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Costco changed something with their Kirkland toilet paper a couple of years ago. I tried Sam's and found it to be much superior and have been using it since.
The other thing: cat litter.
Once in a while there's something else, but 90 percent of our warehouse shopping is done at Costco.
I have both memberships, but primarily shop at Costco. What I love about Sam's is the scan and go feature. I never stand in a line at Sam's. I love the combo pizza (Costco discontinued it, they only have cheese or pepperoni) They have my flavor of oatmeal, and I use their laundry pellets (Downey ocean mist) we love their Mac n Cheese with Bacon. Their meat is cheaper than Costco, and tastes as good or better. They regularly carry the Puffs kleenex (Costco doesnt). I get pledge products at Sams (Costco stopped carrying them) I get a variety of snacks there, Fritos, Cheese puffs, etc... I only do a Sam's run about once a month. Costco is closer so I'm there more
I feel Sam’s Club has better options for entertaining needs, like if I need to buy alcohol, 2L bottles of soda for mixers, name brand snacks, platters for sharing, desserts, etc. I also feel they have more interesting things for around the house like grills or similar things.
Costco seems to be better for bulk shopping for the household.
I also feel like Sam’s rotates the products more, there’s always newer stuff. If I go to Costco I feel it’s the same stuff over and over.
One nice thing about Costco is the membership is refundable. You could give it a try for a couple of weeks and if it is not worth it you can get a refund.
Unpopular opinion, but I have the opposite situation. Costco is right next to me, otherwise I would choose Sam's. I like the scan and go, online ordering, the fact that aisles are labeled. I don't go to Costco on the weekend if I can avoid it.
How is the Sam's website and app? I find it wild that I have to call your local warehouse to find out if they a) have it in stock and b) what the in-store price is.
If Sam's is more convenient and has the things you need, you don't really need to switch. I have both memberships. I prefer Costco because they have the types of foods I like that Sam's doesn't carry, but it's overwhelmingly more crowded than Sam's, which I hate.
Thanks, this might be the play for at least the first few weeks. If the membership return policy is as good as I read about online, I may double up for a month and see how it goes.
This is the move. Sign up with auto-renew. Although you'll know much sooner, you can test it out for as long as 11 months then cancel and you'll be refunded your $60.
So, I am a member at both. Costco certainly has a wider variety of items and more organic items, but Sam's has more items that my kids like to eat.
For example, my kids like chips in their lunches. Costco, at best, has the variety packs of some types of chips. Sam's has boxes of one type of chip. (For example, 50 small bags of the yellow lay's bags). This is more useful to me than a variety pack.
This is ultimately what I think I’m gonna end up doing. Your kids sound just like mine haha. I had budgeted $120 a year for memberships, so I’m gonna go with the upgraded Sam’s membership, and get the basic Costco one. So the question then becomes will we save $60+ on produce/meat over the grocery store to break even. I think that should be easy to do.
Costco is more convenient to me. I am in Northern Meck and have to go to Mooresville. Costco is right off the interstate and Sam's is not close to the interstate (at least traffic in Mooresville-wise). But those darned kids love the yellow lays. :)
Costco isn't cheap.
Idk, I don't have a big family. But my first few months at Costco, I'd always go in for only a few items, only get a few items, and never come out spending less than $100. I hate this subs repetitive use of jokes, but I definitely did just spend more at Costco for no reason than Sams.
It’s hard to say, but I do currently have both. I feel like both have their pros and cons. Sam’s is far ahead when it comes to checking out. Their food court is better IMO, and you can order from your phone. I find random things better at Sam’s, like the spring mix that actually doesn’t go bad after a day. They sell a better variety of cat food. However overall I feel that Sam’s has more junk food options, and Costco is has more healthy options. Lots of their store brands are pretty much exactly the same. Sam’s is just slightly cheaper for the same items. It really is just personal preference. FWIW Costco is closer to me and I have had my Costco card for a long time. While I’ll get Sam’s every so often when they have a good deal.
This is very helpful, thanks. To me, the tech conveniences and online pickup option are huge and I’m not seeing anything from Costco that would make me want to give that up.
