Information

[jmo95]

Travis and I are considering getting a membership to one of the places. Neither of us have ever shopped there. For those of your who have memberships...pros cons? Is one better than the other?

[cort]

we have a sams membership and it can sometimes pay for itself. I love looking there for books (i know you have a kindle too..but honestly sometimes it is still cheaper to buy a paper back at sams then to download it )

Sometimes you can get good prices on dvds of tv shows too...it just depends. I have found it helps to know your prices at your local stores...because not everything is a bargain.

BTW we buy all birthday cakes there now..they are pretty tasty ( but i know you are all betty crocker so that really doesn't apply to you )

I have never been to costco so i don't know anything about it. You should see if they ever offer a free pass ( i know sometimes the sams here does) you can go in and look around (i don't know if there are stipulations on buying anything though) if they do i would do a little comparison shopping and see which one you like better.

[jmo95]

we have a sams membership and it can sometimes pay for itself. I love looking there for books (i know you have a kindle too..but honestly sometimes it is still cheaper to buy a paper back at sams then to download it )

Sometimes you can get good prices on dvds of tv shows too...it just depends. I have found it helps to know your prices at your local stores...because not everything is a bargain.

BTW we buy all birthday cakes there now..they are pretty tasty ( but i know you are all betty crocker so that really doesn't apply to you )

I have never been to costco so i don't know anything about it. You should see if they ever offer a free pass ( i know sometimes the sams here does) you can go in and look around (i don't know if there are stipulations on buying anything though) if they do i would do a little comparison shopping and see which one you like better.

We thought about going over there to see if they will let us look around before we decide. They are literally next door to each other here so it's not like we are driving out of the way. I have shopped at Sam's a few times with others...but never paid too much attention since I wasn't buying. I have never been to Costco either.

[Charleneanne]

I belong to Costco and my friend belongs to Sam's. I prefer Costco. It seems more like a real store and not just a big old warehouse of stuff. We buy almost all of our meat there and it is good quality. They have some scrapbooking stuff too and a great drugstore section as well.

[1grandma]

We shop at SAMS, but I don't see much savings. It is my dh's thing. He loves it. His bill, too. I go only because it is what he wants. But, you must know the prices. It is not always the best buy. I refuse to buy cereal there. I just think that because it is bigger, does not mean it is cheaper. And I have priced it, a few years ago and it was not cheaper by the ounce. So....

[TraciL]

I never lived near a Costco until here and to me they are the same.

I believe you can get a 1 day pass usually from area businesses but they might give you one at the door. I belonged to Sams for a while but I really didn't see any savings and being single the size of the item would often be a deterrent.

Plus space is always an issues.

Personally, they are fun stores and often have neat things that catch your eye but I found I would do better with a coupon at the regular store.

[blbabe1234]

We only have a SAM'S down here, and not a Costco, so I can only give input for the SAM'S.

Our membership pays for itself due to the savings and things we buy. I work from home, so I have pay for my own ink/paper, etc. Ink at Office Depot is $40 for a SINGLE black cartridge and $45 for a SINGLE color one. At Sam's, I can spend $65 for a pack - one black and one color one. Its even better because Sams carries the "XL" - which prints 3 times as much than the other one at Office Depot.

We also buy our dog food there. I can get a 50lb bag of Alpo for $20. Grocery stores carry up to 37lb and we spend more than $20.

[debamas]

We only have a Sam's in our area and do use it about every other month. I hate running out of toilet paper so i buy paper products, garbage bags, paper plates, etc there. Cheese, sometimes fresh veggies, dairy, when I need a lot like during the holidays, and anything else that we just eat more of and doesn't spoil when bought in larger quantities. If you know your grocery prices, it's not hard to compare and see if it's a good deal. It's only my husband and I now, so our list from there is simple and small compared to years ago. I just about always come home with a baked chicken though..Love them and they are cheaper than even Walmart's.

[handerful]

I go to Sams just because I am on my company's account and use it to buy personal stuff once in a while. It is also closer to home than Costco. We had a Costco membership before, but I didn't use it enough to see much of a difference in the two stores. It probably comes down to personal choice. I'm willing to bet if you just go to each of their membership desks and ask for a pass for the day, they will be happy to let you look around (and spend your money...)


Like pp said, just because it is in the warehouse doesn't necessarily mean it is less expensive....

[amberella]

To me, the two are about equal. They each have sliiightly different things, so I guess it'd depend more on your brand preferences and stuff. I have a Sam's club collegiate membership, which is $40, but they give you a $15 gift certificate, so it's more like $25 for me.

I've only been to costco once recently, and I thought it was a crowded friggin' nuthouse, whereas our Sam's club leaves a little more aisle space and stuff. I would say that the checkout at Costco was quicker, but they are also MUCH more picky - Sam's here usually allows you to buy stuff for someone else, but Costco gets their proverbial undies in a bunch about it.

