Discount Warehouse Shopping Comparison - Costco versus BJ's versus Sam's Club
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I belong to all the various discount warehouse chains available to me. I have belonged to many of these for years and have come up with a small list of things I like and dislike about each chain that I have decided to share here in HubPages.
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Costco
Costco is what I like to refer to as the high end of the discount warehouse chains. They offer a nice well organized environment, discount gas and Auto services at most locations and the standard fair of services as well.
Pro's for Costco:
- Clean
- Fabulously low deli food prices, hot dog or polish for 1.50
- Discount Gas
- Discount General Services
- Discount Auto Services
- Well Organized
- Seems of all the chains to have the same items available the most often
- Great warranty on electronics
- Higher end and less crowded
- Less militant product checkers at exit doors, (why do they do this anyway?)
Con's for Costco:
- Highest cost of the 3 compared here I think
- Seems to have only higher end products for purchase most times.
- Locations are sparse and it's at least far away 20+ miles for me.
- Takes debit cards and American Express only so you're limited.
- Offers Food samples I hate this. Folks looking for a free meal. Plug the aisles and are generally rude.
- Weird square milk containers that do not pour without spilling, I hate these.
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Sam's Club
Sam's Club is the next in line, what can I say it's Walmart in volume.
The stores are everywhere, so much so I think they must compete with each other it's a bit weird. The stores are not always very well organized or very clean and are perpetually busy with what seems like few checkouts and accept there own charge card and Discover.
Pro's for Sam's Club
- Cheap Low prices seem the lowest of the bunch
- Discount Gas
- Discount General Services
- Discount Auto Services
- It's everywhere , locations abound
- Less militant product checkers at exit doors, (why do they do this anyway?)
Con's for Sam's Club
- Stores tend to be crowded, cluttered a bit and not clean in my opinion
- Recurring items are not common, it seems week to week I can never get the same items
- Offers food samples I hate this. Folks looking for a free meal. Plug the aisles and are generally rude.
- Weird square milk containers that do not pour without spilling I hate these.
- Checkouts, these folks emulate Wal-Mart they need to reduce the lines.
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BJ's
The least known and more East Coast and South chain. It's right in between Sam's and Costco it tend to be less crowded and well thought out. It has a deli for lunch meat, I like this.
It has recurring brands I can get week to week that vary quite a bit from Costco and Sam's this is a nice thing. They have things in less volume as well I can buy salads in containers similar to my local grocery store and not a 55 gallon vat version like Costco and Sam's.
Pro's for BJ's
- Accepts there own coupons and manufacturer's coupons as well so if your a coupon person this is a great deal.
- Some discount services.
- Clean and well organized
- Mid priced. not Sam's and not Costco.
- Good quantity not huge vats fo things
- Milk is in oridinary jugs a big Plus on that.
Con's for BJ's
- Fewer Locations that even Costco and regional
- Self checkout is terrible and can take forever.
- No Gas at any location I have visited, some may have it but I've not personally seen one.
- They have food samples too, but it's not the chaos of Costco or Sam's
- Militant door checkers, borderline insane actually, these folks need a different purpose in life.
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Conclusion:
I used all three but to be honest I'm ditching Sam's , I hate going there. The place is personally a turn off for me. No reflection on the people working there but I can't stand navigating the sample crowds and then waiting an eternity in the checkout line already aggravated I was there in the first place.
I like Costco but not on the weekends, It's rivaling Sam's environment but I'll keep this one as it has products my wife likes so that's it. I actually prefer BJ's it's closer has the right milk containers and the checkout is pretty good other than the self checkouts which I do not go to anymore. I do wish the loss prevention folks there would not go through every item on the receipt at the doors. What did I just checkout for.. if you want to do that lets just checkout at the door and save a employee position.
Additional Information:
Costco has raised it's membership fees' 10% The basic memner ship is now $55.00. I still like Costco. I have to admit I like the cheap lunch's every once in a while as well.
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Micki I have to agree with you, I know this is a loss prevention techinque to save $$$ for the stores. At Costco for example once you leave the checkout there is food you can buy and customer service , so for the less honest folks in life I guess thats a chance to shoplift something. My point is do the checkout and then have a exit. At the same time I wonder why Target and even Wal-Mart stores do not have the same mechanism in place.
The BJ's in Utica, NY sells gasoline--with member prices, too.
