Costco fans, is it worth a 1/2 hour drive?

[shortbun]

Never having been to a Costco, we now have one about 1/2 hour away. Should I make the drive and join? We are Sam's members and they are close.

 

[Tink-aholic]

My Costco is about a 35 minute drive. We eat low carb and I just LOVE their meat there (I pay $1.99/lb for 85% lean ground beef already pressed into patties and $3.99/lb for the best sirloin I have ever had!). I'll usually make a trip once a month or so. I always take an extra plastic bag from the butcher and fill it with ice from the soda machine at the front of the store (I was told this is okay from the store). I then put it on top of the meat in my trunk to keep it cool.

That being said, I don't have a Sam's membership. I don't know if I would maintain two club memberships.

Good luck.

 

[CEDmom]

I'd at least make the drive and compare it with Sam's. Personally I think Costco is much better. We used to live very close to one but now we're 45 minutes away. We go about once a month and just buy a few of the things we use the most.

The quality of their products is excellent.

 

[Obi-Wan Pinobi]

We are Sam's Club members. We did buy a Costco membership a few years back because they had cell phones from our provider for a good deal. Even factoring in the cost of the membership we saved money on the phones.

After visiting Costco a couple of times we decided we preferred Sam's and let the Costco one expire at the end of the year. It could just be our area but the Sam's Clubs here are nice and clean and open and the Costco stores are congested and dirty. My BIL did the same thing - dropped his Costco for a Sam's.

For the most part, I don't think you'll get anything different at Costco that you would at Sam's

 

[GJM]

When I would go to the 2 different Costco's in NJ - they were congested and dirty. The lst. time I wen to the one in Myrtle Beach (I live her now) I could not get over how clean and nice the store was - it was enjoyable to go shopping there.

We also have a Sam's and I am wondering how they are. I used to go to BJ's in NJ which I love and don't have here.

Costco is pretty much the only place I buy meat - it is very good

 

[chalee94]

at current gas prices, i can't imagine costco would be that much better than sam's that it would still be worth it.

maybe make a trip to see for yourself, but that's my opinion. i prefer costco but they are pretty similar...

 

[StitchandPooh'sMom]

We used to have a Costco membership and a Sam's membership, but we let the Sam's membership expire. (They are only 5 minutes apart, though, so no decision about driving farther). Our Costco is newer and much cleaner and brighter than our Sam's.

We prefer Costco's produce and meat to Sam's, and I love Costco at Christmas for the gift wrap and the toys that are packaged with extra pieces (Sam's does the same thing - they just don't have the same items).

For us, it was an easy decision since they are close together and our Costco is much better. I'd make the drive and check it out, or wait until closer to Christmas if you only want to go once.

DH says Costco sells nice stuff cheap, and Sam's sells cheap stuff cheap. For me, it is kind of like comparing Wal-Mart to Target - I find more interesting stuff at Target (and Costco), although I can get the basics at Wal-Mart too. I spend more money at Costco than I ever did at Sam's, so be warned!

 

[tink_n_pooh]

I'm still stuck on the 30 minute drive part, I don't even have a grocery store within 30 minutes of my house Costco is about an hour away, Sam's is about 45 minutes and I think nothing of driving to either one of them.

 

[DreaGirl]

We are Costco members now, but when our membership expires we are going back to Sam's Club. We found that Costco has a wider selection of non-food items, but Sam's club has a wider selection of food items.

I guess it depends on what you are going to use it for...food or other items.

 

[DawnM]

We love Costco. We drive about 25 min. to get to one, BUT, it is on DH's way home from work if I need a quick stop I just email him a list.

The Sam's and Costco are right next to each other and we choose Costco over Sam's.

Dawn

 

[My2Cinderellas]

Until 2-3 years ago, Sam's was the only game in town, I had 2 stores each 25 minutes away. Costco is 30-35 minutes away, and I think I'm glad it's that far of a drive. Otherwise I would spend too much time and $$ in there. It's a dangerous place for my wallet!

I like the analogy of Walmart/Target and Sam's/Costco. Target and Costco are not linked companies like Walmart/Sam's but the comparison is a good one. Costco is cleaner, brighter, more inviting to shop at, and in general has higher quality merchandise. Employees are friendly and helpful. I do not hesitate to buy their house brand items, many are co-branded with national labels. Kirkland Signature coffee beans are roasted by Starbucks, organic soy milk is from Silk, etc.

 

[branv]

We choose Costco over Sams - our Costco is 25 miles away and Sams is about 8 miles away. I've always found Costco to be cleaner, more professional in terms of the behavior of their employees (but then, not surprising considering the diffs in pay/benefits), better products (though I'm a bit of a food snob, and I LOVE their wine section).

We go to Costco every 2 weeks to stock up on bottled water and whatever else we need. Luckily, it's "in town" for us, so we just make an afternoon/evening of the trip.

All of this being said, I did discover my first "icky" Costco. All my Costco experiences have been with newer Costcos in nice areas. Really large, clean and airy. I went to Dallas to help with a party for my sister, and stopped in at a Costco near there. The darn thing looked just like a Sams...cramped, not nearly the same selection available, dingy. I was pretty surprised. I don't know how old that one is, but they certainly didn't build this one like the others.

