Sams Vs. Costco

Costco is 10 times better. I got rid of my Sam's club membership even though they are much closer and I now drive 30 min one way to go to Costco because of the quality, selection and organic items. They seem cleaner and more green conscience. I try not to support the Walmart/Walton family and what they stand for as long as I can afford to. Plus my relatives work for Costco corporate in Washington and have been treated well over the years.

Here's a couple of online articles on Sam's vs Costco.

http://money.aol.com/consreports/smartshopping/home_garde...

http://household-tips.thefuntimesguide.com/2007/01/sams_v...

I dont have a membership to Costco, but I am taking the time to vent about Sam's. I own a business and so I shop at Sam's a lot for supplies. I can buy in bulk and get a discount on things like cups and candy.

BUT - some of their items are more expensive than Walmart! What is my membership for?! A beverage cooler was $10 more expensive at Sam's, same exact cooler I bought at Walmart the week before! I needed a battery for my truck, cost more at Sam's. I buy 50lb bags of sugar (for shaved ice) and if I were to go to Walmart and buy the 10lb bags it would be cheaper!

I dont get it. I am seriously rethinking the whole membership thing. Maybe I just need to visit Costco. ;)

I agree with Mary, it is not an apples to apples comparison. You really have to figure out what types of food/items you are most interested in and purchase most often. If you generally purchase the more typical name brands you may want to go with Sams Club. Costco carries the organic brands along with some of the national brands. That being said, our family has a Costco membership and I do find their stores to be clean and well kept both inside and out. This cannot always be said of all Sams Club locations.

Actually, they are more apples and oranges versus being easily comparable. Although, my experience has been for the basic dry goods (e.g., white vinegar, baking soda, dog food, etc.) Sam's is cheaper. But, the quality of Costco's other products is higher and they have alot healthier food choices - e.g., organic produce, natural almond and peanut butter, GF food items, organic chicken, etc. I am actually a member of both and still find that it's worthwhile. So, you really need to consider what the major items are that you will buy most often and compare prices on those - you can go to either club without a membership - you just can't buy at the shelf price. I am not aware that Costco has a teacher's discount. I go to Costco more often because I buy more fresh stuff there.

I have not been to Costco yet. I was looking to see which was better as well. I have a Sam's membership and I used it a lot for diapers. But now with Amazon Mom I buy them there. But Sam's has a good return policy as well. They told me that I could return anything I was not satisfied with.

I havent been to a Costco, but loved my Sams membership. They have great produce and pretty much, every thing we need. A friend uses Costco and from hearing him talk, I wouldnt like Costco as much. Also, our Sams is MUCH closer anyway. Both should allow you to be a guest for a day so you can comparison shop before you join

Costco by far!!! I used to be a member of Sam's and Costco is way better.

We have memberships for both. We use Sams more for our business (trash bags, paper products, cleaning products). And there are a couple of things that I can find at Sams that I can't at Costco. For instance, yeast. I bake a lot of bread.
For our family needs, I tend to shop at Costco more. I like the quality of the foods they offer. Also, Costco sends out a book of coupons. It's hard to beat the prices when you add the coupon. You don't even have to clip them. Just bring the book. They scan one and it takes care of all the discounts. If you upgrade to the premier membership, you get a percentage back of your purchases. If you shop there frequently enough, it can be worth it.

I think Costco has better food.

COSTCO. Costco offers better products all around and has some great deals on toys, etc during the holidays. They have a good return policy. They have excellent produce and meat that appear to have a longer shelf life. I don't think that Sam's offers much more than Walmart does and last year I was finding better prices at Target and Walmart. I actually have a membership to both for business reasons and because Sam's is much closer. But, every year I buy much more at Costco. Also, if you need baby wipes, theirs are the best ever!

I prefer Costco because of the larger selection of organic and "healthy" foods.

I have been to both many times, the prices tend to be better at SAM'S for most things. Overall they are very similar. I however like SAM'S versus Costco, reason was I have encountered much better and friendlier service at SAM'S then at Costco.

I am a member of both clubs. Even though Sam's is closer to me I find myself driving to Costco much more often. I feel like things are a little higher quality at Costco and I always feel like I get out of there much faster, even on days when they are really busy. The best part about Costco is their satisfaction guarantee. If you are not happy with your purchase, they refund your money (this guarantee made me feel better about trying their generic brand diapers - which we LOVE). Next year, I will most likely give up the Sam's membership.

Costco! I'm not against walmart in any way. I actually do my grocery shopping at Walmart. But when it came time to renew my sam's, we opted not to and went with costco instead. It's cleaner, i like their selection better, and just over all feel for me is better.

Personally, I LOVE Costco's. The store is clean, the quality of the items sold is outstanding. I love their store brand Kirkland. There are no hassles when it comes to returns. What makes me go back time after time is their incredible customer service. They really focus on making us, the customer, feel like priority. Plus, they have amazing samples :) I don't know if they have a teacher discount. Oh, and almost every month they send out a coupon book that you can use to save even more.