Statistics now show that retail theft has risen to become one of the largest crimes in America and costs each family approximately $435 per year. I don't know about you, but frankly, having Costco look over my cart as I leave the store doesn't bother me in the least. After all, unlike traditional stores that put your merchandise in a bag, the clubs do not. It is easier for a shop lifter to steal in these situations then in a traditional store.
Of course, they would have to stick those huge, hard to open, plastic packages in their undies and that would make it a bit hard to get out of the store. Give these guys a break, Costco is the best of the lot, customers take advantage of their no questions asked satisfaction guarantee and I have seen some really crazy returns....like fresh flowers that died after a week in your home...or a tomato plant in the pot returned in September after the growing season is over and get their money back.
Other retailers should learn from Costco, they are Best of Breed. Read my article about saving money by understanding their pricing codes,
Hope the management team can read this and evaluate their policies.
I had a Costco manager explain to me, that the checking at the door was more to ensure that their clerks did not miss anything. Also, he noted that their margins are narrow and missing one case of soda was a margin hit for the store.
A couple of other points that are great about Costco.
- The company has a policy that the CEO can not make more than 30x the lowest paid employee.
- If you spend the extra $50 and get an Executive card you get 2% back at the end of the year, up to $500, on your purchases (except gas). This more than pays for my membership every year.
- I also own a business and they will deliver my non-perishable order straight to my office at no additional cost.
- If you want to use a credit card, buy off of Costco's website. It works there, I found that I could buy computers for my business there and custom configure them for less than in the warehouse.
I don't know about the square milk. Ours comes in jugs.
Hello everyone, especially those of you bashing Costco. I work Member Services for Costco in one of the busiest Costco's in our area. The reasons for our checking you carts and your receipts are just as was brought up by someone earlier, to keep our costs down. We are looking for theft, yes, this is true, but, we are also looking for things which were missed by the Front End Cashiers.
When Costco first came into our area, I was a member of both Sam's and Costco for a couple of years, and to myself and my wife there was no competition between the two of them, Costco won out, and we dropped our membership to Sam's, long before a became an employee.
I would not still be employed by Costco if it weren't for the fact that I caught a $400 + Dyson Vacuum cleaner that a cashier missed. The couple had a full shopping cart about $450 worth of food, groceries and sundries and the cashier somehow missed the Dyson, which saved the company money and the honest customer/member time in coming back to pay for the item.
I'm actually an emply for Sam's Club. We have MANY faults but at least at my club when it comes to member experience we're pretty good. We have the same hotdogs Costco does and we have normal milk jugs and we do take Mastercard. And working at the door an hour a month for three years I can tell you I personally have saved the corporation at least a thousand dollars, so it makes sense.
I'm a member at Costco (Bergen County, NJ) but last night visited BJ's on a 60-day pass. Here's what I noticed:
-Costco has better layout of the isles, makes it easier to walk through the warehouse
-My local Costco has some furniture items (sofas, tables, chairs, etc) while BJ's does not. And prices of many items are competitive
-BJ's has better variety of many items
-Costco is open until 8:30 and BJ's until 10 during the week
-I thought there were less employees around at BJ's and their average age was much lower than those of Costco
-Meat prices at Costco are generally lower. BJ's had more 3rd party products thus raising price per unit
-BJ's offer items in smaller quantities
I've only been to Sams once and they seemed fairly similar to Costco (from what I remember of 3 year ago trip).
Comparing BJs and Costco, I find that BJs does have a little better selection in several areas... but their prices are too high. When I can go down the block to Target or Walmart and buy things CHEAPER without paying a membership fee it bothers me. So much so that after 5+ years as a BJ's member, I let my membership lapse 4 months ago. There is a BJs on Long Island that sells Gas. OCCASIONALLY it has a good member price for gas. MOST of the time, it's, at best, 2 cents cheaper than other stations less than 2 miles away. And no Costco on Long Island has gas... though at least two I've gone to had gas stations nearby that went under and would have been, presumably, an easy thing for them to take over and convert into a Costco Gas.
I've been to several BJs and Costcos on Long Island and they are for the most part, the same at each. I don't buy a wide variety, but things that I do buy I rarely have trouble finding (if the chain carries it to begin with).
Plus for BJ's: EXPRESS LANES. though sometimes they are less than express.
Plus for Costco: MOVIE TICKETS!!! And other event tickets and items.
