Costco vs Sams

[mark]

Costco 12 miles
Sam's 16 miles
WalMart 2.5 miles

Hate all of them. lol

I have been a member of Costco for 3 years. Been there once. I need to cancel that membership. I keep forgetting.

[xenon]

I'm on Costco's home turf. There was one Sam's Club in Seattle - it closed down. Nearest one now is 800 miles away.

[LuFins Dad]

@mark said in Costco vs Sams:

Costco 12 miles
Sam's 16 miles
WalMart 2.5 miles

Hate all of them. lol

I have been a member of Costco for 3 years. Been there once. I need to cancel that membership. I keep forgetting.

It doesn’t renew on it’s own, so you shouldn’t need to worry.

[LuFins Dad]

Here’s the thing about Costco speaking as a vendor… There is no other business out there that works harder on getting their members the highest level of value and service. The steps they take to make sure you are satisfied are astounding. You are always assured of a minimum level of quality and value as well as after sales service.

[mark]

@lufins-dad said in Costco vs Sams:

@mark said in Costco vs Sams:

Costco 12 miles
Sam's 16 miles
WalMart 2.5 miles

Hate all of them. lol

I have been a member of Costco for 3 years. Been there once. I need to cancel that membership. I keep forgetting.

It doesn’t renew on it’s own, so you shouldn’t need to worry.

It has auto-renewed twice now. lol

[89th]

@lufins-dad said in Costco vs Sams:

Here’s the thing about Costco speaking as a vendor… There is no other business out there that works harder on getting their members the highest level of value and service. The steps they take to make sure you are satisfied are astounding. You are always assured of a minimum level of quality and value as well as after sales service.

Good to know. Usually store-brand items are not the best, but Kirkland (Costco's brand) is usually a really great product (food or not).

[xenon]

@89th said in Costco vs Sams:

@lufins-dad said in Costco vs Sams:

Here’s the thing about Costco speaking as a vendor… There is no other business out there that works harder on getting their members the highest level of value and service. The steps they take to make sure you are satisfied are astounding. You are always assured of a minimum level of quality and value as well as after sales service.

Good to know. Usually store-brand items are not the best, but Kirkland (Costco's brand) is usually a really great product (food or not).

Yeah - Kirkland is sourced from category leaders behind the scenes. Typically very high quality.

[Friday]

Costco and Sam's are about 2.5 miles away from me , and are less than 1/2 block from each other. I've never been a member of Sam's and now only use Costco mainly for gas.

[George K]

@friday said in Costco vs Sams:

use Costco mainly for gas.

Is it worth it?

Last year I spent about $789.48 on gas.

[xenon]

@george-k said in Costco vs Sams:

@friday said in Costco vs Sams:

use Costco mainly for gas.

Is it worth it?

Last year I spent about $789.48 on gas.

They’re typically 40 cents or so cheaper than the norm. But I live near downtown Seattle and that tends to jack up the price for the regular stations.

[George K]

@xenon not the case in my neighborhood! I just looked...

Probably not worth the $60 a year membership, when you consider the hassle of restricting yourself to one location. Yeah, 10% cheaper, but with my expense for fuel, that's a negligible savings. Not even a pizza's worth.

[LuFins Dad]

We had to replace our HVAC system last month. The quotes I was getting for the American Standard System were around $13K. I went to Costco and got a higher level Lennox system installed by a very trusted local provider for $11,500, PLUS it included a 2 year service plan and we received a $1200 gift card that we took to Costco this evening to exchange for a new 65” Samsung which came with a 5 year warranty and a $100 streaming credit. I’ll also be getting 3% back on the furnace and 2% back on the TV at the end of the year.If you think Costco is about buying TP in bulk and gas, you’re missing the point.

We also saved at least 10% on our Honda earlier this year and more importantly saved me about 50 hours of aggravation in negotiations with the dealers thanks to the Costco Auto Program.

[LuFins Dad]

Oh, and @George-K ? You can load up up while you are fueling up.

That’s the Sherry Cask…

Damn, I wish they sold liquor at my Costcos…

[Copper]

Is that a Virginia Costco?

[LuFins Dad]

@copper said in Costco vs Sams:

Is that a Virginia Costco?

I wish… They do sell liquor in DC.

[Copper]

@lufins-dad said in Costco vs Sams:

@copper said in Costco vs Sams:

Is that a Virginia Costco?

I wish… They do sell liquor in DC.

When I saw the liquor room in a Florida Costco, I told my wife to go back to Virginia and sell the house, I'll wait here.

She wouldn't do it.

[LuFins Dad]

@copper said in Costco vs Sams:

@lufins-dad said in Costco vs Sams:

@copper said in Costco vs Sams:

Is that a Virginia Costco?

I wish… They do sell liquor in DC.

When I saw the liquor room in a Florida Costco, I told my wife to go back to Virginia and sell the house, I'll wait here.

She wouldn't do it.

Costco Liquor runs on a 14 point margin, far lower than liquor stores.

[brenda]

Minnesoooooota makes Costco sell liquor to nonmembers at the same price as the members. Check your state law.

[89th]

@george-k said in Costco vs Sams:

@friday said in Costco vs Sams:

use Costco mainly for gas.

Is it worth it?

If you ask my wife? Yes

If you ask me? No. It saves maybe $2.50 per fill up, which isn't worth my time sitting in the line. Y(G)MMV

[LuFins Dad]

Going back to @George-K ‘s chart, there’s also the “Costco Effect”. You’ll typically find that gas stations close to Costco will have prices that are within 10-15 cents of Costco’s price.

For instance, the Costco that is a mile away from me is currently selling at $3.21 a gallon. The Exxon across the street from Costco is at $3.36. The Exxon 2 blocks from my house? $3.68. Now, if Costco wasn’t near that other Exxon do you think their price would be $3.36 or closer to the $3.68?