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View Full Version : What do you buy at Costco or Sam's? And why is your membership justified?



Darrell KSR
02-27-2017, 02:00 PM
I read an article in which a psychologist was involved, and purportedly numerous studies made, on the buying habit of "shopping club" members. According to the article, you almost never save money by being a member.

It's not that you don't save money, or even that the money you save doesn't equal or exceed the membership. It's that you absolutely, positively, buy things you don't need and wouldn't buy otherwise but for the fact that you are a member and internally justify the purchase to yourself.

So it took a bit of convincing to have me join Costco. I was a regular member of Sam's for years, and decided I wasn't using it properly, and stopped, and didn't miss it.

The impetus was a "slick deal" on something we had been looking for that was about $75 cheaper at Costco than other places. With membership $55, it "made money" right off the bat, or so we believed.

So far I have bought a chest freezer we had been looking for, gasoline, propane tanks for a grill, milk, eggs, medicine, apple cider vinegar, car fresheners I regularly buy at Walmart (my son plays soccer and I transport him and a buddy occasionally--car NEEDS febreze air fresheners after they get in with their gear), 100 feet of power cords that I needed for an electric lawnmower ($28 for the two-pack; $29 for the exact same one at Amazon--for 50 feet), 33 gallon trash bags (I buy the 30 gallon version at Walmart; these were less than ½ price) and gasoline.

I'm confident that I have beaten the system so far. Whether that continues or not, I don't know. We're not ones to stock up on 100 rolls of toilet paper, etc., but for staples, we like to have what we need when we need it.

What do you buy? Are you confident you are beating the system?

KSRBEvans
02-27-2017, 02:27 PM
We used to live about 10 minutes from a Costco. We moved and now we're about 20 minutes from the Costco but 10 minutes from a Sam's Club. So even though we liked Costco, we switched to Sam's because it was closer.

At Sam's we used to buy dog food, a particular kind of detergent Mrs. BEvans likes (Ecos) and get our gas when we thought of it. We haven't been back since our membership lapsed in December, but we'll probably renew if we find a reason to go back. We tend not to buy in bulk and I really didn't think their other deals were really "deals," so I could also see us not renewing.

Catfan73
02-27-2017, 02:50 PM
I'm pretty sure our membership isn't really justified but they have a couple of things I can't find elsewhere like the dog food our allergic dog eats. I go about once every two weeks and get things like toilet paper, paper towels, dog food, detergent, etc. sometimes I'll grab a couple boxes of their frozen pizzas and they have really nice frozen salmon filets. Very rarely do I buy anything like fruit because it's just going to go bad before well eat it all.

bigsky
02-27-2017, 02:59 PM
They used to have good prices on plasma tvs.

I buy walnuts, some produce, some canned goods, basmati rice, tp, led light bulbs, camping chairs, summer water sports stuff, batteries, like deep cycle, tires, clothes like $10 flannel shirts or kirkland jeans, detergent, cut flowers, snacks, pork, some cuts of beef, crab meat, jerky, wiper blades, AA batteries, frozen fruit, and I have bought remaindered mattresses and furniture.

PedroDaGr8
02-27-2017, 03:06 PM
Seems like you have been solidly converted to a Costco fan.

For me, every Sam's Club I have been in has been like a big Wal-Mart just with larger quantities. The quality of the products is Wal-Mart quality (read made to be as cheap as humanly possible and then make it a bit cheaper); the employees, while not rude, never went above and beyond; the stores just never felt as neat and clean, etc. There was really little to no benefit for me to shop there versus go to Wal-Mart if I really had to (a place that I try to avoid).

As a result, for me it is Costco hands-down. Two reasons 1) they tend to look for the best value point, not the cheapest price 2) The pay and treat their workers well (things like promotions are almost 100% internal all the way up to the C-Suite). As a result of treating their employees well, the stores are always extremely well maintained (isles are faced, floors are as clean as you can get with ten billion ppl there) and if you need help they will do everything in their power to help you. My parents purchase a modular couch from there (that ended up being excellent quality for the price) that came in three enormous boxes. Asked for help from someone and he got three big guys back there to lift and move everything and bring it up to the front. The fact that they treat their employees well and give them a career path if they have the ambition is very very important to me.

