Sam's verses Costco

[holly116]

I know this board is full of Costco love and I'm super excited that one is opening really close to me in the next few months. However, I've never actually been inside a Costco so I'm trying to decide if we should switch from Sam's.

Right now DH's company has a deal with Sam's and we get an annual business membership (which gets us in extended hours but I don't really care about this) for $40. They will hopefully switch over to Costco next year, but for the renewal that's coming up this fall, it's Sam's only.

If we skip that and go with Costco, no deal, it would be the standard $55. This is a no-brainer, right? We should just go with Costco?

[Deleted]

We didn't switch to Coscto until this year b/c Sam's had 1 item we needed that Costco won't sell (box of pizza doughs, it's a long story, we don't need that anymore). We find Coscto to have better and more interesting products in terms of meat and pre-prepared food. I prefer the eggs, produce, and beer options as well. I also really like the individually packaged chicken breasts/ground turkey/pork etc (2lbs or 2 pieces of meat per package really make portioning meat out easy).

[swarley]

Well our town has 3 Sam's and we just got a Costco about a year and a half ago. The Costco is in a really inconvenient location so that was strike one for us. We were trying to find something to entertain our one year old one day so we went and asked them if we could look around. They said no problem and we walked up and down each aisle to see what we would regularly buy. We didn't find much and they didn't have a lot of the stuff we normally get from Sam's. Just go check it out and compare. We may get a membership one day but for now we are happy with Sam's.

[holly116]

Sept 3, 2015 7:15:58 GMT -5 swizz said:

Sams is Walmart. Costco is not, and a genuinely good company.

This is what I told DH.

[huskymom]

I'd check it out when it opens! I love Costco. We moved, and now are right by BJs and Sams, but costco is about 35 min away. I did get a groupon deal for BJs, so we joined and never went, but were still driving to Costco every month or so.

However, it's where we get our dog food because it's an amazing value for grain free food. The other stuff we get (paper products, toiletries, batteries, light bulbs, some meats, a rotisserie chicken, etc) are probably similar at the other club stores. I do believe that Costco's organic selection is much better though.

Luckily they are building one near us soon!

[dcn]

I would go and look and see what you think. I vastly prefer Costco, we even have the executive membership bc we spend so Much $$$$ there. I really like the company in general too. I don't know if SAMs has no questions asked returns? I LOVE that about Costco. We returned a garbage can that we used for a few weeks bc we hated it and they didn't bat an eye.

We are really far from Costco now and it bums me out.

[Mushe]

Always Costco!!! Okay, I've never actually been in a Sam's, but it's already been said - Sam's is Walmart. Costco is a good company that treats its employees well. I love the stuff I find there, and go every week. Tons of organic produce and meat and easy kid snacks. And a bajillion batteries for $20, because my kid's Thomas trains eat them.

[mrshandy]

Neither?
Honestly, I joined Costco a month ago and I know I'm the outlier, but I really don't like it for a number of reasons. Maybe it's just my Costco.
- It's huge and I can't find anything! Seriously there are zero signs telling you where anything is.
- It's not somewhere I want to go on a weekly basis and it doesn't have everything Target has, so I'm not sure where it fits into my shopping repertoire.
- There is no predictability, things come and go. I hear from one person they saw something at Costco, then can't find it when I go to get it
- The no CC thing bugs me

We won't be renewing it next year I think. I'm fine with my regular grocery stores (Giant/TJs) with an occasional trip to Target.
I only joined so we could buy an outdoor playset, which did work out great. I wish I had just asked my friends to borrow their card to buy the playset.

[glitzy07]

Biggest thing for us is what swizz said. Neither H or I will support a company owned by Walmart, no matter how convenient. (H works a union job and feels more strongly about this than I do, but I agree.) Costco, on the other hand, treats their employees well. Plus it's just an awesome store.

[gerberdaisy]

I won't go to Sams because of the Walmart thing, but most people I know have switched after Costco opened last October. I love costco, its well organized and clean and the prices are great.

I will say the ONLY thing I have heard in Sams favor is the hours, Costco doesn't open (by me at least) till 10 most days and its very annoying.

