Should I join Sam's Club?

[CTyankee]

Our household is just hubby and me and we are in our late 60s. Our house is not large and storage space is at a premium. Is there any good reason for us to shop at Sam's Club? It's not as close a several good supermarkets.

But since I haven't been to a Sam's Club in many years, things might have changed and maybe I CAN get groceries and household supplies more cheaply, even tho I won't be buying in bulk.

Thanks for your advice and info...

:hi:

[taterguy]

1. I think you'd get better advice if you asked in GD

Or you could look at their website to compare their prices for stuff you expect to buy

[supernova]

2. The DU-approved box store is Costco

:P

LOL.

I'm a single person and I still belong to Costco. I can get some things there that are deal worthy:

paper products,
canned goods,
meat and poultry (I freeze it in meal-sized portions when I get home).
Gas
Clothing
Tires
Electronics
Office supplies.

What I don't buy is large quantities of fresh produce. There's nothing wrong with it; I just can't use it all before it goes bad.

And if you have a big party to prepare for, it's the perfect place to shop.

[Javaman]

3. Plus they pay a living wage and have great benefits. nt

[Zorra]

4. No. Sam's Club is Wal-Mart, a union busting, republican supporting enterprise.

Costco is a great alternative if there is a store in your area.

[CTyankee]

8. Thanks for filling me in. Of course, I would go to Costco instead. n/t

[crispini]

5. I doubt you'll use it. I don't.

I got a Costco membership for many of the reasons cited above, but I'm just too busy and have such little storage space and it's farther away anyway, so I never go there. Waste of dough.

[GOPisEvil]

7. If your Costco sells gas, you can pay for that membership.

Their gas will save you some money. I went to Costco to shop for stuff once a quarter or so. That was when I had a garage to store stuff though.

I'm single and for the most part, Costco is not worth it for me, other than the gas.

[CTyankee]

9. My supermarket sells gas and you get a discount of 5 cents off per gallon if you

use your membership card, plus 10 cents or 20 cents more depending on how many points you have by shopping there. Since it is right in front of the store it is convenient and the store is the closest one to me. I routinely get at least 15 cents, and often 20cents off per gallon every time I get gas...

[GOPisEvil]

10. Oh, then Costco or Sam's might not be your best option.

If you don't have storage for bulk paper goods, etc, it really makes no sense.

[crispini]

12. It's just soooooo far.

And I don't have a garage either. I don't remember if they have gas or not. They're near the Ikea; I'll check it out next time I'm out there indulging in some consumer spending orgy. :)

[GOPisEvil]

14. Oh, I had one down the road, not too far from my HEB.

I have to find the one up here. There's one around here somewhere. Maybe it's near OUR Ikea. lol

[guitar man]

6. If you have Costco

If you have Costco or another big box store, join them instead, they are worker friendly where Sam's is part of the Wal Mart empire. Unfortunately, down here in Oklahoma, the WM empire has bought the entire political machine and I doubt we will ever see a Costco here, so it's Sams Club or nothing in the big box arena. :(

[YankeyMCC]

11. In CT - Try BJ's Wholesale nt

[LynneSin]

13. No - because unless you're buying bulk you're not saving anything

and if you clip your coupons well you can get just as good of deals at the regular stores then you will at a Wal-Mart/Sam's Club.

I had an 18-month membership to BJ's and I found that I just never used it (I was able to get a membership for cheap thru my company). But one thing with BJs - they never check the picture on the membership card. So if I felt inspired to stock up on 100 rolls of TP, I could just use my friends card and it won't make a difference.

[Metta]

15. Sam's Club is Wal-Mart. Chinese slave labor. Union busting. Having states pay their

employees health care. Etc.

[WannaJumpMyScooter]

16. If you live far from Costco, you have no

real choice, I am quite sorry to report

[trof]

17. I hear the initiation is pretty rough.

I think it involves raw liver and eggs.

[kiva]

18. Most of the big box stores will let you come in and take

a tour, so you might try that first. Housemate and I had a Sam's Club membership a few years ago, then switched to Costco. In the end we stopped going because:
1. they changed several brands on stuff like coffee, and we didn't like the new brand
2. it was always a nightmare to shop there--tons of people, few open checkouts
3. most important reason--we always ended up buying stuff we hadn't planned on buying (snacks, videos, electronic stuff) because "it's such a good deal!"

If they have items you can use, and you're not impulse buyers :P you might find it useful. But whatever you do, don't post this in GD, there's always a flamewar going about Walmart/Sam's Club--last night ended up with some vicious attacks, and many walking wounded.

[CTyankee]

20. I have limped in to the Lounge from GD on many occasion to order my glass of Prosecco.

I am so clueless on these stores that I really didn't know that Sam's Club was a Wal Mart entity. I would probably have been hit by heavy artillery if I had posted this there...

[dembotoz]

19. my family thinks i live at costco

Fortunate because costco is my closest grocery outlet.
I go there first before other stores.
If you are CAREFUL and PAY ATTENTION to the prices, you can pay out
your memebership quickly.
But for it to make sense you have to use it and not everything is a good deal there.