Warehouse clubs: What does the hive think?

We have both Costco and Sam's memberships. We've been using the sam's member credit card for years for cash back on literally everything we purchse. The big thing is to cross shop. Sometimes it is cheaper, sometimes its not. We cross shop both costco and sams to walmart/aldi/kroger etc to get the right deal. The cash back used tobe a single payment in Feb for the previous year which was nice. We'd get $700-900 back at once. Now it's doled out monthly as Sam's credit to use on purchases. So there are times that we don't pay anything for a $80 bill. 

I am excited to see the Costco in Daytona when it opens. I have never been to one but its sounding like I might convert once they open if its as good as you all are saying. 

Sams Club user here. We buy their whole pork loins on the regular for $2.99 a pound and eat one a month. Meat is way cheaper at our Sams. We buy the big logs of ground beef, cut them in 1/4s and freeze them.

Like already mentioned stuff like allergy meds are a good deal. Our kids drink Boost and the price is good too. Kids bagged snacks are a mixed bag, you have to check the unit price against what the local grocery stores are pricing at. Laundry detergent is also another deal, but we have three kids and do a ton of washing so we need the big bulk bottles.

For us it seems chips and bread are no longer a good deal at Sams, I got to Aldi for them now.

I've also bought our last three car batteries there, usually using rewards points from our plus membership. And of course cheaper gas.

Our town/city is relatively small and so Costco has decided they don't want to compete with our centrally located Sam's Club. Which is a bummer, because I too loath the Walton style of business. 

Having had BJ, Costco and Sam's Club membership, if I had access to all three but had to choose one, it'd be Costco. BJs and Sams both lack the variety, and Costco has more vegetarian options as well as more prepared food options. 

Curtis73 (Forum Supporter) said:

Driven5 said:

Living in Costco's home town, we don't have any other warehouse clubs around.

Note that Costco doesn't just refund your extra $60 for the 'executive' membership. They give you 2% back. So if you spend less than $3k/yr there, you get less than the $60 premium back and it's not worth it. If you spend more than $3k/yr the upgrade at least pays for itself. If you spend more than $6k/yr, as we generally seem to, it pays for the entire membership... And that's on top of the great prices and cheaper gas. We have the Costco Visa as well, which adds even more back.

This hasn't been the case for me.  Right in my paperwork, one of the perks is that if you don't save $60 worth, they refund the difference.  Now, of course, it's on their honor, but they track the costs of the same items sold elsewhere, but two of the years I've been a member, I got a gift certificate for a small amount with an explanation of how I didn't save enough.  First year it was $22 and change if I recall correctly.  This year was about $10.

I forgot about that part, since it has never applied to us. Still, it's a good clarification to make that they don't just refund you the additional $60 membership upgrade with a gift card, as implied previously. It's only if you don't make your $60 back from the 2% rewards that they'll effectively just drop you to the standard membership and refund the difference. It makes it a risk-free way to find out if the 'executive' membership is worthwhile for you.

I'm a big fan of BJ's....Wholesale Club.  We shop there quite a bit.  To me there's no difference in Sams Club and it's closer to my house.  Sorry I'm no help. 

In reply to Driven5 :

For us, the fuel savings is enough. It was enough for Sams when they had a club right here by us, and the one by the wife's old school. Saving 30 cents per gallon, every fillup every week helps tremendously. Back then she was driving just over 60 miles per day, 5 days a week for 36 weeks. At 30-ish mpg (she's a bit of a terrible driver), that's $3 per week, or $108 per year just in fuel. 

RonnieFnD said:

Mndsm said:

 

 

Other than the absolute mass insanity that is Costco in central Florida- I quite enjoy Costco. 

You are a brave man, I was gonna go get a Costco membership in Brandon but didn't even park the car once I got in the parking lot.