[holly116]

Normally I buy:

pampers baby wipes, tide powder, cascade, the double packs of brownberry bread, fresh fruit and berries, fresh veggies specifically Brussels sprouts, green beans and bagged salad, hummus, string cheese, ground beef, filets (this is a big one, beef tenderloin is like $12.99 a lb at Sam's), pork roasts, chuck roasts, milk, eggs, a plethora of toddler snacks - goldfish, apple sauce pouches, granola bars, animal crackers etc. cereal, larabars, dove bar soap. Beer, wine.

And that's about it. When we're entertaining I'll get the veggie tray, bags of chips, salsa.

[holly116]

Sept 3, 2015 7:26:56 GMT -5 @starry said:

I would wait and see. The Sam's and Costco by me are within a mile of each other but if Sam's was way closer I'd go there.

Then again I would also vote for Trump for $1m.

Costco will be one exit south of Sam's but right off the interstate, both are probably 10-15 minutes from me. So nbd at all as far as distance. There's no way we'd use a Costco membership if I had to drive north, which is why we've always had Sam's until this point.

[VillainV]

We just switched to Costco when we moved. The last several places we have lived have only had Sam's.

When we joined they told us that they're ending their contract with whichever CC they are currently associated with (Discover? AmEx?) and starting next year they will accept Visa.

[pinotgrig]

Another big Costco fan signing in. I love their return policy and am willing to try new things because of it. They have the best paper towels, to, and baby wipes. All are staples at our house.

In addition to what everyone else has said, we opted for the executive membership for $110 because you can get 2% of your purchases back in the form of a check. If you don't get a check for $55 (the difference between the executive and regular membership) you can cancel your executive membership and get a refund of $55. Meaning, you paid for the regular membership essentially. We typically go in person to renew a few days/weeks before our membership expired and have done this at the CS desk at their suggestion. It was also a selling point when they suggested we go with the executive membership.

[Velar Fricative]

I don't think there's a Sam's Club anywhere near me but there's a Costco near home and near work, so that's an easy choice. I loooooove Costco. I only bought the membership a year ago when we were buying a new mattress and it was cheaper to buy the mattress and membership than to buy the mattress without the membership.

It would honestly surprise me if the stores were vastly different though (aside from the business practices).

mrshandy - They will start accepting Visa CCs sometime in 2016. Right now we just use our Visa debit card but can't wait to use my Visa CC there since I hate using my debit card. That might not sway you anyway but just letting you know.

[jene]

I would go with Costco. My company offers a heavily discounted Sam's Club membership and I just can't bring myself to switch. I also really really really love Costco for all of the reasons that everyone else has mentioned.

[holly116]

I forgot about the cc thing. Sam's takes mc, which is our main card. What does Costco take now?

[MNH2013]

Sept 3, 2015 7:25:10 GMT -5 mrshandy said:

Neither?
Honestly, I joined Costco a month ago and I know I'm the outlier, but I really don't like it for a number of reasons. Maybe it's just my Costco.
- It's huge and I can't find anything! Seriously there are zero signs telling you where anything is.
- It's not somewhere I want to go on a weekly basis and it doesn't have everything Target has, so I'm not sure where it fits into my shopping repertoire.
- There is no predictability, things come and go. I hear from one person they saw something at Costco, then can't find it when I go to get it
- The no CC thing bugs me

We won't be renewing it next year I think. I'm fine with my regular grocery stores (Giant/TJs) with an occasional trip to Target.
I only joined so we could buy an outdoor playset, which did work out great. I wish I had just asked my friends to borrow their card to buy the playset.

I'll sit with you. While I have gotten some cute kid clothes (HA pajamas and the like) I don't actually get much else from there. Our membership is set to expire end of this month and I think I am going to let it end. I haven't been in months. I never get produce or baked goods from there. Our family of 2 and a toddler never eats enough before something goes bad. The day they opened I got a great deal on a bakeware set but that isn't something I will purchase all the time obviously.

[dcn]

Sept 3, 2015 7:46:34 GMT -5 holly116 said:

I forgot about the cc thing. Sam's takes mc, which is our main card. What does Costco take now?

Amex. They are switching to visa sometime next year.

