Costco vs Sams Club??

[mrsstats]

I belong to all 3. BJ's is my least favorite but Costco & Sams are very close as far as I am concerned. Meat is about the same to me. Sams has Birdseye vegetables which I prefer. I would pick the one closest to your home if you could only have 1.

 

[dmiller882]

I always compare them like this:

Costco is like the warehouse Target. They aren't owned by Target, though. Costco is to Sam's what Target is to Walmart. The prices are similar, but I think Costco is way better.


This is exactly how I compare them both. Just you have to what the prices sometimes Sams is better and sometimes not.

 

[CarolinaMomOf3boys]

we just joined Coscto this week and are going shopping today!!

 

[delmar411]

Does anyone know if Sams does their own meat cutting? I know Walmart doesn't because they don't use unions but Costco has the meat dept right there and you can see the fresh meat.

We just got our Costco membership renewed and puttered around there yesterday. Got a month's worth of groceries and now all I have to do is grab perishables at Kroger. And I should still be able to come in at my $300/mth budget! The gallon of skim milk we got was .15/gal less than the sale prices.
It's not convenient for me to get up there that often but I will plan on getting milk and eggs when I'm up there 1x/mth or if DH needs to go there for something.

 

[elsabear]

I know that the Sam's Club near us at least did have their own meat cutting dept a couple of years ago- long story but essentially we talked to one of the butchers that worked there while returning a lost poodle we found. (That just sounds odd doesn't it?)

Anyway - I guess I have Costco envy - especially after reading the boards here and about the Starbucks giftcards. We have had 2 Sam's Clubs in NEPA for years and there is a BJ's in the Stroudsburg area (about 1 hr away), but the closest Costco to us is 2 1/2 hours away in Harrisburg.

 

[luv2nascar]

I want a Costco really bad but closest one is hour away and with gas it just doesn't seem worth it.

 

[SalandJeff]

We only belong to Costco, so I cannot compare it to Sam's. I just wanted to make a couple of comments.

If your Costco has a gas station, you cannot beat their prices.
Also, you might consider splitting your membership with someone to save money. You can get two cards, so my sister and I split the membership and each take a card. If dh needs to go, we just go together with my card. He goes with my card by himself to buy gas.
They have a lot of great deals on food, books and tons of other items. But you do have to know your prices (example: they carry Kleenex tissues, but I can get them much cheaper by just buying when they are onsale at the grocery store, especially if I have a coupon).
You have to be strong You'll go there to buy food, but find the cutest little disney outfit for your daughter, etc. You can end up spending lots more on the "great deals".
Costco does not take manufacturer's coupons. I believe BJs does, but not sure about Sam's.
It is definitely worth having the membership though.

 

[Mickeyherewecome123]

Hi - I see you're from Chicagoland. I bet you live near me as we are getting one in my hometown. We signed up for the executive membership at the Scarecrow Festival . They were running a deal where if you bought the executive membership for $100 you got a $20 gift card on the spot and a guaranteed $50 rebate (at least) at the end of the year no matter how much you spend. So basically the executive membership is $30 for the new store.

Yep, we live about 15 miles from the new store opening up. I love the Scarecrow fest, we didnt get to make it there this year. But we are looking forward to going to Pumpkin Fest in Sycamore. That is so much fun. Smaller than Scarecrow fest, but still fun.
Do you know when they expect to open Costco??

 

[Mickeyherewecome123]

OMGosh!! I read the first post and wondered where the OP was from since we are getting a Costco in my town. Then I got to the post from teacup princess and I thought I posted it myself!! lol We also signed up at Scarecrow Fest. We got the executive membership too. Small world!!

THat is too funny!!!
Hello neighbor

 

[4lilpoohs]

Do you know when they expect to open Costco??



November 14th

 

[mana_liz]

Also not a big fan of the Costco bakery...the Sam's Club bakery I think has fresher baked goods, at least the one's where I live do. We've bought or eaten Costco cakes they tasted old...not very soft.


I think our Sam's Clubs are very nice, clean, bright and associates are very friendly. Also our's cuts their own meat.

 

[teacup princess]

Do you know when they expect to open Costco??

Not sure, I think the gas station opens at the end of this month. The store - middle of Nov.?

 

[Shelly]

I mostly go to sams for the meat. We just stock up te freezer once a month. For all else I go to Aldi or Woodmans(woodmans prices are the best).
I can't see the need to pay for 2 cards for meat alone.
Can anyone say that meat is cheaper at costco versus Sams.
I can't wait for the costco to open in St. charles so that sams will be even less crowded.