I purchase a variety of things from there, some seasonal some a one-time purchase that was a great value. Things that I purchase from there:

Kirkland Undershirts - The crew neck cotton undershirts are absolutely excellent quality. If you have been purchasing Fruit of the Loom or Hanes and/or are a bigger guy you are missing out. These are long enough to tuck in and more importantly, they don't just do a looser weave for larger sizes. This is a very common tactic, to make larger sizes, cheaper companies will just weave the fabric looser so that it stretches farther. This results in a thinner cheaper t-shirt. The Kirkland T-shirts don't do this. These are very thick and very very durable.
"32 Degrees Cool" Workout shirts - I grabbed one, right before they sold out last spring. Used it 3-5 times a week for the past year and it still looks almost like new. They just came back in stock, in a 2-pack this year, so I grabbed two of the two-packs because I want more.
Wrapping Paper/Foil and Ribbon - This comes in stock around Late Sept.-October time frame, right before the holidays start. This stuff is a killer value. ~$10 and you get some really high quality wrapping paper (Made in the UK, not China) and you get a metric buttload of it. I wrapped a couple dozen presents last year and still easily have half left. One spool of ribbon did around a dozen larger presents before I finished it. It had way more ribbon that I expected.
Yellow Microfiber towels - These are not an exceptional value but a great everyday value. I picked up one pack three years ago and they are all still going strong. Just remember that microfiber towels of ANY brand can NEVER go in the dryer (it melts the microfiber and ruins them).
Kirkland Tuna Fish - Tends to run the same price or slightly more than the Starkist Tuna. Actually, significantly higher quality.
Olive Oil - Consumer Reports did a test and Kirkland Olive Oil was one of the ONLY ones in the USA that was 100% Olive Oil. On top of that it was one of the only ones that could trace their oil back to its sources (likely why it hadn't been adulterated in the supply chain).
USDA Prime Beef plus other meats - One of the few places you can easily buy USDA prime steaks (I often get one of the cuts for use in my stir-frys it is phenomenal). I also get things like Pork Belly and Ribs in bulk. I break them down into single and double serving portions, bag them up and put them in the freezer. Coming back to service of the employees, for pork belly, I could never just find a large slab of pork belly. It was always cut up for making bacon. Talked with the meat department and they sold me a whole slab of pork belly outright. Many other places (like Wal-Mart) have cut out their meat departments entirely, the guy that works there is just stocking pre-cut meats, nothing more. If you need something not on the shelf, you are out of luck.
Kirkland Non-Stick Pan set - A while back I needed some solid quality pans, it turns out these are made by Circulon for Costco and are excellent quality, they have held up great over the past few years. Easily equal to the quality of Calphalon.
Kirkalnd Protein Bars - I get a box at least twice a month. They are Costco's alternative to Quest bars and they are quite tasty.
Batteries - I don't use too many batteries but their batteries are an EXCELLENT deal. They are rebadged Duracell Quantum batteries but at about 1/2 the price IIRC.
Roses - I was told that Costco maintains the same price for their rose year round (even during Valentines Day). I just found this out a few days ago but plan to check next year.

KentuckyWildcat
02-27-2017, 09:30 PM
We do Sams, never been to a Costco.

Personally Sams is over rated IMO. If not for running our local park we would not have one. Buying some things in bulk is great but if you shop around and learn the prices, you can find better deals on most items.

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KentuckyWildcat
02-27-2017, 09:44 PM
I should add that when we bought our TV it was by far the deal of the time.

65" LED Smart for $620. The best deal next to that was about $650 for 60". Bought it without the wife's approval and she never complained.

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