Sam's vs Costco

[ready123go]

Interested to find this today. I was just talking to DH last night about dropping our Costco membership in favor of a Sam's Club. I will admit I am NOT a fan of Walmart and will avoid it at ANY COST. Many years ago we had a BJ's membership and liked it okay, but not enough to make the drive (45 minutes to the closest).

DH decided about 2 years ago to get us a Costco membership, even though the nearest Costco is an hour's drive. It was an occasional trip for us for the first year (but we did/do love it), but last year our DD started swimming for a new club that was just a few miles away from Costco, so it easily became a regular stop for me. Now she is gone to college and so Costco will again become a "once-in-a-while" stop for us now. There is a Sam's Club about 35 minutes away, so I thought that maybe we be better off there. But after reading all that was said here, I think I'll stick with my Costco membership and try to work it into the schedule at least once a month. Wish it could more often, as I love their produce and DD adores the dried mango!

Thanks for all of the opinions and such! .......................P

pjilla-

Don't let all the nay-sayers keep you from trying Sam's. I have memberships to both and I like both for different reasons. Many people do basic shopping at SC. One of the reasons I do most of my every day shopping there is our SC has better produce than our C. It is also easier to get in and out of SC parking lot and faster to get a petrol fill-up.

I had a friend (like many here) who swore she saw fairies in the parking lot and a choir of angels sang every time she walked through the doors of Costco. She wouldn't condescend to having a SC membership. However, she had no problem using mine as often as possible. And nearly made her cart groan with the volume of goods each and every time she went with me.

Don't be afraid to give SC a try. It didn't get as big as it is without having something to offer.

 

[crisi]

No company is accountable to "Wall Street," whatever that might be; companies are accountable to their investors. If investors aren't happy with the way a certain company is run, they will change the leadership or divest from it. This is true whether the company is Costco or Walmart.

No company, including Costco, can afford to pay people based on anything other than productivity, or they would quickly go out of business. Business isn't the fantasyland government paradise that can subsidize less productive individuals by forcefully taking money earned by their more productive coworkers. Costco appears to simply run a more efficient business than Walmart, one that is focused on the consumer. They appear to value employee retention, and do a good job of training and promoting employees, even into senior management positions, because they know that this results in better efficiency and greater customer satisfaction. They have high quality standards for suppliers, because they know that customers will reward them for it. That's why they beat the pants off of Sam's Club, not because their customers are social activists looking to feel good about where they buy their organic milk.

Sorry to sound so harsh, but the implication that Costco is somehow "sticking it" to their investors in the name of social or economic justice demonstrates a misunderstanding of how companies operate.


JKG

This is what I was referring to. Perhaps you read more into what I said than I meant.

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB108025917854365904.html

 

[anabelle]

I think they pump something into the air to make me spend more at Costco. It shocked me when they gave me my total after one year. I spend half as much at Sam's club. Maybe it's all the samples, but they reel me in every time.

 

[mom2my3kids]

We have a sams club here and we are members, I shop at least twice a month for bulk items..The closest costco is about a hour and a half away, I like the kirkland brand and I think costco has a bigger variety of items that sams doesnt..I wish we had a costco here but its not really worth the long drive so I will keep my sams membership..My cousin gave me a costco gift card for a gift, it allowed me a one time shop at costco but I had to pay cash..just a idea if you want to try and see the difference without paying the full membership...

 

[mom2my3kids]

pjilla-

Don't let all the nay-sayers keep you from trying Sam's. I have memberships to both and I like both for different reasons. Many people do basic shopping at SC. One of the reasons I do most of my every day shopping there is our SC has better produce than our C. It is also easier to get in and out of SC parking lot and faster to get a petrol fill-up.

I had a friend (like many here) who swore she saw fairies in the parking lot and a choir of angels sang every time she walked through the doors of Costco. She wouldn't condescend to having a SC membership. However, she had no problem using mine as often as possible. And nearly made her cart groan with the volume of goods each and every time she went with me.

Don't be afraid to give SC a try. It didn't get as big as it is without having something to offer.