Compare the food courts of BJs and Costco and there is no comparison - Costco is always crowded and BJ's, at best, has an employee on their lunch break.
Bj's hands down is the best wholesale club! Costco is so over priced, what do members save at that club? Why shop at sams? its just a wal-mart with a member ship fee. Bj's is so member friendly from the minute you walk in and untill your on your way home. Just vist your local club you'll see what your missing. To sum up at Bj's your a member not a number.
I have been a Costco member for a couple of years because I like their dog food and could only buy it there. Recently, I was able to locate the dog food elsewhere and so reconsidered renewing my membership as I drive past a BJs 5mins from my home to go the extra 15mins to Costco. So yesterday I went into BJs and approached the membership desk to see about a daily pass to try the store out. I waited there for more than 5 mins before being helped even though there was no one in line in front of me. When the clerk decided to help me, she was actually surprisingly rude and unhelpful. I was asking about the membership and if the "executive" membership worked the same way that Costco's did and she just repeated a mantra like she was a zombie "2% cashback at the end of the year." I said, ok but if I don't earn back to the full amount of the higher membership, will I receive that as cash? She just kept repeating herself and blinking rapidly like I was stupid or something. So I asked if I could look at a brochure and she said there wasn't one. I was really trying to be patient because I realize one rep isn't the whole story of any store but man I was getting irritated. I said, well don't I need to sign something if I get a membership? She said yes. I asked if I could look that over and she said no because everything about the membership she already explained to me. Wow.
I went ahead and walked around the store anyway - really hoping I would like it better since it was so much close -- but I really wasn't impressed. I love the Kirkland brand and I love Costco's prices. I compared prices to things I regularily buy like:
liquid glucosamine -- cheaper at Costco's
Paper towels and toilet paper -- same price
Dog food -- cheaper at Costco's
laundry detergent -- Cheaper at Costco's
etc.
I also noticed that Costco's has a lot of house brand products where there weren't as many at BJ's. No house brand laundry detergent, trash bags, etc.
Additionally I saw that the name brand items I don't usually buy anyway were the same price I would pay at my local grocery store, such as Tide and Finish.
I also wasn't impressed with the layout of store -- it didn't make a lot of sense to me and I ended up wandering around a lot looking for my regular buys to do a comparison.
On our way out, we stopped by the food section and liked the variety and ordered pizza with a couple sodas and have to say Costco pizza wins hands down! Not only that, but the clerk overcharged us $1.00 for a $3.00 meal which I just didn't feel like dealing with.
So even though I am disappointed that it didn't work out, I am happy to be reminded that I have been shopping at a high quality warehouse all this time.
I like Costco better than Sams Club. Never been in a BJ's. The only reason I go to Sams Club is they have a couple of items I like that Costco does not carry.
my wallet was stolen and bjs club card was in it...getting a replcment license for photo id but had a plain no photo license to prove who i am. bj's refuses to give me a replacement card until i have a photo id, depsite me telling them all the account details. down to the weekly items i buy there....sometimes they make an exception, but not for me. the great thing was the manager helping (sic) me, had a title of Memnbership Acquisition and Retention....good luck to him
Michael I have to agree with you, in terms of customer "friendliness" I'd rate them Costco, Sam's BJ's.
In a seperate topic that has a few responses above, I seriously dislike this whole idea of "checking" your cart to "make sure you were not overcharged". I wish they would stop insulting my intelligence. They should simply implement some better controls on checkout and eliminate this step entirely, rather than implement a crutch to mitigate a poor process design.
After a Sam's club member for 12 years I am Not renewing my membership. I am tired of waiting, waiting, waiting on checkout lines. I don't know about anyone else, but I think its rude how they don't care how long your wait is. My time is more valuable than saving a few extra pennies. At Costco they are curteous, have 2 people working each checkout and I'm done in a fraction of the time.
Ok so i am doing this project comparing BJ's Costco and Sams club. Where do they all get their fresh product from? Anyone :)
Produce from bjs comes from burros frozen logistics
I'd just like to comment saying I work loss prevention at the door at BJ's. Our point isn't just checking for theives, but also checking for cashier's mistakes. You don't know how many times I caught a cashier who overscanned papertowels or something and charged somebody twice. So we're there to really help you out.
