# BJ's, Costco, or Sam's Club? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [May 1, 2006, 7:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bjs-costco-or-sams-club/354990 "2006-05-01T19:38:21Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![ComeToTheDarkSideWeHaveCookies](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/e9bcb4/32.png) [@ComeToTheDarkSideWeHaveCookies](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ComeToTheDarkSideWeHaveCookies)\ **Post date:** [May 1, 2006, 7:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bjs-costco-or-sams-club/354990/1 "2006-05-01T19:38:21Z")
Mrs. Dewgrrl and myself are about to embark on an enduring relationship with one of these establishments. Our landlord just got a “free month’s trial” for B.J.'s, but it has her name on it, so we can’t use it. I have not been able to access similar promotions for new members on their website. My mom is a member of Costco, but I can’t seem to find any incentives or promotions for referals on their website. Sam’s Club is the runt of the litter, as I try to avoid the WalMart conglomeration as much as possible. What say ye dopers? ---
**Author:** ![silenus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/silenus/32/166_2.png) [@silenus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/silenus)\ **Post date:** [May 1, 2006, 8:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bjs-costco-or-sams-club/354990/2 "2006-05-01T20:11:16Z")
We have memberships for both Sam’s Club and Costco. I’d have to give Costco the edge. Just a little bit more stuff we like and a slightly wider selection of brands in some areas. Hard to quantify, really. The two stores are within a block of each other, so travel time isn’t a factor. We are keeping track of visits this year, and dropping whichever membership isn’t being used. ---
**Author:** ![GingerOfTheNorth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/cdc98d/32.png) [@GingerOfTheNorth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GingerOfTheNorth)\ **Post date:** [May 1, 2006, 8:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bjs-costco-or-sams-club/354990/3 "2006-05-01T20:25:21Z")
I was just at Costco this afternoon. Your mom will get $10 for referring you, if I read the sign correctly. ---
**Author:** ![bouv](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/bc8723/32.png) [@bouv](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bouv)\ **Post date:** [May 1, 2006, 8:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bjs-costco-or-sams-club/354990/4 "2006-05-01T20:25:43Z")
BJ’s, if only for the jokes. “Honey, what should we do this afternoon?” “BJ’s!” “I love BJs!” “BJ’s is great!” “Everyone deserves BJ’s” And so forth. ---
**Author:** ![PunditLisa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/4af34b/32.png) [@PunditLisa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PunditLisa)\ **Post date:** [May 1, 2006, 9:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bjs-costco-or-sams-club/354990/5 "2006-05-01T21:45:41Z")
I’ve been a member of Sam’s and Costco. I prefer Costco as it seems cleaner. The only thing I miss is that Sam’s members get a National car discount, whereas Costco offers Alamo discounts. I prefer the former. Nonetheless, I’d go for the one which is most convenient to you. In any event, if your mom refers you, she’ll get a $10 gift card, as will you. And you might want to act soon, because I heard a rumor that the cost of membership will increase soon. ---
**Author:** ![Clothahump](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/51bf81/32.png) [@Clothahump](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Clothahump)\ **Post date:** [May 1, 2006, 10:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bjs-costco-or-sams-club/354990/6 "2006-05-01T22:05:57Z")
I use Costco and have been very satisfied with them The savings from their online pharmacy alone have more than paid for the annual membership fee. ---
**Author:** ![WhyNot](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/c77e96/32.png) [@WhyNot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WhyNot)\ **Post date:** [May 1, 2006, 10:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bjs-costco-or-sams-club/354990/7 "2006-05-01T22:10:48Z")
Another vote for Costco’s from a Sam’s and Costco’s member. Costco has a better selection - pretty much anything Sam’s has, Costco has, but not the other way 'round. Costco also has more samples, and lots of people who coo over the baby and make my shopping happy! ---
