Bj's/costco/sam's v Grocery Stores

PhillyGal34 · January 2014

my father got us a BJ's membership for christmas. I've never really shopped there before. For those of you that shop at a place like that, are the prices really a lot cheaper? we want to cut our grocery/household supply budget and I am wondering if it is worth doing some of the shopping there. We have a chest freezer for frozen foods and a garage for large things of TP or papertowels and stuff.

Although we do want to cut our budget, we do not have time for major coupon cutting and running around to a million stores for deals. the idea would be to go to BJ's for the big stuff and then one other grocery store for the other stuff. We use coupons but I'm not extreme or even consistent with them although I'm working on it.

Oh and what do you find to be the best deals there??

jessica490 · January 2014

I dont really have answer for you, but we have a BJ's membership and the only thing we buy because we feel it's good quality and quantity is meat. We buy chicken breasts, tenderloins, turkey meat, good steaks and pork chops. These portions last us for months with just the 2 of us. I don't really believe in buying in bulk just because it doesn't seem cheaper and our regular grocery store has really cheap deals all the time. We only go to Bj's once every few months.

brij2006 · January 2014

Our membership isn't to BJ's, but to Sams. So I'll say what we've found.

1. Their gas is cheaper if you use your savers card. H works near Sams, and will fill up his car using our membership card. He spends about $350+ per month in gas, so this makes a big difference.
2. Plan your grocery list before you go. Some things are cheaper, and some things are not.
3. This is the bulk of what I buy there: Frozen veggies/snacks, individual chips for lunches, lunch meat (buy multiple packages and freeze), yogurt, cleaning products, toiletries, dog/cat food and litter, some fresh meat.
4. Things I find aren't cheaper: Dry goods, produce, non-food items such as clothing, electronics, etc.

Definitely do a bit of price matching when you go. Make a list of usual items you purchase on a regular basis, and look at your past receipts from where you normally shop. Write down the prices for the items from there, then calculate the price at BJ's (per unit price). That's the best way to find out what you will save money on, and what you won't save money on.

Xstatic3333 · January 2014

I agree with PPs; you need to know your price points. We use BJs primarily for single serving snack packs, Organic eggs, and paper goods. Milk is cheapest there too, but we don't use enough to buy gallons. I usually find that their store brand is cheaper than name brand plus coupons. Other things I've saved on there are greeting cards, shampoo and conditioner, and movie passes.

One perk of your membership that not everybody realizes is access to great travel deals. We had to rent a car over Thanksgiving weekend (yuck!) and booking through BJs was over $100 cheaper than the next best option, AAA. They have fantastic deals on trip packages too, though I haven't booked one yet.

For gas, it is the second cheapest in our area. The cheapest is a regional brand called Cumberland Farms, once you join their rewards program.

ETA-I don't eat meat, but echo Jessica that I've heard good things.

hoffse · January 2014

I don't have BJs, but we use Costco all the time.

We tend to buy the following items there:

-Gas - cheapest in the area. It's been below $3/gallon here for awhile now but only at Costco

-Paper products

-Bottled water

-Lunch meat

-Milk

-Frozen food

-Sauces (marinara, pesto, etc.)

-Cheeses (feta, parmesan, etc.)

-Bread

-Cereal

-Snack things

-OTC medications - this alone pays for our membership every year.

-Small appliances when needed - they are vastly cheaper here than other places

I don't know if BJs does this, but Costco has a monthly circular listing their sale items. These rotate. I've gotten to where I have a sense of how often they rotate, so I just stock up enough until the next time they are on sale. For instance, I recently bought about 6 weeks worth of frozen tortellini for $20 on sale. That's dinner for a month and a half. I don't eat it every night, so it will last me until the next time it's on sale.

I don't buy produce there because I can't eat it fast enough. But meats, canned items, and things you can freeze are great.

You just have to be careful with it - I frequently spend more than $100 in a single costco run. I try to limit them to once a month for a big run so that I don't outspend myself in an effort to get a great deal.

HoneyBee973 · January 2014

I use BJs to purchase:

Paper products
Bottled water
Milk
Cereal
Sauces

As OP have said, compare prices. Many things I find to be cheaper, but not all.

