i've had a membership at costco for about 13 years - both in LA and in Pgh. I LOOOOOOOVE COSTCO!!! I've never been in a Sam's. I've also heard the same comments about Sam's vs. Costco. Costco is cleaner, laid out better, and treats its employees better!
as for college students - i agree storage would be the big thing. we've purchased a small refrigerator for our bar area. there's a huge office supply area in our costco.
off the top of my head, i buy our cereal (kashi and nature's post), english muffins, raw almonds & walnuts, dried fruit, soda water, lots of meat (chicken breasts, organic ground meat, salmon, shrimp, scallops), sometimes fruit (apples, sliced mango, blueberries), organic peanut butter, coffee, toilet paper, paper towels, kleenex, protein powder, dishwashing powder/liquid, laundry detergent.
i just made a recent shopping trip so things are fresh in my mind from my list.
I hate Sams. I belong to COSTCO where I get their cleaning supplies (love their popup wipes, laundry detergent and dishwashwer gel) i like their meats i love the trident salmon burgers and the frozen lean beef (in one pound tubes) I like that I can get certain produce there and old fashioned oatmeal
I also belong to BJs because it's very close to my house and I get a few things there but if Costco was closer I'd drop the Bjs membership now.
I used to have a Sam's membership but let it run out. 50 dollars is a lot to pay if you don't shop there all the time. With only 2 of us the bulk items are just too much. My son and DIl has a Costco membership and like that much better. They send you a coupon book and she says it pays for it's with the free coupons of things. If I want something I go with them to Costco a few times a year. They do have really nice things around Christmas time
I belong to Costco and I love it. Even if I didn't shop there, I'd still have a membership. I got my car insurance through them and it was the cheapest by far.
I believe Costco has better quality items and really when I buy stuff at Costco, I am happy with my purchases. I know Costco does try to look out for the best stuff and ensure quality.
Even though there are only 2 of us, I shop Costco every week. I buy my 2.5 lb bags of spinach there, my 6 lb bags of frozen strawberries and my 3 lb bags of frozen blueberries. I also buy bananas and a few other things there on a regular basis. I think Costco is one of the best things I've done and I had a membership when I was single
My husband and I had a Costco membership many years ago but let it run out because we didn't really buy things in bulk and mostly just used it for their meat and other foods. We loved it when we had it, though.
Now I'm trying to decide between Sam's and Costco because I'm thinking I'll want to buy diapers in bulk. Does anyone know which club is better for baby things? I won't be working for the next year so money will be VERY scarce!
One thing you can do to compare the 2 as well is to look at their website although I have a disclaimer on Costco. Stuff on their website usually costs more than in the store. We recently bought a dehumidifier and in the store, it was $50 less than on their website. Also they don't always have things on their website in every store but it does give a general idea of what you'd see in the store. Kirkland brand is also awesome.
lisamarie~ from my experience sams diapers are not so great. They leak and fall apart. I have never used the costco ones, but if you have a friend with a membership maybe go with them to buy the diapers to decide for yourself before getting a membership
Lisamarie, I have to agree with Candy. I used diapers from Sam's club but it was not good at all. If you go to Babies R Us or Toys R Us, they have their own diaper called "Especially for Baby".. That's what I used for my DD and she's only 2.5 years old now and just potty trained. They have regular ones and Supreme ones and get the supreme ones. They also have special deal going on for that diapers quite often... They are surely cheaper than Huggies or Pampers and works better than both, in my opinion.
Last edited by taragettingthin; 06-26-2008 at 01:39 PM.
Family members use Costco in CA and swear by the Kirkland brand paper products. I have been in both stores with friends/family and have to agree that Costco is just a brighter, cleaner store. I would have a membership if we had one close-by.
Well, looks like Costco is the winner by far! Costco is about 1-2 mile closer to my house than Sam's Club so that helps too. Thanks everyone! I will be getting the membership sometime this weekend.
Now I'm trying to decide between Sam's and Costco because I'm thinking I'll want to buy diapers in bulk. Does anyone know which club is better for baby things? I won't be working for the next year so money will be VERY scarce!
I bought my niece a box of Huggies ($35) at Sam's (160 diapers) thinking that would be a good deal. Then I saw the same box at Babies R Us for only a dollar more ($36) and thought that was odd. I expected the difference to be greater. At Target I could buy 4 packages of 40 of the same diapers for $3 less total than Sam's ($8X4=$32).
We loved Costco, then they left our area.
Pace came into the area and we hated Pace.
Then Sam's came in. Better than Pace, not as good as Costco.
Then Costco came back, but in a nearby town, long drive, heavy traffic. We tried it for a year, but it was just too far away - and that was before gas prices went up this last time. But it was just too far away and we didn't go.
Now BJ's is also here, almost across the street from work. I haven't been in yet. I haven't heard a comparison of the two, although I know folks who've shopped both.
Editing to add: I don't want to imply that there aren't savings to be had. We have a long list of items that we buy regularly at Sam's and know we are saving by doing so. No matter where you shop, you need to know what's a good deal and what isn't. Not being diaper consumers ourselves, we didn't know what a good price was.
I have a Costco and a BJ's here. For a year I went to Costco and It was okay. They really dont have many name brand items and some of their meat was really gross. When our membership expired we decided to try Bj's. Let me tell you...BJ's is 100% better then Costco (my op)! I will never go back to Costco again. Bj's is cleaner, it has more stuff. Their fruit section has alot of variety. Costco had a floor stand for a fruit section. CHOOSE BJ'S...YOU'LL LOVE IT!
I have a Costco and a BJ's here. For a year I went to Costco and It was okay. They really dont have many name brand items and some of their meat was really gross. When our membership expired we decided to try Bj's. Let me tell you...BJ's is 100% better then Costco (my op)! I will never go back to Costco again. Bj's is cleaner, it has more stuff. Their fruit section has alot of variety. Costco had a floor stand for a fruit section. CHOOSE BJ'S...YOU'LL LOVE IT!
see that's interesting... our COSTCO is cleaner than our BJs and i've been to two different Costcos here. I belong to both Costco and BJS and would give up BJs before Costco.
