Community Chat

[Carmie]

It's just the two of us and we have memberships to Sam's and Costco.  Both are nearby and I am in one of them weekly.

They save us money.  Some items I buy at Sam's and others at Costco.   It depends on what it is.

We dropped our BJ's membership.  I like BJ's, but it is further away and it is not cost effective for us to have three memberships.

Most of what I buy is 

vegetables

fruits

salmon

lamb chops

ground beef

paper towels

toilet tissue

facial tissues

paper plates..for camping

seasonal items...summer furniture and swim goggles, swim life vests, coolers

books

gluten free rice crust pizza (once in a while)

walnuts, peanuts, almonds

peanut butter

[chickenbutt]

That BJ store is regional, so we don't have it out here at all.  We have Costco and Sam's.

I had a membership to Sam's years ago when they first hit town.  They were going around businesses giving a free year membership to managers and owners.  I figured I'd give it a try but really didn't like it at all.   The choices were not great and every time I went in there the prices for the same stuff went up.   Their meat concerned me because I remembered how Walmart got busted a couple of times for putting dye in older meat to make it look new and then putting new 'use by' dates on it.   I felt like the quality just wasn't there.  Same for produce.

Been with Costco since the early 80s and they are definitely the best of the bunch.   Even their in-house brand is very good.    Great selections, great brands, and just everything about the stores has been superior.

[deeva]

For us, it’s worth it. Their gas has been 30 cents cheaper since Thanksgiving. They also have great prices on paper products and contact lenses.

[patbz]

Been a (Price Club) Costco member for 37 years and never been close to one (usually 2 -4 hrs away) but we buy in bulk when we are near one (at least monthly).  Meat, laundry,clothes, tires and electronics are favorites.  Five years ago we also joined Sams, primarily for gas and Haagen Das ice cream.  Also use Costco online a lot (bought a two pack of huge oversize novelty sleep jackets for less than what QVC charged for one (even without shipping).

[software]

It's just me and I have a Sam's Club membership.

I like their groceries and I always check out the seasonal offerings - Christmas and summer.    Great jewelry well priced.    Their Starbucks whole bean coffee is very reasonably priced.    They have pretty good deals on clothing but some stores have a better selection than others.   I almost always time my visit to have some lunch and a soft drink.

They also have other services.   Next time I need tires, I'll use Sam's

Same with my prescription glasses

It doesn't pay for me to buy paper products in bulk, I don't use much in the way of paper plates & I don't have a lot of room to store bulk toilet paper or paper towels.    But I do buy their big package of Huggies natural baby wipes.    I use them myself.

I also agree with other posters about batteries, gas and such.

[Bhvbum]

google your question and you will see many Studies have been made on this. Sure you can run all over the place and cherry pick sales, but COSTCO consistently is the best deal.

One reason is because they don’t carry multiple Manufacturers of the same item, You will typically only find one or two but these are the ones that they have seen to be the most popular.

Their clothes are a great deal, especially for kids and men. 

[shortbreadlover]

it is just me and costco is a short distance from me.  ibuy gas, the chicken,  and what is on sale there.  ido buy some weggies but only what i know i can use.  butter is usually a good price as are chips and snacks.

[missy1]

I like Costco better.

[jannabelle1]

We always renew our annual membership to Sam's - I think it's $45 total for the two of us. I don't have the cabinet storage space for buying a lot of items in bulk, but I do have freezer space, so that's what I stock up with. Also books, liquor, some beauty items, and a few food items. I never buy gas at Sam's. Certain items are much less expensive at Sam's, some items make no sense for me to buy because of the size and volume. Hubby and I are retired, so sometimes it's just a shopping experience! I don't count my pennies, so $45/annually doesn't seem like a big deal to me. Aldi's is probably the best place to save $$ if you don't have a large family.

[JYWilliams]

I have a Sams Prime membership and I like it. I get free shipping on the things I order and that saves me a lot. On gas and shipping. I no longer need to go to the actual store I just order what I need on line.( Plus the store is in another town anyways.) The items I order in bulk saves me money also.