**Author:** ![LilyoftheValley](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/54ee81/32.png) [@LilyoftheValley](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LilyoftheValley)\ **Post date:** [May 1, 2006, 11:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bjs-costco-or-sams-club/354990/8 "2006-05-01T23:59:44Z")
If you are interested in such things, Costco is better to its employees than Sam’s Club (don’t know anything about BJ’s). The pay is higher, some workers are in unions, there is pretty good health insurance coverage, and the worker turnover rate is much lower. [Here’s](http://www.usatoday.com/money/industries/retail/2004-09-23-costco_x.htm) a quote from USA Today (from 2004, sorry): > [@](#): > > With competitive prices on everyday goods, high-quality items and brand-name products, Costco attracts bigger spenders and bigger revenue per warehouse than Wal-Mart’s competing Sam’s Club, which it has battled for its 21 years. All the while, Costco has stayed true to a set of corporate mores that smack of times gone by. > > Chief among them: insistence on paying top-line wages — an average $15.97 an hour vs. $10.38 for Wal-Marts in metro areas, which is where many Costcos are — and managing with years or decades in mind vs. Wall Street’s quarter-to-quarter focus. Wal-Mart won’t release Sam’s Club average wages. > > “I’m a big admirer of Wal-Mart, but I admire Costco more,” says Charles Munger, Warren Buffett’s longtime business partner at Berkshire Hathaway (BRKB) and a Costco board member. “Virtually none of the sins of modern capitalism are at Costco.” Also, [the vast majority of their political donations go to Democrats](http://www.buyblue.org/node/721/view/summary). ---
**Author:** ![Gozu\_Tashoya](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/7993a0/32.png) [@Gozu\_Tashoya](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gozu_Tashoya)\ **Post date:** [May 2, 2006, 12:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bjs-costco-or-sams-club/354990/9 "2006-05-02T00:20:56Z")
In addition to the labor practices **LilyoftheValley** mentions, Costco supposedly has an amazing return policy. I’ve never had to take advantage of it personally, but they’ll supposedly take back or replace damn near anything for whatever reason you see fit. They are, IIRC, even pretty lenient WRT the amount of time that has passed between the purchase date and the date you’re returning things. (Disclaimer: All this is being reported secondhand, YMMV, and all that.) ---
**Author:** ![cmkeller](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cmkeller/32/118_2.png) [@cmkeller](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cmkeller)\ **Post date:** [May 2, 2006, 12:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bjs-costco-or-sams-club/354990/10 "2006-05-02T00:30:52Z")
I prefer Costco to BJs, because their selection and pricing on DVDs is great. On pretty much anything else, they’re not too different, so the DVDs tip me to Costco. I live nowhere near a Sam’s Club, so no comment on them. ---
**Author:** ![Shagnasty](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9dc877/32.png) [@Shagnasty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shagnasty)\ **Post date:** [May 2, 2006, 12:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bjs-costco-or-sams-club/354990/11 "2006-05-02T00:34:36Z")
We have a BJ’s and Sam’s club membership. I like them both but BJ’s is closer so we tend to use it. I don’t really have any complaints. ---
**Author:** ![Metacom](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/ecae2f/32.png) [@Metacom](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Metacom)\ **Post date:** [May 2, 2006, 1:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bjs-costco-or-sams-club/354990/12 "2006-05-02T01:16:02Z")
Costco, because they’re not evil: they treat their employees well and sell good stuff at a good price. ---
**Author:** ![RealityChuck](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/realitychuck/32/195_2.png) [@RealityChuck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RealityChuck)\ **Post date:** [May 2, 2006, 1:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bjs-costco-or-sams-club/354990/13 "2006-05-02T01:37:54Z")
I joined BJs a few months ago (back in the early 90s, I was the graphic designer who created the maps used in their brochures to indicate their location; they used these for a a few years). I’ve been quite happy with it: our grocery bills have definitely gone down and their prices are nearly always better than what I can get anywhere else. Considering I don’t like the idea of paying for a memebership, I was quite pleased. ---
**Author:** ![cantara](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/6f9a4e/32.png) [@cantara](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cantara)\ **Post date:** [May 2, 2006, 4:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bjs-costco-or-sams-club/354990/14 "2006-05-02T16:30:23Z")
Costco and Sams Club member here. We have let our Sams membership lapse. The goods at them are so close to the same that it is a wash. Occasionally we see some different items, but not enough to push us one way or the other. I got our tires at Sams because they didn’t have them at Costco. The one really good thing about Sams is that it has NEVER been busy when we have gone. Our lineup has always been less than 2 and it is always easy to get around the store. I can’t believe that they will stay open. Costco is usually busy, and weekends are brutal. They’ll have all the registers open and still have a