Need to Know About Sam's Club

[mugsy27]

avid Costco shopper here. i would also like to point out the quality of meat & fish that you get at Costco/BJ's etc. seems to be MUCH better than at the grocery store. much better variety as well.

and the warehouse places have sales as well!! just last weekend i got 6 lbs of filet mignion for $40 (2 - 3lb pkgs at $20/ea.), and a couple of fresh/live lobsters for $4/lb. you will NEVER get that at the grocery store!!

as others have warned though, on your inital shop there....be prepared for a bill upwards of $300-400. but after that your set for a VERY long time (i havent had to buy tooth brush/paste, mouthwash, razors, toiletpaper, etc) in almost 2 years!!

also...if your gonna buy lots of meat there and freeze it..u will ned a deep freezer....lucky for you though, the warehouses sell them dirt cheap as well!! )

 

[sattie]

avid Costco shopper here. i would also like to point out the quality of meat & fish that you get at Costco/BJ's etc. seems to be MUCH better than at the grocery store. much better variety as well.

and the warehouse places have sales as well!! just last weekend i got 6 lbs of filet mignion for $40 (2 - 3lb pkgs at $20/ea.), and a couple of fresh/live lobsters for $4/lb. you will NEVER get that at the grocery store!!

as others have warned though, on your inital shop there....be prepared for a bill upwards of $300-400. but after that your set for a VERY long time (i havent had to buy tooth brush/paste, mouthwash, razors, toiletpaper, etc) in almost 2 years!!

also...if your gonna buy lots of meat there and freeze it..u will ned a deep freezer....lucky for you though, the warehouses sell them dirt cheap as well!! )

I am in luck!!! Get my bonus check this week!!!

 

[-DEADLY SUSHI-]

I goto Hispanic stores for a lot of my meat. Very fresh and dirt cheap when on sale. Bonless chicken breasts for $1.29 lb. This week its chicken legs for $0.39 lb. I stay far away from Sams and the like. They dont take my debt card!!! Plus I find better selections elsewhere for better prices. Alas I live in Chicago so I have a much better choice of where to shop than most other folks.

 

[auntdot]

Like Andy M have been members of BJ's, Costco, and Sam's at one time or another. Now am not a member of Sam's due to location of the store.

But Sam's to us is fine.

There are only two of us, so you might not think it is worth it to join, but we find it very convenient and thrifty.

Sure you can save on meats, but also on so many other foods: cheeses, fruits and veggies (the size of the packages of these is usually too large for us), wines (Costco has some pretty good deals on nice, but not very expensive wines), all kinds of nice deli items, breads and bake goods, large jars of spices, the list goes on. And they sometimes have some pretty good seafood, including salmon.

We save bucks on all other kinds of stuff from TP and paper towels to cleaning materials, to batteries (can buy in bulk and they last a fairly long time, just price batteries in the grocery or hardware store).

Even browse their book department and pick up some once in awhile (if you want it, buy it, it may not be there tomorrow).

Computer programs, TVs, heck, we purchased our cars through Costco. You buy through a local dealer and we got a good price. Could we have done a bit better by going from place to place and bargaining incessantly? Maybe, but hate doing that stuff.

Can you do as well for most items by selectively buying at Walmart, Target, other stores, going by the sales, comparing and contrasting? Possibly.

But our time and gas is worth something, and we can go to one the warehouse stores every few months and stock up on many items.

Just our humble take on it.

 

[Gretchen]

With the warehouse clubs you have to know the price you would pay in the regular grocery also. And you have to be willing to store mega sized boxes of products. But there is absolutely NO doubt you save money. Their cheeses, both ordinary and gourmet are tremendous savings. For example, St. Andre Triple cream sells for 16.95/lb in our grocery--2 6oz. containers for $6 at Costco. Wines are very good prices. Books are heavily discounted. Fish, fresh and frozen. Magazines are now sold at Costco. Printer ink. The list goes on. Milk is about half price. Salads, etc. AND the meat quality is excellent.

 

[sattie]

I can't believe I have not checked sooner... at least look around to see if I could save!!! That is what I get for having my head up my.... ok, you get the picture. Better now than never.

 

[pdswife]

I'm not sure about SAM's but Costco has a deal where
you buy one membership and are given an extra card ( you can put anyones name on it. My son and I do that and split the cost.

It works out great. We both end up saving lots of money.

My only problem with Costco is that they don't take VISA..

 

[Andy M.]

I'm not sure about SAM's but Costco has a deal where
you buy one membership and are given an extra card ( you can put anyones name on it. My son and I do that and split the cost.