Smonet · January 2014

hoffse it is easy to spend $200.00 on a trip. I go once a week and try to keep it close to $100.00. Some things are a great deal some aren't . The easy way to tell is to look at the price per ounce or lb. Your local grocery should break that down too. If organic is important to you the savings are huge. I regularly buy my: milk (their organic milk comes in a pack of 3 1/2 gallons), spinach (you need to watch the expiration dates on things like this-many times for a huge container it will need to be used with in 2 days-I dig to the back to get the freshest) cheese, eggs, pears, apples, laundry detergent, bottled water, paper products, rice, flours, orc medicines, snacks. I find when you can buy in bulk the price is usually better. When you buy a sleeve of 10 small cans of tuna for example you don't usually save because you aren't buying in bulk you are just buying lots of little containers. The gas is a great deal usually, but you want to pay attention. I've found that if gas drops significantly there price will remain the same until they sell out of that load. So it may be higher some times. I also have got a feeling of the circulation of items in their coupons. So if you need tooth brush heads or ziplock bags you know there will usually be a coupon coming soon. I supplement some smaller items from Whole Foods but other than that if Costco doesn't have it we rarely need it

If you get the Amex you get an percentage back on all purchases and if you get the bigger membership you get your money back if it doesn't pay for itself. We get a check back from Amex and Costco for these two programs and our membership paid for.

Erikan73 · January 2014

You have to know your prices. We have a BJ's membership and use it for dog food, paper products and meats. The meat is a big savings for us, we divide it up & use our vacuum sealer to make portions that are more our size for the freezer. Also I find that on some snacks, like the portioned out ones, the prices are better. I've also found that they offer certain snack items that I can't find in regular stores. Like a box of a dozen or more individual serving containers of hummus or quacamole. They are great for throwing into my lunch with some chips or veggies for a snack. Actually thinking of it, we get a lot of stuff there, just mainly not things that will go bad quickly because we won't eat it fast enough. BJ's does allow coupons which not all discount clubs do and they have monthly coupon books that come out, which can up fast in big savings too. Most of the coupons for several dollars off.

bparkhur · January 2014

Real vanilla is waaaay cheaper at SAMs club!

hoffse · January 2014

One other perk to mention.

I don't know if you can do this for BJs, but at Costco you can return most items forever (excluding electronics and some perishable food items). I'm only slightly ashamed to admit that I once returned a set of golf clubs I had owned for a year after cracking the head of the driver. I had only used the clubs 6 or 7 times, so it seemed like a manufacturer error. I had no idea where the receipt was, but Costco looked up the sale under my account and took them back. I was sort of embarrassed, but their customer service folks had no problems with it. The girl told me that she had even seen people return engagement rings and wedding bands years after they were purchased when a couple broke up... that blew my mind.

Point is, customer service at those places tends to be top notch. H and I shop there a lot because we know that if we don't like something they will always take it back... even if the defect reveals itself months later.

Xstatic3333 · January 2014

hoffse said:
One other perk to mention.

I don't know if you can do this for BJs, but at Costco you can return most items forever (excluding electronics and some perishable food items). I'm only slightly ashamed to admit that I once returned a set of golf clubs I had owned for a year after cracking the head of the driver. I had only used the clubs 6 or 7 times, so it seemed like a manufacturer error. I had no idea where the receipt was, but Costco looked up the sale under my account and took them back. I was sort of embarrassed, but their customer service folks had no problems with it. The girl told me that she had even seen people return engagement rings and wedding bands years after they were purchased when a couple broke up... that blew my mind.

Point is, customer service at those places tends to be top notch. H and I shop there a lot because we know that if we don't like something they will always take it back... even if the defect reveals itself months later.

You can do that at BJs too. H's BF has, on more than one occasion, bought flat screens and returned them after their annual Guys Weekend where they go to a cabin in the woods and play video games.

PhillyGal34 · January 2014

Thanks guys! We are going to go do our regular grocery shopping this weekend and I'm going to write down the cost per unit on the main stuff we get and then compare. I feel like if I go there unprepared I will spend a fortune (I have done this in the past with friends at Costco).

The main things I want to get are frozen chicken/meat, frozen veggies, cereal, tuna, and possibly some produce (we eat a lot of it) and possibly paper goods.

I really appreciate your input. I will also look into their gas! (although it isn't that convenient I can use it when I go there!)

juliebeannn · January 2014

i take one trip a month to costco to stock up on meats. from time to time, i'll buy other things like canned goods (tomatoes, chicken broth...) and household items (ziploc bags, garbage bags, etc).

juliebeannn · January 2014

i take one trip a month to costco to stock up on meats. from time to time, i'll buy other things like canned goods (tomatoes, chicken broth...) and household items (ziploc bags, garbage bags, etc).

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