Pellet Fan
All Things Considered => General Discussion--Food Related => Topic started by: Trooper on January 23, 2018, 03:28:42 PM
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Recently I started a top with specific interest to Costco members. Now there are about four pages of comments on the stores.
I don't have a Costco near me and have a Sam's Club about 20 minutes away in Holland.
So, what are your thoughts about Sam's Club (Other than it's in kahoots with WalMart -Big Deal)
Recently, I visited a Sams Club in Florence, KY and I saw that they have a selection if USDA Prime Beef.
That store certainly is in a different distribution network than my store, as I have not seen prime at all. Any other locations for prime?
There certainly must be a similarity between stores. Hey, what about those out there that have memberships in both clubs. AYE?
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I've had memberships to both over the years. Now I'm a strong Costco user and won't bother with Sam's anymore.
They're both very similar but I find the general quality of stuff and in particular the awesome "Kirkland Signature" private brand at Costco to be much better.
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At least in Topeka, KS. We have never seen prime. We were members of Costco for probably 15? years plus and truly saw prime all the time plus it sure seems to me that you could find meat selections more varied. Could find pork belly almost always. The thing both have in common is you sure can't count on anything being there the next time. Hated that. Short of that we didn't see a whole lot of difference although Costco employees truly were more helpful but hard to find other than the front as mentioned previously.
Kansas City for Costco it is too far to make it worthwhile.
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There isn't a Sams Club near me so i use Costco, BJs, and Restaurant Depot.
Preference is Costco. BJs when Costco is closed and Restaurant Depot to source Briskets.
Prime selection in Costcos in the North East is very limited. Prime ribeye, filets, and NY Strips. And I think Porterhouse but that's just filets and NY strip before they are deconstructed.
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They recently closed a bunch of Sam's Clubs including the one nearest me. In all I believe that I read that 63 stores would be closed nation wide. :(
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I have a Sam's Club, Costco, Restaurant Depot, and Chef Store close to me. My local Costco is always packed and I only get gas from there. I do like the Lime Cilantro shrimp but I hardly purchase it because it takes too long to check out. I use Sam's Club mostly for household bulk items. My big meats come from RD and some time Chef Store.
We all use what works best for us I guess.
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When I lived in Arizona we had a Sam's Club about 2 miles from our house, used them all the time. We were actually members of both and used both for different things.
When we moved back home to the PNW the closest Sams was about 50 miles away and it didn't make sense to keep our membership. It's gotten even worse now, that store was one of the ones in the recent group of closures, and it makes even less sense to try to get to a store. One thing I did like about Sam's Club though was that they sponsored BBQ competitions in a really big way.
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When I lived in Arizona we had a Sam's Club about 2 miles from our house, used them all the time. We were actually members of both and used both for different things.
When we moved back home to the PNW the closest Sams was about 50 miles away and it didn't make sense to keep our membership. It's gotten even worse now, that store was one of the ones in the recent group of closures, and it makes even less sense to try to get to a store. One thing I did like about Sam's Club though was that they sponsored BBQ competitions in a really big way.
Yeah the more I hear the reports it almost sounds like they closed all the PNW located Sam's clubs. Closest to me was about 20miles north, that one and the next three going north all got chopped. Pretty much all the locations in central puget sound. Sort of makes sense since this is Costco's home turf, but still sad to see.
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When I lived in Arizona we had a Sam's Club about 2 miles from our house, used them all the time. We were actually members of both and used both for different things.
When we moved back home to the PNW the closest Sams was about 50 miles away and it didn't make sense to keep our membership. It's gotten even worse now, that store was one of the ones in the recent group of closures, and it makes even less sense to try to get to a store. One thing I did like about Sam's Club though was that they sponsored BBQ competitions in a really big way.
Yeah the more I hear the reports it almost sounds like they closed all the PNW located Sam's clubs. Closest to me was about 20miles north, that one and the next three going north all got chopped. Pretty much all the locations in central puget sound. Sort of makes sense since this is Costco's home turf, but still sad to see.
