10 Things Warehouse Clubs Won't Tell You (Costco, Sams)

Yahoo News ^ | 09/20/2009 | Yahoo News

[Dallas59]

Below is an excerpt from the book "1,001 Things They Won't Tell You," which was published in May 2009 and highlights popular columns from SmartMoney's long-running "10 Things" feature.

[Pontiac]

AMEN. We have NEVER paid interest on a credit card.

I won’t have a card that has an annual fee nor one that has a charge on each purchase. The card companies get fees on every purchase paid by the store. That cost is built in to the price of everything you buy anyway. Why should I pay twice for the use of the card.

Also a warning to everyone not to use the credit card checks that they send along in your billing envelope. They are a major scam.

They will start charging you interest from the day you use it. Shred them the day you open the envelope.

DO NOT under any circumstance throw them away un-shredded. Anyone could take them out of your trash and use them and you will be billed.

[Pontiac]

"Unfortunately, local officials hand over a rezoning without much scrutiny because they think this means jobs and taxes."

They're right about that.

And they know that they will loose in court unless they say no to almost everybody.

The courts rightly expect zoning commissions to treat everybody the same.

[ErnBatavia]

We have both here, within two blocks of each other.....I'll never darken the doors of Costco ever since the Northridge earthquake collapsed one entire wall and they were closed for six months -- but would not prorate the renewal.

Our Sam's is great because it's never at all busy; in and out without getting that "dirty" feel we get at their parent, WalMart.

Bonus - snack bar's huge Nathan's hot dog/drink combo for $1.50 is about the cheapest lunch around.

[narses]

What union shill wrote this tripe?

[Two Kids' Dad]

Your tire comment is spot-on. I recently took the Mustang to the delership and asked the service guy about the cost for a set of tires and he said that I’d be better off getting them at Costco. Better price, better ongoing customer care (balancing, rotating, proper inflation, etc.) and faster service. I heeded his advice and have been 100% satisfied.

Plus, Costco fills their tires with nitrogen and it’s supposed to make them last longer and improve mileage. Time will tell if that’s the case, but I have no complaints at all so far.

[billhilly]

They don’t tell me anything, but i shop there.

[martin_fierro]

I’m not a big Costco fan, but this list is nonsense.

I agree with you — returns there are a breeze. Gas there is as cheap as it gets around here.

Their credit card won’t bankrupt you — certainly not if you’re Net 30.

[yefragetuwrabrumuy]

Years ago, I did a study on how someone could maximize the value of food stamps to get the most food, most food diversity, best nutritional value, etc. What an eye opener.

Used intelligently, the typical amount of food stamps in my State for a person could feed four or more people, if done with a six month plan. However, the typical food stamp recipient, using typical shopping patterns, can easily blow their entire month’s supplement in a week, just trying to feed themselves.

To start with, plot the grocery stores in your area, then price the same 100 items at each store, and you’ll likely see tremendous variation. So if you buy ahead a little, and instead of having one shopping list, have say, four, you can save hundreds of dollars a year.

Right now, I’m amazed that in just one store, dairy prices are completely irrational. Sometimes milk sales are such that a gallon is cheaper than a quart, and there is a typical variance between brands with milk from the same dairy, of a dollar and a half.

Sales are great, and coupons are great. However, a lot of sales and coupons are “disingenuous”, meaning the product is inherently overpriced, or inflated so the store looks generous by giving a discount to its normal retail price.

Buying in bulk is great, if you have the storage space and the ability to preserve the food. If you do, you should always tag it with a large print “use by” date. It’s no bargain if it goes off on you.

[dorothy]

Also a warning to everyone not to use the credit card checks that they send along in your billing envelope. They are a major scam. They will start charging you interest from the day you use it. Shred them the day you open the envelope.

Or just call the credit card company and ask them to stop sending the blanks checks with your bill. Worked for me.

[Red_Devil 232]

My wife and I shop Sam's about once every two weeks mostly for meats. I like their fresh ground beef and their pot roasts. Their rib eye steaks are the best in town. We also buy rice and flour in bulk about every six months and transfer to 5 gal. food grade plastic buckets for storage.

I have never had a long wait at check out nor when leaving for the door checker to mark our receipt.

[aquila48]

“I don’t get the hostility to these stores.”

It’s hostility to success.

You don’t like it? - don’t go there! In fact you have to pay to enter, so unless you really want to go there they don’t want you.

[A.Hun]

You certainly can’t beat Costco on their Kirkland line of blue jeans. They are 15 bucks a pair and are as good as Wranglers any day.

[GiovannaNicoletta]

"Clubs like to rotate items during the year to keep the shopping trip exciting," says Christie Briggs...

I don't find it exciting at all but extremely irritating.

[Kimmers]

I love my man made diamonds and apparently so does everyone else because I get lots of compliments......and I only paid a couple hundred dollars for my rings.....

[Cloverfarm]

...worth it.

When we had three kiddoes in diapers at the same time, the money we saved on Sam’s Club diapers made up for the membership fees.

We used to get boxes of diapers the size of small hay bales. (Disposable. Someone who lives where diaper service is available can save the planet).

Once the kids were out of diapers, we stopped going to Sam’s.

It definitely served a purpose at the time.

[Old Professer]

Uncle Sam’s One Stop Weight Reduction and Disposal Center

[Parley Baer]

...or unions good, non union bad.

[Excellence]

Costco sold us somebody’s returned pager. I wish I could say they handled it well, but they really messed up.

[Brainhose]

I have a part-time job at Sam's with full medical.
There is a Walmart across the street from that and a Supercenter about 10 miles away. They wanted to put a Supercenter closer but all the Anti-Walmart whackos were out there prostesting and marching in circles in an empty parking lot shouting that Walmart was going to destroy a "Pristine" piece of land.
This piece of land was wedged behind a municipal airport, railroad track and the busiest road in Southern NH.
I used to ride my Mtn. Bike thru there to go to my software job (Pre-Obamanomics).
There was absolutely nothing pristine about it unless you consider the pond out front that was polluted by runoff and Canada Geese to be pristine.
Now there is a crappy salvage store there that sells crap that even the Chinese wouldn't sell (Part of the "Building 19" chain for those from New England).

[Brainhose]

I have a part-time job at Sam's with full medical.
There is a Walmart across the street from that and a Supercenter about 10 miles away. They wanted to put a Supercenter closer but all the Anti-Walmart whackos were out there prostesting and marching in circles in an empty parking lot shouting that Walmart was going to destroy a "Pristine" piece of land.
This piece of land was wedged behind a municipal airport, railroad track and the busiest road in Southern NH.
I used to ride my Mtn. Bike thru there to go to my software job (Pre-Obamanomics).
There was absolutely nothing pristine about it unless you consider the pond out front that was polluted by runoff and Canada Geese to be pristine.
Now there is a crappy salvage store there that sells crap that even the Chinese wouldn't sell (Part of the "Building 19" chain for those from New England).