lineup of 5-6 ahead of you. We also have 5 Costco stores within a half hour drive, but only 1 Sams. The different stores have slightly different stock, so we’ll shop around to see if they have something we need. Costco is useful for us as they have stores in Canada, US and UK. When we visit the UK we’ll stop in and stock up on chocolate (Galaxy!) and other goodies to bring home and to use while we’re there. Last time we picked up a case of 12 bottles of flavoured water that we kept in the trunk. Very handy for when we are driving across the Borders at 4PM on a Sunday. RE: Return policy. I too have heard that it is very liberal. I have returned things, but usually unused within a month or so. I’ve heard people use things for a couple years and then return them. ---
**Author:** ![Nightsong](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/nightsong/32/3083_2.png) [@Nightsong](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nightsong)\ **Post date:** [May 2, 2006, 5:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bjs-costco-or-sams-club/354990/15 "2006-05-02T17:04:11Z")
Another vote for Costco here (with one exception). Overall they tend to have a better selection in the stuff that I want. That, and I prefer Costco’s in-house brand stuff to Sam’s Club’s house brands. I can’t comment on BJ’s, since I’ve never seen one, much less been to one. The one exception to my endorsement to Costco is the tire department. When I got a nail in my tire Sam’s Club patched/plugged the tire and rebalanced it for free, but the local Costco couldn’t because I didn’t get the tires from them. (Note: I don’t know if the policy of working only on Costco-bought tires applies only to my two local ones, or is chain-wide.) Ah well, that’s why I keep memberships in both. * * * \<\< Drive defensively–buy a tank. \>\> ---
**Author:** ![Dewey\_Finn](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dewey_finn/32/4222_2.png) [@Dewey\_Finn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dewey_Finn)\ **Post date:** [May 2, 2006, 6:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bjs-costco-or-sams-club/354990/16 "2006-05-02T18:25:56Z")
I think you can have two cards on one Costco membership, so if your mother is already a member, you might be able to get a card without joining separately. ---
**Author:** ![Savannah](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/b3f665/32.png) [@Savannah](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Savannah)\ **Post date:** [May 3, 2006, 2:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bjs-costco-or-sams-club/354990/17 "2006-05-03T02:14:12Z")
I love Costco. ---
**Author:** ![Daffyd](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/daffyd/32/8923_2.png) [@Daffyd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Daffyd)\ **Post date:** [May 3, 2006, 4:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bjs-costco-or-sams-club/354990/18 "2006-05-03T04:12:21Z")
Another vote for Costco here… After Walmart closed a store in Quebec rather than let it unionize, I decided they’ll never get another penny from me… ---
**Author:** ![norinew](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/eb9ed0/32.png) [@norinew](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/norinew)\ **Post date:** [May 3, 2006, 1:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bjs-costco-or-sams-club/354990/19 "2006-05-03T13:21:35Z")
BJs is okay, but the closest one is more than a two hour drive for us; not very economical. Sam’s Club and Costco are both an hour away. We had a Sam’s Club membership for a couple of years, and it was OK. One day, we decided to browse at a Costco, liked the selection better, and let our Sam’s membership lapse and bought a Costco membership. We’ve found excellent selection of stuff there, plus the one we frequent is in Virginia, so they have a nice selection of wine and beer, at excellent prices. I read recently that Costco has the highest customer satsifaction rating of the three, although it was ranked lowest in terms of customer service. But hey, you don’t go to a warehouse store for one-on-one service, imho. ---
**Author:** ![norinew](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/eb9ed0/32.png) [@norinew](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/norinew)\ **Post date:** [May 3, 2006, 1:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bjs-costco-or-sams-club/354990/20 "2006-05-03T13:24:44Z")
Oh, forgot to mention our latest fave thing about Costco: our wonderful health insurance has crappy vision coverage; they’ll pay $43.00 for an eye exam. Whoop. Well, everywhere I checked that took our insurance, the cost for an eye exam, _after_ the insurance discount, was $90.00-$100.00. Costco doesn’t take our insurance, but the eye exam is only $72.00. _And_ the ophthalmologist gave my hubby four pairs of contacts, in slightly varying prescriptions for free, so he could try them and see which prescription worked best for him! [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bjs-costco-or-sams-club/354990.md?page=2)