I really like Sam's for their prices on books, movies, and fruits and veg. Sometimes they also have good deals on clothes and meat. But what I'd say "pays" for my membership is the gas. Our Sam's club gas is always at least 15 cents cheaper than any other local gas station, and is usually closer to 20 cents cheaper. All I have to do is fill my car about 8 times and the membership is paid for - and that happens in about 3 months. :P

[oceanbreezes423]

I have a Costco membership. I have never had a Sam's so I can't say how they compare, but I buy all my meat at Costco, such good quality!!! I have other favorites there too, and I LOVE their photo dept.!!!At first I thought it was pricey, but when I divide meals by what I spent, it really is less then Walmart. Not on everything, but they have coupons and deals just like everyone else. Good luck.

[handerful]

To me, the two are about equal. They each have sliiightly different things, so I guess it'd depend more on your brand preferences and stuff. I have a Sam's club collegiate membership, which is $40, but they give you a $15 gift certificate, so it's more like $25 for me.

I've only been to costco once recently, and I thought it was a crowded friggin' nuthouse, whereas our Sam's club leaves a little more aisle space and stuff. I would say that the checkout at Costco was quicker, but they are also MUCH more picky - Sam's here usually allows you to buy stuff for someone else, but Costco gets their proverbial undies in a bunch about it.

I really like Sam's for their prices on books, movies, and fruits and veg. Sometimes they also have good deals on clothes and meat. But what I'd say "pays" for my membership is the gas. Our Sam's club gas is always at least 15 cents cheaper than any other local gas station, and is usually closer to 20 cents cheaper. All I have to do is fill my car about 8 times and the membership is paid for - and that happens in about 3 months. :P

Yes! Being able to save on Gas is a huge plus!

[Queen Mum]

I have Costco because a friend of mine had it with her husband who never used his card - so we decided to split the cost of the membership. I pretend to live at her house.

[scrapaholic]

We have both, use Sams more just because it is closer to the house.

[amberella]

To me, the two are about equal. They each have sliiightly different things, so I guess it'd depend more on your brand preferences and stuff. I have a Sam's club collegiate membership, which is $40, but they give you a $15 gift certificate, so it's more like $25 for me.

I've only been to costco once recently, and I thought it was a crowded friggin' nuthouse, whereas our Sam's club leaves a little more aisle space and stuff. I would say that the checkout at Costco was quicker, but they are also MUCH more picky - Sam's here usually allows you to buy stuff for someone else, but Costco gets their proverbial undies in a bunch about it.

I really like Sam's for their prices on books, movies, and fruits and veg. Sometimes they also have good deals on clothes and meat. But what I'd say "pays" for my membership is the gas. Our Sam's club gas is always at least 15 cents cheaper than any other local gas station, and is usually closer to 20 cents cheaper. All I have to do is fill my car about 8 times and the membership is paid for - and that happens in about 3 months. :P

Yes! Being able to save on Gas is a huge plus!

If I had the membership for no other reason, I'd want it for the gas. I cannot believe how much cheaper it is, which just says to me that the other gas stations are inflating the price a lot more than they let on.

I also forgot to mention that Sam's is the only place I have my photos printed these days - the quality is gorgeous, and it's $.13 for one hour prints - which, when you figure in shipping, is often what you pay online even when there's a sale. Plus, I've ordered prints from many different online vendors (Snapfish, shutterfly, Adorama, etc) and have been severely disappointed with most of them - especially the places like Snapfish that offer a lot of "FREE" prints. I've never once been disappointed with Sam's, and I can get 'em in an hour!!

[javalove]

I have Costco and BF has Sam's, because in NY there's no Costco near him. We both prefer Costco over Sam's, but I've only been to one Sam's on Long Island so I can't speak for any others. The one there seems more warehouse-y than my local Costco, and there's not as much selection.

The biggest reason I like Costco.....Samples!! I can go in late morning and make lunch out of what they're handing out...LOL. My kids loooove their pizza slices and berry smoothies, and I can buy lunch for four and spend less than $10. I think that's where I end up getting my membership $ worth, although I do find significant savings on stuff that I buy in bulk. Plus they have fun seasonal items, too.

[TraciL]

oh I forgot about the gas discount - our Sams here doesn't have gas but in Mississippi it did and we did save a lot!

[Karenscraps]

I love Sam's! I used it when I lived down south and have used it just recently and love the gas discount, the tire prices are better than most places.

[blbabe1234]

oh I forgot about the gas discount - our Sams here doesn't have gas but in Mississippi it did and we did save a lot!

I forgot about the gas discount too. But our Sam's is about 20 miles away from my house, so we only use it WHEN WE ARE THERE. Which is probably 3-4 times a year. We don't get gas from them ALL the time.

[Smiley-Scrap8]

We have both memberships, but my dh is a Costco employee and I am an x-Costco employee.

Costco has higher quality products, period!
The only thing we buy at Sam's is gas and ring pops, lol. The gas because Sam's was in our area before Costco and so we have a credit card just for that. And sometimes you just needs some ring pops and well our Costco doesn't sell them.