Is Sam's Club Membarship Worth It? Here's My Recent Experience

[ronp]

I recently bought  some Pup-Peronies a dog snack. I went to Kroggers and bought a 3.5 oz bag for 3.50. I thought i got screwed so I went to Petco and got 25 oz bag for 18.00 I knew I was still paying too much, so I went to Sam's club and got a 2# (32oz) bag for 9.95.

Doing the math Sam's is .31 an oz, Petco was .72 per oz, and Krogers was 1.00 an oz.

Figuring I saved 69 an oz at Sam's x 32 oz I saved 22.08 plus a gas purchase that I saved 2.00 = 24.00 one stop, it was well the membership (35.00) on one stop.

I returned the others and kept the Sam's

I hope my math is correct.

.

What do you think?

 

[meateater]

With the few purchases I would buy at sam's it wasnt worth the membership for me. I can get the same things at another location and save the membership fee. I must crunch in these demonic times.

 November rain.

 

[beer-b-q]

I had been a Sam's member since the opened the first store in Kansas City in I think 1987.  A couple of years back I let my membership lapse but purchased a new one In January of this year.  My first purchase was one of the New MES 40" units with the 1200 watt element and the additional 3 year warranty.  I figure my savings on that alone will pay my membership for about 4 years if you figure their price on the MES $299.00 + $39.00 warranty vs $499.00 at Bass Pro or Cabela's...

It doesn't take a lot of purchases to make the cost of the membership pay for itself...  If you buy a lot of high dollar items it adds up rather quickly...  If you figure only a $5.00 savings on one item it would only take 7 items to pay for your membership then it is pure savings...

 

[flbobecu]

The main things that make the membership worthwhile to us is:

Cost of meat items (primarily USDA Prime, ribs ($2.99/lb) and hot dogs)

Cost of dog treats (2 dogs, and they're spoiled)

Cost of cleaning items (Lysol, dish washer soap, etc.)

Cost of some fruits/veggies (primarily grapes, strawberry's and black berry's)

And occasionally we'll buy items from the freezer. 

"We" will save $40 a month on about $150 worth of items, pretty easily. When I buy Prime meat, depending on the size of the meat, I can easily save $40 on one slab of meat - comparing prices of Choice and Prime from local butchers. However, work pays for the membership - but I'd pay for it regardless. 

 

[flash]

Not anymore. They are over 45 minutes for us to drive to now. I no longer use them to buy film or do processing since I've gone digital. Instead of buying meat there, we shop the sales locally or go in on a cow with a neighbor or two and have it processed.

 And personally I would would switch over to something else for your dog's snacks. Pup-Peronies are not really good for dogs. Even my dog's favorite Beggin Strips has fallen down in quality.

http://www.americanchronicle.com/articles/view/90310

http://hubpages.com/hub/Dog_Treat_and_Snack_Review

 

[deannc]

Ron, that's the best deal for Pup-Peronies...our 3 dogs are addicted to them for about 4 years!  The little Italian Greyhound knows treat time like she has an internal clock, twice a day! lol  They are ridiculously expensive everywhere except Sam's.

We get a lot of our paper and laundry products and pet stuff at Sam's.  I also now grab spices and commercial size plastic wrap and foil boxes there.  They're fuel prices are usually pretty competitive too.

 

[ismoke]

My folks have a Sam's membership and swear by it.  I have Costco because my work pays for it (well, until I have to renew in a couple months) and have been trying to decide what to get.  Similar from a convenience standpoint - except for gas.  Tough to explain, but I will get more gas from costco than if I have a sam's membership.  Trying to decide if it's worthwhile to do both....

 

[squirrel]

I paid 35.00 for my membership. I have compared many prices and items like paper towels, toilet paper, foil, paper plates, etc. and all of these come in those giant bulk sizes that I can't get anywhere else. I'm not much into shopping and the one thing Sam's offers that I just LOVE is the click and pull service. I go to their website, shop for anything, including dairy products, and they "pull" it and put it on a big cart, put my name on it and the next day I go in, find the one with my name and check out. I love that free service!

 

[smoke 2 geaux]

I use a lot of foil, paper plates, aluminum pans etc... that alone makes it worth it for me.

 

[solaryellow]

Also a fan of Sam's. We have had memberships to Sam's and Costco for many years. This year we let our Costco membership lapse. It might be a local issue but Sam's is much cheaper on the items we purchase than Costco. Some meat is as much as a $1/lbs different which was surprising.