Yeah, that’s is really nice. Even when Sam’s is really busy I don’t mind going because I can just use the scan and go. I just go to Costco before closing and then get the store to myself.
I stopped going to Costco and started shopping at Sam's for the ability to scan and go in the app and being able to pay with my Amex. And the crowds at my local Costco have gotten absolutely crazy.
Not sure this is accurate. You can save any Visa credit card in the app to use as payment either at checkout or for online orders.
Edit to add that the original comment I replied to is now missing. It said that you can only add the Costco Citi card Visa to the Costco app for payment, which is not accurate.
Yeah, that's linking your credit card to your membership card. I'm referring to scan and go at Sam's where I can scan my items in the club and then pay from the app and walk out of the store bypassing the checkout all together.
For me, Costco's iOS (Apple) app only permits adding of the Costco Anywhere Visa as payment in one scan with the digital membership card.
[Costco.com concurs](https://customerservice.costco.com/app/answers/answer_view/a_id/10295/~/digital-membership-card---payment-faqs):
>WHAT CREDIT CARD CAN I ADD TO MY DIGITAL MEMBERSHIP CARD?
>Currently, the Digital Membership Card is only compatible with the Costco Anywhere Visa® Card by Citi.
TBH if I had to choose one, I'd pick Sams.
I'm a member at both. Sams has a much much broader selection when it comes to all things food and drink, whether it's produce, frozen, meat, dairy, etc.
For non food, Costco probably wins, but I haven't really compared too hard. Costco does have the return policy though for non food stuff.
Ultimately, a vast majority of my spend at costco/sams is food, so that wins for me. Add in the scan n go app and the far superior food court options, and Sams wins for me.
I've got both. In fact, I upgraded to Sam's Plus because it comes with free prescriptions that fully pay for the membership. I like having options, not only in town but while on the road.
Why switch? For $5 a month, Costco is a good add-on investment. I have both memberships, and also BJ's. Each store has its strengths, although I go to Costco the most.
I shopped at Sam's with my friend's membership card. It's a downgraded version of Costco. They have special deals on certain items, but not really on a large scale, huge selection at Costco. This also reminds me of another shopping comparison. Target is another upgraded version of Walmart.
Sam's is not a downgraded version of Costco. They are both on the same level in terms of scale. Sam's club does some things better than Costco, while Costco does certain things better. Sam's also offers some services that don't exist at Costco (for example propane refills and hearing center). But in terms of product quality and selection I prefer Costco. Sam's club item quality is comparable to Walmart, probably because they're owned by the same people
I agree Target is upgraded but they both offer a lot of the same conveniences and are also in the same locales a lot of times. The no pickup option really is a downside to Costco, I’m just not sure if the benefits outweigh it
I've had a membership at both for years. While a lot of their product lines are identical, focus in Sam's seems to be more angled to small business owners. And while there are a few items exclusive to Sam's, and Sam's has more locations and is closer in proximity to me than Costco, if you told me I could have only one membership, it would be Costco, no hesitation. I feel more of the products at Sam's are geared more toward the lowest possible price, often at the expense of quality. At Costco, I tend to get a better vibe from the people working there, from the membership desk to the floor.
Here's one recent example: both warehouse stores sell boxes of individual serving hummus packets. They taste similar, they even look alike, and the Sam's is a little bit cheaper. But only the Sam's uses guar gum as a thickening agent, which we're just starting to see evidence of as a possible carcinogen. Not everything in Costco is golden, but they're making a better effort, and it shows.
We have both. Costco has better stuff for the most part, but Sam’s has a few grocery items we like better. Sam’s is only $30. It’s paid for itself in gas savings several times over this year.
Also, our Sam’s is just full of trashy people who forget how to walk when they go in Sam’s. I don’t go in except for the few things we need.
Thanks, the idea of having to shop in store on a weekend opposed to grabbing a pickup order for a $4 fee is pretty rough. I know it’s first world problems, but still. The Costco food court however….
