Is a "Sam's Club" a good place to shop?

[Archae]

There is a closed-up Menard's on the north side of Sheboygan, that may be converted into a Sam's Club.

Are they good places to go?

I'm a bachelor so I have no family to shop for, BTW.

[Trajan]

1. quick answer ... NO!

[Archae]

4. Why?

[Initech]

16. Owned by Wal-Mart.

I wouldn't shop there if they were the last store on earth.

[Cali_Democrat]

2. Try to go to Costco. nt

[Archae]

6. The nearest Costco is in Germantown...

About 50 miles south of me.

Costco has stated they have no plans to build any here in Sheboygan, either.

And I don't drive.

[Greybnk48]

45. There's a new Costco in Green Bay (Bellevue)

Is that closer? If you're just buying for yourself, neither one is probably good for you.

[dembotoz]

68. actually grafton,

i know the location well and i love it.

i would stick with the local big lots and aldis

[niyad]

75. isn't big lots part of the wal-mart evil empire?

[tammywammy]

79. No, it's not.

http://www.biglots.com/corporate/news-center/company-overview

[grasswire]

30. costco isn't so great for single people

everything comes in giant sizes and lots.

[Lex]

44. it's not too bad for paper products, dishwashing liquid, coffee,

and generally things that don't go bad, but that you use daily.

[dflprincess]

46. True - depending on what kind of storage you have

I things like Advil and allergy medicine & other OTC products as wells as some cosmetics and still save enough to more than cover the cost of membership.

[Warpy]

58. You just have to shop strategically

and buy what you know you can break down into single servings and freeze like bread, cheese, fish (their frozen fish selection is the best!) or use up before it goes bad.

I don't have room for the 36 packs of toilet paper, though. I do buy the large packs of sponges, I go through those fairly quickly.

[grasswire]

62. I was trying to be sensitive to the fact...

....that many people either can't pay the membership fee, or shop strategically because of the cash outlay required to buy in bulk. Even it that saves money in the long run, for many people it's hard to come up with the right amount at the right time.

That's why less comfortable people end up paying more for everything. I have noticed that Kroger stores have their best sales the third or fourth week of the month, before fixed-income people get paid. It's a shame.

[hobbit709]

3. Walmart by another name.

[1awake]

5. Are you needing things in balk or in giant size?

Will you be shopping there often? those two question would depend if its worth it to you. Also... Costco would be a better option for other reasons.

[shedevil69taz]

7. I go to mine

for things that will eventually always get used: toilet paper, paper towels, bottled water, frozen veggies (especially brocoli), their fresh produce at mine has never impressed me, but it can still be bought in bulk for cheaper so I might start doing that for my diet (smoothies for breakfast and snack between lunch and dinner), overall you can save money on some stuff, but in order to do so you have to buy in bulk and be willing to maybe pay a little more initially to get each item in the bulk for less...

[Lasher]

18. I defy you to find a better bargain than Sam's Members Mark TP and paper towels.

paper towels @ $0.08 per 10 sheets
Toilet tissue @$0.19 per 100 sheets

This is good quality, not single ply crap.

These are the only products I've evaluated to any extent. I compared this with standard pricing elsewhere and did not take sales discounts into consideration.

[Toots]

42. If you think having your money go to support Republicans and their causes is a bargain then go for i

[Lasher]

51. Said by the person who is not a DU star member.

To a person who has been a star member for almost nine consecutive years.

[Springslips]

55. Being a star member here does not prevent the money you give Sams

From going to conservative causes. Don't like the things conservatives do? Guess what? To help fund them.

Truth hurts.

[FreeState]

43. Costco Paper towels are the same price - with out the GOP benefiting n/t

[Lasher]

49. I'd love to shop at Costco but the nearest one is 143.41 miles away.

Do you routinely shop at a Costco that's more than 143.41 miles away? I didn't think so. I was just trying to answer a simple question. If I buy something at Sam's Club I don't think that's the same thing as bankrolling Ted Cruz.

