Sams membership expiring, debating Costco - give me your thoughts

[qv09vvp]

Sams or Costco? and why do you prefer one over the other?

my buying habits in this order - vitamins/OTC allergy meds / paper goods/ pet food / seasonal & gift cards /big ticket on occasion mattress/tv/etc /discounted gas (but none are close enough for weekly fillup)

We just don't buy the large quantity of food since the kids moved out.....but when we have parties, the large quantity packaging is helpful.

Sam's dropped their travel area, but I understand Costco still has theirs... anyone have good/bad experiences using it?

 

[disneymagicgirl]

I hold both memberships out of convenience. I prefer to go to sam club. They have the click and pull thing, which is awesome to save time and the scan/checkout on the app which is great too. Our Costco is always a madhouse. Sams is much quieter.

 

[wendow]

I hold both memberships out of convenience. I prefer to go to sam club. They have the click and pull thing, which is awesome to save time and the scan/checkout on the app which is great too. Our Costco is always a madhouse. Sams is much quieter.

OP, I would give the same response as above We have both memberships also and Sam's is so much easier to get in and out of. I actually don't do the click and pull but I do use the app and use their scan & go. I love it!!! Our Costco is so chaotic and crazy that you can barely get your cart through the aisles sometimes. My dh & I laugh to ourselves that trying to get around Costco pushing a cart is like trying to get around Disney pushing a stroller.

 

[starry_solo]

Sams club has a deal on living social and Groupon. $35 for membership, get a $10 egift card and some free items.

 

[Narnia_girl]

I can't comment on Costco because we don't have one in our area, but I do shop at Sam's weekly. And like you, OTC allergy meds are regular purchases for us. I'm so grateful for Sam's Club brand (Members Mark) of Benedryl, Zyrtec and Claritin. I just bought the knock off Claritin yesterday--200 tablets for less than $12. (Costco may also have this?)

 

[wendow]

I can't comment on Costco because we don't have one in our area, but I do shop at Sam's weekly. And like you, OTC allergy meds are regular purchases for us. I'm so grateful for Sam's Club brand (Members Mark) of Benedryl, Zyrtec and Claritin. I just bought the knock off Claritin yesterday--200 tablets for less than $12. (Costco may also have this?)

Costco does have their Kirkland version of allergy meds (which we buy) but I've found *almost* anything I buy at Costco, I can find at Sam's at similar pricing.

We have some allergies/food intolerance items that we get at Costco and I don't care as much for Sam's meat (maybe just me??). But OP said food wasn't as big of a deal.

 

[gottalovepluto]

Idk on Sam’s Club.

I’d call your Costco and make sure they have the meds you’re after if that’s a part of the cost calculation for you.

If you’re on the fence but kinda thinking about giving Costco a go don’t be afraid. They offer a full refund if you aren’t satisfied- from their website

• On Membership: We will cancel and refund your membership fee in full at any time if you are dissatisfied.

ETA: FYI where required by state law Costco pharmacies are open to non-members

 

[Pumbaa_]

I adore Costco.

I save the cost of membership on travel alone. I find the best car rental prices! We did a cruise 2 years ago, got 300 onboard credit in addition to cruise line perks.

Produce is the best. Lasts long, super fresh in and out of season

I buy steaks exclusively here. Better than the steakhouses in my area

I love the guarantee. My dyson stopped sucking after 6 months. Full refund!

We buy Kirkland everything from tuna to Pepcid
Kirkland Pepcid is 9.99 for 180 pills
All our otc meds come from here

Glasses and contacts too. Their version of contact solution is 9.99 for 3 bottles. Super deal

Bought our here also

You name it and I have probably bought it at Costco.

 

[SteveH]

I've been a long time Costco member since the early 90's. While we don't buy as much as we did when the kids were young, we still buy a lot of our meat, fruit & veggies as well as host of other things. We've used the travel service for our last trip and if possible I buy electronics from Costco too. Hard to beat their return policy. I am an "executive member" plus I carry the Costco Visa, the Exec membership earns us more then enough each year to pay for the membership and beyond. With the new benefits on Costco gas I expect to do even better.

