is so much brighter and cleaner!

Also, although there doesn't seem to be much difference in prices, Costco treats their employees better than Sam's (Walmart) does. They pay a minimum of $10 an hour and pay 92% of employee health costs. Health insurance is available to most of their employees.

So there's an extra reason for me to prefer to shop at Costco!

http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/business/166680_costco29.html

 

[Aimeedyan]

I shop at Sams only because it's the only wholesale place near us... I hope we someday move to a location that has a Costco, because I really like them but for now we just shop at what we have =)

The membership savings on gas alone is worth it each year for us =)

 

[dizneenut]

I must be one of the few who actually likes Sam's.

I've had BJ's, Sam's and Costco memberships. I really like Costco, but once the free membership was over, we stuck with Sam's. We seemed to go there more often, and it is closer. The savings in gas alone is great. Our Sam's is always clean, everyone is friendly, and I rarely have to stand in line very long. I do wish they would get a self-checkout and accept manufacturer's coupons, but other than that, I love Sam's.

And, Sam's also has the Hot Dog and Pop for $1.50. That is a great lunch deal for my family of 6.

 

[Annette_VA]

Originally posted by oogieboogie
We have BJs and Sam's and I prefer BJs hands down. Why?

BJs has self-serve check-out lanes, takes debit cards, credit cards, checks, etc. and I don't have to stand in a long line.

I hate going to Sam's. No matter what time of day, there are 20 million people in line and only 3-4 cashiers. Urgh!

Ditto!

Plus, BJ's takes coupons. And, BJ's has a lot of baby stuff that Sam's never carries.

The only thing I don't like about BJ's is they never carry James Patterson's books for some reason. I always buy my books at BJ's & have to get my mom to pick up his books @ Sam's.