I used to belong to both Sam's Club and Costco/Price Club.  They are
incredibly similar.  Most times, they have the exact same stuff.  However,
there were differences that made it worthwhile to keep both memberships if
one is free.  I think they're both fungible.

Get a one-day pass for each of them, or find a friend to bring you.
Different warehouses have different items in stock, so it depends on
what you want to buy there.  For example, I get my canned chicken from
Sams, but Pat gets her canned turkey from BJs.

Due to competition, they are very similar. Costco caters to a more
upscale crowd, in some subtle ways, whereas Sams gravitates to the
more affluent but still Walmart oriented crowd. Their prices are
similar, as well as most of their stuff.

I used to own costco stock and made good money on it. I still follow it
and will rebuy if it gets closer to $30 per share.

I am a Sams club member, because Sams club is in a better [for me]
location.

Both Costco and Sams are highly honest and very competitive
businesses.

i

Sam's Club is more convenient, but I shop at Costco for several reasons.

First, most (if not all) of the meat at Sam's is "enhanced" with salt/sugar
water and I am extremely picky about what foods I will eat (mainly because of
food alloergies/intolerances).

Second, at Costco you can sniff the produce, at Sam's everything is sealed in
plastic.

Third, I don't like Wal-Mart.

As for the membership being a good value, we would save that much just on milk,
half and half and olive oil  even if we didn't buy anything else there.

Robyn

Hi Chakolate,

I swear by my Sam's club membership.   Savings on butter, milk, olive oil,
cream, eggs, produce, meats, paper goods, cat and dog food, and many other
items are worth the membership price alone.

I have gotten some unbelievable deals there on just about everything you can
name.   You have to go regularly since they change their stock often on
other than food items, and the only way to know is to check what is on sale
there regularly.

Here is the tricky part;  you may have to buy in bulk and be able to
repackage or store in usable sizes for your family.   We are a small family
so it makes sense for me to make use of my freezer a lot.    For instance, I
will buy a whole package of maybe 10 lbs of chopped meat, then repackage it
into 2 lb size ziplocs for future use.

Some items it is just not worth stocking such a big quantity, but if you
have storage space and the items don't go bad, it is well worth it.   Paper
towels and toilet paper, canned goods and things that don't go bad, it is no
problem buying a larger quantity as long as you have a place to put it.

I have to admit I am totally spoiled by Sam's club meats as they are very
good quality.   A big tip;  If you go in the store first thing in the
morning, they mark the previous day's meats down considerably with a big red
sticker.   These are not bad, or stale or anything, and you can get great
deals if you are a creative cook and know what to do with cuts that didn't
sell so quickly the day before.

I LOVE Costco. They have a strict markup policy (17% I think?) and carry some
really nice high-end things. And you can return anything, at any time, for any
reason, no questions asked. (except computers, but even then you have six
months!) And I can get my digital pictures developed while I shop for $0.17/ea!
As far as basics go (meat, veggies, etc), I've seen the same stuff at the same
prices at Sams.

LCing since 12/01/03-
Me- 265/223/140
& hubby- 310/244/180

Thanks to everyone who responded, especially for the idea about the day
pass.  

Chakolate

If there is a Super WalMart near you, you can get an eye exam and
prescription glasses for around $69 at their vision center!

BTW, I love Sam's Club.  And I can use my Sam's Club credit card at WalMart
also.   ;-)

If money is tight, maybe you can find someone who would like to split
a membership fee with you.

I would lean towards joining the club that's most convenient for you.

I usually just lurk here, but want to add my 2 cents to the warehouse
shopping thread.

We have only shopped at Sams in the Minneapolis area, but I think this
could be true of all Sams Clubs and many other warehouse clubs.

When you compare prices with other grocery stores, compare price per
sheet or unit.  Everyone always talks about the great bargains on the
giant packages of paper towels, toilet paper and the like.
BUT.... do the math, you might be getting 8 rolls of something for
around the same price as you would get 6 rolls of that same thing at
another store, however each individual roll will have fewer sheets per
roll, making the cost per sheet higher than the same brand if you buy it
in a "regular" store.

A local tv station did a comparison on warehouse pricing and discovered
this "warehouse packaging".  Manufacturers make different sized products
especially for warehouse outlets.  So you need to do the math on each
item to see if you really are getting a deal, checking the price per
sheet count.  Also many of the items at Sam's are packaged in 2's, which
may or may not be cheaper by the per ounce price, but you have to
"invest" a whole lot more of your shopping dollar to purchase 2 of
something, which could be a problem with limited funds.

That is not to say there are not some good buys at Sams, but there are
far fewer than most people think.

Sam's club does not let you use coupons and it you are on a tight budget
coupons could come in handy for staples, since you can use them at
"regular" stores with sales and get deals that way.

Here in MN the liqour store part of Sam's has to have a seperate
entrance from the outside. (must be some state law requirement)  I found
that the liquor prices were a good bargain and here in MN you don't have
to be a Sam's  member to purchase booze.... another weird liquor law, I
suppose!

So, as they say, Buyer beware!

Back to Lurking,  happy Low Carbing everyone!

Karen

This may not be of any help to you, but if you have a AAA membership, you
can get 30% off any pair of glasses at Lenscrafters.

Em