I have never found anything at Sam's that can't be purchased as cheap or cheaper elsewhere. The difference is that doing so elsewhere requires at least some effort on the part of the shopper -- you need to know what is a good price and what isn't for the various things you buy on a regular basis and you have to watch sales.

Sam's is America's answer to combining laziness and frugality while catering to people's need for instant gratification -- no need to save the money and wait for a sale when you can walk in there and feel like you're getting a deal any old day you want.

 

We save buying just our yeast alone from Costco. How much does a jar of yeast cost these days at the grocery store? Last time I checked it was over $6 for a little 4 oz. jar.

You can buy two lbs yeast at Costco for $3.89. We make two loaves of bread everyday, so we go through a lot of yeast!

ETA: You can buy a membership at Costco for $50, I don't know why Sams would be so much more. Gas is also a bit cheaper through Costco, but we live too far away to make good use of that.

 

mekasmom,
check out this link:

http://www.samsclub.com/sams/homepage.jsp?selectedTab=allProducts

looks like Sam's Clubs are doing an open house this weekend - you may want to go just to shop this weekend to stock up on stuff they have a good price on.

 

The yeast is a great deal. Milk is usually cheaper for us. I like the quality of the shrimp much better than the stuff at the grocery.
I send my prescriptions there because they are cheaper and faster than even walmart.
I do not have the $100 card, that is a waste. I have the rider card on my son's account. He is a bachelor and into quick microwave stuff and shops there almost exclusively.

 

Also, check with the customer service desk at Sam's and see if they have the membership that only costs $35.00 a year. My SIL and I share the cost as we get 2 cards for that price. I am not sure what this plan is called but we used our sales tax exemption for the farm to get it as a business card so we can get in early. No one has ever questioned if we were getting merchandise for the farm or for home use. Didn't need the expensive membership as it covers travel and buying cars and stuff like that.

 

My membership only cost me @ $40, and they also will shop for me. I only need to show up and pay for it.

For me, with my weak ankles, it is worth it. I don't think that I would pay $100, though, as it would take longer to break even.

 

Actually, it only $40 for a membership. That $100 one is only if you want the Advantage Club which only if you want to shop early (before the store officially opens in the a.m.) or want special offers available only to Advantage Club members).

If it's worth the $40 or not depends on what type of shopping you will be doing. We have more than made up for our $40 membership, but we buy in bulk for stocking up. If you're going to only save $2 on a #40 bag of sugar and only buy one, then it's not worth it. But if you're going to buy 5 bags, that's a $10 savings. Same with all the rest of the staples; it adds up quick.

They also have very good prices on some OTC medications and sanitary supplies. Again, it's all bulk buying.

Also, a person who buys brand name will save. Or someone who is having a large party, wedding, etc. for paper or party products.

At Christmas time, they have a lot of specials and good prices. Also a lot of good prices on computer items.

You just have to watch and keep going back because the inventory often changes. One visit we got whole bean coffee for $1.50 for a 3 lb. bag. I think I bought like 20 bags!

I have to travel 2 hrs. round-trip to Sams and I think their meats and produce is high, but I'm able to get things not available in our local grocery stores and we have no meat markets here.

Around here I can't beat the price of their butter either; $2.48 ($3.10 is the cheapest at any store here). Milk is $3.00 at Sam's versus $3.68 here.

Now if you live in an area of lots of choices in grocery stores where there is competition, Sam's probably would not pay off for you. But if you live rural with few choices and are a prepper, it's a big payoff.

 

BTW, I do like Costco better (had one when we lived in Florida) and they do have better prices; but we don't have them any where around here.

 

For $100, no way. For $35 it has been worth it to DH to buy supplies for group picnics. Spices, etc are cheap per ounce but am I really going to use that huge jar? And I get tired of eating cole slaw for days after DH buys a huge bag when nobody else is here. On the other hand, I doubted we would ever use 50lb of popcorn before it went stale but it is gone & we bought another. Although it helped that I left it in the freezer for much of that time. So it all depends on what you use.

 

My sister and I share a membership. It costs $40 for an "advantage" membership or $100 for an "advantage plus" membership-we have the cheaper option. You have to really pay attention to prices, as sometimes it's not really a savings to buy it in bulk. I have found that milk, peppers, yeast, vanilla and some snack foods are usually lots cheaper there. We've also found really good deals on large ticket items like our freezer, which we saved $200 on. My DH works really close to our nearest store now, which also has a gas station. This is saving us a lot since with the membership card he saves an average of $0.15/gallon. It adds up since he drives 60 miles to work each day. Wish he could work closer, but it's a good job.

 

BTW, I do like Costco better (had one when we lived in Florida) and they do have better prices; but we don't have them any where around here.

I do too. We used to have a Sam's Club membership but my boss started buying an annual membership for me at Costco (i have a nice boss!) so we dropped Sam's Club. Costco has much better prices for us -especially coffee, sugar, rice and tea.

