best Costco in NJ?

[Kim WB]

Hi, after reading the thread on Costco, I have decided to make a road trip. Has anyone been to a variety of NJ Costco's. and which is the best one in your opinion.

It seems that Costco has higher quality than Sam's, whch is my only experience with a big box store...do you agree?

[Rosie]

We go to Costco on Rt 10 but the one in Willowbrook Mall is bigger and has liquor.

[Double 0]

I've been to Clifton, Wayne, RT 10, Hackensack and Edison. They all seem to be basically the same. Most have liquor (no big deal you can do just as good in you local store and the wine is basically the cheaper plunk with a few better commercial choices). Ther are slight variations in each store but not enough to make a difference. I've had a card for 5 years or so and I find myself going less and less. I just don't need the giant size of most things. There are bargains on paper goods and certain personnal needs, and many people rave about their meats but I only find myself buying in the summer when i'm doing alot of BBQ. One cut that I rarely see other places is Tri Tip but again I wish it was a smaller package ( I not fond of freezing meat unless I'm going to use it soon. Having said that definatly go Its worth the experience and I think they wiil allow you to go one time without signing up or else borrow a friends card. They don't check them closely. Btw they only take Amex, cash and checks if the name matches the card.

Edited January 30, 2003 by Double 0 (log)

[Rail Paul]

I don't believe the E Hanvover Route 10 store has liquor. If there's a location in Bridgewater, that may be closer for you, Kim.

I shop Costco for the wines, they generally hit the NJ minimum price on just about all their wine products. I post the details occasionally on the wine board. I've found their product prices to be anywhere from $5 cheaper on a $20 bottle to $40 less on a $120 bottle.

The Wall Street Journal did an article on the Willowbrook location and compared its prices with several local wine merchants. On Dom Perignon, WSJ reported their price was $50 less than a well known (and named) Montclair wine merchant for the same offering. My local wine dealer is always complaining about losing the case sales to Costco. Even with his 20% discount, Costco's usually cheaper. The local Costco store has no say over what they get, selection is not deep, but pricing is rock bottom. Their selection of specialty scotches is good, also

They do suck you in, though. I went over for some wine last week. Got that, plus a pair of Dockers khakis ($17.99), five pounds of their jumbo shrimp, a giant windex for the price of the 32 oz, and considered getting snow tires for the car.

Edited January 30, 2003 by Rail Paul (log)

[birder53]

The Bridgewater Costco does not have liquor. Their meats, bakery and other foodstuff were great. But the large sizes meant we only bought them when we were entertaining. We dropped our membership after one year and went back to BJs. Costco didn't carry many of the household and grocery products we buy in bulk. BJs also takes manufacuturers coupons and just about any method of payment. Since we cancelled our American Express card we probably won't consider going back to Costco. That said, Ellen Shapiro's thread on Costco around the world got me thinking about all that I was missing! And who would have considered visiting Costco's on vacations???

[NJ2FLA]

I just thought I would state the ovbious and suggest you go to Costco during the week and not on a weekend. The warehouses tend to be very busy on Saturday & Sundays.

Personally I like the Bridgewater store. Found it to be very clean, nice help and typically quiet on a weeknight after work. I live close to the Willowbook (Wayne) store but don't go there too often.

Costco's in Florida all had partitioned off liquor departments but I haven't noticed a store up here with the same.