There’s more to choosing which wholesale club to join or if you wanna join at all. Besides the everyday prices, what else should you look at to find which wholesale club is the best value for you?
I’ll be honest…I have a membership to each. And at the end of this journey, I’ll be deciding which one(s) I’ll keep. So, I’m doing this analysis out of self-defense as well as answering a question many clients ask. But I was surprised the prices of the goods they sell wasn’t really that different in some cases. That’s when I spotted the other factors to consider.
They gotta have what YOU want
Not every store carries the specific brands and flavors YOU want. I do the Whole30 quite often…no surprise there. And only one flavor of Aidell’s Gourmet Dinner Sausage is compliant…apple sausage. Imagine my surprise when I found the new BJ’s doesn’t even carry that flavor (though they carry a lot of ‘em plus some of their own!).
And Costco ONLY carries the chicken apple. And the prices are the same though the Costco package is 3 pounds instead of 2. But just not carrying the one flavor I buy? That’s gonna make this a tough decision. Point to Costco.
Location, Location, Location
It can make a big difference which one you choose depending on where you are. There are 3 Costco stores near me. One 13 miles away with backroads/city traffic, one 15 miles away with only highway traffic, and one 20 miles away (across town). The Sam’s are pretty much the same though there is one only 8.9 miles away, but I really don’t like that one (oldest and dirtiest).
Then there’s BJ’s only 2.9 miles away through city traffic. That makes BJ’s the best choice for location alone. There is a Costco and Sam’s closer to my day job, but honestly, I’m so tired when I get done, I have only gone there once after my workday. Point to BJ’s.
Membership costs money!
And the biggee…membership price. There are several options for each store with lots of perks, but here are the basics (see links below to sign up and see benefits).
Sam’s is the cheapest overall (with their Plus membership matching the cost of B’s Plus membership). But, I have to say that the 5c off/gal got my attention. Their gas price is usually better than other nearby anyway, and that 5c off makes it my choice most days. I figured it up, and I’ll recoup my membership feel (and almost double) just with gas savings in a year.
So which wholesale club is best for you?
You’ll have to weigh all these factors as well as the price differences in part 1 (see that here). So far, Costco is top of my list with most points, but the gas savings at BJ’s probably means I may keep both of these for now. Which will you choose? Lemme know in the comments.
Should you even BUY a wholesale membership? Next post, I’ll look into that!
Here’s the membership links for all three wholesalers…plus a bonus…