 

Actually, it only $40 for a membership. That $100 one is only if you want the Advantage Club which only if you want to shop early (before the store officially opens in the a.m.) or want special offers available only to Advantage Club members).

If it's worth the $40 or not depends on what type of shopping you will be doing. We have more than made up for our $40 membership, but we buy in bulk for stocking up. If you're going to only save $2 on a #40 bag of sugar and only buy one, then it's not worth it. But if you're going to buy 5 bags, that's a $10 savings. Same with all the rest of the staples; it adds up quick.

They also have very good prices on some OTC medications and sanitary supplies. Again, it's all bulk buying.

Also, a person who buys brand name will save. Or someone who is having a large party, wedding, etc. for paper or party products.

At Christmas time, they have a lot of specials and good prices. Also a lot of good prices on computer items.

You just have to watch and keep going back because the inventory often changes. One visit we got whole bean coffee for $1.50 for a 3 lb. bag. I think I bought like 20 bags!

I have to travel 2 hrs. round-trip to Sams and I think their meats and produce is high, but I'm able to get things not available in our local grocery stores and we have no meat markets here.

Around here I can't beat the price of their butter either; $2.48 ($3.10 is the cheapest at any store here). Milk is $3.00 at Sam's versus $3.68 here.

Now if you live in an area of lots of choices in grocery stores where there is competition, Sam's probably would not pay off for you. But if you live rural with few choices and are a prepper, it's a big payoff.

What Karen said. Before when we lived in a metro area I could cherry pick between 5 stores within a mile or two of each other. Now our local grocery store is 5 miles away and Walmart is 36 miles away. Another grocery store is over 30 miles away in yet another direction. So we go to Costco every so often and stock up. We're a large family so we go through food pretty quickly... we don't have a problem using things up

Here's a nifty website that keeps current on Costco food prices. I thought it may interest you: http://www.pinchingyourpennies.com/forums/showthread.php?t=89211

We had a Sams membership before our Costco membership, I also prefer Costco to Sams.

These are items we routinely buy in bulk:

Yeast
Flour
Sugar
Spices
Tea
Coffee
Butter
Cream
Milk
Toilet Paper
Ester C
Soap
Rice (we eat rice about 4 nights a week)
Peanut Butter
Cheese
Vegetable Oil

We very rarely buy meat or produce from them.

 

It's well worth the cost of membership IF you pay attention to what you buy.

They also sell tires and appliances cheaper than many other places

 

In terms of stocking up I found the big bags of rice, flour, and pinto beans to be a lot cheaper than local prices. Also, oatmeal and yeast (as others have mentioned). I can get sugar cheaper at Walmart. The regular membership is $35 here too I believe but I share with a couple of friends.

 

As someone else said, the $100 membership is only for the "Advantage Plus".

DH and I have the $35 membership. For us it is definately worth it. We save enough on one month of his prescriptions to pay for the membership.

Not only that, but some of us don't have the luxury of being able to "wait for a sale" since we aren't home much. I do take advantage of local sales whenever the opportunity arises, however, there are just certain things it is far easier and cheaper for us to get from Sam's when we're home.

Example ... 10# bag of Great Northern Beans (local price) $7.28. To purchase the equivelant 10#'s of beans from the local grocery .. $0.99 per # = $9.90. A savings of $2.62.

10# bag of Pinto Beans (local price) $5.54. To purchase the equivelant of #'s from the local grocery ... $0.99 per # = $9.90. A savings of $4.36

It all depends on what you are buying. Not everything is a savings at Sams so keep that in mind and you should do fine.

 

a 100.00 for membership?!??! where the heck are you? Yikes- I am a member and it cost us only 35.00 for the year... it is worth it for us- I think you have to determine if it is worth it for you as a family.. for us- it is worth it- we use it alot- and we don't go in there with out a list-
I get 25 lb of flour for 8 bucks, 20 lbs of sugar for 11 bucks... around here- that is cheap!

 

we have the 40 dollar mebership a few things to save on

we do a spagheti dinner fund raiser , and the paper /disposable products they have for restaraunts are a big help

pasta came to 66 cents a pound x120 pounds when my bulk foods supplier wanted around a dollar a pound

sauce makings , salad dressing

milk depending on how much milk you drink you could make up the 40 just on milk they are 1.99 a gallon and 2.57 is as good as it is getting at most any other store i have found and the small grocery wants 3.09 a gallon most of the time

checks , yes thats right they print checks my wife said that with the checks she ordered it saved the hole membership cost as each box of cheks has 125 instead of 100 and they are less that the price of 100

bleach

tires have been a savings for us in the past also

go look around take you past recipts figure out your cost per ounce on items then compare you are correct it is not always better , as often they only carry a brand name and you would normaly buy the genaric.

