Costco or Sam's Club or Keep Both?

[easysurfer]

I've been a Sam's Club member for about a year. Joined Costco recently.

Only normal I guess to compare the two. Is there really much difference between the two? I guess depends?

Kinda like Coke vs Pepsi. Some folks will say Coke and Pepsi are pretty much interchangeable. But that may be a good way to start an argument.

From what I've seen, seems to me like there are more Costco stores around. But Sam's Club is cheaper especially if you order online instead of going in store. Plus, for Sam's Club I have the premium membership which gives free shipping. I don't see such option for Costco.

 

[disneysteve]

We did the BJ's/Costco comparison a few years ago. Joined both with Groupon deals so we paid very little for the memberships. We checked them both out over the course of the year and we found that Costco had very little that appealed to us while BJ's had a lot of products we use. When renewal time came, we dropped Costco and kept BJ's and continue to go there regularly. We were just there today as a matter of fact.


There's really no set answer to which is better. You really need to compare and decide which is better for you, which stocks more items that you buy, which is more conveniently located, etc. All 3 (Costco, BJ's, and Sam's) offer a similar service but they are all notably different from one another. No one of them is best for everyone.

 

[COcheesehead]

Depends on what on what you buy.
Costco has good travel, rental car, auto buy, wine, more natural/organic stuff.

Sam’s is good for every day stuff and I love the skip the line scan and go app.

We had a Costco membership for years, then moved to a town with only a Sam’s and it is fine, we buy gas there and paper products and such.

If I had access to both, I would probably lean in favor of Costco. The Kirkland store brand is a little better than the Member’s Mark at Sam’s.

 

[disneysteve]

Depends on what on what you buy.
Costco has good travel, rental car, auto buy, wine, more natural/organic stuff.

Our Costco doesn’t sell alcohol but BJ’s does but they don’t really sell anything great. Both have gas stations. I filled up at BJ’s today. $2.97. Cheapest local stations are $3.09.

 

[COcheesehead]

Our Costco doesn’t sell alcohol but BJ’s does but they don’t really sell anything great. Both have gas stations. I filled up at BJ’s today. $2.97. Cheapest local stations are $3.09.

Kirkland brand wines usually are fantastic values.

 

[disneysteve]

Kirkland brand wines usually are fantastic values.

I’m not a wine drinker. My wife is but rarely buys it since she’s the only one who drinks it. We are bourbon and rye drinkers but very partial to barrel strength/single barrel selections. BJ’s only sells mass produced widely available stuff.

 

[Midpack]

We’ve been Costco members for over 5 years, never joined Sam’s because we don’t like Walmart’s labor practices (I won’t belabor the details if you don’t know). They’ve gotten better (probably because of Costco’s labor practices), they were atrocious.

We have also found Kirkland Signature products to be excellent quality/value.

KEY POINTS
Across the board, Costco employees report greater job satisfaction than their Sam's Club counterparts.
Costco has long paid employees more than Sam's Club.
Ultimately, a happy employee is far more likely to become a longtime employee.

https://www.fool.com/the-ascent/per...-treats-employees-better-costco-or-sams-club/

 

[Badger]

We have been Costco members for over 15 years. The products are quality and the store is always clean and well stocked and organized. I have been to BJs and Sams but here the stores are not as clean, organized or inviting. The other plus is we have is a Costco credit card for purchases. Between the annual rebate on purchases and the rebate on the card we receive annual checks that pay for the membership and usually a few hundred dollars more.
I almost forgot. I liked their business model and how the treated employees so I bought a few hundred shares in Costco years back for $63 a share. As of today it is $580.80.

Cheers!

 

[audreyh1]

We had Sam’s membership years ago but eventually dropped it because we didn’t care for their product quality. We joined Costco more recently when they built one here because we were really pleased with their product quality, and still are. We spend a lot there every year plus use their travel benefits and credit card heavily for travel.

Meats/seafood, produce, refrigerated items and wines are our main purchases.

 

[NameTaken2]

Costco.

 

[Venturer]

We joined Costco after we moved here 10 years ago. We had a Sams club before because they were closer,but for us Costco is the greater value. I wear hearing aids as well as glasses and those 2 things alone make it worthwhile for us. We upgraded our membership when I got my 1st pair of aids and by the end of the year using the credit card our membership was paid for with the rebates, plus we made a little. Since that time we started using the Costco Citi card exclusivley for our purchases when possible. My DW refers to it as my favorite card,which it is.

 

[audreyh1]

Yes, glasses, contact, tires, automotive/car batteries, great selection of TVs, appliances, printers.

We also have the executive membership, and the rebate pays for the whole membership and then some.

My Costco Visa rewards are over $700 YTD. We will do another bank transfer like last time.

 

[pb4uski]

We've had all three. We prefer BJ's but currently have both BJs and Sam's Club. We dropped Costco.

We find the quantities and sizes most manageable for the two of us at BJs. Also, BJs is closest to our Florida condo and in an area that we frequent. Costco is the furthest away.

