Costco vs. Sam's Club

If you're a suburbanite like us, you've probably been to a Costco or Sam's Club. These buy-in-bulk warehouse stores are just about the perfect emblem of American life: big consumerism machines. (The old Coneheads mantra "Consume mass quanitites!" comes to mind.) I don't like paying the "club" fees, but for the past several years a membership to one of these stores has been worthwhile in order to get cheap gas, milk, chicken, diapers, wipes, and formula. We don't really buy other things from the big stores very often, but they are useful for the items we use a lot.

Since we moved to Nashville last year we have switched from a Sam's Club membership to a Costco membership, primarily because Costco is closer to us. A lot of people are huge Costco fans; in fact, it can be a bit freaky sometimes. I know people whose shopping at Costco borders on religious observance. And since some people hate Wal-Mart, the parent company of Sam's Club, they choose to shop at Costco instead. I think the general quality of products at Costco is a little better than Sam's Club, but I don't like Costco that much. My reasons may not apply to every store, but I've shopped at a couple different Sam's Clubs and Costco's, so they hold true for at least a few locations.

Why Sam's Club is Better than Costco:

1. Membership Price: All things being equal, Sam's Club is cheaper than Costco. And my stingy heart doesn't like to fork over $50 just for the pleasure of walking around in their store.
2. Product Prices: Similar items, taken in the aggregate, are generally less expensive at Sam's Club than at Costco.
   
3. Cafe Prices and Offerings: Sam's Club has cheaper pizzas, and they have those delicious soft pretzels that I love so much. Costco has no pretzels, which makes me sad. Oh, and Sam's Club has caffeine-free diet Coke, which I like for some reason. Additionally, our specific Costco's Cafe has poor service, doesn't take credit cards or debit cards, and the soft-serve yogurt machines are often broken.
   
4. Hours: Sam's Club has longer, more regular hours. In fact, our Costco closes extremely early some days of the week.
5. Signage: Our Costco has no signs to indicate where things are located. Every Sam's Club I have been to has signs indicating what is in each aisle. This is especially nice in the frozen foods section, where they all look the same. I wandered our Costco for several minutes before I finally found the milk. It's a little thing, but it makes a difference.
   

However, the list isn't entirely one sided. Most notably, Costco has a berry smoothie that is out-of-this world good. Mynamyn introduced me to this slushy delight a few years ago, and I've loved it every since. Also good are the Costco-brand baby wipes, which are high-quality and come in very convenient packages with built-in dispensers. And both stores have the $1.50 hot dog and soda combo, which is a great deal. Still, as a whole I liked Sam's Club better, and if it was a little closer we would still be shopping there.