dddane wrote:taxes aren't as high in the suburbs???? *lol* .... first i've heard someone say that... though I guess that depends on what suburb you live in, though i highly doubt a lot are significantly cheaper than the city... (btw, my taxes in the city are quite low). ... not to mention wal-mart/sams has very few stores in any major city and is all suburbs .

Hmmm. If your taxes are lower in the city, why is the gasoline up here $3.09 and the gas I see in the city $3.59? I thought it was the taxes. What makes the difference then? And I know my brother's property taxes have gone through the roof, and he's in the city. Maybe, as you say, it depends on where you live more specifically than just "suburbs vs. city."

And I didn't realize that Walmart just showed up in the suburbs. Most of the folks talking about it are city dwellers, and so I figured this was just another one of those urban vs. suburban things, as in the discussion of Jewel and Dominick's, where places in the city suffered in comparison to their counterparts in the suburbs. (Now don't get me wrong -- I don't think many things suffer in comparison, but apparently, Jewel and Dominick's do). But if Walmart is only in the suburbs, then the lights must be dimming in suburbs other than Buffalo Grove, where the Walmart is always bright and cheery -- even if it is way too crowded for me to want to shop there any more often than necessary.

I belong to both clubs and they both have their advantages regarding products they carry (or don't).

Used to visit Costco for the huge pita bread packages (and Hummus too) but sadly they stopped selling the pita. I now buy my pita fairly inexpensively at Stanley's fruit on Elston and North. Anyone know of a better place for quality, price, bulk.... for pita, that is??

dgtleditor wrote: Anyone know of a better place for quality, price, bulk.... for pita, that is??

Al-Khaymeiy Bakery just south of the Lawrence/Kedzie intersection.

Cynthia wrote:

Hmmm. If your taxes are lower in the city, why is the gasoline up here $3.09 and the gas I see in the city $3.59? I thought it was the taxes. What makes the difference then? And I know my brother's property taxes have gone through the roof, and he's in the city. Maybe, as you say, it depends on where you live more specifically than just "suburbs vs. city."

In Evanston we lived in a condo with a view of the lake. In Chicago we live in a house with a little yard. The house's (theoretical) value was about $300,00 more. If you factor in taxes, mortgage, utilities, condo common fees, etc. we come out approx $500 ahead per month now. Of course, that $500 goes for home repairs, like the AC guy I am waiting for right now.

Cynthia wrote:But if Walmart is only in the suburbs, then the lights must be dimming in suburbs other than Buffalo Grove, where the Walmart is always bright and cheery -- even if it is way too crowded for me to want to shop there any more often than necessary.

I was in the Glenview Costco (my first Costco I ever visited) and it seemed pretty bright and spiffy to me, much nicer than the Sam's club I visited in Homewood/Flossmoor-ish area. My usual Costco is the one on Damen/Clybourn and it always seems bright too, and the one nearish to my mom (Mt. Laurel NJ?) seemed very bright too.

They also do that "shutting off lights when it's bright overhead" at O'Hare in the United termina.

leek wrote:
I was in the Glenview Costco (my first Costco I ever visited) and it seemed pretty bright and spiffy to me, much nicer than the Sam's club I visited in Homewood/Flossmoor-ish area. My usual Costco is the one on Damen/Clybourn and it always seems bright too, and the one nearish to my mom (Mt. Laurel NJ?) seemed very bright too.

They also do that "shutting off lights when it's bright overhead" at O'Hare in the United termina.

Maybe it's just a matter of comparison. The Glenview Costco was oppressive and disappointing compared with other Costco's I'd been in, both here and in other states, and was even less bright than my local Sam's. I don't even know where Homewood/Flossmoor is -- I've heard of it, but have no clue where it is -- so I can't make any comment on their Sam's. Maybe it depends on whether they convert a place or build new -- new Sam's Clubs I've seen (mainly in Michigan) are even brighter than the one where I shop.

And shutting off the lights at glass-roofed O'Hare when it's bright outside just makes sense. Flying costs enough, and if they can save a little money, I'm all for it.

Oh -- one thing I do like about Costco is their American Express card. Any company that offers a 3 percent rebate on dining out certainly fits my lifestyle!

Two things without starting a flame war:

1) I think that it is a positive when businesses REDUCE their energy usage. As more and more electricity is generated by natural gas, conservation reduces the price of natural gas, the fuel that most people in this area use to heat their homes.