DW got Sam's Club last year through a Groupon offer and we got their credit card. I really like the Sam's Club credit card for gas... 5% Sam's Cash rebate for all gas purchases... anywhere and everywhere. That alone will cover the annual cost.

 

[Venturer]

Yes, glasses, contact, tires, automotive/car batteries, great selection of TVs, appliances, printers.

We also have the executive membership, and the rebate pays for the whole membership and then some.

My Costco Visa rewards are over $700 YTD. We will do another bank transfer like last time.

You are beating us this year we are curently at $651.39 but we had over $800. last year when we took our wild west trip and bought lots of gas in the truck pulling the camper.

 

[audreyh1]

You are beating us this year we are curently at $651.39 but we had over $800. last year when we took our wild west trip and bought lots of gas in the truck pulling the camper.

Yes, we rack up the hotel and dining charges. We did a lot of travel this year. Plus we get the 4% back on EV charging.

 

[ShokWaveRider]

Costco - I have NEVER been to Costco in the last 2 years where I have not eaten one of their $1.50 Hot dogs for lunch.

Does Sam's have $1.50 Hot Dogs?

 

[COcheesehead]

Best deal at Sam’s IMHO, if they have left over roasted chickens, they cut them up and the sell four, large breasts for $4. We can get 3-4 meals out of them they are so big.

 

[Winemaker]

Sam's is less than 5 minutes away, Costco is 25 minutes. We love Costco and use them when we travel, Sam's not too much. We shop at Sam's and our local grocer weekly. I vote both.

 

[easysurfer]

I'm kind of new to the Costco, Sam's, BJ's thing. I've never heard of BJ's. Is that just another name for Costco? Like Carl's Jr for Hardees?

I got into being a member because I decided to make own almond milk instead of buying. But the price of almonds on regular grocery stores or Amazon is a lot more than at Sam's or Costco. A year of buying almonds at a cheaper price would probably pay for membership cost in savings.

My choice between Sam's vs Costco was almonds are cheaper at Sam's.

But then recently ordered glasses and went for Costco with that as better located by me than a Sam's.

Which was first? My hunch is Costco was around first and Sam's was Walmart's version of a Costco?

I may end up keeping both. I like the Sam's free shipping for premium. I have relatives who shop Costco so if they want to go on a Costco run, I can tag along now with my own membership.

 

[MichaelB]

I'm kind of new to the Costco, Sam's, BJ's thing. I've never heard of BJ's. Is that just another name for Costco? Like Carl's Jr for Hardees?

I got into being a member because I decided to make own almond milk instead of buying. But the price of almonds on regular grocery stores or Amazon is a lot more than at Sam's or Costco. A year of buying almonds at a cheaper price would probably pay for membership cost in savings.

My choice between Sam's vs Costco was almonds are cheaper at Sam's.

But then recently ordered glasses and went for Costco with that as better located by me than a Sam's.

Which was first? My hunch is Costco was around first and Sam's was Walmart's version of a Costco?

I may end up keeping both. I like the Sam's free shipping for premium. I have relatives who shop Costco so if they want to go on a Costco run, I can tag along now with my own membership.

BJ’s is another shopping club warehouse like Sams Club and Costco.

 

[disneysteve]

We find the quantities and sizes most manageable for the two of us at BJs.

I was going to mention this too. BJ’s tends to have a 2 or 3 pack of normal size packages while Costco tends to have one giant commercial size package. The giant packages don’t work for us. They take up too much shelf space, don’t fit in the fridge, and go bad before we can finish them.

 

[audreyh1]

We don’t have problems with the Costco large sizes because they are easy to break up and freeze.

 

[easysurfer]

We’ve been Costco members for over 5 years, never joined Sam’s because we don’t like Walmart’s labor practices (I won’t belabor the details if you don’t know). They’ve gotten better (probably because of Costco’s labor practices), they were atrocious.

We have also found Kirkland Signature products to be excellent quality/value.



https://www.fool.com/the-ascent/per...-treats-employees-better-costco-or-sams-club/

Noble of you to consider a company's practices in your deciding factor. I make a policy not to consider as otherwise if I applied the same to all my consumer and investment choices, I'd probably end up hypocritical.

So I look at instead which gives me the best as for value, convenience, quality and such.

 

[easysurfer]

BJ’s is another shopping club warehouse like Sams Club and Costco.

Okay. Thanks. Was eating at me not knowing .

 

[FlaGator]

Costco - I have NEVER been to Costco in the last 2 years where I have not eaten one of their $1.50 Hot dogs for lunch.

Does Sam's have $1.50 Hot Dogs?

Yes, but I prefer Costco's.

I've had memberships with Costco and Sam's for decades. There were, and still are, products I prefer from each. In South Florida, Sam's was 5 minutes from my office, and Costco was 10 minutes from the house. In my Panhandle location, neither are convenient - Sam's is 45+ minutes away, and Costco is 2.5 hours. Although the vast majority of my shopping is at Sam's now, I keep the Costco membership, as my college kids are near a Costco.