Having worked at BJs for about 4 years as a cashier, they are a really great wholesale club. We absolutly take coupons and if you are patient and work the deals right you can combine a bjs coupon with a manfacture's coupon which is where the savings really come from. Also instant rebates are always popping up around the store which adds up really fast. If you just pay attention to the flyers in the beginning of the store and the monthly coupon books and even go as far as looking in the sunday newspapers you can clearly see that the deals at BJs by far surpases everybody elses unit prices. I can't imagine a wholesale not accepting manafacture's coupons when you can go to any other store and use them on the single items anyways. Self checkouts are a pain and you are better off going through a cashier most of the time.
I have had Costco and Sams memberships in the past. I'm now a BJ's member. Love love love BJ's. You can stack coupons on brand name items - I got $6.00 off of paper towels last week with a BJ's coupon and a Bounty coupon.
I have never had a problem with BJ's Customer service. Exactly the opposite. The cashiers are always friendly and helpful. BJ's has FABULOUS cheeses and I recently tried the BJ's brand of Bar-b-que ribs next to Lloyds brand. The entire family agreed we liked the BJ's brand better. And they have a crab salad that is to die for.
I have shopped at Costco and BJ's in NH within the past few years. BJ's is rarely better than Walmart for pricing so I can't say they are even close to being competitive with Costco. BJ's gas prices are no deal either. I often find local stations cheaper or within 2 cents, so no deal there. Local Costco (Nashua) does not have gas. I also find that Costco products are often of better quality. That's not to say that BJ's sells junk, just been happier with purchases from Costco. Costco is not perfect, but I also like the fact that you often see the same cashier's there year after year. It says a lot about a company.
I have shopped at Sam's and BJ's for awhile. I was shocked to see a manager at Sam's being rude to a young employee and made a complaint accordingly. Both Sam's and BJ's have a great selection and price. The employee's seem to go out of thier way in Melbourne Florida and Palm Bay. However, I refuse to venture into the Vero Beach Sam's. If you are a person of color, it seems you are followed thru-out the store!
If you are buying electronics, Costco is the best. You can't beat their 2 year no questions asked warranty.
Just visited BJs n a very affluent neighborhood around me. It was HORRIBLE!!! The store was filthy, very unorganized, and the prices were very high. I could go to the grocery store and buy the same exact items for less. Why would I pay a membership fee to spend more on things. Also, they had a horrible selection on everything other than food!!!!!
I have not been to a Cosco's, none in my area.
Sam's club is much cleaner and much more organized here. Their selection is great, they have many different items than BJ"S. Hands down, in my area Sam's club wins. That's probably why it's so crowded and BJ's was a ghost town!
Costco member here. I find Amazon Mom superior to Costco for baby food, diapers, wipes, etc (plus free shipping). Gas prices at Costco are usually lower than other places in town, but not by as much as they used to, lucky if it's ever more than 5 cents below Raceway. Meat prices and quality are good, but I'm more of a chicken eater and Walmart prices are still under $2/pound, better than Costco. Fruit prices at Costco aren't very good anymore either, and very often you find rotten or bad tasting apples, grapefruit, etc. Yeah, we all know fruit is a gamble, but at least at Walmart you don't need to buy a months supply to find out if it's a good gamble or not! Probably only 3 things I really like at Costco that I can't find better anywhere else (3# bags of almonds, Healthy Choice soup, turkey burgers), but besides that, not much. Also noticed they seem to be losing control of prices over the last year, many things going up more than ever before. Perhaps they need to tighten up their return policy and great customer services because a few unreasonable people can drive up costs for all members. And now with the increased membership fee, I have to seriously consider passing on Costco and going back to Walmart for what I need.
Discount Shopping Links
- BJ's Wholesale Club
BJ's Wholesale Club - SAM'S CLUB
SAM'S CLUB - Costco.com: Offering thousands of items you won’t find in your local Costco.
Costco Wholesale operates an international chain of membership warehouses, carrying brand name merchandise at substantially lower prices than typical retail.
Micki Mayes 2 years ago
We live near Davenport Iowa where we shop at a Sam's Club. We are tired of being treated like criminals when we have ligitimately paid for everything in our cart, and then stopped at the door to see whether we have "over paid" for anything (or so this is what Sam's Club says as if they are trying to help the customer). This is not necessary, and we would like to know if there are any steps that we can take to stop this activity. If anyone has any ideas please contact me mickster18@frontiernet.net.