Costco or Sam's Club?
- Thread starter Jay_Clone
- Start date
I'm still an Aldii's convert. No fee, low prices and good quality. Selection can be a bit sparse and their produce is not good, but get those items at Fareway where prices are also good.
I've had Sam's membership in the past, but the fact you have to buy 3 times what you needed always turned me off. Do you really save anything if you have to throw part of it away?
Would like to go through a Costco once just to see what it's like, but none close to me.
I've had Sam's membership in the past, but the fact you have to buy 3 times what you needed always turned me off. Do you really save anything if you have to throw part of it away?
Would like to go through a Costco once just to see what it's like, but none close to me.
That's why you don't buy EVERYTHING at a wholesale club. Mainly we buy meats (freezable), cereal, packaged snacks, non-consumables (such as TP, paper towels, diapers, contact lens solution), pop, and even some fruit. We bought apples that lasted a month in our refrigerator. But we don't bu things that are going to go bad quickly - such as canned fruits and vegetables or other things that, when opened, would go bad quickly. We still shop at a place like Wal-Mart for "reasonably sized" items.
What we saved last month literally paid for half of this year's membership fee.
Saw a really interesting story on Costco on CNBC last night. We don't have one in our area, but still not convinced I'd go to one if it was. No doubt they have some good products at good prices. It just seems to me the quanities are too large. I'd invairably buy more than we'd need and a lot would go to waste negating the value benefit.
The savings on beef at Sams more than makes up the membership for us. Add in diapers and frozen food and you're way ahead. I also like their precooked fajita meat.
I've had memberships to both places over the years. We got a Costco card as soon as they opened in West Des Moines, but found that the trip was just too far from Ames to make it worth going down there as infrequently as we did. We now go to Sam's since it's right here in town.
I confess that I still prefer Costco. The quality seemed to be a bit better and it was sure hard to beat the in-house bakery that made all those awesome pies, cakes, muffins (those led to the feeding frenzies at work when I'd bring them in), etc. Sam's probably has a better frozen selection, but still not much that I actually want to buy. I don't look at electronics stuff there since I don't buy much of that, so I don't know if any of it is a good deal or not.
Like someone just said, you don't buy everything at these places. That's just a lack of planning to buy perishables in bulk, and then not use (or freeze, if possible) them. We only buy what we can use all at once (for a holiday or get-together), what can easily be tossed in the freezer downstairs, or what will keep indefinitely in cans or a box if not opened. Many things are not worth purchasing there, but if you're smart at planning, many things certainly are.
Whatever place is closest to you is probably the better option. Neither is really worth traveling a long distance to shop, considering the cost of gas.
I confess that I still prefer Costco. The quality seemed to be a bit better and it was sure hard to beat the in-house bakery that made all those awesome pies, cakes, muffins (those led to the feeding frenzies at work when I'd bring them in), etc. Sam's probably has a better frozen selection, but still not much that I actually want to buy. I don't look at electronics stuff there since I don't buy much of that, so I don't know if any of it is a good deal or not.
Like someone just said, you don't buy everything at these places. That's just a lack of planning to buy perishables in bulk, and then not use (or freeze, if possible) them. We only buy what we can use all at once (for a holiday or get-together), what can easily be tossed in the freezer downstairs, or what will keep indefinitely in cans or a box if not opened. Many things are not worth purchasing there, but if you're smart at planning, many things certainly are.
Whatever place is closest to you is probably the better option. Neither is really worth traveling a long distance to shop, considering the cost of gas.
We go to Sams but I've never been to a Costco. +1000 on the bulk "savings" thing, though. You have to be really careful. Just because it's a bigger box doesn't mean it's cheaper :smile:
We have generally found milk to be in the neighborhood of a buck a gallon cheaper at Costco versus the grocery store. If you go through 2 gallons a week, that savings alone pretty much pays for an executive membership every year. And for those who are concerned about having to buy everything in huge bulk quantities, look around the store. There are many things available in smaller quantities. The milk is in the same gallon jugs as you probably are already buying it in. The produce is excellent and several posters have already commented on the meat.
As long as you don't get carried away, you can save a lot of money without having to throw away a bunch of spoiled perishables.
As long as you don't get carried away, you can save a lot of money without having to throw away a bunch of spoiled perishables.
The Coralville Costco is supposed to open June 27th. It's right across from my work, so I am considering a membership.
600 indoor parking spots there has would be nice, but doubt I will use it once it opens.
I had a costco membership through work, the wife had one for Sams. We shopped both over the course of a couple of months. Literally, things at a big discount at one store were higher at the other and Vice-versa. It's almost like they worked together to make each membership somewhat viable. This was about 8 years ago though.
We have been a member of both. We got membership to Sam's first and it was alright but farther away from our house than Costco so we switched. Only part I missed about Sam's was they had some pretty sweet ISU sweatshirts and windbreakers for not a lot of money. Other than that, we will stick with Costco. We have the $100 membership and have always got money back more than the extra cost.
My folks last year booked their vacation to Hawaii last year and the amount of money they saved by going through Costco was amazing. I'll definitely look at that when we plan a trip.
My folks last year booked their vacation to Hawaii last year and the amount of money they saved by going through Costco was amazing. I'll definitely look at that when we plan a trip.
i've never had this experience. If there is something you won't consume, or can't freeze, then buy that in a smaller quantity at the grocery store.
another thing i like about costco is so many types of food not found at the local grocery store.
i love the place.
I compared the two because I was buying lots for a grad party a few years ago. I liked the Costco store and help much better, but joined Sam's instead because they had more of the precise items I wanted for the grad party. Seems like the only card I have that works at Sam's is my Visa debit, the one I go to does not take my Amex. The Jordan Creek Costco is much more pleasant than Sam's, but it was the better deal for me at the time. My sister got me a few things at Costco for the grad party which helped rather than paying for both. I like the fun little concession place at Costco, lol.
i think costco is a little more upscale than sams... i think sams has lower prices than costco.. i would go to sams because i think they have a few pennies lower in price on meats vs. costco.. i compared costco's price on boneless pork loins and sams was about 10 cents lower than costco's price,so i bought a boneless pork loin at sams about two weeks ago..