Judge not, that ye be not judged. - Matthew 7:1-3

[Iggo]

73. Judge not, that ye be judged.

Unless they don't have a star. Then eff 'em.

[Jamaal510]

8. I didn't even know

they had their own separate store from Wal-Mart. Back in the day, I thought they were just what Wal-Mart calls its generic merchandise.

[Go Vols]

29. WalMart also owned and ran

Bud's Discount City until the late '90s.

[Brother Buzz]

9. I refuse to join any club that would have me as a member

[Paulie]

10. Says the Star Member

[Brother Buzz]

11. I get credit all the time for things I never said

[Paulie]

17. It's the glasses and mustache

And knowing who's buried in Grant's tomb.

[Brother Buzz]

19. Or knowing how long a ten foot pole is?

[In_The_Wind]

12. BJ's has a better selection of everything.

When I was single I shopped there and I still do.

You really don't want to shop at Sam's unless you want to support Wal-Mart/Lowe's/Sam's Club.

[Tanuki]

24. Lowes is not owned by the same people (Walton family) who own Walmart and Sam's. n/t

[In_The_Wind]

28. Hmm. There was a rumor years ago about Wal-Mart owning Lowes.

I usually find them sharing the same parking lot so I thought the rumor was true.

Thanks for correcting my mistake.

[TexasProgresive]

48. Lowes is blue

and they treat and pay their employees better than Home Depot who support Rs.

[we can do it]

50. Lowes is NOT connected to Walmart

[DrDan]

36. no way - I belong to both

ready to give up the BJ's membership because SAMs has a better selection

[In_The_Wind]

37. When I was snow birding in south Florida I did find Sam's better stocked.

At that time I had memberships to Cosco, BJ's and Sam's. I spent most of my time and money in Cosco.

[DrDan]

38. I would do also - unfortunately - Cosco is about 40 miles away in Orlando

[unblock]

78. i like bj's but wish they had named it b&j's.

for those who don't get it, i could explain, but don't want to turn this into a sex thread.

[In_The_Wind]

81. IMO: Their Berkley & Jensen products are excellent.

We both know the Club's name was picked to attract attention, be remembered.
Sex sells. B & J's might have had the same impact.

[BeyondGeography]

13. Can't see how it'd be worth your while

If they come in, the supermarkets will start carrying club-sizes in paper goods and other things that you might buy in bulk as a single person. I have a wife and kid and even with three of us I don't see the value of membership clubs.

[G_j]

14. when Walmart raises the wages of it's empoyees to a livable wage

then maybe

[Tsiyu]

15. I can say this

though I hate Wally World (as it's called in these parts ) I have a family member who works at a Sam's Club who has been treated very well. He has been with them only since last May, has been promoted twice (with a 50 cent an hour raise each time ) and is about to get a $500 bonus.

His store has excellent management and they reward a good work ethic.

I cannot say the same about every store, but I can say they are treating my family member very well.

[Epiphany4z]

57. I worked for another company in a Sams

I found they treat the employees much better than Wally world does for the most part.

They pay better offer vacation, bonuses ect.

They can be pretty shitty too. Demo ladies came in early for a mandatory meeting and where let go. No warning just told Sams would no longer have them then more or less perp walked out of the store.

Sams hired an outside co to run the Demo. The ladies lost a good wage, vacations, health care, bonus, and steady hours. They had to re-apply for their jobs back with the new company.

The new outfit was more or less a temp agency out of CA.

Just a month ago they did the meeting then perp walk to a bunch of managers, a few at each store. Sales are down and you have to do w hat you have to do. Still it would be nice to let employees a little warning time to get things in order.

[Tsiyu]

63. I know they do suck overall

and the family member knows how I feel about his working there, but he has been rewarded for his hard work which is often rare in this day and age.

He wants to go to Costco but there isn't one nearby; still he is making enough to live on, getting fulltime and bennies, so who am I to give him hell about it.

