Costco vs Sams Club

[jlee]

Now that I live in a civilized area, I actually have options...so, where should I go? $50 for costco membership, $40 for Sams, iirc. Or don't bother, and use regular stores? What say you?

 

[WaTaGuMp]

Go to each and check them out yourself. Costco is having a 5% increase in the membership fee.

 

[jlee]

I've been to both, and am wandering around costco now. Some stuff seems to be a little cheaper, but it looks like neither place can touch regular supermarket sale prices.

 

[tfinch2]

Costco is cool, but Sam's is cheaper for the same stuff that we buy, so I have a Sam's membership.

Plus the pizza tastes better.

 

[Eli]

Costco is BY FAR better than Sam's Club. We would shop exclusively at Costco if it wasn't an hour away. Costco's selection of groceries is just so much better, they have more stuff.. and it just seems better overall quality, much more organic and natural foods.

Costco is a little more expensive though. We tend to buy household stuff at Sam's - TP, paper towels, paper plates, etc.

I also really like the milk at Sam's. I'm not sure why, but it's a noticeable difference from most other milks. I don't know if that means it's more highly processed or what, but it lacks the distinct cow flavor associated with a lot of milks. Just seems nice and clean.. hard to explain.

 

[waggy]

from what i have read and heard.IF you want the best deal get both (if you can afford it). if both are near go through and see witch has what you buy more of.

we just have Sams club. the quality is the same between the store.

 

[jlee]

Either one is about 3 miles for me, I think. I know I've heard great things about costco in the past, but I haven't really noticed a huge difference yet. They have good prices on eneloop batteries, but amazon isn't much more anyway.

 

[WaTaGuMp]

Either one is about 3 miles for me, I think. I know I've heard great things about costco in the past, but I haven't really noticed a huge difference yet. They have good prices on eneloop batteries, but amazon isn't much more anyway.

Not everything is a better deal at Costco, just like anything else you need to shop around. Soda for instance, is usually a better deal at the supermarket with coupons and or sales.

 

[Eli]

As for whether the membership is worth it or not, I'd say it's probably not worth it just for one person, especially if you don't have a separate freezer.

We've actually stopped buying so much at Sam's/Costco because we found we wasted too much. Even with buying a chest freezer and a Food Saver. We spend less when we only buy select things at Costco/Sams and go to regular stores for more specialty or "bulk not needed" stuff.

The things we buy at Sam's/Costco are.. as I mentioned, TP, paper towels, paper plates, milk.. We also buy bread, snacks(crackers, trail mix, nuts/seeds), lunch meat, and cheese. Most of those things are noticeably cheaper than a regular grocery store, and we go through them fast enough to make it worth it.

We buy regular grocery store sizes of chicken/pork/beef though, as the portions are just too huge at the warehouse club stores, even though it's cheaper per pound.

Edit: Oh, forgot cereal. Much cheaper to buy cereal at the warehouse stores.

 

[WaTaGuMp]

If your Costco, Sams have a gas station, that might be worth it alone.

 

[Baked]

I have 2 Costco AMEX cards, one for the company and one for personal.

I buy a lot of food for both myself and the business. I think it's worth it.

 

[Pardus]

Sam's: Takes Mastercard/Discover, 90-day return policy, accepts walmart gift cards and vice versa. 1-year membership has been $40 since 2006, In-house brand is Member's Mark

Costco: Takes AMEX, 90-day return policy, doubles warranty on electronics, longer lines, 1-year membership is $50 now, will be $55 11/1, In-house brand is Kirkland, more selection than Sam's.

BJ's membership is $45 now, to be raised to $50 1/1/12

To save on membership costs, split rate with a friend/co-worker, etc. Your allowed 1 additional card at no cost all all warehouse stores.

Also, I found Sam's Club gas to be of lower quality that local places. There prices lately have not been the cheapest. Sam's Club gas was $3.52 in New York per gallon as of yesterday. It's $3.49 at Hess 1 mile away.

 

[jlee]

If your Costco, Sams have a gas station, that might be worth it alone.

$3.419 at Costco (91) vs $3.539 at QT, $3.439 at Arco (according to Gasbuddy anyway).

There's a little supermarket right by my house that has a fantastic produce section (very inexpensive) so I'll hold off on either of them for now. I don't have the storage or freezer space to buy stuff in bulk, so it may not be worth the cost.

 

[blinblue]

Sam's: Takes Mastercard/Discover, 90-day return policy, accepts walmart gift cards and vice versa. 1-year membership has been $40 since 2006, In-house brand is Member's Mark

Costco: Takes AMEX, 90-day return policy, doubles warranty on electronics, longer lines, 1-year membership is $50 now, will be $55 11/1, In-house brand is Kirkland, more selection than Sam's.

BJ's membership is $45 now, to be raised to $50 1/1/12

To save on membership costs, split rate with a friend/co-worker, etc. Your allowed 1 additional card at no cost all all warehouse stores.

Good info, except that Costco (and I think Sams Club too) has an unlimited return window for non-electronics items.

 

[WaTaGuMp]

$3.419 at Costco (91) vs $3.539 at QT, $3.439 at Arco (according to Gasbuddy anyway).

There's a little supermarket right by my house that has a fantastic produce section (very inexpensive) so I'll hold off on either of them for now. I don't have the storage or freezer space to buy stuff in bulk, so it may not be worth the cost.