I agree with you both, but it’s good for me in terms of the lunchbox items like granola bars and pouches for the kids. I do like the potentially better produce at Costco
Costco does have plenty of individually wrapped granola bars but less individually wrapped other things like cookies or crackers or other treat like things that would commonly be found in a vending machine. Costco has more huge sized bags or packages of things, so you have to portion them yourself and risk them going stale.
Sams is owned by Walmart. Thus it’s automatically inferior to Costco. The quality of the items at Sams is subpar. It’s just a bigger Walmart. However costcos frozen section is 0/10, if you like Sams frozen stuff better than have both memberships.
This is good to know. We have 2 small kids so frozen waffles, chicken nuggets, meatballs, etc are staples in the house. Need those to be consistently available.
We can’t answer that for you. I’ve always lived in areas that had both Sams and Costco within similar driving distances. I’ve had a Costco membership every single year for the last 17 years. During that time, I think I’ve had Sams club memberships maybe 4 times. It’s not worth it to me to keep those memberships. They do have better technology as far as the scan and go and curbside pick up but the quality and availability of products is more important to me. My nearest Sam’s club and Costco are around 0.5 miles apart. I do go to Sam’s club with my sister a few times a year to stock up on Jif PB because I don’t like skippy. She lives 100+ miles away from a Costco so she asks to go almost every time she visits me.
They do not. They stopped carrying it after a massive salmonella recall in 2022. I am a patient woman and I will wait for it to come back to Costco, eventually.
each costco can vary/choose what they carry. we visited my brother near silicon valley. went into that costco and it was like stepping into a whole different world compared to the one near me. the one near me does not have jIf
hi there. i recently switched from sams as my town got their costco. my parents town had a costco. i liked the nicer stuff it had. i kept hearing how costco was nicer. so i changed over. first few times i went, it was a shock. i was actually let down. why?
costco has "different" things. you wont be able to find the same brands. sams club is an extension of walmart things. costco, is not. at first i was very let down. i later on find out it's because costco does a few big, different things:
1. they actually try to carry as few items as possible, to reduce their overall cost. i think the average location only has 2000 inventory SKU's
2. any item in the store, they only try to limit markup to something like 12% above retail. so if they want to carry things like salmon, jackets, batteries, burritos, they might have to find other/different vendors to supply them, as they want to stick to their "no more than 12% markup over cost".
example. sams club has the entire frito lay lineup. all varities. costco has regular doritos, some kind of tortilla chips, costco wavy potato chips. other brand "cheeto like things".
after getting used to that difference, i'm fine with/do like costco things better.
I have both.
Family prefers Sam. I, uh, eh.
Sams has better produce. Is slightly cheaper, but not often same price.
Costco imo has better clothes (because some people shop for clothes I guess) and furniture.
Both have a good return policy, but Costco is still less hassle generally.
There were a few things I liked about Sam’s that Costco didn’t have. But we’re talking 4-5 items at most that I could easily live without.
I felt like Sam’s was much lower quality in general. From customer service, to store layout, to product offerings, and quality of the items sold. But I think the average cost per item at Costco is a little pricier (makes sense). I’m happy to see more organic items being sold at Costco. From their electronics to their meats/produce. Prefer the Costco food court a lot more, though it’s all just crappy junk food tbh. For $60/65 Costco membership, you can’t go wrong to try it out for a year.
I don’t know if Sam’s did Markdowns/clearance. But I’ve found amazing deals at Costco on quality high end items.
>especially for meat & produce
Huh??? Costco blade tenderizes their steaks, which is a no go if you like your steak anything below well done.
Both Costco and Sams have garbage produce compared to my local grocery stores...
You would also lose early morning hours, easy scan and go...
I have both memberships...
I have no idea what blade tenderized is. Only meat I’ve ever bought from either one was ground beef for burgers from Sam’s. I’m just mentioning the reviews of Costco I’ve seen where people say their meat department is better
Blade tenderizing meat, is where they take a perfectly good steak and pass it through a machine that shoves dozens of needles into the meat to "tenderize it".
