For quite a few years I've had a membership to Sam's Club. Although I used it a lot more when I was feeding three growing boys (regularly buying restaurant-sized containers of peanut butter, snacks, granola bars, and condiments) there are still a handful of food and household items I buy on a regular basis.
However, a Costco will be opening just a couple of miles from my house next month. My Sam's membership expires at the end of October and I'm trying to decide if I should renew it or wait, so tonight Tony and I drove down to the South County Costco to scope it out.
The stores look remarkably similar on the inside. All the regular warehouse store departments were represented. We wandered around and saw a plethora of things we never knew we needed. I brought a list of the things I buy at Sam's and compared prices. It was a wash; some things seemed to be a bit lower, but some were a bit more expensive. Although the bakery department was a bit picked over close to the end of the day, the meat looked fresh, and this Costco had a walk-in refrigerated room for produce, which I thought was pretty unique.
The membership costs are slightly different. At Sam's, a membership is $40 for 2-person household. On the other hand, at Costco the membership costs $50 for 2 people. However, for that fee you also get an American Express card that pays cash back on purchases. I doubt I would use the card except when shopping there, and at the rate I buy things at warehouse clubs, that would mean they could treat me to a cup of coffee at the end of the year!
I still haven't completely decided, but at this point I'm leaning toward Costco. It will be much closer to my house (5 miles round trip versus 10 miles and the stress of driving on Manchester Road), and they have a reputation of paying their employees a living wage, which I think is important.
I wonder if they'll be offering any grand opening discounts on memberships?
I have had a Costco membership since the store near my house opened. (probably 6-7 years ago) I haven't had any problems yet.
ReplyDeleteI use costco for the fresh produce, yes it is in bigger portions but it is of good quality and seems to last longer than normal supermarket stuff and is ideal for bulk cooking sessions...
ReplyDeleteThat's 2 for Costco, 0 for Sam's!
ReplyDeleteHi. Thanks for stopping by my blog and leaving a comment. I like finding other St. Louis-area bloggers. I replied to your comment about the IEP situation, if you want to go take a look. Sorry to hear your son never got a diagnosis.
ReplyDeleteI don't have a membership to either store at the moment, but I've heard Costco treats their employees better than Sam's (pays them more, gives them better benefits) so I'd probably pick Costco. Cuz I like decent customer service at a store, and I feel like I'm more likely to get it at a place where people are happy with their job!
I've never been to one of those big discount club stores. I think I would like to go for a visit [my small apartment wouldn't allow me to purchase]...I think I would feel like I was in the land of giants - so many big things!
ReplyDeleteI can relate, as I have 4 teenage boys at home and make 2-3 trips per month to Sams club. I've wondered if it will be worth the trip and membership when the family leaves the nest.
ReplyDeleteKathy ~ thanks for that link on my anagram post. I've added it to the body so others can do it! Fun!
ReplyDeleteJaelithe-I agree with you completely.
ReplyDeleteSydney-If you're motivated, it's amazing where you can store surplus food and supplies. A friend told me once she kept her extra rolls of toilet paper under the bed! Fortunately, I have enough traditional closet space that I don't have to.
Betsy-I actually made an entire blog post about anagraming my family's names; it was a lot of fun.
Too much stuff in too big of packages. I don't shop at any of these stores. Give me Whole Foods and Target (even though Target is trying to be a Costco with its big packages).
ReplyDeleteI was in a similar quandry, but when I learned that Costco provides health insurance for their employees and Sam's Club doesn't, I chose Costco.
ReplyDeleteI am a member of Cosco..
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