 

I don't think I'd do $100 membership, but I pay the $50 membership for Costco. I will admit though I am thinking about letting it lapse. I started it when my kids were in diapers and their diapers were significantly cheaper than buying the decent ones at the store. Their formula was also quite a bit cheaper, and I had to use both when I first started at Costco (single mom with kid in daycare). Costco brand diapers are the same as huggies with different printing on them.

Since then I have found they are stellar on good quality pet food, we've been buying dog and cat food from them. We also will pick up various other things that are cheaper, like TP and miscellaneous other things but since we are no longer in diapers I have a feeling that it isn't going to be worth the fee for us. Some things are cheaper, and they always have cute kids clothes that are a good deal, but we hardly go anymore.

We live a good 40 minutes away from the Costco now (used to live 5 minutes from one) and my kids are out of diapers, and I'm a stay home mom now which means I can use cloth diapers and nix the formula this time around. I think with Winco and now having more time to watch for bargains it won't be something we'll even miss.

 

We get our money's worth out of our Costco membership. I love their fresh fruits and veggies - they're cheaper and fresher than anything I can get at the grocery store. Staples like rice, flour, sugar and paper products like Kirkland brand TP, tissues and paper towels are cheaper, and I know some won't agree but I like their meats too. Milk and butter are also much cheaper there than any grocery store. I buy tuna by the case, and soups, oils, dried fruits and some spices. Sometimes I can find a little better price on sale at the grocery store, but the often have limits on purchases. I also get the Kirkland brand dogfood at a big savings.

We belonged to Sam's for a year and I let that membership go. They didn't have as many store brands in large containers, and they seemed to cater more to the convenience foods and frozen foods.

But wherever you shop, you HAVE to know your prices. It's easy to overpay when you don't know your $ per ounce, or container sizes.

 

My husband stopped in last year and thought they told him it was $100. If it's only 40 or less, we might look at it this weekend. I just honestly cannot see spending money in order to get a membership for the right to buy things though. I guess I must be cheap.
I wish we had a Costco near here. I've never seen one, but it sounds good.

 

I like BJ's and Sam's (they are across the street from one another here). My closet Costco is 50 miles away, so they aren't an option. We go back and forth on our memberships as they carry different things at good prices. This year is our Sam's year. So we will stock up on their deals this year and make sure by the end of our membership we have enough to carry us through the following year when we are BJ's members (just like I have enough BJ's deal to cover this year). We easily save the $40 for membership each year - usually on the first transaction. Some items are within pennies of the same price between the two so we don't bother stocking those items too far ahead. We might do even better (save more) if we bought the pre-packaged food, but I only buy basic ingredients, occasionally we splurge and buy a pre-packaged treat...maybe 2 a year. My neighbor buys allot of their sports drinks, frozen food and bottled water there. She saves a boat load over grocery store prices, so depending on why you buy you could save $100's......we save about $60-100 after the price of membership and gas to get there (I go once ever 2 months or so).

I can get the same price on flour and rice elsewhere.....but it's a 100 mile round trip to do it. Sam's/BJ's are only 15 miles away, so they are a much better deal once you work in gas (at 15 MPG) and time.

 

Our membership cost $35 for 2 cards. I think the price was raised shortly after we renewed. I shop at Sam's for a lot of stuff. Most of the time their prices are better than grocery store sales, if you want to tote home and store a huge bag of rice, flour, sugar, etc. I buy a lot of cheese there. I can't get sliced pepperjack or shredded 4 cheese Mexican blend cheaper anywhere else, even on sale and after coupons. Sam's also has some items which are unique to Sam's. And as far apart as some stores are I would be wasting gas to go all over Columbus looking for better deals. Memory cards for my phone and our cameras are cheaper at Sam's than they are from the bulk bin of the electronic store 20 miles away.

There is a Sam's Club, Meijer, Giant Eagle, Kroger, GFS, Aldi's, Wal-Mart and Target all within 3 miles. I watch the sales, I use coupons when they are available, I check prices. Yes I can honestly say I save more money than my membership costs. Just today I saved almost $2.00 on a gas fill-up and $15 on our pizza lunch.

 

I just bought a membership two months ago and it was 35.00. You can check it out online.

 

I like Sam's better than Costco---but I am used to Sam's. Not everything is cheaper, but if you're tired of the one store you can shop at....and DH will go to Sam's where he will not go to a grocery store. If we do any 'shopping' it's at Sam's. we got a great price on a printer/scanner as well as the ink cartridges. socks, some clothes..but like everyone else says - it depends on where you are used to shopping if you think it's worth it.

sugar, flour, rice....all good prices for me at Sam's. I only go every 3-4 months, but I think the $40 is worth it to get away for the day if nothing else.

 

It's $40 here too. And worth it for us!

The ones out here are selling some bulk "survival" foods now. Giant buckets of sealed wheat berries and similar. Bulk rice and beans (etc...) are very cheap there.



Costco is the same price but has more gourmet and organic items and the selection is different.