That one that is 20 miles north of you is the one that is 50 north of me. :-)
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My closest Sam's Club has a limited supply of prime beef we haven't made a purchase of it yet but will certainly try some steaks this spring. Our closest Costco is 40 miles away got a free membership thru work. Going to get some briskest there soon. I have been there several different days and times looking around but those lines at the checkout are just crazy. So that has kept me from making any 2 or 3 item purchases.
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BTW, if your local or nearest Sam's club closed, you can get a refund of your membership fee at this site:
https://www.samsclub.com/sams/html/best-deals/update.html
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We had 2 BJs close a few years back. But luckily one of them reopened about 6 months ago. I was able to get a refund on my membership since the one I used was closed.
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Well Trooper I see the Costco on Wilson is about 50 minutes from your house.
Maybe if you made an "outing" it would be worth the trip.
They've got a really good pizza and hot dog stand in the store.
Cheap too.
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Well Trooper I see the Costco on Wilson is about 50 minutes from your house.
Maybe if you made an "outing" it would be worth the trip.
They've got a really good pizza and hot dog stand in the store.
Cheap too.
Yeah, but they don't sell those ice cream bars any more.
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But their ice cream in a cup is pretty good.
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TechBargains often has a discount deal on the membership of anyone is looking.
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half the time at sams i end up with a sausage, peppers, and onions sandwich after checking out before i leave the store
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I can only find choice and select in my Sams club. Usually choice, never seen a prime brisket there yet. >:(
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I can only find choice and select in my Sams club. Usually choice, never seen a prime brisket there yet. >:(
Aye? I have NEVER seen any Select grade of beef meat at Sam's Club. I'm not saying it ain't so. Just would find that very hard to believe.
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I can only find choice and select in my Sams club. Usually choice, never seen a prime brisket there yet. >:(
Aye? I have NEVER seen any Select grade of beef meat at Sam's Club. I'm not saying it ain't so. Just would find that very hard to believe.
My club has full packer selects mixed in with the choice quite often.
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I have both Costco and Sam's club memberships...
From where I live, the nearest Costco is 27 miles away... from where I work, it's one mile away... I pretty much feel that the discounted prices on gas alone pay for my membership at Costco, so regardless of which of the stores is better, I will keep my Costco membership...
Sam's... There is one about 13 miles from my home.. ( in Jackson ). Often on weekends and other times, I'm near there, so regardless of which store is better, I want to keep my Sam's club membership... even though my wife wants me to drop it...
IMHO, Sam's Club is just ever so slightly the lesser of the two membership clubs...
I don't know that they ever carry any PRIME meat, where Costco does. Now, I rarely buy PRIME meat because I don't see the value in it for me personally, at least not very often. The exception being Costco's PRIME brisket... and the main reason I buy that , is it's not really expensive... My Sam's rarely has any kind of Brisket for under $5/lb, and Costco sells the PRIME for $3.29/lb right now. Sam's has reasonably good meat , at reasonably good prices, but Costco has slightly better meat ( non prime ) at the same prices as Sam's. Sam's does sometimes mark down meat as it hits the sell by date, when I'm there , I always look for good deals of this sort, my Costco never seems to have any meat that hit's the expiration date, so never any deals of this sort...
For some odd reason, there are certain things that Costco just doens't sell, but Sam's does sell , bulk bags of pepperoni for example... Price of pepperoni has gone up recently it seems, and I use enough of it that I do buy it in bulk, then vacuum seal it up in smaller bags, I feel better about my pepperoni purchase price doing this. I'm not 100% sure on this, but I don't think Costco sells uncooked bacon either... Not that I buy much bacon these days , since I make my own ( using pork belly from Costco )... On the other hand, my Sam's rarely has pork belly for sale, and when it does, it's like 50% higher priced than Costco...
