[NA] sam's club or Costco

saracelica

saracelica

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saracelica
Thinking about getting a membership to one of the warehouse stores. What say POA?

should I do sam's or Costco?
 
Costco

Full disclosure though, I find both to be an underwhelming and depressing experience.. the meat is usually pretty good though
 
I have memberships to both, primarily because for the longest time the nearest Costco was an hour away and we had closer in Sams. Sams has a few things that Costco doesn't, but all things being equal I shop at Costco.
 
Customer service of Costco is whole lot better than sams
 
We don’t have a Costco close to us so Sams by default. I will say though their meat dept has a lot of things I never see elsewhere, you just have to buy it in quantities sized for an army platoon.
 
My employer got us discounted membership with both of them. Costco has cheaper gasoline. They overlap in some products, and are different for others. We have 2 Sams in Lincoln. One keeps peanut oil year-round, the other only stocks the large jugs for Thanksgiving to fry turkeys, suggesting that no matter what anyone says here, your experience will probably be different.
 
Try-n-Save.... I mean Shop-N-Save.

A local grocery store that the indians mostly shop at. They have a real killer butcher that can cut anything anyway you like.

But to answer the question, I have switched back and forth between the two, depending who is closest.
 
Costco. They currently have Japanese A5 Wagyu ($99/lb).
 
Costco. Kirkland brands are every bit as good as name brands, the meats are good, and Kirkland gas is top tier rated. Sam’s gas sucks.
 
Costco.

Just got back from there about an hour ago after dropping another $400. :biggrin:
 
I would offer that Sam's is more of a warehouse/bulk purchase business.

Costco is for the somewhat more discriminating buyer, probably not someone who's buying in bulk for their business.

We have a Sam's membership, mainly because Sam's carries the dog food we use. There's plenty of other stuff there too, from office supplies to wine/beer/groceries/bath/body/beauty/health stuff.
 
If you get the Costco Visa, you get 4% cash back on gas purchases...including avgas. At least that's how it's worked out for me. :happydance:
 
The gas discount and a couple of grocery items (olive oil, bacon, etc) pays for the Costco membership, so anything else I buy, I'm ahead.
 
They're different. Sam's is normal stuff in bulk. Costco has a more selective selection, but based on quality and value.

We've had Sam's forever. I got a Costco membership one year and never went back after signing up. After almost an entire year, they refunded the whole thing. Sam's will do the same. So try them both.
 
ColoPilot said:
The gas discount and a couple of grocery items (olive oil, bacon, etc) pays for the Costco membership, so anything else I buy, I'm ahead.
Click to expand...
One laser printer catridge pretty much covers the membership for me.
 
Thanks for all the replies.

Of course my experience may be different but any experience is. There was a coupon in the mail for sam's club membership $45 and get a $45 sam's gift card to use with one trip in 60 days. Sam's is about 5 miles farther I'm considering doing both.
 
I used to go to Sams, but then Costco opened up across the street from my office, so that’s where I go.

Sam’s, though, has one Thing I dearly wish Costco would get: Scan & Go. It’s an app that lets you scan your purchases as you shop, then click “Pay Now,” and head for the door. No waiting in lines.
 
Would have to say Costco after being a BJs member for years.
 
Costco ftw. Returned gas pressure washer with failed pump - no hassle at all, gift card in the amount of purchase and repeat.

Also very quick checkout, friendly/helpful employees.
 
Charlie Golf said:
If you get the Costco Visa, you get 4% cash back on gas purchases...including avgas. At least that's how it's worked out for me. :happydance:
Click to expand...

Costco gas is already cheaper in our area than any other top tier rated name brand gas, add the 4% on top of that, and it's a good deal. Sometimes the no-name gas stations can beat the Costco price, but I don't like running lowest bidder gas in the cars.
 
SCCutler said:
I used to go to Sams, but then Costco opened up across the street from my office, so that’s where I go.

Sam’s, though, has one Thing I dearly wish Costco would get: Scan & Go. It’s an app that lets you scan your purchases as you shop, then click “Pay Now,” and head for the door. No waiting in lines.
Click to expand...
Scan & Go is a game changer. When I quit Costco a couple years ago, I told the manager that was one reason why. He acted like he'd never heard of it.
 
both in my city. I've been a member of both.

Costco wins easily.
Quality of goods, customer support, more appealing selection.
 
Costco and Sams both have locations in Ensenada.

We checked it out, and Costco wins for us to get some of our American staples while in Mexico.

The parking lot at Costco is typically 70% full or more, and the Sam's lot is 10% full.
 
SCCutler said:
I used to go to Sams, but then Costco opened up across the street from my office, so that’s where I go.

Sam’s, though, has one Thing I dearly wish Costco would get: Scan & Go. It’s an app that lets you scan your purchases as you shop, then click “Pay Now,” and head for the door. No waiting in lines.
Click to expand...
One of the dozen or so Costcos near me when I lived in Northern Virginia had scanners you could carry with you in the store. Unfortunately, it was poorly implemented (compared to the grocery store scanit system which I really liked).
 
Costco has the $4.99 chickens. Interesting background, those birds are such a draw for Costco, they took the whole supply-chain in-house for QC/PC purposes and cost control. Kirkland is legit also.
 
kep5niner said:
Costco has the $4.99 chickens. Interesting background, those birds are such a draw for Costco, they took the whole supply-chain in-house for QC/PC purposes and cost control. Kirkland is legit also.
Click to expand...
We do those.. we get 8 meals out 1, counting the soup :)
 
We dropped Costco when they killed the killer deal they had with Amex.

Full analysis of “savings” for two people didn’t pay for the repackaging time spent.

Larger household units mileage may vary.

The spreadsheet hasn’t tipped in favor of Sam’s either. Yet.

Local chain with delivery to the car and Amazon Prime combined, work out the best in our spreadsheet with a 30 min drive one-way to any grocery store.

That’s both cheapest and fastest overall. For us.
 
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