Costco vs Sam's Club... Which Is Best?

Great Prices On Electronics

A friend of ours (thanks, David!) told us about a good deal that Costco had on Viewsonic 22" computer monitors. It's #VX2235wm - the 22" HD wide multimedia LCD monitor.

He got one. And since I've been scoping out monitors for the past few months, I thought I'd check it out.

My big, clunky 21" KDS monitor has served me well for many, many years, but I was hoping to save some desk space and widen the screen a bit -- with all the multitasking I do on computers 24/7. (I gave the flat screen that came with my new Dell to Jim back when he ordered his Dell -- without a monitor.)
Pictured at right is my *new* Viewsonic flat screen monitor.

Anyhoo... back to our review of Costco!

Why Costco Is Better Than Sam's Club

Granted, we've only been members at Costco for a few days... But first impressions go a long way, right?

#1 The people there -- from the card checker at the door... to the receipt checker at the other door... the membership signer-upper... and the checkout cashier -- were very pleasant and seemed genuinely happy to be working there. That is something you don't see at most retail businesses these days!

#2 We went on a Thursday evening -- and there were no lines, no crowds, no "madhouse shopping" in this retail warehouse.

#3 Things were laid out about the same as at the Sam's Club. And it seemed they had the same food products, just under different "member" labels. (I'm sure I have a lot more to learn in this respect, and I'll be sure to add an update after I find more similarities and differences between Costco and Sam's Club.)

#4 Of the handful of food items we glanced at, things seemed a few cents cheaper than at Sam's Club. And the computer monitor I bought cost $70 more at Office Depot, and most other places, including online retailers.

#5 The store seemed very clean and orderly. The clothes were all perfectly and neatly folded on the tables. Food items rarely seemed out of place. It made a good impression.

#6 They box your stuff for you! That's right...there's a cashier and a boxer checking you out each time. One runs your stuff through the scanner & handles your payment. The other puts each item into a perfectly-sized box, all nice & neat. At Sam's, we always had to go on a mad hunt for "the perfect" box while we were waiting in long lines. Then Sam's Club eventually instituted a policy stating they were not responsible for putting your items into the box for you. (I guess they didn't have the time.) They would only put it in the crate, leaving you to box it up when you transferred the items from the crate to your car. Ugh!

#7 At Costco, they take American Express. At Sam's Club, they only accepted Discover Card and Debit cards. Recently, I think they've started to accept Visa or MasterCard. Still no American Express that I'm aware of, and that happens to be our credit card of choice -- for the no annual fees, cash back rewards, and low interest rates. We use American Express exclusively for both, our personal and business purchases. (So, if you're a business owner and you prefer American Express, choose Costco!.)

#8 Evidence that they "look out" for their customers... We grabbed a bag of fresh-baked bagels from the deli area inside Costco. At the checkout register, the cashier told us that the bagels are two (2) bags for $3.49. (We thought it was one bag of oversized 'everything' bagels for that price.) Since so many people only grab one bag (like us), they have a big 'ol stack of bagels in bags up near the front registers. I figured they wouldn't be as "fresh", but they were marked with the same freshness date as the ones we picked out ourselves.

The Biggest Difference: Membership Prices

At Costco, a membership costs $50 (which includes membership cards for 2 individuals) -- whether you get a personal membership or a business membership.

On the other hand, at Sam's, it only cost us $35 each year (for the 2 of us to have "business" membership cards). Personal memberships are $40 for 2 individuals in a household.

Not A 'Pro' or A 'Con'... Just A Fact

It seems people are always talking about Costco, rather than Sam's, when discussing membership clubs these days.

Even big-wigs and celebrities... I can't tell you how many times this week I heard a couple of "Hollywood stars" mention Costco when they were talking about something they recently purchased. Which just tells me that are probably more Costco store locations than Sam's Clubs... who knows?

Until today, neither I nor Jim had never had a Costco membership before. So this Costco stuff is all new to us. But so far so good. We're glad to be members.

I Found This Interesting...

On my way out, I asked the cashier/checker what she thought was the biggest difference between a Costco membership and a Sam's Club membership.

She said:
"#1 our customer service.
Agreed.

"#2 our enhanced business membership privileges."
Ehhhh... we couldn't care less about these. They're just 'fluff' in our opinion. But they're obviously proud of 'em.

Then, I asked her about any differences in the food....

She said:
"The meat! I'm kind of a meat snob, and I used to only buy 'prime' cuts of meat. But now I buy all my meat here. It's not prime, but it's 'choice'."

The funniest part... You'd have thought someone set this up. The guy in line behind us said: "I'm a butcher. I used to have my own shop, but now I don't. I only buy my meat from here now. She's right. Their meat is really a lot better here -- especially if you know what to look for. I buy the larger cuts at a lower price, then cut them myself."

...I thought that was some very valuable information! Worth the price of admission, if you ask me.

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