Costco or Sam's

[misle]

My Sam's membership is going to expire soon and I just moved to an area that has both, a Sam's and a Costco.

I've never been in a Costco.
All I know is that my Sam's renewal is $35 and a Costco membership costs $50.

Is it worth switching?

 

[Ika]

The Costco near us is more organized and has better prices than the Sams near us. It also has more products (unfortunately, Sams has more computer parts stuff).

 

[Feldenak]

I prefer CostCo so far. We let our Sam's membership expire before we moved to an area with both. The CostCo employees have been friendlier than my experience with Sam's employees.

 

[MisterJackson]

Sams b1tches! Of course we have no Costco round dees parts

 

[Linflas]

We've tried Sam's and BJ's and prefer Costco to either of them.

 

[middlehead]

I live near a Sams and the nearest CostCo is about 400 miles away. It doesn't matter which one I'd prefer.

 

[KoolAidKid]

Here's a SAT flashback for you:

Sam's : Costco
Walmart : Target

 

[Mellman]

costco, only I wish they'd stick to their suppliers, I hate when they carry a product, and it seems everyone and their brother enjoy's it, and purchases it, and then a few months down the road they stop carrying it....Also the difference in products that stores in the same region carry astounds me, oh well at least I live closer to the "good" one.

 

[Juno]

Originally posted by: KoolAidKid
Here's a SAT flashback for you:

Sam's : Costco
Walmart : Target

costco and target = same joint?

i know walmart and sam's are.

 

[KoolAidKid]

Originally posted by: Juno

Originally posted by: KoolAidKid
Here's a SAT flashback for you:

Sam's : Costco
Walmart : Target

costco and target = same joint?

i know walmart and sam's are.

No, they are separate companies. I guess that my analogy isn't so good after all.

 

[zixxer]

I have costco because it's very convenient, the sam's here is a PITA to get to..



I like sam's better though - they're a little more expensive but have a LOT more variety.


Costco has better meat/steak/food though. Costco is very frustrating in that they carry things for like 2-3 days sometimes, so you have to buy something if you see it or it could be gone.



Also, costco is debit card ONLY

 

[Feldenak]

Originally posted by: KoolAidKid
Here's a SAT flashback for you:

Sam's : Costco
Walmart : Target

My interaction and experience with CostCo employees has so far been much more enjoyable (and helpful) than my experience with the Wal-Mart family of companies. That's a major plus in my book.

 

[Ika]

Originally posted by: zixxer
I have costco because it's very convenient, the sam's here is a PITA to get to..



I like sam's better though - they're a little more expensive but have a LOT more variety.


Costco has better meat/steak/food though. Costco is very frustrating in that they carry things for like 2-3 days sometimes, so you have to buy something if you see it or it could be gone.



Also, costco is debit card ONLY

unless you get their American Express card. my parents use the AE CC just fine.

 

[Lola]

i love costco. we had a sams membership for years before we got a costco one, but to me, costco has better meat, better selection of wine/booze, better fish and better products all around.

 

[TwinkleToes77]

i loved Sams Club when I lived in the States... But when it came to Canada it wasnt near as good. We let our Sams expire and joined Costco. I love Costco up here.

 

[Jeraden]

I definitely prefer Costco. Its just a better shopping experience. Aisles are wider, better selection of non-food items and speciality items, better sales with their frequent coupons/passport savings books. Prices are generally similar on items that they both carry, but I like the stuff Costco carries better. They have better gas prices here too.
Plus around here Costco is a lot less crowded than Sam's for some reason. I never understood why, maybe partially due to location, but Sam's is always packed - and when coupled with their extremely narrow center aisles, its just unenjoyable shopping there.

 

[waggy]

sams was good 5+years ago. now its a waste. you used to be able to get good deals on like 70% of the stuff in the store. now its more like %20 of the stuff. you really have to be carefull what you are buying.

my sams card exires this year i will not be renewing it. to bad the nearest costco is 45min away.

 

[misle]

Will Costco let you go roam around their store before you purchase a membership? I'd like to take a look around.

 

[jadinolf]

Originally posted by: misle
My Sam's membership is going to expire soon and I just moved to an area that has both, a Sam's and a Costco.

I've never been in a Costco.
All I know is that my Sam's renewal is $35 and a Costco membership costs $50.

Is it worth switching?

I belonged to both until the end of April.

Sam's raised their membership to 40 bucks and I didn't renew. The two stores are within a mile of each other and my Costco is head and shoulders over Sam's.

 

[PingSpike]

Originally posted by: misle
Will Costco let you go roam around their store before you purchase a membership? I'd like to take a look around.

Yes, but you'll have to speak with the service desk first. They give you a free pass kind of thing, and you can actually buy stuff if you pay cash I believe.

 

[V00DOO]

I am a member of both and I prefer Costco.

 

[bluewall21]

I've been a member of both, and I really prefer Costco.

 

[bigj3347]

From my experience, Sam's has a wider selection of things, whereas Costco has less selection but cheaper prices. For example, Sam's might carry the Swiffer Wipes Refill for 12.99 a set and Costco would sell basically the same thing branded under Kirkland Signature, and sell it for 10.99. Costco sells a lot of Kirkland Signature stuff, which is basically Costco's own brand. This is how Costco keeps their costs lower. They also keep their costs lower by purchasing more quantity of fewer items, thus getting better prices from the manufacturer.

 

[secretanchitman]

Originally posted by: Aflac

Originally posted by: zixxer
I have costco because it's very convenient, the sam's here is a PITA to get to..



I like sam's better though - they're a little more expensive but have a LOT more variety.


Costco has better meat/steak/food though. Costco is very frustrating in that they carry things for like 2-3 days sometimes, so you have to buy something if you see it or it could be gone.



Also, costco is debit card ONLY

unless you get their American Express card. my parents use the AE CC just fine.

exactly.

 

[Ika]

Originally posted by: bigj3347
From my experience, Sam's has a wider selection of things, whereas Costco has less selection but cheaper prices. For example, Sam's might carry the Swiffer Wipes Refill for 12.99 a set and Costco would sell basically the same thing branded under Kirkland Signature, and sell it for 10.99. Costco sells a lot of Kirkland Signature stuff, which is basically Costco's own brand. This is how Costco keeps their costs lower. They also keep their costs lower by purchasing more quantity of fewer items, thus getting better prices from the manufacturer.

Kirkland Signature is basically the generic version of whatever the thing is. Usually the quality is fine, and it's much cheaper for Costco to sell. I have some KS white shirts and I really like them.

Also Costco works in a sort of woot.com way - they buy lots of a few items and put them on special or something, then when they run out Costco doesn't buy them anymore, they just get other stuff.