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Sure there’s actual war going on and other problems the world needs to solve immediately (world peace, global warming, what’s for dinner…), but the one plaguing my house lately is figuring out where our devoted loyalty goes – Costco or Sam’s Club?
I’ve been so indoctrinated into the Costco way of life that it’s going to be hard to find room in my heart for one more. Sam’s Club? More like Schma’am-why-are-you-trying-to-buy-my-love-Club, AMIRITE?!
Anyways, there was a Groupon deal for a 1 year $20 membership to Sam’s Club and I took it as the perfect opportunity to nosey my way around and see if change is in store. TLDR; it comes really close, surprisingly.
We’ll start here, with membership fees – because this is where it hurts the most. Nothing to write home about, as Costco was just $10 USD more for each membership level . $50-$60 USD for the basic membership and $110-$120 for the fancy schmancy one. Although Sam’s Club has Groupon deals that range from 50%-60% off the regular rate and I wasn’t able to find one for Costco. Point goes to Sam’s Club.
Getting into both of the clubs while living in the hellhole of parking situations (aka Los Angeles) was pretty equal honestly. Both have extra large lots that were somehow still full, both have mega super duper sized carts, both have extra large aisles that are very easy to get in and out of (for both the able and disable bodied) and both have friendly people at the front pretending to check your membership ID.
Speaking of IDs, both have convenient apps that store your membership ID and payment methods (more on this later), should you leave yours at home. I thought about showing my Costco ID to see if the Sam’s Club front door lady would notice, but remembered 75% of people are dicks and I don’t need to be another one. It’s a draw, no points given.
My first impression of Sam’s Club was that it looked exactly like a giant WalMart – it’s as if the designers said “f*ck it,” leaving everything the same and even suggesting to name it “WalMart 2.”. It was also noticeably smaller than Costco and had a little bit of a depressing vibe – not sure if this was just adjusting to size or my pride for Costco trying to ruin everything. Point goes to Costco.
Despite the size, the layout was very organized and I was able to find everything I needed quickly. The signs were enormous and they didn’t gamify getting lost (looking at you, IKEA), which was a big plus. Not that Costco is necessarily hard to figure out, but their sign game is …. lacking. Plus they move stuff around all the time and we know how all of us over 35 hate change. Point goes to Sam’s Club.
Getting to the actual selection of product and pricing – this is a really tough one. I noticed that Sam’s Club had a much smaller selection and that selection consisted of more “every day” brands, whereas Costco has more options and seems to have a higher mix of mom-and-pop brands. Costco also seemed to have healthier options, with a wider variety of organic and diet friendly finds (Keto, Paleo, Gluten Free, etc.). I found a few Keto and organic options here and there at Sam’s Club, but they were far and few between. Point goes to Costco.
Where I have to give a big thumbs up to Sam’s Club, and what will probably make me keep both memberships, is that their meat was a little cheaper per pound and they had clearance options. This was amazing for people like me who buy month(s) ahead of time and immediately store in the freezer. But again, Costco had a much larger variety of cuts, animals and pre-seasoned meats so AHHHHHH. Point still goes to Sam’s Club.
Moving on to the fresh produce section, it was a little lacking but not too bad. They had both a refrigerated and room temp section like Costco has, but again with variety, it was just very limiting. You might find more options at a regular WalMart, honestly. Also, I know this is probably a froo-froo California thing, but the variety of organic fruits and vegetables was to be desired. Point to Costco.
I think it’s important to highlight the frozen food section specifically, because I was really let down by my experience in Sam’s Club. Not only was the variety and number of aisles really small, but I was just disappointed by the lack of frozen fruits and vegetables – it was very, very heavily focused on over processed, high fat, high salt, high everything foods. I was looking forward to lots of frozen vegetables and dinner mixes because WalMart has a lot of this, but was instead greeted by a frozen food desert. Point to Costco.
I had pretty much made up my mind by this point that I would not be renewing my Sam’s Club membership, but then the check out process happened. Mind CHANGED. Sam’s Club has a veeeerrrry convenient option to skip the line and scan your items with your phone; it’s then charged to your payment method on file. If you’ve ever had the pleasure of checking out of Costco on a Saturday afternoon, you know what kind of delicious treat this was. I was waving to all of my imaginary Costco friends in their long AF lines as I strolled right by the cashier and out to my car. Point to Sam’s Club.
All in all, it’s a really close one, but it’s still Costco for me, baybay, especially since my doctor is forcing me to follow this dumb diet limiting most carbs and bad fats. I’ll visit more Sam’s Club locations in case it’s just this store in particular, as I suspect it might be, but Costco just outranks in almost everything (even if only by a smidge).
I realize I didn’t review everything, as they have the same types of sections, both have the same types of offers when it comes to auto and home services, travel deals, reward programs and over the top bakeries, both have business incentives, etc, but this was like going to Galveston when I just came back from Miami.
I would still encourage you to give them both a shot – everybody’s life circumstances and preferences are different so maybe Sam’s Club is a better fit for you. And if you do and it happens to be the Torrance, CA location – come find me by the fountain soda section, because I’d be lying if their better variety of zero sugar sodas isn’t the real reason I’m keeping the membership.
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