How to Find Thrift Store Prices at BJ’s & Costco

I was introduced to wholesale shopping over ten years ago. BJ’s was the only one in our city so that’s where I started. Over the years I learned how to extreme coupon and live a debt free lifestyle.

In the past few months with the recent coupon change to BJ’s Wholesale club, I ventured over to Costco, and I’m quickly falling in love.

Don’t get me wrong I love both and the video in this post is why.

You will find awesome clearance at both of these stores. The key is you need to be willing to look.

If you are familiar with shopping thrift stores, you know it can be a hit or miss. If you haven’t taken advantage of shopping thrift stores in your life yet read how to do it here. It can be such a money saver and it’s worth a challenge for a month or two.

BJ’s and Costco have a bunch of similarities yet you can always tell the difference between the two.

What’s the Same:

Both clubs offer a middle section filled with seasonal and miscellaneous items. Some call this the “treasure trove” area.

Both require you to pay a yearly membership. However, Costco doesn’t offer many discounts on their membership like BJs.

You can use the Ibotta app to earn cash back on items you are already buying. Sign up for free HERE.

Check out the other awesome Apps you can use at BJs and Costco here.

They both have clearance A LOT! Like every week folks! We post it as much as we can here. You can HELP us post EVEN more by sharing your clearance finds with us in our Facebook groups.

Join our Facebook Groups:

BJs Here

Costco Here.

What’s Different:

BJs still accepts ONE manufacturer coupon per item. Costco does not. BJ’s does offer BJ’s coupons and clipless coupon which are basically sale prices.

Costco runs sales frequently but there is no required coupons to use. This is a plus.

BJ’s closed their food court. Costco’s food court is going strong. In fact my brother went to Costco just for a slice of pizza! I have yet to see anything replaced in our local BJ’s Wholesale club food courts.

Regarding pricing, it can vary depending on what you are looking for. Both stores offer their own store brand but we found one to be cheaper than the other here.

Tips to Shop

When you are going to Costco and BJs for a deal let yourself have at least an hour in there to roam around. It’s best to look for clearance when you don’t have anything else to get. Make it a special trip for yourself.

If that’s impossible and the day you go there to shop is the only day you have, be on the lookout for clearance.

At BJ’s you will see price reduced or a little d on the signs. You can read my entire post on how to read BJ’s signs for deals here.

At Costco, you are going to look for anything that ends in a 7. If it has an * this means they won’t be restocking it. We will have a full post on Costco pricing coming soon.

It helps to understand pricing. So give yourself time. The more you shop and look at full price, sale price, and clearance price, you will become a pro at when something is a thrift store price.

If you see something on clearance at one of the wholesale clubs BUY it. Both clubs have a generous return policy, and if you end up hating it or not needing it you can return it.

I’m not saying buy everything and return it, no. I’m saying in those moments when you are torn with what to do grab it because it you wait a few days it will be gone.

Here’s a video on my recent clearance shopping trip at BJs and Costco.

What tips do you have for shopping clearance at Costco and BJs?

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