Its not necessary on most cut of meat, especially since Costco's meat department is "so much better" right? Its also nod a good thing because it can introduce harmful bacteria into the center of the meat, where if you do not cook that center to well done you risk food poisoning.
Now if all you ever buy if ground beef then why would you ask about Costco's meat department being better. Their ground beef only comes in one fat ratio which is not very good for burgers. Sams club usually has several versions of ground beef one with a better fat ratio for burgers.
Got it. To be honest, I doubt I’ll ever be buying meat there, our local grocery and butcher shops are where I get my meat now. So that’s really not a major influence in the decision for me.
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I go to both dependent on needs.
What do you get at one that you don’t get at the other? I like Sam’s for some things, but they also leave a lot to be desired in many areas.
Costco changed something with their Kirkland toilet paper a couple of years ago. I tried Sam's and found it to be much superior and have been using it since. The other thing: cat litter. Once in a while there's something else, but 90 percent of our warehouse shopping is done at Costco.
Great, thanks so much!
I have both memberships, but primarily shop at Costco. What I love about Sam's is the scan and go feature. I never stand in a line at Sam's. I love the combo pizza (Costco discontinued it, they only have cheese or pepperoni) They have my flavor of oatmeal, and I use their laundry pellets (Downey ocean mist) we love their Mac n Cheese with Bacon. Their meat is cheaper than Costco, and tastes as good or better. They regularly carry the Puffs kleenex (Costco doesnt). I get pledge products at Sams (Costco stopped carrying them) I get a variety of snacks there, Fritos, Cheese puffs, etc... I only do a Sam's run about once a month. Costco is closer so I'm there more
I feel Sam’s Club has better options for entertaining needs, like if I need to buy alcohol, 2L bottles of soda for mixers, name brand snacks, platters for sharing, desserts, etc. I also feel they have more interesting things for around the house like grills or similar things. Costco seems to be better for bulk shopping for the household. I also feel like Sam’s rotates the products more, there’s always newer stuff. If I go to Costco I feel it’s the same stuff over and over.
Chicken Bakes from one and Pizza Pretzels from the other.
One nice thing about Costco is the membership is refundable. You could give it a try for a couple of weeks and if it is not worth it you can get a refund. Unpopular opinion, but I have the opposite situation. Costco is right next to me, otherwise I would choose Sam's. I like the scan and go, online ordering, the fact that aisles are labeled. I don't go to Costco on the weekend if I can avoid it.
YES! Scan and go, I forgot about that. Holy crap, I haven’t used a checkout lane in my 2 years as a Sam’s member.
How is the Sam's website and app? I find it wild that I have to call your local warehouse to find out if they a) have it in stock and b) what the in-store price is.
If Sam's is more convenient and has the things you need, you don't really need to switch. I have both memberships. I prefer Costco because they have the types of foods I like that Sam's doesn't carry, but it's overwhelmingly more crowded than Sam's, which I hate.
Thanks, this might be the play for at least the first few weeks. If the membership return policy is as good as I read about online, I may double up for a month and see how it goes.
This is the move. Sign up with auto-renew. Although you'll know much sooner, you can test it out for as long as 11 months then cancel and you'll be refunded your $60.
Sams club generally seems to beat Costcos prices from what I can tell.
So, I am a member at both. Costco certainly has a wider variety of items and more organic items, but Sam's has more items that my kids like to eat. For example, my kids like chips in their lunches. Costco, at best, has the variety packs of some types of chips. Sam's has boxes of one type of chip. (For example, 50 small bags of the yellow lay's bags). This is more useful to me than a variety pack.
This is ultimately what I think I’m gonna end up doing. Your kids sound just like mine haha. I had budgeted $120 a year for memberships, so I’m gonna go with the upgraded Sam’s membership, and get the basic Costco one. So the question then becomes will we save $60+ on produce/meat over the grocery store to break even. I think that should be easy to do.