 

[mballi3011]

I to have memberships at Sam's and BJ's but we have let the BJ's lapse also. But I keep the one for Sam's for the convenience it's right around the corner from us. Now they do have some good meat at this particular store. Many don't have the same quality (to me) in all their stores in (5) town. Now I also shop at Restaurant Depot and I play one against the other many times on pricing. Now sometime it Sam's and sometimes it the Depot for the cheapest on meats now for the paper plate, napkins, foil, and foil pans it's Sam's all the way.   

 

[subzero]

For us it's been totally worth it. We just got a statement from Sam's recently showing us our savings. They compare what you bought and how much, on average the same quantity would have cost you at a chain supermarket. If i remember correctly, our savings was just over $1000, and we just joined last September.

I will definitely be renewing as soon as it's close to expiring.

 

[bpopovitz]

Depending on you family situation - 3 words - Diapers & Baby formula.  I fiugre over the last 6 years we have saved approx 1000 just on those 2 items.  Now, that's not to say that I couldnt gor to Wal-Mart  or Kroger and buy the off brand of either one of those items and come close, but none of our kids liked the off brands. 

Now that I'm fairly new to this wonderful hobby of smoking we are still saving tons of money at Sams. Just this past week I bought a pork loin for 17.78 Out of that loing I cut 10 fairly thin chops (about 4 oz each) 4-8 oz chops, a 2.5 lb roast and had about 1 lb left that i just cuebd up for stir fry later.  Since the local kroger doesnt carry a loin that large I have to price out the individual items - A ball park at current proces is about $30.  Well worth it if you ask me and take the time to break down the large items to smaller usable items.

 

[mongoose]

We are addicted to Sams.  We live an hour away, but make several trips each year to buy in bulk.  It is well worth it for us.

 

[pandemonium]

The meats and the pills pay for the cost, if you buy their brand heartburn pills and vitamins its way cheaper for that type stuff and its big bottles so they last forever.

 

[dale5351]

IMO, the box warehouse stores (Sams, BJs, Costco) are all worthwhile.  They don't carry all the same things, but what they do carry is usually at a better price than you can get in regular stores.  The downside is that many food items are bulk purchase and so you need to be able to store them.

We have membership in both Costco and BJs -- but let our Sams expire since it is 35 minutes away.

Sometimes a regular grocery store will come close to equal their prices on a sale, but not often.

I will always buy my pork spareribs (1.89 / lb), pork butts (1.39/lb) and most steaks from them.

Our Costco has a gasoline station that is usually $0.20 per gallon cheaper than other stations in the area.

 

[deltadude]

We have both Sam's and Costco.  We have been a Costco member since the early 90s, and 2.5 years ago joined Sam's just to buy the MES.  Here in Sacramento area, Costco is HUGE, there are always 2 or 3 times the customers in the store at Costco. If it is holiday shopping I head to Sams because I can get out of their quicker.  Pricing depending on most items are relatively close, so you have to pay attention to find the better deal.  Meat, Sam's at where I shop has a limited supply, I generally buy all our meat at Costco.  Sam's where I shop seems to be making an attempt at smaller packaging than Costco, so I don't have to buy twice what I need for some products at Sams, and really Sams should pursue the packaging option more, it would win a lot of customers away from Costco.  Costco here on Fridays has fresh or frozen seafood area, you can get fresh shrimp, crab, clams etc, the Sam's I use doesn't offer that.  One thing Sams has that Costco doesn't is a commercial kitchen supply area, where you can buy commercial grade cooking accessories. I bought one of the teflon coated fry pans, and really like it, plus other stuff from this section.  Both are within 5-6 miles of our house in the same general direction, so if one is out of something we can easily pick it up at the other.  Last the gas at Sam's is about 5-8 cents less a gallon than Costco usually.\

We have both memberships paid up, so for now no change.

 

[ecducit]

I was a Sam's member for a minute years ago, but walked away leaving my membership card in the hands of the associate who I told "They lost a customer today."

I'd gone there to their vehicle service dept. needing a new tire installed to replace the one the wheel I carried in.  I wasn't in a hurry, but maybe too quickly flustered when "they couldn't take it today."  They were booked up.

I said "That's alright, I'll come back to get it when you're done with it tomorrow."  They said I couldn't leave it there and I'd have to return with it tomorrow.

I really was in disbelief of their suggesting that.  Then again, they're not your corner gas station either.  Nevertheless, I haven't missed going there and there are plenty of other aspiring customers signing up everyday - so I wasn't missed.

 

[eman]

We don't have costco or RD here and i can walk to sams from my house .

 we do shop there and our store has a great meat selection.

i still shop the sales at a few of the local grocers . today- sams spare ribs $1.79

leblancs grocery $1.59.

 Sams ground round $2.39  leblancs  $1.79

sams , split breast $1.49    leblancs .99

 next week sams will be cheaper.