What's BJ's Wholesale Club like compared to Costco?
March 11, 2024 9:11 AM   Subscribe

If you, like me, enjoy shopping at Costco, but also (unlike me) have additionally shopped at BJ's as well, how would you compare them?

I like shopping at Costco because the item quality is almost always good to great, they have interesting imported food items that my local grocery stores don't have, and they have low prices on supplements and medications. I like trying random new food items from there, and I've gotten a lot of useful household products as well. Sometimes when my partner and I do research on the best [x] before we shop, we find out that it's actually the only [x] that Costco even sells, which is handy.

But we don't buy a lot of national brand stuff there when it comes to food, except for occasional cereal (no kids, I just like cereal) and the occasional snack (e.g. box of Biscoff cookies).

However, our Costco is far away, and a BJ's will be opening soon much closer. But the way people talk about BJ's makes it sound more like they mostly carry standard mid-range grocery store stuff in the food section, and I haven't anything about the quality of their other items.

So I'd love to hear what you think, and I'd really like answers from people who've been to both, please!
posted by wintersweet to Shopping (12 answers total)
 
Best answer: BJ's is a nice option but it's no Costco. I go to both. I hate BJ's baked goods. They have good meats, and they have milk and butter and bread. I am at an age where I sometimes buy clothes and pajamas from there. I shop their outdoor furniture, swimming pool, camping stuff, lawn stuff.

I still drive the hour to Costco every few months, but for a party, Christmas, outdoor plants, some plastic adirondack chairs I go there. Also gas and propane.
posted by beccaj at 9:39 AM on March 11, 2024 [1 favorite]


It's been ~a while~ since I went to a BJs wholesale store. When I did, it was because Costco wasn't an option. I had moved to FL from CO and there was only BJs and Sam's, no Costco nearby.

Generally - I didn't think their selection or quality was as good as Costco. As the kids say today, it was "mid". Not terrible, not great. Definitely would choose Costco over BJs even if I had to drive farther.
posted by jzb at 10:05 AM on March 11, 2024


Best answer: We've been members of BJ's for a long time and really only purchase milk, eggs, bacon, cheese, toilet paper, paper towels and gas there. We go through enough of those things that it was worth it for us to get the BJs credit card. But, their produce is really hit or miss, their meats tend to be disappointing, you won't find super fun foreign foods or treats there and the shopping experience at ours is subpar. I recently joined Costco and it's definitely more fun, varied and has higher quality stuff. They have prepared foods that are delicious and their meat section has an amazing selection even though I haven't tried it yet. The overall shopping experience is better...but it's a much newer store. So we are keeping both memberships for the time being....
posted by victoriab at 10:08 AM on March 11, 2024 [1 favorite]


Best answer: I have membership to BJs and Sam's CLub. My Costco is too far compared to those two so I let my membership lapse.

General observations:

- I am equidistant to two BJs. One has gas and the other does not. The one that has the cheap gas has higher prices on many (nut not all) items than the one without the gas. Not sure if this is by design or some other reason.

- BJs is closer to a retail store than Sam's Club is. Sam's Club has seems more geared toward the small restaurant and the small store with retail products like cereal thrown in.

-BJs uses a lot of coupons. I do not know if Costco does, buit Sam's just discounts without making you clip coupons from the mailer or on the app.

- I was able to get both the BJs and Sam's Club membership for $20/year (on sale).

- The BJs that is newer without the gas is also much larger and has much more inventory on the floor than the older smaller one.

- I do not recall ever buying prepared food at BJs. I have and do at Sam's.

I would say that if you can get the membership for a low price, BJs is worth it. For me, $20 bills was a low enough price. I have a vehicle with a 36 gallon fuel tank so if I save even $0,10/gallon and I fill 30 gallons every 2 weeks, that is $78 in savings, more than paying for the membership. I generally save $0,20 to even $0.30 per gallon so the dollar savings on an annual bnasis is even more before I enter the story.
posted by JohnnyGunn at 10:18 AM on March 11, 2024


Best answer: We go to both, BJ's primarily, Costco occasionally, when we go with a friend or family member that's a member. We have a similar situation; our BJ's is less than 15 minutes away, and Costco is twice that drive. Costco has some interesting items, as you note, but for bulk everyday things (toilet paper, paper towels, batteries, cleaning supplies, soap, etc.) and basic foods (milk, juice, flour, eggs, sugar, butter, chicken parts, snacks etc.) that we get, BJ's and Costco are basically the same. The brands that BJ's carries are the mainstream big brands, and Berkeley & Jensen (their house brand? which is totally fine), so no problems there (we have sometimes found they have more options than Costco in that regard). We definitely do not think it's worth it to drive double the distance for the kinds of stuff we get at BJ's. Oh, and BJ's accepts a full range of credit cards, that's much more convenient for us.

