Sam's Club or Costco?

[christinew]

Have any of you or do any of you frequent Sam's or Costco for groceries and other items?

I am considering trying one of them soon and will have to pay to join for a membership. ($25-$35 ish)

At a dinner party last night the hostess showed me this large Tyson chicken bag of 12 frozen exact same size chicken breasts for $8. Wow.

Thoughts?


:)

[gabbyh]

Christine,
I think I'll throw my vote into the ring for Sam's Club...although I do really think it's "6 of one, and a half-dozen of the other"...here in Northeastern PA we only have Sam's Club and BJ's...of which I prefer Sam's...but my family in Florida (Mom, sister, and son) all prefer Costco. We were in Florida last week and I made sure I went to Costco for a quick trip to check it out...I must say I wasn't impressed...although it was very similar to Sam's Club, it didn't have the variety of things I like...Cookbooks, for examlpe...but my family frequents the place...I'm anxious to see what others respond...
Whichever one you decide on...Happy shopping...

Another thought is also...usually around the holidays...Sam's club will give out free 3 month memberships so people can "check it out" first...you may want to keep your eye out for one of them in the Sunday paper flyers...

[christinew]

I will have to check them both out however my MIL swears by Sam's and it is a bit closer to me house.

Cookbook's!! Really? That could be dangerous.

:D

[Grace]

Our Costco has TONS of cookbooks! And computer software and just about anything else you could think of. I do agree that the quality of the stores vary by location, and that in one area Sam's might be better, and in another Costco might be better. I was allowed to walk through Costco and look at everything before I decided on whether to buy a membership or not. Around my house, the Costco was much, much better than the Sam's. I am very happy with our membership, and love to go there (although it can be dangerous - too many good things to buy!!).

So, my advice would be to go walk through both of the ones in your area and look at them yourself and see which one appeals to you more! HAVE FUN and happy wholesale shopping!! :D

[christinew]

Can I buy foodstuffs there also? And cut out my trips to the grocery? I'd love to buy in bulk food items and toiletries also.

[tracey67]

You should also check out this thread from a month or so back -- it's the exact topic and I think a lot of people responded to it.

http://www.cookinglight.com/vbb/showthread.php?s=&threadid=9248&highlight=bjs

tracey

[christinew]

Does Sam's club take Amex?

Tracey- Thanks for the thread...I enjoyed reading it!

[Molli526]

Christine-

Sam's takes Discover, Costco takes AMEX.

I belong to both and wouldn't be able to chose one to the other.

Sam's has a MUCH better books seletion. They also carry some food items that Costco doesn't- more everyday type stuff. Costco on the other hand has higher end wines that Sam's doesn't carry as well as great meats etc. If you can afford both- do it.

Molli

[laden]

I belong to both and really enjoy going. I must say that I go to Costco more often and it's farther away from my house. They both have pretty much the same things to choose from. Definitely get a membership to one of them. You'll love it.

[BosunsWife]

Another that has dual memberships here. I live just about 1/2 mile from the Costco, but will drive the 4-5 miles to the Sam's Club also. Costco has some things that are better than Sam's and vice versa. The Costco that is nearest to us is an older one, but when I'm really motivated, I drive to the new one that is up towards Mililani. I try to avoid both places on the weekend like the plague since they are both crowded and chaotic.

When we were living in Rhode Island (last year) I had memberships to both Sam's Club and BJ's Wholesale for the same exact reasons stated above.

I still save money after paying out the $70 for the memberships a year.

[Kristilyn1]

I'm like the devil's advocate here (as usual!) I think that getting a useful membership depends on how you buy. I'm probably in the minority but I suffer from a serious case of BARGAINITIS! I've been known to arrive at the checkout with two carts when I just went in for diapers. I've belonged to Sam's and BJ's and while I LIKE them--I have quit going because:

1. They don't take VISA. I ALWAYS use my cc for purchases and I dislike the inconvenience of cash/checks. I loathed my Discover card and don't have AMEX.

2. I end up with sooooo much junk I never meant to buy! The books, the clothes even (am I sick or what?!)

3. I don't buy very many name brands, no packaged snacks and I do not maintain a large freezer full of goods.

4. You have to check prices carefully because like every store--they have items that are packaged in super sizes and the prices are still the same as their grocery store, smaller portion counterpart. Albeit, this is certainly not the majority of their items.

That said, I've always enjoyed buying meat in bulk and repackaging ---but for me personally the membership has not actually ended up saving me money--so I have dropped my membership. To replace my need for wonderfully packaged meats--I have discovered:

www.marketday.com

It is a fundraiser for schools and my son's elementary participates. You place an order and then you pick it up at the participating school. And yes, they have the Tyson individually vacuum sealed, super-duper trimmed chicken breasts for 8.99. (12, 4.0z portions) Also, many other meats as well. So I would suggest you all check them out--maybe your area schools participate!

Otherwise, only join one if you have more self-control then I do!

Kristi

[SusanT]

We had memberships to both Sams and Costco and changed to Costco exclusively. Costco seems a little more consistent about the products they stock.

But Kristyln is right - it's a better deal when you stick to your list and don't fall prey to the impulse items.

[funnybone]

I used to live in GA and belonged to both Costco and Sam's because they were almost next door to one another. They both had great things, but it was "Hit and Miss" as ususal.

Now I only belong to Costco as there is no Sam's nearby. We do have BJ's, but I find they are similar to Costco, and the prices are a little higher. Plus, it is much more out of the way for me, so I don't bother joining. They allow people to come in and shop, but you have to pay a surcharge is you are not a member. It's either 5 or 10%, so I would do that if I found something I really wanted. I never do though.

[Don]

Boy do I feel alot better! I thought we were stupid for joining two warehouse clubs! We have Costco, Sam's and BJ's. We generally prefer Costco, because the prices are lower and the quality is superb. Their Kirkland store brand items are especially good. I have never been disappointed in one of their products, and we buy everything there, especially clothing. My Costco clothes have lasted longer and looked much better than anything I have bought at Kohl's or Macy's. We also love the pizza and hot dogs at Costco. In fact, I prefer their pizza to anything I can find at a pizzeria in the area. We have been know to stop at Costco just to have lunch (and then procede to spend more money "looking around"). On the other hand, Costco doesn't have the variety of products that the other two carry. So we also have a membership to BJ's. BJ's often has a selection of items to choose from where Costco offers only one product. Given that I am diabetic, I can sometimes find products to buy at BJ's that I could not find at Costco. On the other hand, we never leave a warehouse club without dropping at least $200. We also tend to impulse buy a lot, because we see things and can't remember if we have them. Then the old line of "it won't go bad" can be deadly. At one point, we had 13 double boxes of dishwasher soap in the house! So take the advice to heart to only go to a warehouse club with a list in hand. We could live off of our accumulated purchases for well over a year and never have to leave the house!