It sounds like the same thing here. Sometimes Costco is quite a bit cheaper than others. Then we have times they are not. I also use Gasbuddy, and if I see a Costco that's quite a bit less in an area I will be, I go there.

 

[ponyo]

Don't bother if you're single. Stick with Trader Joe's, Aldi, Wal-Mart and supermarkets. Between Costco and Sam's, I think Sam's is the better value. Both carry similar items but Sam's will be cheaper for the same items. Sam's has better hours if you're business member. Sam's has cheaper membership and usually shorter lines. I think Costco's only real advantage is their house brand Kirkland line. Kirkland stuff is usually very good and I prefer it over national brands.

My recommendation is use the club membership money for Amazon Prime and stick with supermarkets.

 

[jlee]

Don't bother if you're single. Stick with Trader Joe's, Aldi, Was-Mart and supermarkets. Between Costco and Sam's, I think Sam's is the better value. Both carry similar items but Sam's will be cheaper for the same items. Sam's has better hours if you're business member. Sam's has cheaper membership and usually shorter lines. I think Costco's only real advantage is their house brand Kirkland line. Kirkland stuff is usually very good and I prefer it over national brands.

My recommendation is use the club membership money for Amazon Prime and stick with supermarkets.

Already have Prime, but good call. I forgot about Trader Joe's - there's one three miles from my house.

Damn I love cities.

 

[ArizonaSteve]

Sams Club == Walmart. A good reason to avoid.

 

[Fritzo]

Costco.

Get the $100 Executive membership with their AmEx card. It gives you 3% back on gas, and Costco's gas is always .25 cheaper than anywhere else. I use the card to pay bills and for gas, and I get back around $180 each year. It pays for the membership and I get some extra.

Costco and Sams have two different models. Sams is mostly "buy a big quantity and save!" Costco is better, imo, because they have shoppers that go out and contract companies so they can sell unique and top quality products. Their meat dept. is top notch, their fruits and veggies are the best available, and their other products are either unique to Costco or they have something added to them that nobody else offers.

An example of this would be cell phones: if you buy, say, a Droid Bionic from Costco, you not only get the phone, but a desktop dock, and extra battery, and a car dock. If you buy an XBox, you get the console, a free HDMI cable, and two free games. Etc.

They also add 2 years onto the warranty for their products and have a very generous return policy. I've bought food there that I didn't like, told the customer service about it, they looked up my transaction and credited my account back. I don't know of anyone else that would do that.

So, Sams is for bargain shoppers, but nothing beats Costco.

 

[KaOTiK]

Costco all the way

 

[ponyo]

Costco.

Get the $100 Executive membership with their AmEx card. It gives you 3% back on gas, and Costco's gas is always .25 cheaper than anywhere else. I use the card to pay bills and for gas, and I get back around $180 each year. It pays for the membership and I get some extra.

Costco and Sams have two different models. Sams is mostly "buy a big quantity and save!" Costco is better, imo, because they have shoppers that go out and contract companies so they can sell unique and top quality products. Their meat dept. is top notch, their fruits and veggies are the best available, and their other products are either unique to Costco or they have something added to them that nobody else offers.

An example of this would be cell phones: if you buy, say, a Droid Bionic from Costco, you not only get the phone, but a desktop dock, and extra battery, and a car dock. If you buy an XBox, you get the console, a free HDMI cable, and two free games. Etc.

They also add 2 years onto the warranty for their products and have a very generous return policy. I've bought food there that I didn't like, told the customer service about it, they looked up my transaction and credited my account back. I don't know of anyone else that would do that.

So, Sams is for bargain shoppers, but nothing beats Costco.

Replace Amex with Discover and Sam's with Costco for above and it would be the same. Really it's like Wal-Mart vs Target. Home Depot and Lowe's. Sam's cater more to small businesses than Costco but both are clones of each other.

 

[BarkingGhostar]

Go to each and check them out yourself. Costco is having a 5% increase in the membership fee.

Are you really concerned over 5% of a $50 annual membership? If you cannot save $2.50 in a year to cover the increase then maybe you should reconsider having a membership in the first place.

For anyone looking to make a major purchase with the expectation of saving $52.50 or more then the membership is a no-brainer for Costco, or whatever the baseline cost is for Sams.

$2.50, gimme a break.

 

[WaTaGuMp]

Are you really concerned over 5% of a $50 annual membership? If you cannot save $2.50 in a year to cover the increase then maybe you should reconsider having a membership in the first place.

For anyone looking to make a major purchase with the expectation of saving $52.50 or more then the membership is a no-brainer for Costco, or whatever the baseline cost is for Sams.

$2.50, gimme a break.

Who said anything about concern? I simply gave accurate info about a price increase.

 

[Fritzo]

Replace Amex with Discover and Sam's with Costco for above and it would be the same. Really it's like Wal-Mart vs Target. Home Depot and Lowe's. Sam's cater more to small businesses than Costco but both are clones of each other.

They're really not. Costco has higher quality stuff, Sams has cheaper stuff. Same look, different concepts.

 

[ponyo]

Are you really concerned over 5% of a $50 annual membership? If you cannot save $2.50 in a year to cover the increase then maybe you should reconsider having a membership in the first place.

For anyone looking to make a major purchase with the expectation of saving $52.50 or more then the membership is a no-brainer for Costco, or whatever the baseline cost is for Sams.

$2.50, gimme a break.

It's 10% increase so $5 for basic and $10 for executive. $55/$110 yr. Like I said using that money on Amazon Prime membership might be a better value.