Costco vs. BJs and others...

[grey56]

First question: do you belong to one? (I'm assuming you do, since you opened this thread.)

Second question: why did you choose that particular one? Location? Selection? Coupons? Other?

Third question: why do you belong to one?

Fourth: what sorts of things do you buy there that you think make the membership worth it?

Fifth: What sorts of things do you NOT buy there (cost too high, poor selection, wrong brand, etc.)?

Thanks!

(I heard Costco has cheapo organic chicken breasts but there isn't one near me. I can get a discount to BJs through work and there's one in the next town. I'm considering.)

[Deleted]

Sorry....but what's BJs? Because I know it's definitely not what we've been discussing the last few days.

ETA - To answer the OP
1. Yes - Costco
2. Locations - One near me and my mom
3. I belong for the gas discounts, my mom actually shops there regularly.
4. Again speaking for my mom...she buys their chicken, produce and bulk items. I'll be ordering contacts from there soon. Oh and my mom likes their electronics, she's gotten her TV, camera lens, etc from there as well. The prices are usually the best.
5. I don't have a need for bulk items as a single person which is why I added my mom to my membership. I have a hard time shopping there aside from buying gas, the occasional giant box of tampons, and sheet cake.

[dexteroni]

1. Costco

2. Because of their quality and selection. We visited a BJ's once and my parents belong to Sam's and neither seemed as good as Costco.

3. To get good prices. Especially now that coupons aren't as plentiful as they used to be, plus they have better prices on things that almost never have coupons, like meat.

4. I'm sure there are a thousand answers to this, but we buy mostly household products there. It's so much nicer to be able to buy there and know I'm getting a good price rather than waiting for a coupon and scouring the ads for a sale. And we save our entire membership price each year by buying Dexter's Cosequin supplement through them instead of from the vet.

5. There are a lot of products that don't work for our two-person household, mostly due to quantity. I like their tortellini pasta salad and their croissants, but DH and I can never get through either while they're still fresh. So I only buy them when we're having people over. Outside of the quantity issue, there are some things I just don't like. One example is furniture; the few pieces I've seen there are very much not my style. And clothes; people race on here about some of their clothing items but the few times I've shopped for clothes there, there hasn't been anything I liked.

[grey56]

Oct 17, 2012 10:08:44 GMT -5 blissanity said:

Sorry....but what's BJs? Because I know it's definitely not what we've been discussing the last few days.

Oh good Lord, it must be regional. Kind of like how my cable company is Cox. :-|

BJs is a warehouse club type store, just like Costco, Sam's Club, etc.

[ohgillian]

Do you belong to one?
Yes, Costco

Why did you choose that particular one?
We formerly belonged to Sams, and I had read an article in Consumer Reports or some other mag comparing Sams, Costco and BJs and Costco was their preference. We decided to go look, and found that the real food selection was far greater than at Sams, which was more heavily into processed foods.

Why do you belong to one?
I never would have on my own, but DH was already into it before we met. I do like it though. I'm not willing to take time to do couponing, and this way I can reduce the grocery bill without going that route. I also like the ability to buy large quantities of things we use regularly, b/c we have the storage space and can afford to do so.

If I were an impulsive shopper, it would probably be a bad thing to belong there, but I'm not. I can only think of MAYBE 2 things I've regretted buying from there, and we did end up using all of both items.


What sorts of things do you buy there that you think make the membership worth it?

Nuts, organic chicken broth, olive oil (thanks to MM's rec), chicken (raw), coconut oil, butter, dried fruit, honey, 10 pound boxes of quaker oats (we go thru several year), vinegar, wine. Bar soap. Contact solution. We also use them for tires and eyeglasses.

What sorts of things do you NOT buy there (cost too high, poor selection, wrong brand, etc.)?

- Produce, because we get ours delivered weekly.
- Cheese, b/c we don't go thru the quantity fast enough
- Pepperoni, b/c we are pork free and I haven't seen the turkey kind there.
- Tea; they don't carry the kinds I drink
- Coffee, b/c we get it on amazon. I think Costco doesn't have the brand we drink.
- Peanut butter -- decided we hated the kirkland kind.
- Some natural food cooking items that aren't available -- dried beans is a huge example. I wish they carried them.

ETA: In general, I don't buy non-food items there, mainly b/c I don't buy a lot of non-food items, period. DH and I just don't buy much "stuff". This doesn't mean that I have any problems with the products at Costco, though, and once or twice I have gotten a Carters PJ for the kid.

[satama]

We have had all three and much prefer Costco. Sam's is no better than super walmart IMO, except for maybe a little better produce. BJs is ok, a lot of more processed stuff though and not as much stuff I want.

We love Costco for pretty much all of our produce, organic milk, rotisserie chickens, convenience items like premade refridgerated dinner items, cheese, frozen veggies, meat, eggs, half and half. Berry and lettuce prices usually cant be beat and we use a lot of both. We also buy random stuff there, toys, kids clothes (they sell carters and Hanna Anderson pj's), sheets, towels, and always get good quality items. I just have to be careful or I will end up with a big tray of cheese Danish or a giant tub of frozen cream puffs, because they are so darn good.

[grey56]

Hmm, it appears that Costco is the clear winner. Of course I just googled and there is no Costco in my state. OF COURSE. Arg.

[gumi]

First question: do you belong to one? (I'm assuming you do, since you opened this thread.) Costco

Second question: why did you choose that particular one? Location? Selection? Coupons? Other? We dont have BJs here and I dont like Sams Club. Costco is closer anyway with more locations.

Third question: why do you belong to one? Huge bags of spinach for $5! I love spinach salads. I save enough enough on spinach to pay for the membership, haha

Fourth: what sorts of things do you buy there that you think make the membership worth it? Spinach ;D Cottage and feta cheese, bathroom stuff like shampoo and razors, appliances and toys, tires and gas, bread and tortillas, rotisserie chicken, coffee, salt and pepper, freeze dried fruit and select other goodies. My kids also love to each lunch there and its soooo cheap and easy. I also use their pharmacy.

Fifth: What sorts of things do you NOT buy there (cost too high, poor selection, wrong brand, etc.)? I dont buy chicken or fish there because its cheaper to buy it on sale at the market. I also dont buy most frozen goods because I dont have a second freezer and everything is so big. Also, their produce is not cheaper than the sales at Sprouts. I used to buy diapers sometimes when there was a coupon but otherwise amazon was cheaper. Nice thing is, even if its not the cheapest, its never a bad deal.

[satama]

Oct 17, 2012 10:44:44 GMT -5 grey56 said:

Hmm, it appears that Costco is the clear winner. Of course I just googled and there is no Costco in my state. OF COURSE. Arg.

You can use coupons at BJs if that helps your decision. I would just go to both and get a day pass to look around and see which you like best. All three are within like 7 miles of my house, I would not go really far away for any of them, so just go see if you like one or pick the one most convenient to you.

[chessie]

there used to be a Sams in the area, but BJ's is the only one left. I like them for their fresh selection of veggies/fruits, meats, baking supplies, TP and paper towel. They take coupons and they have in store coupons so it works out even better most times. I been a member for 6 years now. Its worth it I feel, I share a membership with my mom. I am able to pack away enough for a few months, only go a few times a year if that even.