We are going to buy a membership to one of these two places. Which do you like the best and why? Are the prices about the same at each place?
Our closest store (either) is about 2hrs away, but we are up there often enough that it would be worth the money to buy a membership. It would mostly be used for toiletries, shampoos and soaps, laundry products and so on.

By Colette on Monday, January 12, 2004 - 12:21 pm:

neither, if you check sales in your local stores you may be able to do just as well if not better. Make sure you check prices per gallon, etc. not just the price of the item itself.

By Karen~moderator on Monday, January 12, 2004 - 12:33 pm:

I buy most of those items at Sam's and it's a substantial savings over local stores, including Walmart.

By Trina~moderator on Monday, January 12, 2004 - 12:44 pm:

We don't have a Sams or a Costco in our area, but we do have BJs. I get some really good bargains there. My parents live in VA, and shop at Costco often. In fact, every time we visit I request going there.

By Yjja123 on Monday, January 12, 2004 - 01:18 pm:

I prefer Sams. On dog food alone it is worth the membership fee for us (we have 2 large dogs). I have also found that on Thursday they clearance the meat. I bought Sirloin tip steaks For $2.49 a pound at Christmas time. Everyone raved at how great and tender they were. I also enjoy the savings on fruit and produce. We eat Ceasar salads all the time. A 2 pack salad is $3 at Sams. You pay more for 1 at the grocery store.
Yes--some things are not a bargain but for the most part you are saving a fair amount of money. I love buying bulk meat and freezing it. I make a lot less trips to the grocery store by using Sams.
Yvonne

By Eve on Monday, January 12, 2004 - 01:33 pm:

We've been happy with Sam's Club. We go every couple of months.

By Fraggle on Monday, January 12, 2004 - 02:22 pm:

We just got back from Sam's club today. I think we definitely make up for the cost of joining over a year. I might be able to get similar prices on some things if I shop around and wait for sales-but I just don't have the time to do that. The only down side is if you have a particular brand you like you might not be able to always get it. I prefer Puffs tissues but this week they only had Kleenex.

You can actually go online and check out what the store by you has-go to Samsclub.com and go to click and pull. They will ask for a member number but if you look on the screen to the left there is a space you can enter your state and try it without being a member. The prices are posted for the items so you can compare. Of course the store will have more items that just what is available on click and pull.

Also I have seen free one day passes to the wholesale clubs around us. Call and see if they have something like that and then you can go check out both places.

By Dawnk777 on Monday, January 12, 2004 - 02:53 pm:

No Costco and the nearest Sam's is about an hour away. It's just not practical.

By Carolk on Monday, January 12, 2004 - 03:35 pm:

We joined Sam's and then they opened up a Costco's. But Sam's is closer. We actually bought a 51 inch(Panasonic) tv at Sam's and it cost about 300-400 dollars less than at Best Buy. So sometimes they even have better deals on things other than bulk food. We go about every two weeks. And like Yvonne said, we freeze what we can in our subfreezer, also bought at Sam's.

By Mommyathome on Monday, January 12, 2004 - 05:21 pm:

Colette, we live in a small area and don't have any way to shop around for the best sales. We just buy what we have to no matter the price. No choice That's why I thought that since we do go up north quite a bit, that it may benefit us to have a card to either Sams or Costco. I enjoy buying in bulk. We bought a HUGE container of SoftSoap refill last year and we are still working on it. We just refill the soap containers as they get empty. I think we've saved a TON on that particular handsoap this year LOL.

By Yjja123 on Monday, January 12, 2004 - 05:42 pm:

I forgot about that (it has been a while) but we also bought our big screen TV from there (Sams club) and my computer, printer, our stove, ink cartridges for printer, huge trampoline, etc....
It isn't just little purchases that can save you a great deal. I sell on a auction so am always shopping and comparison shop ALWAYS so we never buy anything big unless we have checked out competitors prices. Sams has almost always been a better value. Our stove we practically stole. We gove it for $150 clearanced from $900 because it had a dent--the dent was on the side and you can't see it now that it is installed.
I had a B.J membership before but prefer Sams.
Yvonne

By Mommyathome on Monday, January 12, 2004 - 05:48 pm:

We got our computer at Sams too We used my inlaws card for that purchase.

By Colette on Monday, January 12, 2004 - 06:21 pm:

You are right. I recently went on vacation for a week, it was 1/2 hour drive to the grocery store and that was the only one around so they could charge whatever they wanted. There are no grocery stores in my town but I am within 15-20 minutes to 12 different ones in any given direction, so I shop sales and stock up then, the sale prices that I can get are as good or better than the Sam's we used to go to so we dropped the membership.

By Colette on Monday, January 12, 2004 - 06:22 pm:

I meant to say, you are right, it depends on where you live.