2) Deregulation of electricity ends for businesses in Illinois Hanuary 1, 2007. Most businesses will see a 40-50% increase in their kilowatt costs. We just locked in a 40% price increase at the end of June. Our supplier stated that large retailers rank among the top as users of electricity and are generally the MOST EFFICIENT users.

I think we can stop discussing this. It has become clear that:

1) Overall, both Costco and Sam's are fine institutions, each with their own different strengths.

2) One can't pick either institution over the other to recommend to lots of other people because of variance in locations.

I'll just have to tote myself to Streamwood to look at Sam's again and make a personal decision.

Nancy

jlawrence01 wrote:Two things without starting a flame war:

I'm not sure I am clear on the meaning of a flame war. I thought it had to do with insulting people and behaving badly. I know I certainly didn't intend to insult anyone -- I thought I was just discussing the topic. And I don't feel that anyone insulted me. They may have questioned my judgement, but I didn't feel they were insulting me.

And even this -- I'm not writing to be a contrarian, but rather just to ascertain what is recognized as flaming, what makes this discussion flaming (as opposed to simply running the topic into the ground), and how do we disagree without it's being flaming -- if flaming is, in fact, what I understand it to be, which is acrimoniouis, and not just endless.

And I agree with your point about fuel costs and electricity. I don't even want to think about what it's going to do to my electric bill -- I live in an "all electric" apartment, on the top floor, and my electric bill in the coldest months of the winter can already be more than $250. So I guess my lights will be a bit dimmer this year -- and the blankets thicker.

So sincerest apologies if anything I said appears to have strayed into the realm of flaming. That was not my intention. And I really would like to know what that is and where the line is drawn.

Thanks.

No offense. My post was slightly off-topic.

I generally avoid Costco-Sam's discussions as many like to make them into good vs. evil, political discussions.

jlawrence01 wrote:No offense. My post was slightly off-topic.

I generally avoid Costco-Sam's discussions as many like to make them into good vs. evil, political discussions.

Well, not entirely off topic -- there had been much discussion of dimmed lights.

And if most Sam's stores are dimmer, maybe that's why their prices are lower.

Cynthia wrote:And if most Sam's stores are dimmer, maybe that's why their prices are lower.

well i disagree that their prices are even lower

dddane wrote:

Cynthia wrote:And if most Sam's stores are dimmer, maybe that's why their prices are lower.

well i disagree that their prices are even lower

I guess it depends on what you're buying. As mentioned before, ink for my printer costs more at Costco than it does at Office Depot, while at Sam's, it's $10 less than buying it online direct from Epson (which is, itself, about $10 less than Costco). And since printer ink is one of my most consistent expenses, its price at Sam's impresses me a great deal.

However, if all you're buying is food, yeah, the organic mixed greens at both places are about the same price.

Now I'm curious! What model is your printer? Yes, I know it's off topic

Hi- I see all kinds of posts for Costco, with most of them being positive, but I see very few posts for Sams Club. I belong to Sams Club, and purchase gas, compact florescent light bulbs, and prescriptions there, as well as tires and batteries for my car. If I am in the store anyway, I buy milk there, and I have bought a few clearance items there really cheap, including a microwave and a computer printer. Some of their books are really cheap too. Does anybody here belong to Sams Club? What do you buy there? Some of their stuff is a really good deal, but a lot of it is not. I see people buying lots of paper products there, and I do not think their paper towels and toilet paper are a good deal. I also see people buying institutional size boxes of cereal. I can get cereal cheaper at Dominicks and Jewel when it is on sale. Right now I have 9 boxes of cereal, and it all cost me $1.50 or less per box. Thanks, Nancy

Nancy, I have both Sams and Costco. Each carry differant items/brand that I like so it is worth it for us. Sams does have a better book selection and some of thier items are cheaper.

Meats are the same and Sams does have the reduced meats that Costco won't do. And I like the Sams on line items better too.

Two reasons I choose Costco over Sam's Club:

First, there is no comparison between how Costco and Sam's Club treat their employees. Costco employees are well-treated, well-paid, given benefits such as health insurance, etc., with the plan of keeping loyal employees around for a long time. Sam's Club employees are part of the whole Walmart thing, and are kept on short hours to avoid paying benefits, are paid less than Costco workers, and are frequently asked to do work off the clock.

For me, this is enough to make me happy to drive a few miles out of my way to Costco. There's a Sam's Club less than a mile from my house, but I choose not to shop there. I am genuinely concerned about the decline in jobs in this country that pay a reasonable middle class wage, and I want to spend my meager dollars in stores that are based on a model of treating employees with respect.

