being from California, i have been a Costco member for over 20 years... back when i became a member, we had Costco and Price Club as our options...
right now i am in North Carolina, and in our town we have Sam's Club and a brand new BJ's... i have never been to Sam's Club... but in my opinion, BJ's does not compare with Costco... Costco has a better meat department, bakery, prepared foods selection... more produce (maybe that is because i am in California when i shop Costco?)...
the one thing BJ's does offer that Costco doesn't is a deli--where you can buy meats and cheeses that are sliced right then and there for you...
in any case, Costco blew it... in the words of Beyonce' in Irreplaceable:
you must not know 'bout me, you must not know 'bout me... i can have another you by tomorrow so don't you ever for a second get to thinkin' you're irreplaceable...
...being from California, i have been a Costco member for over 20 years... back when i became a member, we had Costco and Price Club as our options...
in any case, Costco blew it... in the words of Beyonce’ in Irreplaceable:
you must not know ‘bout me, you must not know ‘bout me... i can have another you by tomorrow so don’t you ever for a second get to thinkin’ you’re irreplaceable...
And the Beyonce stuff is exactly right on.
I have lived in areas that have had Costco and Sam’s and I belonged to both. Just as I’ve belonged to both Sam’s and BJ’s.
The problem with comparing the franchises is that each store in each of the franchises can be different. In other words, the Sam’s stores aren’t all the same, neither are the Costco stores or BJ’s stores. That makes it very difficult to compare one chain to another. Generally I know that Costco and BJ’s accept manufacturer’s coupons and Sam’s does not as a part of their national policy.
As for having meat sections, produce sections, bakeries, deli’s and gas stations, I think that depends on the individual store. The BJ’s where I am carries two to three times as many different products as the Sam’s store where I am. But that was a decision made by BJ’s to be better able to compete when they entered the market. All of the ones, Sam’s, BJ’s, and Costco, I’ve seen have had gas stations. One Sam’s had a bakery, the other didn’t until more recently.
Sam’s had already been here many years. Perhaps BJ’s felt a larger selection of goods would attract more people away from Sam’s. It’s not worked. But that may be due to Sam’s location right next to an interstate.