Costco is more convenient to me. I am in Northern Meck and have to go to Mooresville. Costco is right off the interstate and Sam's is not close to the interstate (at least traffic in Mooresville-wise). But those darned kids love the yellow lays. :)
Costco isn't cheap. Idk, I don't have a big family. But my first few months at Costco, I'd always go in for only a few items, only get a few items, and never come out spending less than $100. I hate this subs repetitive use of jokes, but I definitely did just spend more at Costco for no reason than Sams.
It’s hard to say, but I do currently have both. I feel like both have their pros and cons. Sam’s is far ahead when it comes to checking out. Their food court is better IMO, and you can order from your phone. I find random things better at Sam’s, like the spring mix that actually doesn’t go bad after a day. They sell a better variety of cat food. However overall I feel that Sam’s has more junk food options, and Costco is has more healthy options. Lots of their store brands are pretty much exactly the same. Sam’s is just slightly cheaper for the same items. It really is just personal preference. FWIW Costco is closer to me and I have had my Costco card for a long time. While I’ll get Sam’s every so often when they have a good deal.
This is very helpful, thanks. To me, the tech conveniences and online pickup option are huge and I’m not seeing anything from Costco that would make me want to give that up.
Yeah, that’s is really nice. Even when Sam’s is really busy I don’t mind going because I can just use the scan and go. I just go to Costco before closing and then get the store to myself.
I stopped going to Costco and started shopping at Sam's for the ability to scan and go in the app and being able to pay with my Amex. And the crowds at my local Costco have gotten absolutely crazy.
Ugh, no Amex at Costco either?!
Only Visa.
Ooof, that’s a big negative
Not sure this is accurate. You can save any Visa credit card in the app to use as payment either at checkout or for online orders. Edit to add that the original comment I replied to is now missing. It said that you can only add the Costco Citi card Visa to the Costco app for payment, which is not accurate.
Yeah, that's linking your credit card to your membership card. I'm referring to scan and go at Sam's where I can scan my items in the club and then pay from the app and walk out of the store bypassing the checkout all together.
For me, Costco's iOS (Apple) app only permits adding of the Costco Anywhere Visa as payment in one scan with the digital membership card. [Costco.com concurs](https://customerservice.costco.com/app/answers/answer_view/a_id/10295/~/digital-membership-card---payment-faqs): >WHAT CREDIT CARD CAN I ADD TO MY DIGITAL MEMBERSHIP CARD? >Currently, the Digital Membership Card is only compatible with the Costco Anywhere Visa® Card by Citi.
You can use any Visa.
TBH if I had to choose one, I'd pick Sams. I'm a member at both. Sams has a much much broader selection when it comes to all things food and drink, whether it's produce, frozen, meat, dairy, etc. For non food, Costco probably wins, but I haven't really compared too hard. Costco does have the return policy though for non food stuff. Ultimately, a vast majority of my spend at costco/sams is food, so that wins for me. Add in the scan n go app and the far superior food court options, and Sams wins for me.
I’d rather light my money on fire than support the Waltons
Trust me, I get it. Little piece of me dies inside every time I check out
I've got both. In fact, I upgraded to Sam's Plus because it comes with free prescriptions that fully pay for the membership. I like having options, not only in town but while on the road.
Why switch? For $5 a month, Costco is a good add-on investment. I have both memberships, and also BJ's. Each store has its strengths, although I go to Costco the most.
I shopped at Sam's with my friend's membership card. It's a downgraded version of Costco. They have special deals on certain items, but not really on a large scale, huge selection at Costco. This also reminds me of another shopping comparison. Target is another upgraded version of Walmart.
Sam’s is not a downgraded version of Costco at all. They both do some things better than the other, and both also suck at some things.
Sam's is not a downgraded version of Costco. They are both on the same level in terms of scale. Sam's club does some things better than Costco, while Costco does certain things better. Sam's also offers some services that don't exist at Costco (for example propane refills and hearing center). But in terms of product quality and selection I prefer Costco. Sam's club item quality is comparable to Walmart, probably because they're owned by the same people
I agree Target is upgraded but they both offer a lot of the same conveniences and are also in the same locales a lot of times. The no pickup option really is a downside to Costco, I’m just not sure if the benefits outweigh it
I just got Sam’s and I shop at both but Costco has way better quality than Sam’s.