(I know a number of the people from the community who were involved in bringing the Costco at Damen and Clybourn into the neighborhood, and they were very pleased with the employment practices, so I am not basing my comments on random information off the internet.)

But secondly, if that's not enough, and more directly food-related, from the NY Times 10/3/09 article on ground beef and e-coli:

The retail giant Costco is one of the few big producers that tests trimmings for E. coli before grinding, a practice it adopted after a New York woman was sickened in 1998 by its hamburger meat, prompting a recall.

Craig Wilson, Costco’s food safety director, said the company decided it could not rely on its suppliers alone. “It’s incumbent upon us,” he said. “If you say, ‘Craig, this is what we’ve done,’ I should be able to go, ‘Cool, I believe you.’ But I’m going to check.”

Costco said it had found E. coli in foreign and domestic beef trimmings and pressured suppliers to fix the problem. But even Costco, with its huge buying power, said it had met resistance from some big slaughterhouses. “Tyson will not supply us,” Mr. Wilson said. “They don’t want us to test.”

Hi,

I have a Costco card. My sister has a Sam's Club, which allows me some access whenever I want to visit there.

My last visit to Sam's was around Thanksgiving. They had a pretty energetic radio campaign along with a Sunday insert allowing a one-time visit and purchase. The hook for me was a suggestion it was a holiday entertaining festival with an opportunity to try a range of food. I like sampling stuff I might not otherwise buy. Sometimes I find something I like, though more often my curiosity is satisfied.

I will often time my visits to Costco to be there before 6:45 to allow me to sample all the stations. I think twice if I am going to be later than that, because the entertainment value has dropped considerably. One of the sample station servers once intimated the woman in front me has a twin. I told her I am one of triplets, especially if the sample is really good! I'm sure I didn't answer in any way she had hoped.

Back to Sam's, I never saw such a lame food sampling as I did last Thanksgiving. They had a guy wearing a chef's toque who probably barely grilled at home committing an injustice to lamb riblets. The poor gray lamb sagging on the bone did not deserve such an undignified use of its flesh.

Another sample station was sloppily cutting a cake into unattractive tasting portions. Appetizers were being doled out, though none were particularly interesting.

The best item served in this group was green bean casserole. Assembled with the classic ingredients of canned green beans, Campbell's mushroom soup and canned fried onions. THe whole thing was cooked in a toaster oven. It was delicious. I even complimented the gal for having the most successfully executed sample station of the lot. I really meant it, too.

What bothered me was the coordination and hype of their advertising, then a poor execution of the effort once a hooked customer (me) entered the store. Something was lost in translation.

I remember reading very soon thereafter, Sam's was letting go of all their sample servers. It was expected most would be rehired by an independent contractor to go back to the stores.

My last visit gave me no particular reason to change buying habits.

Regards,

I'd disagree that the meats are the same at Costco and Sam's. If you look very carefully at the beef, you'll note that at Sam's the predominant grade is select, which is a big step under choice, which predominates at Costco. At Costco the choice grade beef is almost always extremely well-marbled, near prime beef.

In addition, Costco now has prime grade beef in some cuts - New York strips and ribeyes on a regular basis - and it's the real deal.

Pork products are largely the same, I'll agree...

I too appreciate an employer who treats its employees well; Wal-Mart has a pretty shaky history of employee relations and Costco is the exact opposite...

I used to have memberships at both, I preferred Costco head to head for sure.

With that said, I dont like paying to have the priveledge of shopping at either, plus even for a family of 3 the pack sizing of food was too big. The only true bargains I personally ever found at Costco was baby formula(dont need that anymore), and tires for my truck. It also seemed alot of the items intheir freezers, coolers & the things they offered were premade(processed) foods for meals, sides, appetizers, & soup which I make from scratch. Shopping there really didnt fit in with our lifestyle/diet.

As for the quality of meats, I wasnt to impressed with Sam, Costco's offerings seemed a little better but nothing that ever blew me away price or quality wise. I think I bought meat at Costco 2 or 3 times in the year we belonged there.

I did like their crab legs, dungeness crab, scallops, and shrimp though.

jimswside wrote:I used to have memberships at both, I preferred Costco head to head for sure.

With that said, I dont like paying to have the priveledge of shopping at either, plus even for a family of 3 the pack sizing of food was too big. The only true bargains I personally ever found at Costco was baby formula(dont need that anymore), and tires for my truck. It also seemed alot of their freezers,coolers & the things they offered were premade(processed) foods for meals, sides, appetizers, & soup which I make from scratch. Shopping there really didnt fit in with our lifestyle/diet.