Note that we do most of our grocery shopping at the grocery stores very close by, every week, and also go pretty often to more specialized stores (like certain Asian markets or our local liquor store).

Maybe once or twice a year we go to Costco for something random or a really good deal. I do think that Costco can be slightly more fun... at least when it's not packed.)
posted by odin53 at 10:25 AM on March 11, 2024


Best answer: BJs has inferior house brands for...everything? The cheddar cheese tastes weird, the baked goods are cheap, the rest of it is cut-rate -- whereas Costco house-brand stuff is better quality.

The name brands BJs carries are also often worse, the fruit isn't as ripe, the clothes are lower quality, and overall the stuff on the shelves isn't as good.

BJs does have King Arthur flour, which is weird to see there because it's actually good!

But from my house BJ's is 15 minutes away while Costco is 40+, so we go to BJs. :7(
posted by wenestvedt at 10:46 AM on March 11, 2024 [3 favorites]


FWIW, I don't know if this is universally available but I've had a good experience with Costco delivery off their website.
posted by trig at 10:54 AM on March 11, 2024 [7 favorites]


Agreed re the website. We go to Costco pretty regularly (we have one within 15min) but for non-perishables (you can order those through the website too, fulfilled by instacart), especially heavy stuff, we LOVE the 2 day delivery. Also, online, you can use Mastercard, etc, which is interesting.
I am fucking over the checkout people at Costco asking me to upgrade my membership. Over and over and over.
posted by atomicstone at 11:51 AM on March 11, 2024


Best answer: Have memberships to both and live in the Northern VA area. Costco is always crowded: parking, check out, everywhere. BJ's is never crowded, with plenty of parking and check out registers available.

I pay less for my BJ's membership than the Costco. I have both as my parents don't live near a Costco but are closer to a BJ's. My father is the second person on my BJ's account.

Here's what BJ's says about second households:
By default, your household member’s address is the same as yours. To change their address, click on the little pencil icon next to their name. A dropdown menu will appear where you can edit their address

Here's what Costco says about second household:
A total of two people can be on a Gold Star Membership (either regular or Executive): one Primary Member and one free household member who is over 16 and lives at the same address.

If you need to add someone not in the same address then BJ's may be the better choice.

Our Costco has a food court but no deli. Our BJ's has a deli but no food court. In Northern VA both sell wine (Costco definitely does, but I'm less confident on BJ's). Both have places to purchase eyewear but IMO the selection is better at Costco.

Both have tires for sale. For the tires I've purchased, BJ's has had better pricing. Both have gas pumps.

Both have clothing. Both have baked goods (I can't tell you one is better). Both have house brands for food and other items.

Finally, both have websites making it straightforward to comparison shop. Good luck!
posted by bacalao_y_betun at 12:30 PM on March 11, 2024


Is BJ’s similar to Costco in that, if you want something, you have to buy a huge amount of it? Or, do they sell saner sizes of products? I like browsing Costco, but, y’know, I have no need for a 2.5lb jar of sundried tomatoes, or two 48oz jars of peanut butter.
posted by Thorzdad at 3:50 PM on March 11, 2024


Response by poster: Just as a note, Costco's online prices are often very different (higher) than their in-store prices, so I don't know that it's useful for price comparisons. We do order from the site regularly anyway, but we're too far away to order same-day/Instacart grocery items.

Probably I'll get a BJ's introductory membership for a year since it's very cheap--might as well try it out. However, I really appreciate being able to set my expectations appropriately, so thanks!
posted by wintersweet at 4:54 PM on March 11, 2024 [1 favorite]


i have both, prefer costco for actual purchases for pretty much the same reasons I see in other responses. I keep my bj's membership because I have a mastercard with them that gives me an additional ten cents off each gallon of gas. It doesn't take long to make back the cost of the membership. One thing - if you let yours lapse rather than automatically renewing, they will send you a flyer offering you a deal to come back, my last membership cost was like $26.
posted by lemniskate at 5:31 PM on March 13, 2024


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