I lived in Missouri for 5 years and only had Sam's Club, which just wasn't the same and I never really got into shopping there except for work. Some items were the same, but I didn't feel the quality was nearly as good as Costco. But I suppose it's what you are used to.

Pretty sure you can ask for a one day pass to try it out.

 

[Pumbaa_]

I don’t believe Costco does the one day pass. Totally worth the membership

Where else can you buy a shredder, a dress, patio pots and yummy steak?

 

[tvguy]

I dropped my memberships when Walmart finally came to our area. No lines, no membership fees, almost identical cost on the items I buy.

 

[tvguy]

Where else can you buy a shredder, a dress, patio pots and yummy steak?

Walmart. Target.

 

[WVMomof3]

I adore Costco.

I love the guarantee. My dysentery stopped sucking after 6 months. Full refund!

This made me giggle.

 

[deide71]

This made me giggle.

Yeah, gotta love autocorrect

 

[LovesTimone]

Not sure if you have a BJ's Warehouse near you. But we switch at first because there wasn't a Sams or Costco near where we lived.. Even after moving...We have stayed with them for the last 3 almost 4 years. They offer in house coupons, plus accept manufactures coupons as well. So quite a bit of saving can be gotten. In the one we shop at, they always have alot of kids clothing, name brands at really great price's. Last year during Christmas I bought Disney themed PJ's 4 pc sets, for 10.99 I picked up 2 and a Mickey robe for 12.99... They had the same one at Kohls but only a 3 piece PJ set for 19.99 and the same Mickey robe was 28.00 and that was the discounted price ... even with my 20% off it was still much cheaper at BJ's.

I would see if you can get a free pass for one shopping trip, then you can decide..

 

[annekreel]

I like Costco much better. Their return policy is EXCELLENT. I think their seasonal merchandise is better than Sam's (quality and selection). I believe their customer service is much better as well, at least at our local store. Prices may be comparable, but for everything else I choose Costco.

 

[verleniahall]

ive had both, and we love costco MUCH better than Sams Club - the employees are alwaysnfriendlier, and they dont play musical items i can go in looking fir an item and not go in for a year, and the item will be in the same spot. Dams plays roate the merchindise multioe times a year so i end up wasting time looking fir the item or finding an employer to ask where its run off to

 

[cvjw]

Another vote for Costco here. We have been members for years, and still love shopping there. We buy so much there - meat, fruit, vegetables, vitamins, electronics, tires, glasses, uggs, Patagonia jackets, etc. You name it and we have probably gotten it there.

My vita mix stopped working after 14 months and Costco happily refunded the price. Where else does that happen?

We also book our cruises with them. For our last Disney Cruise, Costco gave us over $1200 back. Free money which more than paid for our membership.

Sams club gave me a free membership a few years back. I tried to like sams club, but just couldn’t. It just didn’t live up to Costco, in my opinion.

 

[dreiwhit]

We've got both Sam's and Costco memberships.

Most of the items you can find and one store can be found at the other. They offer similar merchandise.

I have to give the edge to Costco, though, because the customer service is so much better. At the Sam's club here, the employees aren't friendly and act like you are bothering them.

 

[disneysteve]

We joined both BJ's and Costco about a year ago with Groupon/Living Social deals for both. We have found that we like BJ's far more. There is very little that appeals to us at Costco. We recently renewed our BJ's membership, happily paying full price this time. Our Costco membership expires this month and we will not be renewing. We've never gone to Sam's Club, but the advice is the same.

You really need to do a full walk through of both places and see which place has more stuff that you buy regularly. Also, which is more conveniently located for you. Even if one has some great deals, if it isn't easy to get to, you probably won't go there nearly as much as you think.

Costco either doesn't carry products or brands we want, or they offer them in ridiculously large packages that we couldn't ever use before they went bad. So for us at least, Costco has been a bust.