Costco v BJ's v Sam's
 

I have never been in a Costco store, but many on this forum wax lyrical about them.

What are the main differences between a Costco and the other two?

Thank you

Different sources have done comparisons in the past. My recollection is all three were basically the same but with minor differences that might be important to certain customers.

For me, Sam's is close, BJ's wanted me to cut coupons to get good prices, and Costco wasn't around. I'll probably take a look at Costco but it will take something significant to make me switch.

Chevy Truck vs. Ford Truck.

:ho:

Hmmm. Never driven (or been in) either of those :-)

Our neighbor takes us to Sam's and we recently joined BJ's (golf-cart accessible, plus it cost $50 for the year and we got $50 credit, plus a free turkey).

Mrs Fox has been to Costco (once) and loved their kitchen utensils and Hallowe'en candy.

I went for the first time into a Costco a while back. If someone had put a blindfold on me and led me to the middle of the store and took it off, I wouldn't have been able to tell you if I was in a Sam's or Costco or whatever. I quit going to these places years ago, I don't need to buy items in the quantity sold there. Unless you have serious gastro problems, why do you need to buy a pack of TP that would last an army platoon for a month?

Costco will have numerous(sometimes as much as 10) areas in the store which allow customers to sample food. Around holidays they seem to be better. At least for me, Costco does sell better quality hot dogs for 1.50 including a drink and they are very efficient(will have 5-6 people working there and Sams has 3-4 people doing the same)

Sams does sell a lot more junk food.

I've been members of all three. Sam's Club and BJ's are pretty good, having cheaper gasoline and pretty good quality meats (in bulk, of course!). Costco is usually bigger with more choices, perhaps a shade lower in prices. What I notice mostly is how enthusiastic and helpful Costco employees generally are in comparison to the employees at the other two. I guess you get that when you pay a better wage, offer better benefits and don't try to keep employees under 40 hours a week to keep them from getting benefits. Or maybe it's the fact that the CEO of the company makes something like 7 times as much as the average employee (I may have the number wrong; it's from a special I saw on them years ago) instead of 50 or 100 times as much.

Some people just freakin' LOVE the $1.50 quarter-pound hot dog-and-a-soda deal that Costco has had for years. I tried it once and I thought it was a tube full of gas instead of meat. But then, I'm annoyingly particular about hot dogs.

Hot dog and a soda at Costco: $1.50
Hot dog and a soda at Sam's: $1.38
Hot dog and a soda at BJ's: not sure they even offer it

I like the basically middle class stuff at Costco, their service when installing appliances or furniture. Doubling of warranty when you buy from them, and the usually lower price than what most retailers ask. The jewelry, Costco has an authentic diamond background. The reliability of many of the brands they carry, the fresh food etc etc.

I can tell something they all have in common? You have to pay just to shop in them…

Heart burn $1.50

Heart burn $1.38

Maybe no heart burn :a040:

You might want to see your PCP if a hot dog gives you heart burn ;-)

Sam's club seems to have more fresh fruit and vegetables than BJ's. BJ's seems to have more seasonable items than Sam's club. Costco has everything.

BJ's is golf cart accessible, but it's WAYYYYYYY up on the furthest northeasterly part of The Villages that you can get. So if you're down south of 44, or near Brownwood, or even south of Sumter, it's not convenient at all. They offer the same dog and soda deal the other two offer, $1.50. Their dogs aren't as good as Sam's though, and their condiments (watery relish, watery yellow mustard, watery ketchup) are pathetic. For an extra 50 cents you can swap your soda out for a frozen coke. BJ's gas is the cheapest in the area, even less than Sam's but it's members only. If you have a BJ's credit card, it's even cheaper than that. They don't have a pharmacy but they do have a full-service optical department.

Sam's is not golf-cart accessible at all, it is also on 441 but further south, across from Kohl's. It's not very convenient if you live south of 44, or east of Buena Vista, north or south. Their hotdogs are pretty awesome. Sam's has both optical and full service pharmacy, more "tasting" areas, more variety in their butcher/seafood department, and the store itself is larger.

I've never been to any Costco ever so I can't comment on what it has/doesn't have. But it won't be convenient to anyone north of Sumter, and it'd be pretty pointless to be a member if you live in the Historic Side since BJ's is right there. Would probably be a great occasional visit though, I think they offer day-passes.

I haven't been in the other 2 for years, but I believe that Sam's Club is the only one where you can watch them squeeze orange juice, then buy it and take it home.

I happily pay the membership fee, just for the OJ. 3.5L/week. My Dr. says it's not incontrovertible scientific evidence, but I haven't had a cold since the 90's.