Costco or Sam's Club?

[mztykal]

I have both. The wife and I go to whichever is closer to where we are at that moment. Sam's Club has some nicer cuts of meat and certain items I like better like their house TP.

 

[dave_the_nerd]

Sam's Club "Sam's Choice" stuff is the same crappy generic stuff Walmart has, but in bigger boxes.

Costco's "Kirkland" stuff is actually usually not crappy.

 

[ponyo]

Sam's Club "Sam's Choice" stuff is the same crappy generic stuff Walmart has, but in bigger boxes.

Costco's "Kirkland" stuff is actually usually not crappy.

That's been my experience. There's Walmart about a mile from my house so if I want Sam's Club items, I just go to Walmart. To me, Walmart and Sam's Club are too similar so I don't want to pay for Sam's Club membership. What I like about Costco is they will carry unique items and higher quality items. The items are more expensive but I'm willing to pay more for quality. I spent about $13k on jewelry at Costco last year. And over $10k on vacations through Costco Travel. And I buy all my tires from Costco. Sam's Club can match the tires but can't match the jewelry or vacation packages from Costco.

 

[FeuerFrei]

I go to Sam's once a year maybe.
Never been to Costco. I tried once, when I had some time to kill before a doctor appointment. It was 2004 and the name meant nothing to me. I just wanted to wander in and see what they sell. They had some open garage-type door in front, so I walked in through that. Barely inside an employee stopped me and asked me to enter through another smaller door next to the huge one. I was so pissed they tried to make me jump through hoops to enter a store I was simply curious about, I said "nevermind," turned around, headed back to my car and drove off. Never been back - or even wanted to go back.

 

[renz20003]

Your farmers' market also sells flat screen TVs, glasses, drugs, and clothes?

Yeah, the gmo free kind

 

[Red Storm]

I go to Sam's once a year maybe.
Never been to Costco. I tried once, when I had some time to kill before a doctor appointment. It was 2004 and the name meant nothing to me. I just wanted to wander in and see what they sell. They had some open garage-type door in front, so I walked in through that. Barely inside an employee stopped me and asked me to enter through another smaller door next to the huge one. I was so pissed they tried to make me jump through hoops to enter a store I was simply curious about, I said "nevermind," turned around, headed back to my car and drove off. Never been back - or even wanted to go back.

So you have a membership to Sam's, but seem to not understand how Costco works?

 

[Scarpozzi]

I've only been to Samsclub and don't live near a Costco.

I saw Costco on the news. The CEO was talking mostly about toilet paper and paper towel quality on their store brands and slashing prices on those things to get people in the door. I think he really gets it.

Sams is good for a lot of things. I've used their brands of Zyrtec, Advils, Tylenol for years and saved a bunch...I've purchased quite a few mattresses from there and other furniture. I've been happy that it's sometimes easier to order things with free delivery online than to set foot in the store (especially on larger items). I recommend them for many things, but food isn't always the cheapest. Their double-decker cookie cakes are a hit at parties.

 

[FeuerFrei]

So you have a membership to Sam's, but seem to not understand how Costco works?

As I wrote, the "name meant nothing to me" - I just wanted to check out the place. No prior knowledge of Costco.

 

[MrSquished]

Never been to Sam's. The word of mouth on the street is, not sure if true, that Costco tends to have better quality. I'm guessing this is in between their house brand competition. Costco stores tend to be neater with happier employees. And you can't beat the Costco meats. I've also had nothing but great experiences at Costco pharmacy. Not sure about Sam's but Costco has an ever increasing selection of organic products, which is big for my sister's all-organic household. And you can get Costco gas, not sure if Sam's has that. And where Costco sells alcohol in store, they have great deals especially on their in-house Kirkland brand of liquors and beers.

Where I live now, the closest Costco to me is 30 minutes. The closest Sam's is like 5 minutes. Never got a Sam's club membership.

I'm a single guy doing apartment living in an urban area so it makes no sense for me to buy lots of stuff in bulk. But we go as a family, even though we all live up to 45 minutes apart. My little household of one gets some stuff, my sister's household of 4 gets some stuff, and my mother's household of 2 gets some stuff. I'll go once in awhile on my own for some select items like cereal, liquor and steaks.. We've been members of Costco for well over a decade with the only complaint being it gets too busy. The point being, all 3 of our households are very happy with Costco.

Go on weekdays if you live in a densely populated area. Weekends are a shit show.

 

[ponyo]

It's not just house brand. Costco carries higher quality merchandise than Sam's Club. I'm not talking grocery as that's pretty similar. I was member of Sam's Club for years before I got Costco membership and carried both for many years before canceling Sam's Club. It's different clientele. Sam's Club is geared more towards small business owners than Costco which is geared more towards affluent homeowners.

 

[Raizinman]

We have Costco and Sams equal distance from our house. We have membership at both but much prefer Costco for the guarantee. If you are ever unhappy with anything your purchase at Costco, you can return it for a full refund. Absolutely WOW!! (Some exceptions).

 

[BudAshes]

I don't even understand the point of Sam's Club. How is it not just Walmart with a different name?

Costco is great, but I have to drive over an hour to get there now. It sucks.

Meanwhile there are 2 Sam's Clubs and 2 Walmarts nearby.

I still drive to Costco.