[6fsn]

We switched to Costco mainly for convenience, but there are some things I miss about Sam's. I feel like I get nicer things at Costco, but I never get a super good deal. Like Sam's would sometimes have shirts for $1.97 or other random crazy markdowns.

I mainly only buy things in the sale flyer at Costco. I get better deals on the same products at GFS when they aren't on sale.

ETA: I hate that Costco doesn't open until 10. HATE.

[Deleted]

Costco for life!

[namasteak]

What do you want to use it for? Costco has much better food options (lots of organic too if that's important to you) than Sams and all of the non food stuff Sams has.

[thebreakfastclub]

I think Costco might edge out in health and beauty products. I used to buy their heart burn medicine for my coworker. He had a Sams membership, and he couldn't get those at his store.

I am going to Costco today to get my printer cartridge refilled. Environmentally friendly and $35 cheaper than a new one!

[osulori]

Sept 3, 2015 7:47:55 GMT -5 dcn said:

Sept 3, 2015 7:46:34 GMT -5 holly116 said:

I forgot about the cc thing. Sam's takes mc, which is our main card. What does Costco take now?

Amex. They are switching to visa sometime next year.

They'll take MC or Visa if it's a debit card, and checks too.

Sam's is probably a little closer to me though not by much.  I'm anti-Walmart though so getting a Costco membership was a no brainer for me.

[hokiegirl82]

I LOVE Costco. Their Kirkland brand is awesome. We buy so much stuff there - Kirkland baby wipes, Kirkland dog food, Kirkland paper towels, diet dr p, meats, diaper genie refills, body wash, napkins, k cups, lots of clothes for me, DH and DS, furniture, appliances, etc. I really love their return policy, we buy a lot of big ticket items there so we can easily return them if there is a problem.

[whitemerlot]

I love Costco. Their meat is excellent and they carry a lot of the brands l love, including organic products. I drive past 2 Sam's Club to get there.

They have great prices on electronics. I can buy things without worry because I know they have a great return policy.

[auntie]

I have a mild Costco addiction.

I switched as soon as Costco became available locally.

I prefer not being associated with Walmart. But to be honest the Costco vibe near me is less cute Target moms in yoga pants and more harried baby boomers watching their grandchildren.

Costco is superior in most ways. Sam's seems better for small business and groups like churches. But it's a lot of lower end stuff to be resold.

My Costco has inexpensive gas; my old Sam's did not. I have a Passat that acts out on 89 octane- so this alone saves me $$$.

Costco house brands are better than many nationally advertised items. Their greek yogurt, daily facials, premium vanilla ice cream, TP, sports drink, Pureology knock-off shampoo/condition are great.

I'm not a big user of prepared foods, but their roasted chicken is better than most. I buy them when we do meals on wheels meal prep. And they often have nice seafood and decent meats. You can buy prime beef at relatively reasonable prices.

Costco is great for basics like socks, underwear, dress shirts. Online I can get tall sizes for DH. I've never bought real clothes for myself there. They seem to have more little kid stuff.

[egishere]

We have both. Sams is much closer to our house and DH has a business membership. I really only go there for gas. But I prefer Costco- much better products, more unique selections and they tend to bring more new things into their stores, etc. Where Sams is pretty much all the same products all the time.

[egishere]

Sept 3, 2015 7:28:34 GMT -5 holly116 said:

Normally I buy:

pampers baby wipes

Costco carries Huggies so I don't know if that would be a deal breaker for you.  I love their Kirkland wipes though.

[ilikedonuts]

We have both. I hate Sam's. DH uses the membership to buy like 3 specific things there. I don't find their prices all that great. And its basically a grocery store with some stuff that comes in bigger packages with

We get a lot of things that specifically from Costco and I haven't found anywhere else. Plus their ready to eat food, party food, cakes, etc taste great and are really nice prices.

Costco has a great meat section and throughout their store they have a ton of organic stuff and its nicely labeled so all you need to do is look for a sign with the green marker on it (at least at my store) and you can easily find it all.

I actually like a lot of the Kirkland brand stuff better then the name brand stuff.

We get things like flea medication, dog food, windshield wipers, books, clothes, swim googles, water bottles, etc from Costco.