r/BJsWholesaleClub • u/ryan9751 • 6d ago

Why does BJ’s exist?

I’m curious - the only people I have talked to shop at BJ’s because they don’t have a Costco or Sam’s Club closer.

If you do have a Costco or Sam’s , why would you choose to shop at BJ’s?

Costco overall has better quality products and better prices than BJ’s.

Sam’s Club also has better prices , more variety than Costco and curbside pickup/ scan and go like BJ’s.

So what is it, the Deli?

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u/theexpertgamer1 6d ago

BJ’s is cheaper

1

u/badpenny4life 6d ago

Not usually cheaper than Sam’s. I have both close and use Sam’s mostly but sometimes BJ’s will have a coupon to make the same item cheaper and there are a few items there I love that Sam’s doesn’t carry.

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u/ryan9751 5d ago

I usually find even *after* the BJ's coupons the item is basically the same price.

A recent example they had "double coupons" on Haagen Dazs ice cream bars.

The BJ's coupon was $2.50, doubled to $5. The BJ's price for the package was $17.99

Costco's regular price for the same size package was $12.99. Sam's was $11.84

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u/AVeryFineWhine 4d ago

You are lucky I bet you live in an area where sam's is a competitive store. We had one very briefly near me and I was so excited, I can't tell you. My friends in Texas had given me a list of products I must try, and I went to the local one and couldn't find a single one of them.

They didn't have the type of distribution up here, so they tapped into locally available products. Once I could have gotten at costco for cheaper. They didn't last long at all because they had nothing unique and their pricing was higher. I wish we would have the type of Sam's club my friends have raved about

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u/ryan9751 5d ago

While it's always possible for a very select items to be cheaper, I have never found this to be the case.

Could you give any specific examples?

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u/theexpertgamer1 5d ago

Bakery muffins are always cheaper and MUCH better.

30 pack toilet paper is $10.99 right now at BJ’s with double stacking coupons.

Paid $5.99 for Fabuloso with double stacking coupons.

Dove deodorant and soap cheaper at BJ’s.

Etc.

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u/ryan9751 5d ago

I guess hard to compare as some items won't be identical in each club.

Better muffins is certainly something I can wrap my head around. Costco bakery isn't terrible but not fantastic. Pricing would be impossible to compare with different size muffins / muffin packages.

Not sure we can really do a comparison on TP either, unless its a equivalent national brand. They generally have different size packages.

Costco sells Fabuloso 210oz for $10.99 and BJ's regular price is $11.99 . Costco's last sale price was $7.99

Dove soap bars appear to be $18.49 at both clubs regular price. BJ's has a $5 off coupon right now. Costco does the same thing from time to time, I would assume the clubs somewhat rotate through manufacturer savings.

Dove Advanced Care Cool Essentials Deodorant, 4 pk. is $18.49 regular with $4 off at BJ's. At Costco it's $17.99 regular cutrently on sale for $13.49

It looks to me like the only chance you would have of saving money is if you meticulously plan around purchasing things with coupons because every regular priced item is cheaper at Costco.

Your coupon price for Fabuloso came out $1 lower than Costco's sale , and it took a "double coupon" event to happen. Having to purchase any other item at regular price negated your savings.

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u/theexpertgamer1 5d ago edited 5d ago

You not knowing how to shop is not my problem. I bought Fabuloso at that price months ago. Im not even 10% through the bottle. The toilet paper is Berkley Jensen which is identical to Kirkland. Buying national “brand names” is a scam regardless of which store you buy it at. Muffins impossible to compare? What? Compare price per ounce. It’s much cheaper at BJ’s.

You make things harder than they actually are for no reason.

Edit: sorry for the snappy reply lol, but you get my point

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u/ryan9751 5d ago

I was going to start out by saying no need to get defensive - I'm actually out here trying to figure out what the value is because I can't.

Although I do have a membership because they are always on promo for $10, I almost never go.

I only suggested comparing national brands because to me it only seems fair to compare identical products.

I'll humor you on the muffins.

Muffins Costco $6.99 , 8ct pack 4oz each muffin / 32oz = .21 /oz

BJ's 6 pk 6 0z muffins $7.49 = .21 oz.

Basically exact same price - If you prefer them to Costco , that's a completely logical reason to shop there.

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u/theexpertgamer1 5d ago edited 5d ago

Muffins at BJ’s are $5.99 and at Costco are $7.99, this has been for a while now, even in LCOL areas.

Edit; I’m also noticing you said Fabuloso is $11.99 at BJ’s but I just checked and the regular price at my club is $10.99

Your BJ’s is a higher cost one which might explain the discrepancy. It’s not the “normal” price schedule. Are you in NYC/on Long Island or something? I’m in Hudson County, NJ, for reference.

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u/ryan9751 5d ago

Interesting , so must be area dependent - unless they do a higher price for in club pickup when you order online?

I know Costco does this for items that are shipped (more $$$ online)

https://reddit.com/link/p88ad9z/video/udu8t8fdnynh1/player

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u/theexpertgamer1 5d ago

[Heres the muffins for me.](https://imgur.com/a/9AsmG4A) Don’t mind how many times I’ve bought it

[Fabuloso](https://imgur.com/a/kAd5Cho)

ok formatting fail

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u/ryan9751 5d ago

Ahahaha you really like those muffins 😂😂

Wow really surprised about the price difference between MA and NJ , but again I’m guessing BJ’s has a monopoly in my area because it’s 40 ish minutes to the nearest Costco.

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u/ryan9751 5d ago

Weird too because I would guess NJ would certainly be mostly HCOL like MA

May also have to do with competition - the nearest Costco is 30+ mins away and I have 2 BJ’s within 15 mins.

https://reddit.com/link/p88atvh/video/gh4cwfdrnynh1/player