We just use the red neck version of Sam’s Club, Walmart… 
Still hadn’t been inside of one in many years, got to love home delivery, works great in my area…
BJ’s just came to my area last year… Same prices as WM, know several people that have and said nothing special, again in my area…
I was surprised when BJ’s announced a new club coming in Ft. Worth. I’m sure there will be more to follow in my area. But by @MikeInNH 's description, it’s unlikely I’d switch from the Sam’s that is 3 minutes from my house.
A few years ago, the Sam’s Club just South of Princeton closed–permanently–due to a lack of business. On the other side of the same strip mall, the Walmart closed last year. Apparently the folks in that area didn’t find anything desirable about either iteration of Wally World.
The ONLY reason I’m with BJs is because it’s the only one near me. If there was a Costco or Sams also then I probably wouldn’t switch either. BJs has been fine for me and my family and what we buy. I do hear Costco is real good, but I’m happy with BJs.
See, red neck stores… lol
My area has lots of Walmart Supercenters, there are 6 at least just north of Nashville not to far from me, not to mention all the others in middle TN…
Plus Sam’s is close also, 4 around Nashville, including the one close to me, other 3 are south Nashville…
The only thing I buy at Costco is the coffee k cups. They have the 80 or 100 count boxes that are hard to get elseware. Of course the wife always get the chickens and I splurge $1.50 to buy her lunch.
Our Walmart and Sam’s are always busy. There are a few items I have to go to Publix for, ALDIs for English Muffins and bagels. Before Sam’s I did go to BJs, they had something I can not find elsewhere, smoked whitefish.
I knew a guy that would drive 15 miles to BJs to save a nickel/gallon. See, brought it back to cars.
We don’t have Costco nearby, so I have to suffer with high gas price where I am. Right now, which surprises me, regular gas is listed at $3.13 and I’m wondering if this has anything to do with the upcoming election. I realize that every 4 years nearing the presidential election gas price would go down drastically, which gives off the vibes that the government is using this tactic to manipulate the people.
Throughout the 4 years regular gas was $3.70
That’s incorrect, according to actual data. Sometimes up, sometimes down, sometimes unchanged. What area do you live in?
And once again you are living up to your screen name.
… and is also attempting to turn Car Talk into a forum for conspiracy theories.
Just got gas for a company car at the Chevron around the corner, $4.29 for regular.
Stopped at Costco Saturday morning for a couple of things but I have no idea what the price for regular was there because I’m not waiting in a line 6 cars deep to buy gas.
We used to shop at Sam’s Club and now shop at Costco. Anyone removing a blindfold in one of those stores would instantly know which one they are in. Costco is much more consumer oriented than Sam’s Club.
Wow, at the Exxon station I go to regular was down to $2.99. premium $3.89, non-ethanol, $3.79.
You have to take into consideration he lives in a very high cost of living demographic…
Well to be fair I work in a high cost of living area. Where I live, 40 miles south, gas is .30-.40 less. I fill up around where I live, but for the company cars with the corporate card, it doesn’t matter.
So why do I drive 37 miles to get to work? Like many people I can’t afford to live any closer. Housing where I work is quite expensive compared to the next county down.
So do I, but with the exception of a couple of widely-scattered gas stations, the price of gas around here is in the range of $2.80-$2.90/gallon.
+1
At one time, I had both Costco and BJ’s memberships in order to decide which was better (in terms of both pricing and quality of goods), and after 1 year, I dropped the BJ’s membership like a bad habit.
Among other negative factors, the tire department at BJ’s sold lower-end tires that I wouldn’t have been interested in, and their shop area looked like the EPA might declare it to be an environmental hazard.
A couple of months later, I got a call from someone at BJ’s to inquire why I hadn’t renewed my membership. I laughingly told the guy that they would have to start giving BJs if they wanted to retain customers. Luckily, the guy who called me had a sense of humor, and he said that I wasn’t the first person to make that statement.
$2.79 cash yesterday and there are cheaper options if you use the off-brand stations or the store cards.
We use Costco for some groceries, especially nonrefrigerated items. But they have some great cheese, IMO, such as the Cabot three year cheddar. Their sales on cold cereal are good. The one item I always stock up on is the Starbucks Dark Roast Beans which are only affordable at Costco (or BJs). I like dark coffee. They have some good clothes items at times, but no try on rooms. They are great on returns.
We have gotten tires there as well as a number of car batteries.
For us (my wife and I) the big savings that pay for the membership, though, are for prescription glasses and hearing aids. The latter alone has paid for many years of memberships. Also, those two departments are always eager to help if there are problems or if adjustments are needed.
That being said, Costco (or BJs) is not for everyone.