I don't have a membership. None near me, nor is Costco which I would join if close and I had more $$$

Just wanted to add my FM experience to the thread.

Have a good one

[joeglow3]

84. The reality is you cannot give employees notice

How many people would sabotage your business, steal tons of shit, have a terrible attitude (in a service industry, no less). The reality is that mass firings are a reality. You just hope are saved for when truly necessary (i.e. fire 5 people today or everyone in 6 months). YOu also hope that while you cannot let the employee work for a while, you continue to pay them severance for a reasonable amount of time.

[Gman]

20. Sam's is Walmart

And all that Walmart implies.

[okaawhatever]

21. While the savings may not be worth buying a membership for a single person, you can take advantage

of their pharmacy without being a member. (It's the law). The pharmacy prices at Sam's Club and Costco are much, much cheaper than Wal-Mart or local pharmacies. I don't know if you take any meds, but it would be worth a price check if you ever need any.

[femmocrat]

22. You have to pay to shop there.

No thanks. They can keep their giant-sized jars of mayonnaise and pickles.

[Historic NY]

23. We use Sam's for bulk stuff only...

They cater to non-for-profits and my card come through one of them. It allows me to make personal purchases.

I used it only a few time a year to stock up on home use paper towels, and toilet paper. and a few odds and ends mostly at the holidays. I have purchased a few (business) computers for use by the non-profits, never had a problem.

[Lost_Count]

25. Good steak...

We have a membership and make a run every 6 weeks or so.

[nyquil_man]

26. If you find yourself needing a 64 ounce jar of maraschino cherries, I guess.

eom

[northoftheborder]

27. Yes & No.

You have to pay a membership each year, so unless you buy a lot there, it's not worth it. So many things are in giant paks or boxes, you would need room for storage at home. If you're buying for a business, it might be worth it for things you need a lot of.

You can get good buys on electronics and watches.

I agree with the above, they have excellent steak, if you can freeze part of the giant packages. Also, I have bought fantastic fresh bakery cakes there.

Main negative: it is owned by Walmart.

[grasswire]

31. do you have a Trader Joe's or a Grocery Outlet store near you?

Trader Joe's is handy for some things for a single person.

And Grocery Outlet's prices just can't be beat! I just bought a pound of crumbled feta for $1.99 that is upscale brand and regular price nearly $14. Saved $35 total on my bag of groceries today. It's just great.

[Kilgore]

39. Watch the date

Stopped buying much at Grocery Outlet when I discovered most items were near their expiration date. Talked to the manager and she admitted that it sometimes was an issue since lots of stock are close out purchases.

Wine however is another matter. Can't remember the lat time I bought it anywhere else. Freaking fantastic prices!!

Kilgore

[grasswire]

41. near expiration date doesn't mean unusable.

Even past expiration date doesn't mean unusable, depending on the item.

I don't buy wine, so can't vouch for that!

[jmowreader]

52. Grocery Outlet isn't always in stock on things

The one on the east side of Spokane was completely out of vinegar (as in not one bottle of any variety in the whole place, and I asked) last time I went in there.

[grasswire]

56. yes, that's right.

The merchandise changes like the wind, depending on what they are able to buy at discount. If you need one specific thing, you might not find it on one particular day.l

[Tsiyu]

71. Is that United Grocery Outlet?

WE have them here and I love them as well, although they are too far to visit these days.

You never know what they'll have from visit to visit, but the deals are always incredible and everything - even out-of-date stuff - has been tasty and usable.

You just have to go with an open mind and a flexible shopping list, and expect that some staples will not be available.

Love UGO

[itsrobert]

32. I cant see a single person using that much

However they usually have some of the lowest gas prices in the area. (if not THE lowest). I think you can shop in store without membership, but you have to pay a surcharge. But believe you have to have the membership for gas purchases.

[Worried senior]

33. Grafton

has a Costco, very nice store.