The main issue with these stores, and what probably should be your deciding factor, is are you really going to buy in bulk... and where will you store the 'bulk' that your not using at the moment? Most of the really good values are related to bulk purchases... Like even toilet papper... you have to buy like 50 rolls at a time. ( I've heard that toilet paper is one of Costco's biggest sellers, I assume Sam's is the same ). Yes, there are good deals to be found on single items of things, but how many times do you need a slow cooker that's $5 cheaper then what you can get at Target?
So, my advice would be go to Sam's , I think they very likely will give you a guest pass for a day. ( not sure if you'll actually be able to buy using it though )... Look around, see what you see, figure out if it's worth your time... And/or just buy a year membership... Not 100% sure, but it may be the case that you can return your membership if you don't like it ( I know Costco will let you cancel your membership for full refund )... But anyway, if you like what you see on your day trip, get the membership ... at worst it's a $50 gamble... If you find you don't use it much thorough the year, just don't renew next year...
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I am not talking about logistics or anything like that. It has nothing to with one being closer than the other or more convenient. If there were a Target on one side of the street and a Walmart on the opposite side, and one could pull into either location as easily as the other, I have found with the people that I know personally, there is a pretty good correlation between those that prefer Walmart over Target, generally prefer Sams. The opposite seems to hold true for the most part too. Those that prefer to shop at a Target over Walmart, seem to prefer Costco.
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We use our Sam's membership for whatnot and stuff; it's on the other side of town, so we usually don't get gas there unless we're near in the first place. We have the $100 membership, which gets us Instant Savings several times a year, plus 2% credit back ($10 per $500 spent) at the end of the year. Between the two, it pays for itself.
As for meat, not much selection; an occasional Choice flat, no Prime anything, but you can buy all the ribs, butt, ground beef, and chicken you want.
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I have both Costco and Sam's Club membership. The Sam's Club location is easier to get to and we use it the most. Unless we are buying meat then we use Costco. Costco's meat selection IMHO is better than Sam's.
I originally joined Costco for the 2% money back on the membership being I bought a pair of hearing aids from them.
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I wish Costco had these...Or better yet, the ones with the yellow color bag you brought last May to Liberty, IN...
(https://images.samsclubresources.com/is/image/samsclub/0007874217908_A?wid=1500&hei=1500&qlt=80&op_sharpen=1)
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I have both Costco and Sam's club memberships...
From where I live, the nearest Costco is 27 miles away... from where I work, it's one mile away... I pretty much feel that the discounted prices on gas alone pay for my membership at Costco, so regardless of which of the stores is better, I will keep my Costco membership...
I do not have one quite that close to work, but I have one right between home and work. That Costco gas is a super deal and the savings on fuel alone over the course of a year more than pays for my membership.
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Costco has similar sirloin beef patties.
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Not yesterday in Fredericksburg they didn't!
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So as a matter of distance, I'm a member at Sam's Club-18 miles.
And I have visited Costco (the more distant)-38 miles about a half dozen times.
Other than being able to by prime beef, I feel that it's a coin toss between the two.
Neither store sells and junk brands. Everything in the stores is MAJOR Brand.
I'm sure that both stores spend mega effort in the selection for the repackaged brands (Kirkland Signature and Members Mark)
I suppose there is an occasional time where I'd like to plop a prime cut porterhouse on a grill.
But around here, that would be just for me. The USDA Choice Angus that I can buy 2 miles away, is more than sufficient for the little lady.
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We have had a Sams membership for about 8 years and have noticed a lot of differences store to store. We recently moved from NE Iowa to Central Iowa and the club closest to us now is about as full service as I have seen. Prime grade meat, dino bones, and ever cut of meat imagined available huge difference from the previous one we shopped at. We have always had good luck with the members mark private label items. I particularly like their grill covers, heavy duty and resist sun damage rather well.
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Went to the club this weekend, snapped this picture. Keep in mind my Sams advertises they sell nothing but Choice. ::)
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Oof i just paid a little more than that for Prime.