As for the quality of meats, I wasnt to impressed with Sam, Costco's offerings seemed a little better but nothing that ever blew me away price or quality wise. I think I bought meat at Costco 2 or 3 times in the year we belonged there.

I did like their crab legs, dungeness crab, scallops, and shrimp though.

I agree with this post on all counts, but will add this: my Costco membership pays for itself solely on razor refills ($2 per Mach3 cartridge at Costco vs. $3 at Target or $4 at CVS/Walgreens/Jewel) and antihistamine (5 cents per tablet for generic Claritin at Costco vs. 17-25 cents per tablet for generic Claritin at CVS/Walgreens or 58 cents per tablet for name-brand Claritin at CVS/Walgreens/Target).

I also generally buy TP & paper towel from Costco, but the savings aren't nearly as huge ($1-2 cheaper than Target at most).

mchodera wrote:I'd disagree that the meats are the same at Costco and Sam's. If you look very carefully at the beef, you'll note that at Sam's the predominant grade is select, which is a big step under choice, which predominates at Costco. At Costco the choice grade beef is almost always extremely well-marbled, near prime beef.

That has NOT been my experience at Sams Club. Each and every package of beef was clearly labeled as USDA Choice including all of those in the packers label. In fact, they generally have the same packers label as you'll find at Costco.

Judy H wrote:Two reasons I choose Costco over Sam's Club:

First, there is no comparison between how Costco and Sam's Club treat their employees. Costco employees are well-treated, well-paid, given benefits such as health insurance, etc., with the plan of keeping loyal employees around for a long time. Sam's Club employees are part of the whole Walmart thing, and are kept on short hours to avoid paying benefits, are paid less than Costco workers, and are frequently asked to do work off the clock.

Hey there Judy. My wife works at Sam's. Yes it is part of the whole Walmart thingy.
BUT...she does work a full-time job(full time is 37 1/2 hours a week) with benefits. Health, dental , vision insurance....along with a 401K plan.
Don't know where you get your info from, but it's kinda wrong.
And we get a free membership.
As far as working off the clock, are you a bit crazy?
Just wondering where you get this info from?

Dave.

djl wrote:Hey there Judy. My wife works at Sam's. Yes it is part of the whole Walmart thingy.
BUT...she does work a full-time job(full time is 37 1/2 hours a week) with benefits. Health, dental , vision insurance....along with a 401K plan.
Don't know where you get your info from, but it's kinda wrong.
And we get a free membership.
As far as working off the clock, are you a bit crazy?
Just wondering where you get this info from?

Dave.

When they built one of the Walmart Superstores out here in McHenry Co., an acquaintance of mine was hired to work in the bakery. She had been working in a family bakery for 20 years.

Why did she make the move? The starting wages were $2 more per hours and FINALLY, she received medical benefits and a 401(k).

Jewel and Dominick's are far more likely to hire people as temps.

djl wrote:

Hey there Judy. My wife works at Sam's. Yes it is part of the whole Walmart thingy.
BUT...she does work a full-time job(full time is 37 1/2 hours a week) with benefits. Health, dental , vision insurance....along with a 401K plan.
Don't know where you get your info from, but it's kinda wrong.
And we get a free membership.
As far as working off the clock, are you a bit crazy?
Just wondering where you get this info from?

Dave.

Hi Dave (all),

My experience with Sam's employees are similar to yours. I know several Sam's employees that have worked at our local store since it was opened, about 20+ years. Benefits, health, retirement, etc...all of them have actually like(d) working there.

Oh, the Sam's beef by us is clearly marked "choice" at our local store too (can't speak for other stores that I haven't been to).

Please don't read my post and think I'm a big Sam's supporter though, Because I'm not. I have belonged to both Costco and Sam's clubs, but currently have a Sam's card. I find there to be more similalarities between the two stores than differences. What I've found is that you have to watch the products you get from both Costco and Sam's...and also the price. But this isn't uncommon from every other grocery store I go to...For a single meal I usually end up going to three to five different stores. I haven't found one store where I could fill all my needs.


dan

djl wrote:

Judy H wrote:Two reasons I choose Costco over Sam's Club:

First, there is no comparison between how Costco and Sam's Club treat their employees. Costco employees are well-treated, well-paid, given benefits such as health insurance, etc., with the plan of keeping loyal employees around for a long time. Sam's Club employees are part of the whole Walmart thing, and are kept on short hours to avoid paying benefits, are paid less than Costco workers, and are frequently asked to do work off the clock.