[840high]

34. I've bought electronics there. The

steaks are very good. If you have a pantry or other storage buying in bulk saves money.

[doc03]

35. I am also single and I found there was very little

to buy there unless you buy large quantities. On some things they are actually more expensive than Walmart, one example I found was motor oil. It has been a few years since I have been there but you could get a visitors pass off the Sam's Club site and pay a 6% up-charge on anything you buy. Do the math, at that time their membership was $35 a year so at a 6% up charge without a membership you would be ahead just getting a visitors pass unless you spent over $580 a year.

A couple years ago I thought I could buy a TV there cheaper. So I got a visitors pass
and found that I could buy one cheaper at Walmart. In the end I found the best buy at Sears.

[niyad]

76. sam's club IS wal-mart

[Warpy]

40. No, it's WalMart but in larger packages.

I got a free subscription and went only once. I wasn't impressed with either the variety or quality.

Then again, I'm a spoilt city person and I live about 5 miles away from a Costco. They're better.

I shop for one and it's the only place I'll buy fish, frozen on the boat in individual proportions. There are other things I get there like CFL and LED lights, bulk batteries, printer cartridges, maple syrup by the quart, etc.

[dionysus]

65. you're lucky, i have no Costco for hundreds of miles...

[n2doc]

47. If there is no Costco nearby, ok

All we have in Savannah is a Sam's. It has very good prices on chicken. Hit or miss on other stuff, do not assume they are cheaper than regular stores. But if they do have good process on what you need, then I don't see a reason not to take advantage of it.

[Tikki]

53. You couldn't pay me, but I have no need to shop there…If that is the place you...

need to shop at, do it.


Tikki

[PDJane]

54. I can manage to get to Costco about five times a year, maybe.

I buy cheese, lean ground beef, cereal (especially rolled oats) and some baking supplies. I do buy some breads there, but not most. I sometimes buy toilet paper or paper towels, pickles, soy sauce, that kind of thing; the things that don't spoil. At Christmas, I bought their house brand chocolates, and gave them as gifts; they are very rich and very good. Vegetables and fruit in season are fine, but I don't buy fruit as a rule. I have purchased their lasagna and other prepared dishes, which are good. Fresh pasta is excellent there, too.

The real problem is that unless it's something you can freeze, or something that you can keep, it's kind of a waste of money.

We don't have Sam's in Canada, although wal-mart has managed to wend its way here. They're not as popular here as in the US, in part because of rules that increase their prices....a higher minimum wage, rules and regulations, and stricter labour laws.

[SheilaT]

59. About twenty years ago the company my husband worked for

paid for Sam's Club memberships. Great! I thought. It turned out I went there rarely as I quickly discovered that they just didn't have very much of what I actually needed I did sometimes buy books there, if they were new releases that I wanted to read. But most of the books were remaindered crap so far as I could tell.

At least ten years ago I stopped shopping at Walmart because number one, the quality of what they had was dreadful, and number two I'd become aware of the politics of the family.

Maybe a year or so ago I went to Sam's with a friend who was getting supplies for the company she worked for. Sam's did not have any one of the three specific things she needed and we got them at Albertson's (grocery chain here). Meanwhile, I'd priced a few things while we were strolling through and what I priced was no cheaper and in some cases slightly more expensive than what I knew those things were elsewhere.

A few months ago pricing out the cost of making spaghetti for 150 (I help feed the homeless) after someone priced the ingredients at Sam's, I found it was about 20% cheaper to buy at Albertson's.

I honestly don't understand why people think Sam's or Walmart is such a great bargain. Perhaps buying 800 rolls of toilet paper all at once is very inexpensive, but I live in a small place and can't conveniently store a package of 12 rolls. Anything bigger is out of the question. Those with storage space and larger families (I live alone) may very well find Sam's to be cost effective for them. Not leaving out the fact that you're contributing directly to the Republican Party, of course.

[Samantha]

60. Take it from Sam

Find a Costco. Costco has very good prices, and it treats its employees very well.