So, there's TWO secret costcos by me. The Altamonte Costco that's mostly civilized for some reason- and the Business Costco on south OBT that's actually 100% palatable because it does next to 0 storefront business- caters to all the restaurants and whatever in the area. Still open to regular ass costco people like me, except I can buy a whole ass frozen sheep at it. 

I have a Sam's Plus membership. They are about a mile from my office. We get most of our paper products and office supplies from them as well as groceries. The plus membership gets me through the doors between 7 a.m. and 10 a.m. before the cattle call of the general public. It also gets me several cards for employees so they can shop there as they wish without having to pay for the membership themselves. 

It's just me and the fiance (and 3 dogs), but we are big fans of Costco. Got a membership as soon as they opened here in OKC a few years ago. We also don't care for the Waltons and try to do as little business with them as possible. 

We typically wait for sales and buy HUGE amounts of meat/paper products/vitamins/fish oil/dog food at a time. Also other things like their olive oil, cordon bleu's, etc. The better half just went yesterday, $545 trip. Then we try to use Aldi for fresh veggies when we can, but they aren't always stocked up. 

We've tried Crest Foods (a local OKC grocery chain), but it's HORRIFICALLY expensive. That's the price you pay for having their own butcher's in each store, etc. 

I belong to both Costco and BJs,

At Costco, the Top Tier Gasoline prices, propane tank refills, free air pumps for your tires, $1.50 hot dog and soda deal, bulk laundry detergent, clothes and so much more make it all worth it. I want to scream every time I go there during a busy time. The placement of the gas pumps often makes traffic back up out onto the street- clearly visible starting to happen here, if you click through the link.. People walk slowly and erratically through the store or simply stop in the middle of the aisle and stare around, as if confused that they're shopping. The savings still are good enough that it's worth the aggravation. If I want to, I can order a bunch of stuff online that they don't even have in the store and get it shipped to me. Hell, they just put a drop ship 10X12 shed up online for about at least $1000 less than I can get it elsewhere. I'd have to put it together, but I'm seriously considering it.

I joined BJs because the Costco near me hadn't been built yet. BJ's had a location near where my office was when I was commuting, and gasoline was cheaper there. We've kept the membership there because BJs carries the cat food we buy in bulk and some other items we often buy. It's also often easier to get in and out of quickly when we need other things. I'm not sure if it's making sense to continue to get a membership here in terms of savings, but it's probably close to break even and offers more variety in selection by having both. 

So I ended up pulling the trigger on Sam's. 

We've actually got a BJ's going in right nex tothe Sam's and the aforementioned Costco going in one exit away, so we'll see what happens come renewal time.

Oh and I fully intend to never set foot in the store if I can help it. I'll be doing curbside or delivery unless I simply feel my blood pressure is too low, then maybe I'll go in and look around.

Both Sam's & Costco members here.

We solely keep the Sam's membership for the gas. The location is MUCH easier to access, it's much less busy than Costco, and the gas seems to be a little cheaper as well.

We like Costco so much we ended up with a Costco credit card. Depending on what you buy, there's up to 6% cash back. 

As someone else mentioned, the optical dept is crazy cheap. Just got a brand new pair of glasses for free (with VSP vision insurance). I actually had $20 of insurance "money" left over but I didn't feel like spending it. 

If you live in a state that allows them to sell liqour, most of the Kirkland branded booze is from higher-end distilleries at dirt cheap prices.

edit: the Costco brand motor oil is pretty darn good, AND it occasionally goes on sale. 

Costco Member myself (executive membership) and the perks are nice compared to the standard membership.

There are deals to be had at Costco.  The pharmacy is a good deal (but not better than Mark Cubans Cost+)  The eyewear is very reasonable if you don't have insurance coverage.  

BUT be a smart shopper.  There are some not-so-great deals and some downright overpriced things as well.  Also don't get sucked into the bulk purchasing of things.  No one needs 6 heads of romain lettuce.    

I have a costco membership, but I should really cancel it.

