warehouse clubs

[willidan]

Is anyone a member of a warehouse club? Anybody have any pro or con stories to tell? I'm thinking of joining Sams, but haven't quite gotten to the point of justifying the $50 a year membership fee.

Edited 11/14: I'm convinced. I'll take some of my Christmas money and invest in a membership. Thanks!

Comments

[killing_rose]

My family's been a member of Costco for most of my life--a membership will probably be something I invest in when I get a job somewhere near a Costco. In my experience, if you're interested in buying bulk, there is a massive benefit to such stores. I didn't realize until after moving out that 4 pounds of meat is far more expensive bought in bits and pieces than at once, for instance. Or batteries. (To this day, my parents buy the batteries at Costco and ship them to me. Or give me them when I make a rare trip home.)

It's been a while since we had a Sam's Club membership, but I remember (I think) my parents noting that there were sometimes more veggie choices there.

[holyschist]

I'm a Costco member and I've done Sam's in the past when I didn't have a Costco. I find it worthwhile for a few reasons:

1) $1.50 polish dogs. Yeah, they're not the healthiest thing in the world, but there isn't really a cheaper quick meal out available, and if we're really hungry and just want to grab something quick, I'd rather spend pocket change on it.
2) Prescriptions. Depending on your situation and whether you can get generics, it can be worth it just for prescriptions. I'm pretty sure my boyfriend's OTC allergy meds alone justify our membership.
3) Stuff I would normally buy but which is much cheaper at Costco has included: batteries, camera memory cards, backup hard drives and jeans. We also get food there on occasion, but since we live in an apartment, our ability to bulk-buy food is limited. We get a lot of frozen fish, chicken broth in cartons, sausage, and muffins there. Sometimes cheese and meat. We don't get produce there (with just two people), but if we had friends to split a flat of fruit or a giant thing of veggies with we would.
4) Large electronics/furniture/other big one-time purchases. Their computers are not necessarily top of the line, but I saved quite a bit getting my DSLR there.

If you have a friend who's willing to split the cost of the membership with you, that's a good deal. I'm not sure if you have to be at the same address to get separate cards (I split my Sam's membership with my roommate at the time), but if you have a friend or two who are willing to split larger purchases of spoilables as well as the membership, you might not need separate cards.

I DID do the math on upgrading to an "executive" membership to get a rebate, and figured that to merely break even on the additional membership fee, we'd have to spend $250/month at Costco. Not happening. But the $50 fee is totally worth it to me--not just for the money saved, but access to products I think are pretty great--the Italian sausage my local Costco carries is amazing.

[merrycaepa]

My parents are Costco members, and I piggyback on their account when I'm home on breaks... I think a distinction has to be drawn between Costco (which catches some flak in the business community for treating its employees *too* well) and Sam's (which is owned by the Walmart behemoth, with all the accompanying baggage).

I love Costco because I can buy enough organic instant oatmeal, for a semester for what a fraction of what I'd be paying at supermarkets here; as well as (non-organic) cheese and cereal. I bought my iPod, Mom bought her laptop, and Dad bought his snazzy new camera there because Costco's return policy for electronics is really easy to work with, and warranties are automatically extended. I got my contact lenses there as well... Their customer service division is incredibly accommodating. Costco gas is the cheapest around, and it's the only place in town with the little rubber flaps to keep fumes down on their pumps.

I'm not a fan of warehouse stores in the sense that they're symbolic of gross consumerism...but my parents have probably halved their total number grocery runs since they started shopping there, and Costco's organic produce is more affordable than standard supermarket produce. Additionally, shopping there supports an organization that treats its employees really well...I see it as pretty win-win.

But again...that's Costco, not Walmart :D

[merrycaepa]

^ What she said about sharing an account - my mom did that with a coworker for a while, and it worked out really well.

Oh, and about the Italian sausage - Costco has a great range of semi-gourmet meats and cheeses at supermarket prices.

[merrycaepa]

Sorry, last line should have been "...that's Costco, not Sam's" Oops.

I Drank the KoolAid

[jumpuphigh]

I used to belong to Costco and I found it was worth it for me for a number of reasons.

They have high-quality, organic, fresh produce in large containers at a really cheap price. I rarely spent more than $30 a week on food and the size of the containers were perfect for me.

