COSTCO vs. SAM'S CLUB: Which is BETTER?
For more great Instant Pot recipes, please visit InstantPotEasy.com
I LOVE Costco and Sam’s Club for vastly different reasons and here are just a few! Do you prefer one to the other? I like both …
You might also like
Leave a Reply
Want to join the discussion?Feel free to contribute!
Why can’t our Costco cafe cafe carry chopped up onions for the hot dogs?o
Seems some people getting gas at Sam’s Clubthink they can come into the pump area any which way they want to. I haven’t seen that happening at Costco. I can get to the restroom area quicker at Sam’s than Costco. Either, not so bad on weekdays as it is on weekends.
Clothing – Both seem to carry only small and medium.
They both have good products. Depends what one is looking for. I shop at both:).
Great video, Thank you😊
I'm NW OF Gainesville FL. You'd think Costco would have a place as large as Gainesville, but I hear they go by the income level for the area. The great news is Biden is working hard to bring Costco to every corner.
I actually find the snack section at Costco far more interesting.
Sam's Club has long aisles of boring snacks that never go on decent sales and that I usually wouldn't buy even if they did. Costco on the other hand will occasionally have their sales on interesting treats and snacks that are hard to find elsewhere and those sales are often steep enough to justify trying something new and "fancy".
That being said, Everyone is looking for different things. That is why both stores can thrive like they do.
Where Costco Wins:
1) Bakery. Their bakery is far better than Sam's Club, or just about any other grocery store out there.
2) Experience. Honestly, Costco just is a more enjoyable place to be.
3) Customer Service. How many of you have spoken with a Sam's club worker who clearly hated their job and would obvious rather be ANYWHERE else than where they currently are? Maybe that is just the Local Sams Clubs in my are. Also, getting through the exit lines take 3X as long
4) Costco Sales are more fun and are at a steeper discount. Both clubs have periodic sales, but the Costco sales offer much steeper discounts and are on a wide variety of items. Many of which I would not normally buy (because of the price), but because of the sale, they are in my price range and are a fun try. I am excited to see the new sales at Costco. I can't remember a sale at Sam's Club that made me change my mind about buying an item.
5) Food court food availability. At Costco, they are making fresh pizzas and other food items right up until closing. At Sams Club, they often stop baking as early as 3 hours before closing.
Where Sams Club wins:
1) Certain Staples including: Flour, dried beans, and rice. Those are some of the few items that are actually cheaper at Sams Club than at grocery stores.
I go to each store for different reasons. If I need Flour, dried beans or rice (and sometimes onions or certain types of shredded cheese as well), I go to Sams Club. If I need a cake, fresh mozzarella, parmesan cheese, specific bakery goods, or one of their fun items that are currently on a significant sale, then I go to Costco.
Fun fact. All Gasoline in an area comes from the same source. They come from the same production facility. The only difference is that each gas station company has its own formula of detergent they add to the gas.
In other words, Shell Gas does not necessarily come from Shell oil refineries. They come from the cheapest (and often nearest) refinery. If Shell is the cheapest option for the gas stations in you city, all gas stations will be selling gasoline produced at a Shell refinery. Exon Mobile, Circle K, and any other regional brand will all be selling Shell gasoline. They will just add in their own detergent.
Major con for both stores:
They are expensive. For the vast majority of things I buy, Costco and Sams Club cost more than the local grocery stores.
I'm noticing there are differences between what you're saying and my own experience. For instance, they check for membership IDs at the local Sam's club here in South Florida. Also, we can scan our own items including with the use of the gun, though there is usually an associate right there assisting us. Another difference is I've never bought more than one gallon of milk at a time at Costco.
Apple Pay doesn't work at Costco unless you have some other Visa card saved in it. Since Apple Pay is Mastercard, you can't use it at Costco, not even at the pump.
I have both memberships and have had both for many years. True, that they have different items, but overall, Sam's is cheaper for the same or comparable items. Sam's has more options in their food court – their hotdog combo is cheaper, but doesn't taste as good. Sam's has more pizza options than Costco. I think their pizza is bigger and better than Costco's. I use my Costco card mainly for in-store purchases and restaurants. Sam's gives you more cash back on gas than Costco by 1%. This adds up quick. I always do price comparisons on the apps while shopping at one or the other. Sam's avocado cups for the same amount is cheaper by more than 50%. I usually go through Groupon to renew my Sam's card each year. One year I only paid $10.00. I also love that Sam's is open later than Costco on Saturdays.
