Sam's Membership, should I?

[Jyotsna]

I checked out the Sam's membership today and I just wondered what your experiences have been with it.

I could get the individual business membership, or I could get the $100 membership, which would give me additional discounts.

Which one would you get?

[Farmer'sWife]

I guess you would have to look at the additional discounts and add up what you would actually use to see if the Plus membership was a good deal or not. For me, I wouldn't use any of the extras so I have the regular membership and I split it with my Mom so it's even cheaper. I just looked at the site and am thinking maybe I should look into the business membership a little closer. My MIL has it and claims you can only use a business check when checking out, but that's not what I read on the website...you only need a business check when using the "Company Card". Any info on that? We farm so we don't really have a business name or checks.

[mommathea]

For a while we had the business membership - no you don't need a business check - never paid with a company card do don't know in that area.

I don't know about any of the discounts for the $100 membership so I don't have any input on that.

I now share a regular membership with my mom so that helps with the cost.

[TwinMom]

If you want an EXTRA business membership you do have to pay with a company check. My mom and dad have a business membership, they each have a Sam's card, and can pay any way they want. But if they wanted to add me to the membership, I would have to pay $35 (which I believe is the regular membership cost) AND I would have to pay with a company check. That's what Sam's customer service told me, anyway.

[SleeplessMommy]

We do have a Sam's Club membership. But many food staples can be bought (generic versions) at discount grocery stores such as Price Rite, or at a local Indian store. Sam's will work best if you need large amounts of the "name brand" food products, frozen goods, or fairly nice quality out-of-season produce. (I prefer the local farmer's markets, myself)

[1jooj]

Back when we had a Sam's membership, I remember never saving money and always buying more crap than we needed. Now, to really save money, we don't buy prepared/packaged foods. As a PP said, most of those large quantity things can be bought at a big grocery or ethnic store at a good price.

So much of the stuff is huge quantities of prepackaged, prepared foods, mixes, cleaning chemicals, etc. I know they usually have nice fruits and vegetables, but we always could do better on meats and fish by buying at our local butcher shop.

I always found that the giant containers and large amounts led us to overconsume the stuff...gave us a sense of overabundance, which in turn just led us to waste more. And my dh "can't pass up" a "bargain," so it was never any good for us. Just my experience, though. You and yours may have more discipline.

[rcr]

IMO No, We would never shop at anything related to Wal-Mart. We are not wealthy, but I don't want the guilt/bad karma of shopping at such an establishment.

[umbrella]

Do you have a Costco nearby? Out of the two, just based on what I know about the two companies, I'd much rather support Costco.

As for such a membership in general: We've had a costco membership for over a year now. I have found some good deals on things I would have bought already, as well as good enough deals on things I wouldn't have bought, if not for the good price. For most of our food, we get good prices picking and choosing among the grocery stores, but do find some really excellent deals at Costco on some things. I got a ton of yeast for next to nothing, for example. I've not seen a better price on Fair Trade coffee than at Costco. Stuff here and there. Plus, they have a good reputation for having good prices on things like eye glasses, gas, tires. I did buy a pair of eyeglasses there just a couple of months ago, and their selection was certainly cheaper than the place where I got my eye exam.

When I first signed up, the customer service guy suggested the $100 membership, since you get something like 2% back of all your spending, at the end of the year. I said that I didn't really expect to spend that much in the first place, to make it worth it. But then he said that I would get the difference back, if that was the case. And for me, I did not end up spending enough there to warrant the fancier membership, only got $30 for my rebate check, and so I went to the customer service counter and they refunded the difference, and I renewed at the regular level.

[cschick]

Originally Posted by TwinMom

If you want an EXTRA business membership you do have to pay with a company check. My mom and dad have a business membership, they each have a Sam's card, and can pay any way they want. But if they wanted to add me to the membership, I would have to pay $35 (which I believe is the regular membership cost) AND I would have to pay with a company check. That's what Sam's customer service told me, anyway.

That's not the type of business membership I'm used to.

My company has two business memberships. Basically, you can have up to eight people on a business membership (and each of those eight can have a second person/second card). Each of those eight people gets what is basically a "normal" membership for $35, and has access during the business-only hours as well. There's no limitations on how you pay.

I have had my Sam's membership through the various companies I have worked at for the past decade.

[Pinoikoi]

Originally Posted by rcr

IMO No, We would never shop at anything related to Wal-Mart. We are not wealthy, but I don't want the guilt/bad karma of shopping at such an establishment.

I have a Costco membership.. I won't do Sam's Club for the Walmart reasons..

Costco has a lot of the large quantities I am often looking for- no need for Sam's.