Costco all the way, buy I try to eat healthy food and most of the stuff at Sam's is overly processed. I do love that Sam's has everything listed online, but I can't do click and pull ordering because I always get meat when I go there. Costco has many organic things that are about the same price as conventional at the regular grocery store.

6/9/2014 9:47:53 AM

Costco has the best meat and seafood.

6/9/2014 9:48:34 AM

I feel like these stores used to be better & cheaper. In sam's case, it was pretty much just walmart's warehouse where you bought in bulk; but now it just seems like supersized walmart - products/packaging specifically for bulk clubs. I thought the savings used to be the fact that you bought a shipping box of 16 boxes of crackers; or a product that wasn't in final typical retail packaging. Now it's like you buy a 3 pack of extra large cracker boxes made just for sam's club; still some bulk savings, but not nearly as much.

6/9/2014 9:52:49 AM

Sam's and Costco obviously raise their prices.

6/9/2014 9:57:52 AM

BJ's has the best deli section - they'll cut any quantity and thickness that you ask for and it is 25% of the cost of buying a pre-packaged deli pack, but fresher and better and cheaper and bam

6/9/2014 9:54:31 PM

Quote :

"I feel like these stores used to be better & cheaper"

It seems like everything *used* to be better. Sound like one of those #getoffmahlawn situations.

Quote :

"i was covered in grease and sweat from "

made me think of:

Quote :

"Covered with grease from his head to his feet. Cussin' the sweat and the Texas heat and mosquiters"

Quote :

"it is 25% of the cost of buying a pre-packaged deli pack, but fresher and better and cheaper and bam"

I'm calling bullshit on 25%.

6/9/2014 10:28:39 PM

Just got a BJ's membership today through work. 20 bucks for a 14 month membership. Figured what the hell.

6/9/2014 11:27:43 PM

I'm all Costco. It's by far the best company out of the three.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/11/19/reasons-love-costco_n_4275774.html

http://www.businessweek.com/articles/2013-06-06/costco-ceo-craig-jelinek-leads-the-cheapest-happiest-company-in-the-world

Quote :

"Joe Carcello has a great job. The 59-year-old has an annual salary of $52,700, gets five weeks of vacation a year, and is looking forward to retiring on the sizable nest egg in his 401(k), which his employer augments with matching funds. After 26 years at his company, he’s not worried about layoffs. In 2009, as the recession deepened, his bosses handed out raises. “I’m just grateful to come here to work every day,” he says."

Quote :

"Despite the sagging economy and challenges to the industry, Costco pays its hourly workers an average of $20.89 an hour, not including overtime (vs. the minimum wage of $7.25 an hour). By comparison, Walmart said its average wage for full-time employees in the U.S. is $12.67 an hour, according to a letter it sent in April to activist Ralph Nader. Eighty-eight percent of Costco employees have company-sponsored health insurance; "

I just feel good shopping there because it's such a great company to work for.

6/23/2014 12:59:16 PM

BJs because mother in law pays for a membership there.

6/23/2014 7:41:38 PM

Yeah with Costco you just pick up the Amex for $50/year. That's a free Amex (basically paying for the membership) plus all the cash back you get on gas, Costco purchases, etc.

6/23/2014 8:02:49 PM

Sams Club is like a Wal-Mart with the same level of dirtiness and clientele. Unless it's an extra 20-30 minutes to a Costco or BJs I don't know why you would shop there.

Costco is the better company of the three, and I'd argue a better place to shop. BJ's is obviously in 2nd place, but not quite as good as Costco.

6/24/2014 12:20:11 AM

Yeah I've been in Walmart maybe once in the last 10 years. Never been in a Sam's club.

6/25/2014 5:59:02 PM

You're not missing much. In fact the Sams on South Saunders is dirtier than many Wal-Marts I've been to.

6/25/2014 7:07:47 PM

i used to work at Sam's club... the summer before and after my freshman year. I thought 7.50 an hour was good money.

6/25/2014 10:11:49 PM

Depends what year that was... considering Costco starts at $11.50 (might have changes) and average is $21/hour it's hard to shop anywhere else. All the employees are always so happy there. They actually look like they're making a living wage.

6/26/2014 10:25:42 AM

1998

6/26/2014 11:29:40 AM

If you aren't a Costco member but want to be, LivingSocial is running a Costco deal.

https://www.livingsocial.com/deals/1197846-costco-membership-bonus-20-cash-card-coupons

9/9/2014 3:51:17 PM

Amazon prime over all of these.