I LOVE my Sam's Club. The variety has me hooked, and the scan and go solidified the deal. I use my Sam's cash to pay for my membership and the other perks are awesome. It all depends on your personal preferences/needs but for me Sam's is my clear winner. Happy shopping all!
Sam’s club for sure. The app for scan to go you can’t beat. Also at Sam’s club you don’t need to be a member to eat at the cafe.
When I go to Sam’s I do have to show my card to get in.
I shopped at Sam’s Club for many years, then last year, I swapped to Costco. After 3 months there, I canceled my membership, got refunded and went back to Sam’s Club. Here’s my reasons:
1. Sam’s club was much closer, and I get gas cheap there, plus they have a car wash.
2. Costco was way too crowded. Sam’s club was busy but Costco was so busy I’d have to be very careful not to run into someone.
3. The inside of Costco was bigger, so if I forgot something and had to go across the store to get it, it tired me quicker and I had all that foot traffic to go through again.
4. I’m so used to Sam’s Club that I mostly know where everything is. I never learned Costco even after 3 months.
5. For items I buy at Sam’s Club, it seemed Costco had a substitute that was higher in sugar.
6. I like the choices at Sam’s Club. I had to search hard to find things I wanted at Costco.
7. I typically shop Sam’s club for high quantity items. I don’t really like their hamburger, so I buy many items at Aldi. Aldi is also close by me.
So far I have resisted both Cosco and Sam's Club. I did visit a Sam's with a friend once (or twice) but it did not call to me. The prices at the next door Wallmart are a few cents more than a local discount grocery chain. I can't see paying a fee to shop at either one – Cosco or Sam's when for free I get a better deal at our local discount chain store.
I understand that you ask other people to pick up items from Costco because you’re busy and out of convenience, but some people are sharing their memberships that way. It’s unfair to members that pay for their memberships and see that others are enjoying the same savings and benefits without having to pay is not right. Also, on the business side, Costco is able to keep their prices low because of the membership revenue that they collect.
Thanks, now I may take advantage of the discounted Sam's Club membership.
I love how SC actually has color coordinared pricing making it easier to see what's on sale and not using some last digit code for us to know if things are on clearance etc…
Thank you for the video. On the quality of the Clothes they are recycle material I just stop buying them there for that reason. Your better off buying clothes at other stores. But Walmart has the same thing with Clothes you really have to pay attention, because some clothes are 89% cotton or other and the rest is recycle. Just keep a close Eye if you decide to buy clothes at Sam's and Walmart again. Thank you ounce again for the video and have a great weekend.
I have both memberships.
My con is that they are at least an hour and a half away.
The ONLY reason I renewed by Sam's Club membership this year was Scan N Go. If only they would offer the exact same service at Walmart with Walmart+.
I LOVE using my Scan and Go, so much easier and faster!
I belong to Sams and my nextdoor neighbor belongs to Costco. I'm disabled so I added my neighbor to my Sams Club and she shops for me. We are both single so we will share/split items that make the larger quantities more practical. We also each have a small stand-alone freezer so we each have room to store extra quantities.
Your assessments of each club are right on.
There are 2 Costcos and 3 Sams Clubs in my metro area and they are all always busy!
Great video. Thanks!
Weird… I was just looking at Sams Club this afternoon, even though Costco is closer.
If both carry the EXACT same item Sam's Club is an average of $1-$2 cheaper!!!
Costco's target demographic is people.
Sam's target demographic are businesses.
Just an observation all throughout the video you use the word “like” consistently as a filler word.
We have both cards also and find different things at both our dog eats the Fresh Pet refrigerated food from Costco. But we love that you can get fresh quality Sushi at Sam's and also can order a custom cake online at Sam's. Costco still makes you go in at least 1 day before you need to handwrite a cake order form and come back the day you need it. My con for both is limit how many people are shopping on one card it is not unusual to see 12 people with 2 or 3 carts on the same card in my area at both stores.