Sam

[hollysmom]

61. BJ's is also a democratic friendly place or used to be.

You can shop at BJ's on-line if you are not a member unlike most of them.

also, man food stores, like Shoprite, have bulk items now - that is where I buy my paper products because my local store handles locally produced paper products from a factory that sues my paper recycling. So less fuel used and it is competitively priced although not like fancy sales managed over produced paper products. What I buy at Cosco is wrapping paper (wrap for charity in the winter and they have hands down the best quality and best priced wrap. I also tend to buy garden supplies (plants, solar lights, planter tubs for the rocky part of the land. An occasional piece of furniture if the price is right and a TV once and garage doors and the eye doctor and they make my glasses. Every time I go in, they fix something with my glasses, hehe, I tend to fall asleep with them on, ha ha .

[S_B_Jackson]

64. As other's have stated....it's owned by Wal-Mart

and if you're talking about being useful for a single person - not so much. For a family it can be...especially if you have extended family nearby and so the bulk purchases can be split up amongst the larger group; which is what my family does.

If we're planning a big family get-together, we'll buy meats cheeses and snacks for the 30 or so that we know will show up with, invariably, 10-15 additional unplanned people - boyfriend/girlfriends of the kids, the odd neighbor that drops by, etc.

Pet foods purchased in massive bulk, cause the Husky and the Malamutt go through 4 cups of food a day.....we're going to need new patio furniture this year so will probably buy from them.

[Demo_Chris]

66. Sure. They have some great deals on some stuff. nt

[MO_Moderate]

67. Great place to shop

Well worth the membership

[LibertyLover]

69. Used to belong to Sam's Club but no longer

and not just because of the Walmart's connection. For a couple of years the Sam's Club in our town was stocking a fair amount of what I'd call "consumer" goods - brand name products, that sort of thing, albeit in large sizes or large multi-packs. Then they started to get away from that and stock only their own brands and more goods for businesses to use for things like janitorial work or to re-sell. Their own brands were just mediocre. Also you could never be sure when you walked in the store if you were going to find what you wanted - one time we went over to get dog food and they were out of our brand, and were out for the next couple of weeks. We picked it up at almost the same price at PetsMart. Their meat was so-so, again, nothing to rave about. My husband's complaint was that their steaks were cut too thick. I personally didn't think so, but he's picky that way. Now we use BJ's. It's slightly longer drive but BJ's is consumer oriented. You still get things packaged in multi-packs or larger amounts, but they are not industrial sized. And BJ's house brands are pretty good. I haven't had anything "house" yet that I didn't like. They don't have the variety of goods of say a Safeway but you can still do ok there. And at BJ's we can get the large bag of Blue Dog treats which our dogs adore.

[LostOne4Ever]

70. If your the type to ask such a question

Then the answer is going to be no.

[kydo]

72. Costco is way better then sam's

plus they treat their workers GREAT!

Unlike sam's which is just fancy name for walmart, they pay their workers mostly from tax payer dollars and their stores smell plus they are always out of things and you really don't get deals or save money.

If there is a Costco in your area shop there. Don't bother with sam's.

[adavid]

74. The whole idea of...

a store, charging their customers an annual fee so they can spend their money there. Rubs me the wrong way.

Paying $$ for the privilege to shop?

[niyad]

77. what supermarkets are in your area? do you have any dollar stores (not family dollar) something

like dollar tree? or a bargain mart type store? making use of those, and coupons, and customer cards (which are free) is a good way to go, even if only shopping for one.

I wouldn't go near any incarnation of wally world if they were giving it away.

[LynneSin]

80. Sam's Club is Wal-mart for people who want to have paid memberships

Sam in Sam's Club is named after Sam Walton.

[Gothmog]

82. I love Costco

I gave up our Sam's membership a long time ago in favor of Costco

[Iggo]

83. Maybe.

And maybe even probably.

But I've got too many alternatives to have to shop at WalMart. Maybe you don't.