 

[Green Tea]

I drive over an hour regularly to get to the nearest Costco.

 

[Ciciwoowoo]

You must be a city person!!!

Our Costco is about 35-40 minutes away and I don't consider that very far at all!

I'm sure if you are only buying a few things, it probably isn't worth it. However, if you go once a month and have a list, yes, I'd do it!

 

[shortbun]

You must be a city person!!!

Our Costco is about 35-40 minutes away and I don't consider that very far at all!

I'm sure if you are only buying a few things, it probably isn't worth it. However, if you go once a month and have a list, yes, I'd do it!

Yes, I'm a city girl. Grew up in the country and barefoot and all that. I'm still barefoot but I like my conveniences. The 30 minute drive eats up my time and my fuel. Our Sams are nice and I hear this Costco is too but I'm looking at saving money and I have to figure in my time and fuel. I can't imagine having to drive 30minutes to get to a grocery. I have two within 5 minutes of me and several more another 5 minutes away. Two Targets within 5-8 minutes, three movie venues very close, restaurants within walking distance and all my friends are just a stone's throw away. I'm spoiled. I admit it. I'll check out the Costco this summer and decide if it's worth the drive. We just hit Sam's yesterday so I don't need much now.

 

[owensamo]

There are 2 Costcos we can get to, both about 30-40 minute drives from our house. We go once a month to stock up. While we haven't been to Sam's in forever (there is one closer than either Costco), we have done some BJs trial memberships (60-90 days) and still prefer Costco. BJs, however, does seem to be more geared towards the general home shopper market, while Costco seems more geared towards business customers. Even still, we'll take advantage of my in-law's BJs membership once every few months to pick up the few things we can't get at Costco - and they do the same for us, because I think secretly they like Costco better than BJs!

Our BJs feel about as cramped as all the Sam's clubs I've been to - more like Walmart than Target. I agree with the other posters' assessments that Costco is more like Target. They have great meat, great cheese, and my DD loves to go to get samples! Their desserts and other baked goods are good as well. We also got an awsome deal on car/home insurance, which more than pays for the membership.

I'd say at least go and take a look. I don't know if they do one-day shopping passes or anything (when our first store opened, they did free 1-year memberships for everyone in the county, so we just went and signed up), but I believe that even if you do join and aren't satisfied, they'll give you your money back (I can't imagine they wouldn't, given their awsome return policy on pretty much everything else).

Amanda

 

[calypso*a*go-go]

You guys are going to be jealous of me!!! I have two Costco's that are within 15 minutes of my house (Pacific Northwest = Costco country!). There are about 10 of them within 30-45 minutes. I love Costco and have never been disappointed with any of their products. I used to live near a Sam's Club and would drive the extra 45 minutes to get to Costco (of course, that was six years ago when the price of gas was not a factor). And speaking of gas, most of the Costco's around here have a gas station and I find their prices to the the lowest in the area. So for me, it's a win-win situation!!!

If Costco ever needed a poster child...it should be me!!!

 

[buy24me]

I actually had a membership for both Costco and Sams and ended up dropping my Sams membership a year ago! I can tell you that Costco is overall a better value than Sams. Costco comes out with summer passport coupons every single year and they have additional coupons every year on items. Sams NEVER EVER offers coupons on anything! And with the coupons, you end up saving even more money. For example, I bought their 36 packages of Microwaveable popcorn which normally sells for $6.99. Well, they run promotions with coupons evey now and then and the coupon was for $4.00 off per box. THe popcorn ended up costing only$2.99! Their cakes are also cheaper than SAMS. You can get a half sheet cake which feeds up to 48 people for $14.99. SAMS sells the same thing for $24.99. And can't say enough about their meats or fruits. Fresh and delicious. THe costco's (there are two by my house) are cleaner than all the SAMS clubs by me and never dirty so I have no idea what people the this thread are talking about. I think you should join just for a year and compare. I think you will find Costco will have better deals especially with the additional savings in coupons!!!

 

[perd]

Never having been to a Costco, we now have one about 1/2 hour away. Should I make the drive and join? We are Sam's members and they are close.

I like Costco better than Sam's for the same reason I like Target better than Walmart. Cleaner, more organized, better lit, more pleasant atmosphere. If I were you I'd go there and go to the membership desk. Tell them you would like a guest pass, that you want to look around before you decide whether to join. They gave us one with no problem and said if we decided to join we could just pay at the register (they gave us a card to have scanned) and then come to the membership desk on our way out to have photo ID made, etc.

 

[Ciao Mickey]

When I would go to the 2 different Costco's in NJ - they were congested and dirty. The lst. time I wen to the one in Myrtle Beach (I live her now) I could not get over how clean and nice the store was - it was enjoyable to go shopping there.

We also have a Sam's and I am wondering how they are. I used to go to BJ's in NJ which I love and don't have here.

Costco is pretty much the only place I buy meat - it is very good

All of the Costco's I've shopped in are clean. Where did you find a dirty Costco? I want to make sure I don't go there.

I usually go to the ones in E. Hanover, Bridgewater, Union, Wharton and Wayne because they all carry different things.