I needed some fairly pricey tech that they offered cheaper than anywhere else. The cost of my laptop alone saved me more than the cost of the membership. Plus, they have an awesome concierge service for tech purchases which I used heavily. I'm tech-savvy so by the time I call for help, I need someone way more experienced than me and I never got anyone who wasn't able to help me (and if the help included needing to contact the manufacturer, they would do that and call me back in order to resolve the problem).

Cheap sheets (cheaper than anywhere else), TV seasons on DVD (cheaper than anyplace other than online), cheap trash bags, cheap alcohol, etc. etc.

You do have to think about purchases though. I have a box of trash bags that I bought ~3 years ago that is only half-empty. I don't consider that a bad thing since they were a size that I had spent at least 6 months trying to find.

I'm actually thinking about renewing right now but just haven't gotten around to it. I've been building a mental list of things to wait to buy there.

That said, I get the impression that Sam's Club is not nearly as nice as Costco's. (It's been a long time since I was in a Sam's Club - more than 15 years.) I know Costco will allow you a day visit to check them out. You'd then have to buy a membership to make purchases. Perhaps Sam's does the same thing?

[jumpuphigh]

I'm typing this on my laptop purchased through Costco and have been extremely happy with it. It was a laptop at the higher end of the mid-range quality laptops and cost about $250 less than what it would have cost in any other electronics store plus their concierge service is absolutely fabulous. It's two years old and still has better specs than many laptops on the market today.

[jumpuphigh]

Costco really does treat their employees well. I'd forgotten about that. I used to know a woman who worked for them and she wouldn't give up working for them for anything.

[merrycaepa]

My mom's in the grocery story, so she hears things, and that's exactly what she's reported. And the employees just always seem like they actually want to be there.

[jumpuphigh]

When I was looking for a job a number of years ago, I actually looked at them because of their reputation. Unfortunately, the positions I would have been interested in were all at their headquarters which would have involved me moving.

[merrycaepa]

I have a friend who's been job hunting; she checked at our local store, and was told that a) they had no open positions, and b) didn't expect to have any soon, because c) employees really don't tend to quit.

[jumpuphigh]

In reading the rules of membership, Costco says that you have to be family (although they do include same-sex relationships) to share a membership. I guess they don't really crack down on that rule much then.

From the website:
† A household card is available to any cardholder’s spouse, domestic partner or any immediate family member over the age of 18 and living at the same address.

[jumpuphigh]

c) employees really don't tend to quit.

That's one of the best signs of a healthy business.

[merrycaepa]

Huh. This was years ago - possibly over a decade ago, so perhaps the rules have changed? Also, we were Sam's members at one point - maybe that's when she shared the membership? (Sorry, I was really young at that point),

[pearwaldorf]

In general, I find that you do make your membership back on things like nonperishable goods: toilet paper, garbage bags, detergent, etc. This is, of course, presuming you have space to keep large amounts of goods. If you have freezer space it's a great place to buy gigantic packs of meat or veg (I especially like the 5lb bags of green beans).

Specifically re: Sam's Club, I can't speak to that because I've always been a Costco member. It's my understanding from Interweb murmurings that compared to Sam's Costco has much higher quality stuff and has better return policies (like on everything except TVs and tech if you don't like it you can just bring it back). I read in an article somewhere they only have a 15% markup on goods, so if their costs go down, their prices go down too.

I also like that they treat their workers really really well. At the Costco I used to go to in Seattle, the employees all had nametags indicating how long they'd been with the company. Everybody I saw had been with them for at least five or ten years, which is kind of unheard of in a grocery store situation. So it must say something that nobody wants to leave.

[sapote]

Another person from a Costco family - Sam's does have some things that are useful, especially in the bulk processed foods. Costco has a much bigger range of organic/natural produce. I am looking at my Costco spreadsheet from February now - yes, I have a Costco spreadsheet - and the things that jump out at me are nuts for $4 or under a pound, which is unheard of in my local grocery, Silk soymilk for $2.30 a liter, lots of nice cheese, Kashi Golean cereal for $2.80 a pound. (This list probably tells you more about the specific things I eat than Costco prices, unless you've tried to buy Kashi cereal recently).

When I lived with my extended family, we bought the produce all the time, and the prices were very good. Unfortunately, the chances that I'll eat six heads of romaine before they wilt are now much lower. I will still get something like a flat of pomegranates, though, since those keep. They also have a 3-lb bag of mixed organic berries for $12, which is mostly worth it because it's a lot of fruit and it keeps forever and can be portioned out over time.

