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My brother is a Sam's member and he and I talk about the differences all the time. There are only slight advantages and disadvantages to either. If you're happy with Sam's, stick with it. Costco is just closer and easier to get to for me.
We never considered Sam's as we are anti-Walmart so of course are anti-Sam's.
As a family of four there are definitely some things that are much cheaper in bulk, and some that are more convenient.
Cheaper...toilet paper, paper towels, paper plates, seasonings, juice boxes, organic milk, canned and packaged fruits and veggies, fresh veggies and fruits.
Convenient....packaged meals ( like Korean BBQ tacos we tried this week ) Cheesecake Factory cheesecake, steaks, seafood, frozen prepared meals ( they make this great chicken and rice that seems to be seasonal ) bread.
We use their bakery dept when we order bday cakes.
Decent book, movies and music department, but you have to compare prices.
Good kids clothes, good towels, pillows, sometimes good deals on outdoor things like BBQ's and patio furniture.
As others said, free food samples and good pizza to take home.
I'm trying to figure out whether a Costco membership is worth the price of the membership. We would be buying things such as diapers and other grocery staples, as well as possibly gas. Their pharmacy is also the only one in Albuquerque that carries a specific product that was recommended for a medical condition that I have.
Definitely! I've shopped Sam's, BJ's and Costco over the years. Costco has a better spread and concentration that you can go from state to state and find pretty much the same stock items. Not so at the others, plus their prices are nickles to quarters higher.
I like Costco, and think it definitely saves money. I bought my oldest daughter a membership to use in Cali for diapers. She said it really saves her money.
I happen to like their lunch meat and I think they have great steaks, and meats in general. I buy a big box of plastic bags and break down bigger items such as lunch meat and freeze it.
I also think that their wine selection is awesome. There are some really nice bottles of wine at Costco. As long as you have room in the freezer and pantry/garage to store stuff I think its worth it.
For those of you trying to save $$$'s on diapers. Look into joining the Amazon Mom program. Diapers are the same price as Sam's or Costco (sometimes cheaper, depending on what is on sale). With the Amazon Mom program it is free and your purchases through the program are free 2 day shipping.
We have the Executive Membership which is $100 a year, but at our renewal period this past May our renewal was really low because of the 2% that got credited to our renewal fee. So paying extra for the membership paid for itself at renewal time. They offer a money back guarantee, so if after 8 or 10 months you are not spending enough to make paying the extra $50 for the executive membership worth it, Costco will refund you that additional $50 you paid for the higher membership.
If you buy a set of tires, some electronics, and weekly food items, you'll hit the amount needed to have your membership paid for. Unfortunately, gas purchases don't count. Anyone at the help desk can look up your account if you want to know how much you've spent since your last renewal.
We have costco we had a sam's but we found we never went there so we dropped it and kept with Costco. we have 5 kids one still in diapers, so it does save us quite a bit of money. We buy our toilet paper, paper towels, laundry soap, diapers, wipes, shampoo, body wash, and lots of frozen foods there. Occasionally we pick up a game or 2 for the wii or xbox ( on average they are about 5 bucks cheaper and if its on sale even cheaper. I just told the hubs we should spring for the exec membership since we buy so much there. Plus they have the dried mangoes I like (main reason I kept with Costco lol)
I'm trying to figure out whether a Costco membership is worth the price of the membership. We would be buying things such as diapers and other grocery staples, as well as possibly gas. Their pharmacy is also the only one in Albuquerque that carries a specific product that was recommended for a medical condition that I have. The other option to obtain the product is to pay hefty shipping costs as it has to be shipped cold and overnighted. Are there any Albuquerque C-D users out there who can offer insights?
I'm a Pharmacy Tech and my instructor told me before that Costco or Sams cannot forbid you from going inside without an ID if you are just going to the Pharmacy. Maybe you should give your local costco a call and ask if that information is true. Goodluck!
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