Sam's vs. Costco..

Honestly, I think the TP from Sam's is better than the TP from Costco.

I have memberships to both. They come due at different times so it is just something I don't think about. A friend on FB asked the differences today. I explained it is like Walmart VS Target. They have some of the same stuff but Costco is like Target and just has...better things. At times. I did get the Anthropology mirror dupe at Sam's.

FYI my Costco in MA has scan ad go!!!! that line can get ridiculous, as some folks don't know how to scan😱😱😱😱

There is no Sam’s Club near me here in Oregon, but if I was considering making the switch, I would have to go buy a rotisserie chicken from Sam’s to make the comparison. They are owned by Walmart, aren’t they? I purchased a rotisserie chicken from my Walmart because it is just a couple of blocks away and the Costco is a 20-minute drive. I should have made the drive. The Walmart chicken was horrible. It was much smaller, a couple of dollars more expensive, and much too salty for me. I always get one or two chickens when I shop Costco, mainly to have for dinner that night because the shopping, carrying stuff into the house, and putting everything away exhausts me. I love that I have dinner ready with minimal effort by just heating a frozen vegetable to accompany the rotisserie chicken.. If Sam’s Club chickens taste the same as Walmart, that is reason enough to make me stick with Costco.

I have both. Overall I prefer Costco, but I love Scan and Go and pickup at Sams. If everything I need is available at Sam's, I will go there. Otherwise I go to Costco. Costco meat is better.

Scan and go isn’t just self checkout. You use the app on your phone and scan as you add things to your cart. It’s really nice as you can see a running total as you shop. Then when you get to the registers you you click checkout and then you can show a code at the door and they scan it and a few items in your cart. It’s so much quicker an easier because you don’t have to take anything out of your cart and then put them back in again.

We have both and I like shopping in Sam’s better than Costco. We have the executive and plus memberships. The plus membership at Sam’s gives you free shipping, curbside and early entry.

The stores here are basically the same but Sam’s has signs in the isle to make it easier to find things. They seem to rearrange the store less often to making it easier to navigate. I love curbside and the scan and go and I use the free shipping a lot. Costco has “free shipping” but the items are $3-25 more to ship per item snd well that could really add up.

I prefer Sam’s rotisserie chicken to Costco and also their paper goods like TP, plates and paper towels. I also like that you don’t always have to buy such large quantities at Sam’s. Often the same items are cheaper at Sam’s especially name brands. I buy decaf instant coffee from Sam’s and it’s at least $7 cheaper for a bottle at Sam’s. I do like Costco and I still shop there as it is closer but during Covid I rarely shopped there as it was just too difficult to get into the store vs Sam’s and of course curbside eliminated having to go in at all. Curbside is especially nice when buying heavier items like water, potting soil, salt when we had a water softener. We buy different items at each at each store both have our basics.

Another plus for Sam’s with the plus membership you can shop earlier. This means the crowds are much less so an even quicker and easier shopping experience.

Sams has less organics but has more snacks or so I hear. I don’t tend to buy them so I haven’t paid that much attention. I prefer the seafood at Costco but I have bought other meat at Sam’s and it’s been just as good as Costco. Same with produce.

I think if your curious go to both and check them out and look at what you actually buy to see if it’s worth it.

I have both and go to Costco 90% more than Sam's. Costco opens at 9AM and Sam's at 10. I do errands early so like to get things done and get home. Costco does a lot more business than Sam's. They are less that 1 mile apart. The gas lines at Sam's are usually shorter but I get 4% back on my Costco card.

The only thing I like better at Sam's is if you go through self-check, you just leave your items in the cart. At Costco you have to put them on the tray after you scan.

We went to a business Costco recently and they opened at 7 I think it was. It’s not very close but we wanted to check it out. I know different stores could have different hours. Our regular Costco opens at 10. We have an executive membership there and the Plus at Sam’s. We can get in early at Sam’s 8 am vs 10 so I often will go there and be home before I could even get into our Costco.

It’s funny we used it for decades and then I tried Sam’s we won’t go back lol.

I've never been in a Costco but I would challenge the need for either one. We had a Sam's membership for many years and finally let it go because we just didn't use it enough to justify the cost. You have to ask yourself if you are really saving as much as the cost of the membership? If you are that's great, but I suspect they have a lot of members who pay the dues and don't end up buying that much.  We found the prices at Walmart for grocery items and places like Best Buy or Amazon for electronics to be just as good.

Only if they happen to help you otherwise you have to remove them. Sometimes you get lucky and sometimes you don’t.

Well, when you have a lot of stuff, or several big items, then you shouldn't be in the self-checkout. My grocery store limits the number of items you can take through self-checkout and they're pretty strict about it. I haven't seen my Costco actually post an item limit but most people who I see using it don't have a ton of stuff. I always go to self-checkout at Costco, sometimes even with TP and paper towels, if I don't have a lot of other items. I can scan those and they will fit on the tray but usually an employee just comes over to scan them with the handheld thing. 

Sam’s club toilet paper is sooooo much better than the Kirkland brand.

I have both memberships and I like both, but I buy more staple items at Sam’s club.

I only buy 10-15 items total. No item limit at our Costco, but 10-15 items seems pretty small for a Costco order and well within range of what grocery stores allow at express lanes and self check out.  Not sure why size would matter.
TP, dog food, dish detergent, cereal, fruits, sodas, protein drinks, maybe 3 or 4 snack items.  What exactly would you say is acceptable at self checkout at Costco?