9/9/2014 6:47:28 PM

Can you buy fresh produce and meat on Amazon Prime? That's pretty much all I get at Costco.

9/9/2014 6:52:00 PM

Yes.

[Edited on September 9, 2014 at 6:54 PM. Reason : I'm also confused as to why someone besides octomom would buy meat from a bulk store (gross?)]

9/9/2014 6:53:32 PM

Because its cheaper. Just cuz its a bulk store doesn't mean you're buying it by the crate.

I was getting chicken, roast cuts and brisket at BJ's, now i get my dad to buy em for me at Cosco until they open the Cary location.

9/9/2014 7:28:41 PM

^^Not really. I don't think you can get fresh vegetables and fruit from Amazon nor do I think you can get fresh meat.

Also what's wrong with meat from a big box store? My Costco has local organic bison, organic chicken, and local sausage from Denver. It's priced the same as the regular meat at a regular grocery store.

9/9/2014 8:27:41 PM

how the fuck am i going to use all 3 pounds of this flank steak?

9/9/2014 8:47:30 PM

Freezer

9/9/2014 9:01:52 PM

Yeah for chicken, pork, and sausage I freeze it until I need it. It's way cheaper than buying at a grocery store.

9/9/2014 9:15:12 PM

Plus you can use it as needed and not worry about having to throw it out because you didn't meal plan appropriately

9/9/2014 9:25:18 PM

Costco has been great for random stuff I need in bulk, like sugar, party supplies, and wine. They also carry a lot of the single serving packs of things like yogurt and crackers, which are useful for work. I don't have the discipline to buy the family size bags and divvy up food when I get it home, to keep portions fresh.

9/9/2014 11:08:53 PM

The beer, wine, and especially liquor selection at the nearest Costco is great. They've got some great single malts that are very reasonably priced.

9/10/2014 12:10:51 AM

Costco > BJs >>>>>>>>>>>> Sams

My wife and I only go to Sams when we have no other option (which is where we are now in our new city in VA). We used to go to BJs as it was cleaner, similar in price to Sams, and a whole hell of a lot less crowded. I like Costco, but haven't been there much due to location. I would go there as my first choice based on the handful of times I've been there.

As a side note, the only Sams that I actually miss going to was one in Lumberton. We used to live in Fayetteville and the Sams there is amazingly horrible so we'd drive 30 min to Lumberton as it is right off I-95. That is a good Sams, clean, not crowded, with good employees.

9/11/2014 5:17:13 PM

I like BJs the best out of the options

I'm Krallum and I approved this message.

9/11/2014 5:38:52 PM

I agree with ^^ but i find myself at Sam's more than other places because they have great prices on baby formula, which costco doesn't carry.

[Edited on September 11, 2014 at 5:53 PM. Reason : ]

9/11/2014 5:39:27 PM

You might need to rethink driving 30 minutes to save maybe a few dollars. Amazon prices can be slightly more or less but if you factor in that drive it will almost always be less.

9/11/2014 6:01:15 PM

Costco. It might seem tacky but I'm practical gift type person and cant stand receiving/giving a gift just to give a gift. Throughout the year I generally find a decent selection of stuff that I wouldnt have seen or noticed anywhere else and makes it easy to find a practical gift that most people ( who dont have a membership there) wouldnt normally see at wallyworld or lowes.

^I'll shop around online real quick but if the price is generally close I'll buy it in Costco. My biggest issue with amazon is if I get a damaged shipment or incorrect/broken item I'm always concerned it wont get refunded or replaced quickly, or at all with a third-party vendor. With costco, I bought some bulk tomato soup that tasted like ass and had 11 of the 12 packs unused; never had time to take it back. 3 months later I gave it a shot and took it back (with receipt), told them why and got a refund with no hassle.

[Edited on September 11, 2014 at 6:45 PM. Reason : .]

9/11/2014 6:39:35 PM

Quote :

"You might need to rethink driving 30 minutes to save maybe a few dollars. Amazon prices can be slightly more or less but if you factor in that drive it will almost always be less."

There's so many more factors in play here. First of all over 75% of what I buy at Costco Amazon doesn't have. I'm not buying fresh produce and fresh meat from Amazon when I can get it organic and local from Costco.

Also this ^ returning something at Costco is so much easier than dealing with 3rd party vendors from Amazon.

Plus going to Costco is fun. There's a bunch of free samples, lots of good booze specials with a good beer selection (can't get that on Amazon) and I can get a hot dog and soda for $1.50.

9/12/2014 10:34:44 AM