Costco vs. Sam’s Club- ?

Assessing Sam’s Club to Wal-Mart to Goal.  Many times, the choice between both warehouse clubs boils down to price vs. brand selection (and location). We examine that one is best.

Costco vs. Sam’s Club

Sam’s clubs tend to be  located in areas where clients have to budget store, while Costcos have a tendency to be located in richer suburbs. One (Costco) offers less selection and better quality, while the other (Sam’s club) offers more selection and a little less quality. One (Costco) is the biggest seller of fine wines and the other (Sam’s Club) is a portion of the business that is the biggest seller of well, all.

From a budget fashion standpoint, Costco is obviously the better choice for people who are looking for brand names such as Calvin Klein Jeans for $22.99 and the shop has a great”no-questions-asked-return-policy“. It’s private label manufacturer, Kirkland,  has men’s dress shirts that are similar to the private label manufacturers of big department store like Nordstrom in quality and cost 50% less.  However, what attracts budget shoppers like myself to the shop is that Costco caps their markups at 14 percent over the cost they paid for a product –significantly less than department stores (around 50%) and yep, less than Sam’s Club/Wal-Mart. Plus, there’s proof that Costco employees are better paid than their Sam’s Club counterparts– as one person Costco employees frequently make more money in which it costs money because they work and reside in wealthy suburbs.

Another”plus” for Costco is your wonderful deals on necessities such as Gas for your car and eyewear- both of which can be purchased at Costco (and at some Sam’s Clubs, albeit with limited selection on the glasses ) at a significant discount from other retail outlets. By way of instance, you can often save around $.10 per gallon (and more) on gasoline at Costco stations. You might also buy wedding bands and designer handbags at both stores (although recent suits imply that the designer purses may not be, well, designer).

Don’t go and cut up your Sam’s club card. Sam’s club has more places in which brand name really doesn’t matter and I think deals on items such as toilet paper, bottle water. Additionally, Sam’s Club shares deals that are exclusive, such as a limited edition Garth Brooks cd box set, along with it’s sister store, Wal-Mart and the membership is about $15 cheaper than Costco.

Despite their great deals and bulk markets (do you actually need a 7 pound chocolate cake? ) ) , I think something is missing from these types of shops. Fashionistas will not wish to head into the native Sam’s club en bulk. With the exception of mass market Calvin Klein jeans and dress shirts that are fine, the rest of the clothing choice leaves much to be desired. One place that they could improve are the sizing (or lack of) their clothing. I’d estimate 75% of the girls I’ve seen shopping at my local Costco will be considered and size over, yet a vast majority of the clothing are under or in dimension 16/XL.

The layout of these stores can be confusing. You will find little to no beating about the aisles, so you spend 30 minutes looking for peanut butter. When you find the peanut butter, there is a limited choice concerning brands (buyers for the warehouse buy whatever brand they can find the cheapest for the week). Once you choose a brand you need to wait 30 minutes at a check online. But, I could see the allure of the store, particularly for families, with big grocery requirements. For them it’s worth it.

The Verdict: Sam’s Club is a great for staples such as toilet paper, while Costco is best for the”extras” such as eye glasses, smoked salmon etc..