SmartMoney.com has an interesting feature up today comparing prices between Sam’s Club, Costco, BJ’s, and a regular supermarket in New York City.
Missing from the story but worth noting are the annual membership costs for each store: Sam’s Club starts at $40, BJ’s $45 and Costco $50.
Even after factoring annual membership costs into account, shopping at a warehouse club store can end up saving your family a lot of money – particularly if you buy frequently and in large quantities. Take a 48 oz. tin of Folgers coffee, for example:
- Supermarket: $17.72 (after a 50-cent coupon)
- BJs: $8.49 (after a 50-cent coupon) (52% Savings)
- Costco: $8.99 (49% Savings)
- Sam’s Club: $8.39 (53% Savings)
There’s no clear-cut price winner between the three, but it becomes apparent that the club stores are reliably less expensive than a regular supermarket – if you don’t mind them not keeping the odd brand or two in stock. But for most of us nowadays, brand loyalty is taking a backseat to price loyalty. And on that count, warehouse club stores deliver.
