Sams Club Versus Costco

Costco..by far!!! I've been member of both and I love costco....it's kind of like comparing Walmart to Target regarding selection...a little more selection at Costco and a little nicer.

Hi Sarah,

I have been Costco member for 5 years. Last year I tryed Sam's because I thought it would be cheaper. I went there twice and it was enough to show me that Cotsco has better quality products and the price is about the same. I love the Kirkland Costco brand. It is cheaper and great quality from the food to cleaning products. As an example, the detergent Kirkland was ranked the best in the Consumer Report some months ago.

tough choice.
i have and will keep both.
Costco pays for itself through my AMEX cashback and Ozarka water (I am a water jug and Costco water is significantly cheaper).
Sams is generally cheaper and right by my house, so it is convenient.
Costco though has coupons that make the prices good sometimes.
Sams has more traditional items than Costco. Sams is geared towards everybody and every culture. Costco is geared more towards the Asian American culture.

You could try both out for a while to decide which you like. they give a refund on membership.

I personally use Sam's right now. My husband and I wanted to check out Costco to see how it was, we wanted to just browse the store and see what they have and check out the prices. When we walked in the door, the person standing their to check for membership wouldn't even let us in to "visit" the store as a potential new customer.

I'm not a big fan of WalMart, but I have never been treated that way at Sam's. If Costco would have simply been more customer friendly, we'd probably have gotten a membership there.

From what I can tell Costco is nicer and a little more upscale than Sams. You get what you pay for. There are certain things I get at both places. My mom is a member of Costco and I am at Sams. We shop together and get what we need at each place. That way we don't have to buy both memberships.

I have a membership at both. I think Costco is cleaner, has nicer things, and is a bit more upscale than Sam's club. But I have the Sam's membership because they sell a few things that Costco doesn't like Planter's Cashews and Pampers Diapers. Sam's is closer to my house and Costco is closer to work. So whenever I get the time to shop, I have the convenience of both. I suggest trying both out for a year and see if you get your money back. If not, then you have a better idea which membership you should cancel.
You may be able to get a day trial pass to see what the stores are like. I already had a Costco membership and wanted to try Sam's. We went into the Sam's in Garland and while they didn't give us a day pass, they did let us browse around and when we found stuff we needed, we went back to the membership desk and got a membership so we could pay for the items.

I vote Sams ($35). Cosco ($50) is more expensive and I find that I don't save enough to make up for the extra fee...so why drive that much further when in the end I don't even save?

As far as products...Cosco is larger so there is more of a selection. With that said Sams has still carries everything that I ever bought at Cosco. With either store I find that unless the size of the package is an extra large size then the price isn't any better than a regular grocery store. It is great for produce if you go through a lot of fruit and veggie. It is also great for buying cheese in bulk (cheese freezes very well).

I also prefer Sam's cakes...cosco's looks like the decorator tried to make record time for decorating...and they got my cake order wrong so that makes the cake score 0 to 1 (cosco v sams).

A plus for Cosco is that they have coupons and Sams doesn't, but the coupons never seemed to help my bill much if at all.

I vote Costco. Yes, they want to make a profit but the business practices they have are more ethical. I also like the Kirkland paper goods, dish detergents and some of the Kirkland staple goods for stocking up.

I am biased because I am anti Walmart. I hate their policies and business practices. I once had a membership to Sams and I was not impressed. I refuse to walk into any business owned by Walmart/Sams.

Walmart/Sams goes cheap. You get what you pay for. They crush their suppliers to get lower prices therefore who pays.....YOU do.... because the suppliers cut quality. You have to go back to return or purchase more of the same low quality product.

I know this because we are in the raw material industry and suppliers tell us when they are bidding a job for Wally World, they want the cheapest thing they can get and lowest quality that will meet the minumim codes. There have been numerous news articles online as well as special programs on CNBC financial channel which details the practices.

Check it out.....

I know I will get hate mail as I usually do....I am just stating my opinion in the forum. If you are happy with Wally World and Sams ....GO for it.

I have a membership at both, but if I had to choose it would be Costco.

First off, their fruits, veggies and meats are much better quality. The last couple of times I bought at Sam's they weren't very good, especially the meat.

Second, Costco adds 1 year to the manufacturer's warranty for electronics. We've bought two TV's, a printer, an IPOD and a very nice camera there and having that extra warranty is great peace of mind (we also got a second year added b/c we got their American Express card which adds another year to the warranty).

Third, I LOVE their premade meal department. They have everything from pasta to fish and it is all good. I usually pick up one every time I go just for and easy dinner. Their bread is fantastic also!!

Last, the price difference as compared to Sam's is minimal. Some things they are higher and some they are lower, but all in all they are just pennies apart. I do like the Kirkland stuff, though, and that makes some things even cheaper at Costco.

Hope this helps!!

we have a membership to both, costco is what I perfer and sam's becuase it is right around the corner from the office for our business and it makes no sense to make an extra trip just to get supplies for the office. I agree with most of the posters here for all the reasons that they posted about Costco and would like to add one more. I LOVE their return policy!

I agree also get both if you can swing it and see what best suites you and your families needs.