Sam's vs Costco vs BJs (not another debate)

[monkeyboy]

So was at Sam's using my new barcode scanner....not really any savings on most groceries compared to sales at supermarkets closer.

What is the experience been at Costo's or BJs?

 

[mhsjax]

So was at Sam's using my new barcode scanner....not really any savings on most groceries compared to sales at supermarkets closer.

What is the experience been at Costo's or BJs?

I save way more at Costco's than I do at my regular grocery store. For example, my DS loves smoked Gooda cheese. At my store $10.00 a pound, at costco, $5.75 a pound. Lots of other savings to, I just happened to purchase this today, so I remembered the price.

 

[merekc]

At both stores (Sams and Costco), I think it depends on what you buy and knowing the prices compared to the grocery store. Off the top of my head, milk, produce, some bakery items at Sams (here) are huge savings over our grocery stores. Typically I can buy milk for at least $1 less at Sam's. When I buy 5 gallons a week, it pays for my membership.

I think overall (at least here) Sam's prices are better than Costco's. However, they carry completely different items and there are some great value, quality items that are worth me keeping my Costco membership.

Other non-grocery savings areas (from my experiences) are tires at Sam, prescription glasses and travel at Costco.

We do not have BJs.

 

[fraggle551]

I only belong to Costco, and I absolutely love it. Like the poster above me, you have to know prices, and know what is cheaper. Cheaper at Costco than the grocery store for me are: butter, bacon, most cheese, maple syrup, fruit, half & haf, organic milk, eggs, dishwashing liquid, laundry detergent, any baking supplies, most spices, and I believe thats most. I know that sounds so unbelievably unhealthy, but I don't eat butter, bacon & cheese everday!

The customer service, and their own brand Kirkland, cannot be beat. Excellent quality, and excellent customer service. I am never giving up my Costco membership!

 

[MrsJackSparrow4Life]

I have noticed that things tend to cost the same at our super market as they do at Costco but at Costco you get 2-3 times more of the item.

This works really well with items we go through quickly, non-perishable items or if we are having a big party.

 

[Jedana]

I use BJs for mainly the paper goods, like toilet paper and paper towels, foil, cleaners, etc.

food wise, I get butter, the kids snacks, single chip packages for lunches, my dried cranberries, nuts, olive oil, things like that. Oh, and meats. The meats there are better quality than at any local grocery store, except Whole Foods, and I can't afford WF prices.

 

[luvmy3]

I don't have a Costco so I can't compare them, but I save alot at BJs because you can use mfr. coupons and combine them with their coupons too.

 

[MomofKatie]

I belong to Costco and BJs. Some things are better prices one place, some at the other. And, some things are better at the grocery store- you just have to go in knowing how much things cost at different places to know what is a good deal and what isn't.

We are a 3 person household, so some grocery items are a better deal at the grocery store even if the per ounce price is lower at the warehouse stores. If I have to buy such a large amount of whatever at the warehouse store, and half of it goes bad before we can eat it, it isn't a great deal.

Paper goods, toiletries, canned goods, and regular sized items like milk are great deals. Gallon jugs of mayo, 6 heads of lettuce, or 18 hot dog buns? Not such a great deal for us.

 

[tvguy]

I think knowing prices is the key.

But Costco is the focus of a class action lawsuit filed by members saying Costco deceived them. They listed a number of staples that sell at Walmart (not Sams Club) for less than Costco.

 

[MomofKatie]

I think knowing prices is the key.

But Costco is the focus of a class action lawsuit filed by members saying Costco deceived them. They listed a number of staples that sell at Walmart (not Sams Club) for less than Costco.

Why would Costco be accused of deceiving anyone? They don't say they have lower prices on every item than every other store in the country, do they? The phrase "buyer beware" sticks in my mind... customers have to make it their business to be informed, IMO.

 

[ChristmasElf]

To me, comparing Costco and BJ's is like comparing apples to oranges.

I find the quality of products to be MUCH BETTER at Costco versus BJ's.
Costco meats and produce are much better.

Costco looks over your receipt at the door without manhandling everything I bought.
BJ's pokes and moves every little thing in the cart. (One time I bought a 6 pack of soup and a flashlight. 2 ITEMS. The guy at the door picked up the soup, looked it over, looked at receipt, compared numbers, and then proceeded to do the same with the flashlight.

At that point DH says. "Are you kidding me? There are 2 items in this cart that you have just spent several minutes pawing all over" This is why we shop more at Costco.

We also have Sams here, but I would never shop there.

 

[bicker]

I suspect the difference you see between Costco and BJ's and Sam's Club is specific to each local area. They're pretty-much the same around here. They both offer both some opportunities to save money on certain things, and some opportunities to either overpay or overbuy other things.