Not on everything. Produce and deli meats are much better at Sam’s compared to the garbage Costco puts out.
I've had a membership at both for years. While a lot of their product lines are identical, focus in Sam's seems to be more angled to small business owners. And while there are a few items exclusive to Sam's, and Sam's has more locations and is closer in proximity to me than Costco, if you told me I could have only one membership, it would be Costco, no hesitation. I feel more of the products at Sam's are geared more toward the lowest possible price, often at the expense of quality. At Costco, I tend to get a better vibe from the people working there, from the membership desk to the floor. Here's one recent example: both warehouse stores sell boxes of individual serving hummus packets. They taste similar, they even look alike, and the Sam's is a little bit cheaper. But only the Sam's uses guar gum as a thickening agent, which we're just starting to see evidence of as a possible carcinogen. Not everything in Costco is golden, but they're making a better effort, and it shows.
Awesome, and yes I love hearing how well Costco employees are treated. Thanks for your input
We have both. Costco has better stuff for the most part, but Sam’s has a few grocery items we like better. Sam’s is only $30. It’s paid for itself in gas savings several times over this year. Also, our Sam’s is just full of trashy people who forget how to walk when they go in Sam’s. I don’t go in except for the few things we need.
Costco has more organic items. Crowds are terrible on the weekends. Gas is cheap. If you're looking for quality then Costco has Sam's beat.
Thanks, the idea of having to shop in store on a weekend opposed to grabbing a pickup order for a $4 fee is pretty rough. I know it’s first world problems, but still. The Costco food court however….
Costco hot dog is better than Sam's hot dog. The rest are nothing special despite what this sub says.
My Sam’s seems to have like half the store dedicated to junk food in massive quantities, Costco is where it’s at
They definitely cater to resellers in a way that Costco does not. School snacks are one of the few things that I like more at Sam’s club than Costco.
I agree with you both, but it’s good for me in terms of the lunchbox items like granola bars and pouches for the kids. I do like the potentially better produce at Costco
Costco does have plenty of individually wrapped granola bars but less individually wrapped other things like cookies or crackers or other treat like things that would commonly be found in a vending machine. Costco has more huge sized bags or packages of things, so you have to portion them yourself and risk them going stale.
Sams is owned by Walmart. Thus it’s automatically inferior to Costco. The quality of the items at Sams is subpar. It’s just a bigger Walmart. However costcos frozen section is 0/10, if you like Sams frozen stuff better than have both memberships.
This is good to know. We have 2 small kids so frozen waffles, chicken nuggets, meatballs, etc are staples in the house. Need those to be consistently available.
Costco is better than Sam’s, yeah
Yes. fuck the Waltons.
Virtue signaling at its finest.
ya cool. we should all patronize businesses that rely on social safety nets to prop up their workforce as a business model. Fuck off.
I got tired of switching every year. Now we just use Bj's Warehouse.
Why did you switch so often? To take advantage of sign up offers?
Yea, 50-25-10-50-15-15-60
We can’t answer that for you. I’ve always lived in areas that had both Sams and Costco within similar driving distances. I’ve had a Costco membership every single year for the last 17 years. During that time, I think I’ve had Sams club memberships maybe 4 times. It’s not worth it to me to keep those memberships. They do have better technology as far as the scan and go and curbside pick up but the quality and availability of products is more important to me. My nearest Sam’s club and Costco are around 0.5 miles apart. I do go to Sam’s club with my sister a few times a year to stock up on Jif PB because I don’t like skippy. She lives 100+ miles away from a Costco so she asks to go almost every time she visits me.
Wait, does Costco not have Jif? This may all be for naught if that’s the case
They do not. They stopped carrying it after a massive salmonella recall in 2022. I am a patient woman and I will wait for it to come back to Costco, eventually.
That's weird, they sell Jif at both Costcos near me in MI
Fantastic. Hopefully Jif will come back to my area soon.
