Well crap. Unions and Democrats? I was really liking COSTCO too, what a bummer. 
Great stuff, y’all. Thanks.
Costco certainly seems to be the crowd favorite, and will hopefully score my family $20 in savings.
My mom lives in another state. I can find absolutely nothing about a referral program on the Costco website, so I guess I’m going to have to call them to see what hoops we’ll have to jump through.
BJ’s website had a “day pass” thingy, so I signed up to give them a test drive, but the fine print said I’d have to pay a 15% “non-member” fee for anything I’d want to buy. No thanks, and the gimmick left me with even less of a desire to even just walk around to take a look and not buy anything.
Did you notice in this thread that Clothahump also is a Costco shopper? Surely it’s the liberal media’s fault for not exposing the union/democrat ties. 
Nah, we’re just trying to keep the numbers more balanced. Can’t let those durned liberals take over everything, y’know!
We only have Sam’s in my area and I’ve never been really happy with it. I like the different product lines but on smaller consumer items (like DVD’s) Wallmart or Target is a better deal and I don’t have to pay to shop there. Also don’t like to pay to shop and then have someone inspect my purchases when I leave. Pisses me off.
We use to have a local warehouse club that was free. If you wanted a 15% discount you could pay $35 for it. Made it easy to determine if it was worth it.
I’ve been waiting for Cosco to enter my area.
My mother and I have had a membership at Sam’s Club and Costco, and Costco is the better by far. The brands they carry are better (Hunts (sams) vs. Heinz(costco)), the employees treat us better, and they aren’t part of WalMart. They are usually cleaner, and have more samples! I also like their produce section, the amount of food is perfect for splitting between my mother and I.
Another vote for Costco.
Slight hijack – It was pointed out to me that anyone can use the Costco pharmacy, even if you are not a member. I was told – and haven’t verified this – that it has some to do with federal regulation of pharmaceuticals. That sounds bogus to me, but it would be nice to confirm or kill this.
Oh, yes!! They sell fresh pineapple spears there that must be the food of the gods! Also, they have premium Jonagold apples in special packaging that keeps them from getting bruised; at 50c per apple, they’re pricey, but worth it, imho!
As far as the referral goes, I just referred my sister. I was with her, but IIRC the only thing I needed was my account number. There’s a little form that you can pick up at the service desk.
The only one convenient to us is BJ’s. I have no idea where the nearest Sam’s is, and I’ve never been in a Costco’s.
Mostly I like BJ’s because their meat prices are good, plus you can get a big can of cashew pieces for something like $10, and I love me some cashews. Plus they sell a big box of sugar free popsicles that we like.
Not a rousing recommendation, but it’s all I can do.
I have never been to a Costco (they have no locations remotely convenient to much of New England - not a single store in RI, nothing in the eastern half of CT, nothing in central MA), but my experiences with BJs have been universally better than Sam’s Club. The meat has to be my favorite part; for a carnivore like myself, it’s higher quality than the grocery store at lesser price, for the most part, as long as you can handle the quantities. Mmmmm.