 

[Six]

Costco stores are more consistent in quality nationwide. Sam's quality varies depending on the region and store. IMO, neither is better than the other. It depends on what you're buying. I shop at both. Sam's has a yearly "free" after gift card and goodies membership. It also has self checkout by app while you're shopping...if that makes any sense. Costco has unbelievable deals for car rentals, insurance, trips, etc.

 

[momeNt]

I go to Sam's once a year maybe.
Never been to Costco. I tried once, when I had some time to kill before a doctor appointment. It was 2004 and the name meant nothing to me. I just wanted to wander in and see what they sell. They had some open garage-type door in front, so I walked in through that. Barely inside an employee stopped me and asked me to enter through another smaller door next to the huge one. I was so pissed they tried to make me jump through hoops to enter a store I was simply curious about, I said "nevermind," turned around, headed back to my car and drove off. Never been back - or even wanted to go back.

I wouldn't be pissed. I'd be furious. If that was me I'd have had his lunch for dinner.

 

[dtgoodwin]

Costco hands down. Worth it just for the checkout process. I don't know why, but in all of the Sam's Clubs I've been to, the clerks are SO SLOW. Costco's are super quick. Customer service differences are huge as well. I don't know if they've slackened their policies much, but Sam's used to refuse any returns without a receipt. Doesn't matter if it was a gift or not. Costco gives unconditional refunds whether or not you have the receipt. If it was a gift, they will either refund the current price, or if they can find it from the person who purchased it, the original price. They are also better about things like tires. I bought tires w/lifetime rotation and balance. I stopped my membership because I didn't want to keep it any longer, but they wouldn't honor the service unless I was a member. At Costco, you can be given a gift card for tire purchase even if not a member, and they will take care of all of the services for that purchase.

 

[Spike]

Costco for me, until we moved to Europe. Now the closest Costcos are in the UK, and there is a pesky waterway separating us. I am looking forward to the French Costcos opening, though who knows what they will be like. Lots of white flags for sale...

 

[MrSquished]

Costco hands down. Worth it just for the checkout process. I don't know why, but in all of the Sam's Clubs I've been to, the clerks are SO SLOW. Costco's are super quick. Customer service differences are huge as well. I don't know if they've slackened their policies much, but Sam's used to refuse any returns without a receipt. Doesn't matter if it was a gift or not. Costco gives unconditional refunds whether or not you have the receipt. If it was a gift, they will either refund the current price, or if they can find it from the person who purchased it, the original price. They are also better about things like tires. I bought tires w/lifetime rotation and balance. I stopped my membership because I didn't want to keep it any longer, but they wouldn't honor the service unless I was a member. At Costco, you can be given a gift card for tire purchase even if not a member, and they will take care of all of the services for that purchase.

Costco's return policy is legit. My mom tried to return something from awhiiiiiiiiile back, no receipt. She wasn't trying to scam the system or anything like that, she is a goodie two-shoes. Just forgot to return something. But even though they had stopped selling the product, the Costco rep found the SKU and gave a store credit. I was like seriously what? She would have been perfectly content if the rep said sorry, no can do. But they found a way.

 

[Carson Dyle]

Sam's Club is geared more towards small business owners than Costco which is geared more towards affluent homeowners.

With things like jewelry, electronics and food, I don't think Sam's is trying to concentrate on small businesses. That said, I was employed by a small business (<25 people) for years and we bought a ton of stuff at Sam's, making weekly runs. All of our janitorial supplies, coffee, soda and snacks, and most of our office supplies.

 

[ponyo]

With things like jewelry, electronics and food, I don't think Sam's is trying to concentrate on small businesses. That said, I was employed by a small business (<25 people) for years and we bought a ton of stuff at Sam's, making weekly runs. All of our janitorial supplies, coffee, soda and snacks, and most of our office supplies.

Sam's Club does target small businesses. It's why Sam's opens at 7 am M-F vs 10 am for Costco. You need small business membership card to enter at 7am. If not, regular Sam's Club members can enter at 10 am. The reason I kept Sam's membership was for my business supplies. Costco is now trying to target small businesses but there are only few Costco Business centers. Sam's is more business friendly.

 

[GagHalfrunt]

They're pretty similar in terms of pricing and item selection. If I had one that was more convenient to get to I'd use that to decide. If they were equidistant I'd go with Costco just because they're so easy to deal with. If forced to use Sam's instead I wouldn't cry about it, it's not a big step down.

 

[Exterous]

I don't even understand the point of Sam's Club. How is it not just Walmart with a different name?

They sell different items\differently sized items (think bulk beef)

 

[BudAshes]

They sell different items\differently sized items (think bulk beef)

Alternator sized?

 

[Exterous]

Alternator sized?

Is there any other size?

 

[ElFenix]

costco > sams club except in 2 very important ways:

1. sams has self checkout without a huge conveyor next to it, so it's pretty much always people with just a couple-few items. costco doesn't have any self checkouts or fast lanes so you have to get in line with people with full carts when you just have a rotisserie chicken

2. sams club food court has coke machines with lots of flavors and plain iced tea. costco, despite having 16 fountains, only has 5 nasty flavors of pepsi products available. complete bullshit.

2.1. some of the sams club food courts around here make jalapeno and pepperoni pizza, which is the best kind of pizza. never seen that in costco.

otherwise, costco has better meat (prime available all the time now, and the lamb racks are fantastic) and the kirkland signature stuff is pretty much tops.

 

[RossMAN]

Never been to Sams or BJs.
Until ATOT convinces me otherwise, Costco FTW.

What he said.