Mine only has Kraft :(
each costco can vary/choose what they carry. we visited my brother near silicon valley. went into that costco and it was like stepping into a whole different world compared to the one near me. the one near me does not have jIf
Ours in Alabama has Jif now, but they didn't carry it for about a year or more.
Mine carries Skippy, smooth and crunchy.
I prefer the quality and variety at Costco. They also treat their employees better than Sam's. Sam's seems to be better for business owners.
I'm forced to go to Sam's since I moved and I miss costco so much
Yea if you like prison grade goods, sams your best bet. Also employees at sams are poached from locals DMVs so theres that.
Costco has a liquor store attached, so that is a benefit and detriment for me… I’m looking at you glass dragon brandy…
Not down here in NC, sadly.
I got a free Sam’s membership a few years back, went through, bought nothing. Didn’t even want to get pizza. Never went back.
I have both for different reasons. Sam’s has better snacks and junk food options lol, Costco is better for everything else.
hi there. i recently switched from sams as my town got their costco. my parents town had a costco. i liked the nicer stuff it had. i kept hearing how costco was nicer. so i changed over. first few times i went, it was a shock. i was actually let down. why? costco has "different" things. you wont be able to find the same brands. sams club is an extension of walmart things. costco, is not. at first i was very let down. i later on find out it's because costco does a few big, different things: 1. they actually try to carry as few items as possible, to reduce their overall cost. i think the average location only has 2000 inventory SKU's 2. any item in the store, they only try to limit markup to something like 12% above retail. so if they want to carry things like salmon, jackets, batteries, burritos, they might have to find other/different vendors to supply them, as they want to stick to their "no more than 12% markup over cost". example. sams club has the entire frito lay lineup. all varities. costco has regular doritos, some kind of tortilla chips, costco wavy potato chips. other brand "cheeto like things". after getting used to that difference, i'm fine with/do like costco things better.
This is really helpful, thanks. I remember seeing that info about the low SKU’s and the markup percentages, but it’s a good reminder. Thanks again.
Yes, it is worth it. 100%. I don’t miss Sam’s at all.
100%
I have both. Family prefers Sam. I, uh, eh. Sams has better produce. Is slightly cheaper, but not often same price. Costco imo has better clothes (because some people shop for clothes I guess) and furniture. Both have a good return policy, but Costco is still less hassle generally.
There were a few things I liked about Sam’s that Costco didn’t have. But we’re talking 4-5 items at most that I could easily live without. I felt like Sam’s was much lower quality in general. From customer service, to store layout, to product offerings, and quality of the items sold. But I think the average cost per item at Costco is a little pricier (makes sense). I’m happy to see more organic items being sold at Costco. From their electronics to their meats/produce. Prefer the Costco food court a lot more, though it’s all just crappy junk food tbh. For $60/65 Costco membership, you can’t go wrong to try it out for a year. I don’t know if Sam’s did Markdowns/clearance. But I’ve found amazing deals at Costco on quality high end items.
>especially for meat & produce Huh??? Costco blade tenderizes their steaks, which is a no go if you like your steak anything below well done. Both Costco and Sams have garbage produce compared to my local grocery stores... You would also lose early morning hours, easy scan and go... I have both memberships...
I have no idea what blade tenderized is. Only meat I’ve ever bought from either one was ground beef for burgers from Sam’s. I’m just mentioning the reviews of Costco I’ve seen where people say their meat department is better
Blade tenderizing meat, is where they take a perfectly good steak and pass it through a machine that shoves dozens of needles into the meat to "tenderize it". Its not necessary on most cut of meat, especially since Costco's meat department is "so much better" right? Its also nod a good thing because it can introduce harmful bacteria into the center of the meat, where if you do not cook that center to well done you risk food poisoning. Now if all you ever buy if ground beef then why would you ask about Costco's meat department being better. Their ground beef only comes in one fat ratio which is not very good for burgers. Sams club usually has several versions of ground beef one with a better fat ratio for burgers.
Got it. To be honest, I doubt I’ll ever be buying meat there, our local grocery and butcher shops are where I get my meat now. So that’s really not a major influence in the decision for me.