I dont buy in enough volume to really get much advantage from it.  Its berkeleying madness to visit.  And its a very clear example of extremely wasteful consumerism.  I have never seen the pumps at costco without a line.  Waiting that long to fill up isn't worth it to save $1.10

But berkeley those chicken bakes are so good.

In reply to dean1484 :

I eat a lot of salads - I buy a lot of romaine.  

Costco has a great return policy.  We hated out $1200 foam mattress and they told us to bring it back after 3 weeks.  

dean1484 said:

No one needs 6 heads of romain lettuce.    

A guy with a gallon of ranch dressing may disagree

Costco for cheap 0w20 synthetic motor oil 

..and stuffed peppers. 

Life is too short to wait in Costco lines for fuel.  But, on the other hand....

Glasses, Mobil1 by the cart load, TP, liquor, etc ... load the van.

A somewhat adjacent question:  Does anyone else's local Costco sell diesel?

As far as I have experienced, the only Costco I've ever been to with diesel is the one in Florence, KY.  They're usually $0.40-$0.50 per gallon cheaper than anywhere else and I can work out my schedule most times to go when it's not busy, so that pays for the membership all by itself there.  But I've never seen another Costco with diesel at the pumps.

Sam's member here, we use the one at the hated exit in Daytona. It's out of my way, since I live in deland, so I have to really plan a trip. That makes the Costco more attractive since I work next door to One Daytona. I'll see what it's like when it opens.

We hardly eat any meat, so there's no savings there for my family. In 20 years I might have bought meat 5 times, probably less. I do buy fish occasionally, price is very good. What we do buy regularly are fresh and frozen fruit, veggies, cheese, eggs, paper towels and TP, detergent and gallons of vinegar for laundry, salt for the water softener, batteries, and unsalted mixed nuts (which I eat almost daily). All of these things are far cheaper than elsewhere, and the produce is very fresh, more so than the grocery stores.

I rarely bother with the Sam's club gas, since I'm not going to drive up there just to put fuel in the tank and I don't like to que for gas. Besides, I get $0.15 a gallon off at the pump when I use my Shell card, still doesn't quite match the price at the discount stations, but it's top tier gas.

Very good point made here on the differences of the Costco employee treatment versus the Waltons. That matter matters to me.

In reply to wae :

I've never seen a Costco that sold diesel

Wife and I are Costco members - no kids.

We primarily buy their chicken breasts, TP, paper towels, booze and beer, boxes of 100 calories snacks for lunches, and seltzers.  Otherwise we browse, get some odds n ends.  Their butter is a good price, their meat is usually good price and always real good quality.  A $12.99/lb steak at Costco is leagues better than a $9.9/lb steak from my local Kroger.

Gas is hit or miss.  The only vehicle I own that I regularly pay for the gas in is a diesel, the wife has a PHEV so like 2 tanks a year, and my work credit card doesn't work at Costco so I dont put gas in my company truck there.  Costco in Wisconsin is only a few cents cheaper than most of the local stations, sometimes more.  Different from state-to-state.

Before you drop money on a membership check out Gordon Foods.  We get a few things there like cheese in 5 lb bags which we divide up and freeze.

triumph7 said:

Before you drop money on a membership check out Gordon Foods.  We get a few things there like cheese in 5 lb bags which we divide up and freeze.

GFS is excellent, if you have one nearby, and it's free to get in.

I used to work for them. There are some pretty incredible deals to be had, especially if you're willing to do a little work yourself. 

Most of the meat they sell is "no roll" or non graded meaning, it ain't USDA cert. Probably former dairy cows and whatever. Not peter luger, but tastes fine. You're also going to have to do a little butchery yourself, but when I'm getting whole tenderloins at sub 10$/lb ain't no one complaining. 

One thing to ask about- their "fresh to frozen" Stores have a policy to freeze every fresh meat product that's scheduled to go to date. These are sold for half off or so, usually. You can get some SCARY good deals on them. I've walked out of there for 10lb burger chubs for like $5 before.