[holyschist]

I think it depends on what you're after in a laptop (and possibly local selection). :-)

[holyschist]

I think a distinction has to be drawn between Costco (which catches some flak in the business community for treating its employees *too* well) and Sam's (which is owned by the Walmart behemoth, with all the accompanying baggage).

Yeah, and even strictly from a customer POV, I think Costco's better, too. Sam's is a blatant knock-off. However, not all cities have both options--I had my Sam's membership before Colorado Springs got a Costco (by which point I had moved).

OH MAN, I forgot about gas.

Re: I Drank the KoolAid

[holyschist]

Oh yeah, things like trash bags, toilet paper, ziplocks--those can be good, too, depending on how fast you go through them.

[merrycaepa]

I don't think I was in a Sam's after the age of about twelve, but I do seem to remember it being really dark on the inside - a bit dingy, maybe? It didn't feel so much like a warehouse as somebody's very outsize garage.

[maewyn]

We've only been Costco members for a year, but I'll echo what everyone else has said -- the $50 membership fee is worth it because you'll save at least that much buying your regular stuff over the course of a year. Costco carries a Ghirardelli triple-chocolate brownie mix that we particularly love, and it's something like $7 for six bags of mix. Two giant bags of Honey Nut Cheerios for about $6, when one is about $5 at the grocery store. A container of garlic that we'll probably never use up for $3. 40 lbs of cat litter for $9. We even bought three plastic lidded bins to keep the cereal in for something like $10, and I saw only one of the same bins for that price in Target. The bakery section even has awesome gigantic muffins which are something like $2 a half-dozen.

The only downside is that it's been real easy for us to run up a high bill because we'll run around the store going "OMG, this is so cheap, how can we pass this up??" But so far it's been stuff like I named above that we need and will use up.

We haven't shopped there for most of the year because we moved and don't have the storage space to buy in bulk, but we'll be moving again next week and the new house has lots more storage space. I definitely plan on shopping at Costco again and renewing our membership.

[willidan]

Sharing membership sounds like a really good idea. I'll ask around at work. Thanks!

[willidan]

Sadly, the nearest Costco is two hours away. But Sams is just down the street. You make a good point about buying meat in bulk.

[willidan]

Costco does sound like a better option, but the closest is two hours away. It's definitely worth looking into.

Re: I Drank the KoolAid

[willidan]

I think Sams has day pases in the paper every now and then, but I haven't come across one in a while. But I think I'll take some of my Christmas money and buy a membership to Sams. It sounds worth investigating.

[willidan]

No costco near here, but on the whole, it sounds like it'd be worth the cost of membership. And someone above suggested sharing a membership. I'm sure I know someone interested in sharing.

[willidan]

Considering I make jams and jellies, I might be able to get through the fruit flats. And bulk dry foods sounds like a win. You've all convinced me. :)

[willidan]

Yep, I've been convinced. No Costco, but Sams sounds worth trying. Thanks!

[jumpuphigh]

Also, their stock seems to change quite frequently. I'd picked out a laptop for my mother through them and when I went to get one for myself a few weeks later, they no longer carried that one.

[jumpuphigh]

The only downside is that it's been real easy for us to run up a high bill because we'll run around the store going "OMG, this is so cheap, how can we pass this up??"

Yeah. I still have dental floss from my first wave of shopping at Costco. But you are right, it's all stuff I'd eventually use. I think everyone probably needs one round of "OMG, this is so cheap!" shopping before you can get into a groove of what you will end up buying regularly.

[holyschist]

Definitely! I think all their electronics stock turns over fairly quickly, so if you're comparison-shopping or researching, you have to move quickly.

[jumpuphigh]

Since my way of shopping for big ticket items is to gather as much information as I can and then pounce when I see something that I want at a great price, it works out for me.

[drunkoffthestars]

Another point to consider. IDK if Sams has this option, but for Costco, they would only take their branded Amex for credit. I've found it worth it just for that (I hate carrying cash) and also there is a 1% (3% for travel, 2% for resturants) cash back, with which I have, in the past, recouped the cost of the membership. Now that I'm buying fewer plane tickets, that'll probably go down a bit, but it's still a good offset if credit cards are your speed.