It works out great. We both end up saving lots of money.

My only problem with Costco is that they don't take VISA..

Sam's also gives you a second card free. They don't take credit cards for the most part. Costco does take American Express.

All of them take debit cards.

 

[mudbug]

We're Costco people here. They also have good deals on hardcover books and sometimes on CDs.

Plus you can eat lunch there for free trying all the samples on the weekends.

 

[pdswife]

or get a hotdog (big!) and a pop for only 1.50 $!!

 

[fireweaver]

Sattie, as a TX expat (now in MD), i had never heard of bj's until i got up here...so they're not an option in TX. in my parent's end of town, costco wasn't either, so sams it is.

good things to know: sams is rather loose about defining "family", which is to say, buy a family membership for not a lot more than a single one, and get several friends to go in with you on it. i think a family membership is 4 separate cards for about $50, but don't quote me on that one.

i can wholeheartedly vouch for the cutting steaks thing. my buddy with the bj's membership does the same thing, and i always get invited over after they have a steak run which is super! good *thick* cuts, with George's fantastic marinade and some lovely wine i bring...heaven!

in addition to the meats, def check out the cheese dept. i found an "antique gouda", aged 3 yrs, which is so phenomenally wonderful i question its legality. also, sams sells huge bags of pasta (like my fave tri-colored rotini), which of course keeps very well. great if you're cooking for one or a big group, just scoop up what you need from the pasta-stash.

 

[Dove]

Love Costco !!! It is across the street and I am there several times a week. I know all the Demo people and most of the Costco workers. they are a great bunch of people.

Sam's Club is almost back to back but I don't like it.

Our Costco takes my Debit Card. I like that..no writing checks.

Had their Polish Dog today and two cups of lite lemonade. Lots of Relish, Onions and Mustard.Yumm

 

[sattie]

Guys, I like the replies... it is very good info, keep it coming!

 

[licia]

BJ's and Sam's also sell gas, usually a few cents cheaper than other stations. I don't remember if Costco does or not. BJ's also has propane for grills several dollars cheaper than the usual places. I like all of them - for different reasons.

 

[Dove]

Sunday gas at Costco was $2.21 Today when I went in it was $2.25.
I came out about an hour later and it was $2.26........

You have to use your Costco card and a Debit card or buy a gas card I think..
Marge

 

[BigDog]

Sushi brings up a point about Sam's. They only take cash, check, Discover, or debit cards sponsored by certain companies (meaning all check cards aren't handled through the same company, i.e. my check card is handled by Plus). No Master, Visa, AmEx, or whatever.

However, a way around this is to apply for a Sam's Discover Membership Card. It works both as your Sam's member card, and as a Discover card accepted wherever the logo is displayed. Discover has the cash back promotion on purchases, and the way to "beat" the system is to make your Sam's Club purchase on the Discover, so you get credit for getting whatever percentage back on the purchase. Then go to the Customer Service counter at Sam's and pay your Discover bill! No interest charge on what you purchased, and you got whatever percentage "cash back" from their promotion! It's an extra step, but it's like you paid with cash and got cash back!

 

[Andy M.]

Sam's, BJ's and Costco all take my VISA debit card issued by my credit union.

 

[Constance]

We don't have a big choice of places to shop in our area, so we think Sam's is great. It's about 20 minutes down the road, and every once in a while we go to Sam's and stock up, then do lunch.
I buy certain canned goods there, like 8-paks of Green Giant mushrooms, GG asparagus spears, Le Seur Peas, and reduced fat Cambell's cream of mushroom and chicken soups. I like the big containers of Tone's seasonings they have. The spices and blends are excellent, and so miuch cheaper to buy that way, that even if you end up throwing half of it away, you're still saving money.
We also buy the paper products and such, especially things like heavy duty foil, garbage bags and ziplock bags.
I can find cheeses and other gourmet products there that I can't find anywhere else. They also have a good variety of seafood and beautiful fresh fruits and vegetables.
Around the holidays, I also buy things like giant packages of cream cheese, butter, eggs, nuts, chocolate chips, etc
We do buy some meat there, but I've found that if watch the newspapers for sales, I can often do better on prices. Several months ago, we bought a whole ribeye for $4.95 a lb. at a local market, and it is very tender.

 

[sattie]

Thank you kind folks!

 

[sattie]

I am going to check out costco today, and I will report back on what I find. I am just giddy, hope to find lots of good deals! BTW... Albertsons had t-bones on sale for 3.95 a lb. Boy were they ever nice!!!!! I had to pick me up a few of those bad boys!