For us, we're members solely because they offer a few things that we very much want, that we can't get elsewhere.

 

[golfgal]

I don't know that any of these warehouse places advertise that they are low price leaders-maybe I just missed it. The purpose of these places is really business use to buy in bulk--that has moved into the private sector. When you need to buy mayonnaise by the gallon, it is probably less expensive to get it at a warehouse store.

We just have Sam's Club near us. We mostly get meat there because it is significantly less expensive there, and MUCH better than the grocery store. We buy some other things, more for convenience than anything. I don't know that we "save" money, but we don't spend more either vs the grocery store.

 

[java]

I am not sure I am saving money but I go to Costco for quality. And I do save on certain items like Fruit and Milk. I don't think the paper products are such a great value there anymore- used to be good but the prices have made it cheaper to buy elsewhere.
Also some health and beauty stuff is way cheaper if you know what you are looking at. The shampoo we buy there is about 1/3 cheaper than if I were to buy it in a regular store.

Oh and DOG FOOD! I pay only $26 for a huge bag of Lamb and rice. That's more than half what I used to pay for dog food!

 

[Rora]

We have a membership at Costco and love it. We also like Sams but we just prefer Costco- real reason.

We don't like BJs however. Just a preference thing!

 

[luvsJack]

We don't have a Costco or BJ's but do have a Sam's. Use it for meat (cheaper and better), paper products, some fruits and veggies--fresh berries are much cheaper, veggies and fruit trays for parties are much chaper and so are salad greens, bread and chips--have to buy two of each to get the cheaper prices but that works great for us, one for the house and one for dh to take on the truck, pet food, kitty litter, large containers of oil (when we are frying a turkey or having a fish fry), cases of cream of soups--usually get those around thanksgiving when they will be used a lot and a few other groceries.

You really have to know your prices and specials going on and if you are not brand loyal, store brands in the grocerie stores will usually be cheaper. Our Sam's has their own brand of some things but not many.

 

[rwdavis2]

We shop at Costco (Columbia, MD) strictly for the meat selection. Huge selection and Prime beef is available. Otherwise it's Choice which is just fine. Not many specialty cuts such as skirt, tri-tip, and hanger steaks.
Nice selection of various cuts of lamb and veal as well.

 

[bettymae1121]

Costco shopper here! You really need to know your prices, while many of their prices are good deals, not all of them are. That said, I find that Costco isn't MORE than what I can find elsewhere, it's about the same (once you take the larger quantities into account), so even the things they have that don't save you anything, they aren't over charging you either.

The deals they do have are fantastic, and they send out coupons about 6x a year (maybe more) which makes the prices even better. Since it's just DH and I, we can usually wait for the coupons before running out of things. I'm making a big trip this weekend, I'm doing a huge stock up and coupons alone will save me $50 on top of what I'm saving to by shoping there to begin with!

 

[Hoodie]

We shop at Costco (Columbia, MD) strictly for the meat selection. Huge selection and Prime beef is available. Otherwise it's Choice which is just fine. Not many specialty cuts such as skirt, tri-tip, and hanger steaks.
Nice selection of various cuts of lamb and veal as well.

That's our Costco too!

Costco has GREAT meat. Also, their butter is fabulous. Don't know why, but it is! They also have great "big ticket" items - electronics, furniture, etc. - that BJs kind of lacks.

We tried BJs on one of their "free trial" offers. We found we liked it better than Costco. The hours are better (Costco hours are pretty restrictive - BJs is open until 9 every night but Sunday), they carry a lot of the brand names we like and the have a deli! My son LOVES Land 'O Lakes American deli cheese. It's usually $3 more per pound at the grocery store so we figure we pay for our membership with cheese alone. BJs takes both manufacturers' coupons plus their own. BJs is also a lot less hectic than Costco is. The Costco parking lot in Columbia is a mess!

It's funny that a PP stated that their Costco glances at the receipt while BJs does practically a body search. We've had the opposite experience. We're practically frisked going in and out of Costco but BJs is much more lax.

 

[npmommie]

We have a BJ's membership and I find that I save on things like paper goods, printer ink, cheese, other dairy products, olive oil, mac and cheese boxes ( annies brand), cereal, and I am sure there are other things, I just can't think of right now.
its especially good when there is a BJ's coupon and you also have a manufacturer coupon.
there are some things that are not cheaper, and are the same as when the grocery store has sale, but overall I think I save by getting some things there.

our BJ's is pretty lax at the door, I have never had anyone touch any of my stuff, they just scan the receipt and glance at the cart, never more than a 15 second thing at the most.

We used to have a Sams card, but I like BJ's better.
no Costco close enough to use for us.