Sam's Club ~ So can anyone tell me why I should shop at Sam's Club?

[BigDog]

I can't stand wal mart's or sam's club's meat!

the mention of the printer ink cartridges caused me to realize that yes, I do get those there, and they are quite a bit less. I can get 2 blacks and a color for the price of one black and a color elsewhere. I wish HP put out coupons for their ink cartridges- and that Staples doubled coupons! LOL!

Ditto on the meat! YUCK! Even before couponing I would go to Kroger or Publix to get the meat.

I would like to mention that the contacts at Sams's optical are WAY cheaper then even Walmart. If you need the high priced torics like I do this is a great place to get them.

[greenfrog57]

I also get my contacts at Sam's
I also buy Perrier in the 24 pk for DH $11.xx grocery stores here sell them in plastic not glass
We buy the little red/orange/yellow peppers in fresh produce for $3.88
onions are 10lbs for $2.49
canadian bacon 2lb $7.16 (we eat Weight Watchers core at home)
Sara Lee Delightful Bread 2pk for $3.88 or so
Dh likes the coffee -- great world roasts this time of year
photos, too
green giant canned mushrooms -- the current price eludes me
ooh... Sam's for jewelry

DH just bought me a beautiful Invicta watch that will never need batteries (automatic movement) for less than $70

[chicana]

39 gallon bags are around $12-13.
I also get milk, cheese, birthday cakes, crossaints, candy for pinata's, nacho chips and cheese, fundraiser candy packs, meatballs, 3lb bag of salad, and I get my pictures developed there.

Although it's been a while since I've been there, but these are things that I get every now and then.

[jturkey]

Rotisserie chicken, milk, OJ, yogurt (check the exp. date carefully since it may take 2+ weeks to eat it all), b-day cakes and specialty items are about all that I will get since nothing else is cheaper than if I use a coupon at the grocery store.

[bigred05167]

We find the quality of their meat, and the price, to be unbeatable in our area. Of course we have no double coupons and only Cub & Rainbow for comparison. Their steaks cannot be beat. We get a package that usually has between 6 & 8 thick cut steaks (I'm not sure what cut my husband's the steak expert) for between $10-$15. That's 2 or 3 meals for us and the quality cannot be beat. We won't buy steaks anywhere else. I also love their roasts and their hamburger meat. I haven't bought much of their Chicken as I can usually get that cheaper when Cub or Rainbow have a good sale and then I stock up. But we have found that, even on sale, the grocery stores cannot beat Sam's clubs prices on other meat and the quality is so much better.
When my youngest was on formula, we found our savings on Enfamil paid for our membership. We could get a huge can of Enfamil for $35 and while Sam's doesn't take coupons, they DO take formula checks. I don't buy health or beauty items there as I get better deals with coupons & sales.

[powercat24]

Can anyone recommend items that Sam's sells that you know for a fact you just can't get a lower price on by couponing elsewhere? Or the price per unit is basically the same. For instance:

• Sam's everday price on Glad Force Flex Trash Bags (my preferred brand) is .18 per bag (70 ct box for $12.88). The best I've been able to do couponing is 25 Hefty bags (similar to force flex) for 4.50 or .18 per bag.

Thank You!

I just bought that same box of 70 Glad Force Flex Trash Bags at K-Mart for $10.88.
Maybe we should start a list of everyday low prices on things for diff. big box stores. I know everyone says its a waste of time but it sure would be handy to have when you don't have any Qs for something or you do have Qs and want to get the best deal when there aren't sales. (that's for a different thread I'm sure :) Just thinking on the keyboard! lol

[vbamother]

Have you heard of Clark Howard? clarkhoward.com: Save more, spend less and avoid ripoffs He was on Rachael Ray a couple of months ago and is a national consumer advisor with his own radio talk show. His motto is "Save more, spend less and avoid ripoffs". He recommends stores like Sams and Costco a lot. (Another motto he has is "Shop In Stores With Cement Floors") He says first thing he does when he goes in the store is hit the snackbar for one of those large refillable sodas (.87 at our Sams Club) then he shops for whatever deals he can find....closeouts, returns, seasonal items, Maker's Mark items and when he's finished shopping he hits the snackbar for a drink refill and dinner. Our Sams' has pizza, hotdogs, polish sausage on a bun, smoothies, salads etc, but it may vary store to store. Very inexpensive prices. I think the pizza deal is $1.50 for a huge slice of pizza and a drink. Great cheap way to feed a family.

My husband's latest deal was a box of two "dry bags" that boaters use. Usually over $20, but he got them on clearance for $4 and change. He bought one box for himself, one for a BIL for Christmas, and another for a guy at work who paid him to get it. He also got a great deal on a computer a few years ago that had been returned. A lady bought it and returned it saying it didn't work. When my husband bought it, he found out that it was set to speak Spanish, so all he had to do was switch the language. He had a week or so to return it if it didn't work out, so it was a great deal for us. I think he paid $300 for it.

Someone mentioned Sam's pharmacy. We've not used it yet because our Sams just got one, but Clark Howard mentioned on RR that many states don't require you to belong to the club in order to use the pharmacy. You might want to check on that for your state.

We usually buy gas at Sam's. Most times it is the cheapest in our area. My husband has also bought tires for our car. Two more Clark Howard recommendations are to shop there for mattresses as they are supposed to be cheaper, and to look for prices ending in ".01" as this denotes a clearance price. I used this technique last week and got a really big package of those little boxes of dried fruit for a couple of bucks. It contained several types of fruit boxes, some with yogurt. I looked online and found a similar package (in mine the boxes were decorated with Pirates of the Carribean...the package online was just regular manuafactuer's boxes) for $11.

Hope this helps!

[tracysbeans]

I'm suprised Clark would back up Sam's or BJ's etc. I don't know HOW many times I have heard people say they spend WAY to much money there. And a bunch of the stuff they bought they really didn't need. I hear that constantly whenever I bring up Sam's. So I think for many people places like Sam's would be hurting people financially. Many folks go nuts in those places and regret it later on. Or they buy stuff and throw half away because they are to big of portions.

BUT if you can do what Howard is suggesting to do then Sam's etc can be a great place to save money. I'm just worried about the people who can't stick to his plan. I think there are more of then not.

[phlack]

I like my Sams membership.

I also do the "Buy the soda, then shop, then refill". The pizza is good too.

I just sent a bunch of pictures and picked them up. Wasn't $1 for the 8x10, though, it was closer to $2. I dunno how that poster got $1.

Sams is a cool place to walk around in, though.

And the gas prices are usually the lowest in town.

Don't forget the Members Mark brand of stuff...particularly the medicine. They are the cheapest I've seen anywhere.

-Mike

[vbamother]

I'm suprised Clark would back up Sam's or BJ's etc. I don't know HOW many times I have heard people say they spend WAY to much money there. And a bunch of the stuff they bought they really didn't need. I hear that constantly whenever I bring up Sam's. So I think for many people places like Sam's would be hurting people financially. Many folks go nuts in those places and regret it later on. Or they buy stuff and throw half away because they are to big of portions.

BUT if you can do what Howard is suggesting to do then Sam's etc can be a great place to save money. I'm just worried about the people who can't stick to his plan. I think there are more of then not.

But isn't that true with any store? Probably most of us on this board are pretty frugal, but there are a lot of folks (who don't use coupons or check the sales flyers, and are prone to impulse buying) who aren't. It is true that you have to be smart and only buy in sizes that will work for your size family, but Sam's doesn't just sell the big bulk sizes anymore.