Hey there Judy. My wife works at Sam's. Yes it is part of the whole Walmart thingy.
BUT...she does work a full-time job(full time is 37 1/2 hours a week) with benefits. Health, dental , vision insurance....along with a 401K plan.
Don't know where you get your info from, but it's kinda wrong.
And we get a free membership.
As far as working off the clock, are you a bit crazy?
Just wondering where you get this info from?

Dave.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/05/25/AR2006052502162.html
http://www.pbs.org/itvs/storewars/story.html
http://www.nytimes.com/2005/10/26/business/26walmart.ready.html
http://newstandardnews.net/content/index.cfm/items/2528
http://www.nytimes.com/2002/06/25/us/suits-say-wal-mart-forces-workers-to-toil-off-the-clock.html
http://abcnews.go.com/Business/story?id=87844&page=1

Khaopaat wrote:

djl wrote:

Judy H wrote:Two reasons I choose Costco over Sam's Club:

First, there is no comparison between how Costco and Sam's Club treat their employees. Costco employees are well-treated, well-paid, given benefits such as health insurance, etc., with the plan of keeping loyal employees around for a long time. Sam's Club employees are part of the whole Walmart thing, and are kept on short hours to avoid paying benefits, are paid less than Costco workers, and are frequently asked to do work off the clock.

Hey there Judy. My wife works at Sam's. Yes it is part of the whole Walmart thingy.
BUT...she does work a full-time job(full time is 37 1/2 hours a week) with benefits. Health, dental , vision insurance....along with a 401K plan.
Don't know where you get your info from, but it's kinda wrong.
And we get a free membership.
As far as working off the clock, are you a bit crazy?
Just wondering where you get this info from?

Dave.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/05/25/AR2006052502162.html
http://www.pbs.org/itvs/storewars/story.html
http://www.nytimes.com/2005/10/26/business/26walmart.ready.html
http://newstandardnews.net/content/index.cfm/items/2528
http://www.nytimes.com/2002/06/25/us/suits-say-wal-mart-forces-workers-to-toil-off-the-clock.html
http://abcnews.go.com/Business/story?id=87844&page=1

Thanks for posting all the links for WAL-MART.
My wife works for SAMS.
All I can is that she has never had a problem working there for over 4 years.

Hi- If you know somebody that belongs to Sam's Club, you can purchase an associate membership through them for $10 a year. I think that there is a limit of 2 associate memberships per primary membership. I am an associate member, thanks to one of my sisters.

I am not a big fan of either Sams Club or Walmart, but they allow me to afford things that I wound not be able to otherwise. My Dell desktop computer I purchased from Walmart last September for $298, including Vista and the monitor. It would have cost me over $400 anywhere else. I usually do not go to Walmart, but I was out of town on labor day weekend, and I saw this computer at a Walmart in Michigan. When I decided to buy it the following day, both the Walmart stores I went to were out of it. I finally went back to the Niles walmart store three days later, and they had more in stock.

All of the links somebody gave were old, and were all for Walmart, and not Sam's Club. Sams Club is much more convenient for me. I do not buy very much food at Sams Club, except for milk though. The Walmart store in Niles gets too crowded for me anyway. Hope this helps, Nancy

djl wrote:Thanks for posting all the links for WAL-MART.
My wife works for SAMS.

djl wrote:

Judy H wrote:...Sam's Club employees are part of the whole Walmart thing...

...My wife works at Sam's. Yes it is part of the whole Walmart thingy...

Khaopaat wrote:

djl wrote:Don't know where you get your info from, but it's kinda wrong.
As far as working off the clock, are you a bit crazy?
Just wondering where you get this info from?

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/05/25/AR2006052502162.html
http://www.pbs.org/itvs/storewars/story.html
http://www.nytimes.com/2005/10/26/business/26walmart.ready.html
http://newstandardnews.net/content/index.cfm/items/2528
http://www.nytimes.com/2002/06/25/us/suits-say-wal-mart-forces-workers-to-toil-off-the-clock.html
http://abcnews.go.com/Business/story?id=87844&page=1

Sheesh. And people act like I'm the one with the reading comprehension problems

Sheesh. And people act like I'm the one with the reading comprehension problems

Gonna say it again...my wife works at SAMS.
I comprehended all that is posted here

Sam's Club to close 63 stores nationwide including the Naperville, Romeoville, Batavia, Matteston and Moline stores. The Naperville one is a little surprising since that's a big metropolitan area, but there is another in Montgomery less than five miles away so that probably had something to do with it.

http://www.chicagotribune.com/business/ ... story.html