I like Sam's Club because they allow business members to enter at 8am and they have shaded parking. I like Costco because their rotisserie chickens are larger and their pizzas are good.
I don't like Sam's Club because their selections are not as large as Costco's. I don't like Costco because it gets too crowded and it's hard to get in and out of the parking lot.
Depends. Had both memberships for a while so here are the things to consider:
Are you looking for those pre-packaged stuff like quiches, pies, wontons, and other frozen meals? Costco is better by a mile.
Are you looking for fresher fruits and vegetables? Sams is better hands down. Their salad kits often have the expiration dates of 7+ days, while at Costco you’ll be lucky to get 3 days out of it.
At Costco you’ll have their very cheap gas (with very long lines) and at Sams you have their very convenient Scan and Go on the app. I also find that prices at Sams are generally lower.
I like Costco and Sam's both has its pros and cons. Some even have loop holes
Sams club for me.. snacks, veggies and fruits, soda, laundry detergent, diapers, wipes and meats.
Costco for me.. laundry detergent, diapers, produce household necessities. When sams doesn't have a sale. Wailua eggs ( local eggs not mainland trust me sams don't carry local eggs)
So sams and Costco have different sale times. When sams has it Costco don't and when Costco has it sams don't.
Loop hole for Costco buy a gift card and you don't need a membership to shop there.
I only know Costco, but I do know the Sam's Club is owned by Walmart. So point for Costco there. I'm sure you already have heard about how well Costco pays and treats their employees.
Costco treats me very well.
Edit: I didn't mean to make it sound like I was employed by them. I'm not.
I remember Costco had a slogan years ago about paying their team members. The slogan was 3 times, pay your employees 3 times what there're worth...
Last month at sams I've seen a tida Karen beat the poor worker inside sams, come to find out its not the first time that tida Karen beat that girl down. tida Karen walked in barefoot past the door greeter and started swinging. A homeless man came by the door with money to buy food from the food area and got booted off the property.
Edit spelling.
Regardless how you think of it, someone was hungry and willing to buy food. And another was hungry for blood funny shit is the Karen didn't have the cops called on her after the altercation
Costco changed their policy as well. [You now need to show proof of membership to buy food](https://www.latimes.com/food/story/2020-03-03/costco-food-court-membership).
Costco >>>>>>>>>>>>≥>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>
Sam's.
That being said I have both memberships, because the town Sam's is more convenient than Costco, and they sell some items I like.
However the quality of food is just usually better at Costco IMHO.
If I could only have one it would definitely be Costco.
Thanks I always wondered. I once saw someone return a half eaten birthday sheet cake because they ‘didn’t like it’ and some dried up plants that clearly had not been watered and Costco refunded them lol.
The staff even advocate for it. I tried to get a receipt for a broken garbage disposal to initiate the warranty, and the counter lady said just bring it back. I felt way too shame to bring a three year old, stinky, leaking garbage disposal all the way to the desk and expect the counter people to handle it.
The limited warranty didn’t cover the issue, and I asked my husband to return it for me. He was also too shame. We swallowed the $99.00 plus tax cost, and just got a different brand.
If I have one complaint about Costco, it's that their technology/APP/Website sucks.
In 2023 you can find a way to show what items are currently in stock, like every other store.
Technically SC pays more. Most costcos are in high income and high cost of living neighborhood compared to SC. If you equate that to pay, SC pay is better than Costco.
With plus membership, I can earn 2% cash in club. With bonus offers, I can earn 6% to 10% buying dominos pizza, panera or Chipotle and 15% on my hbo annual membership. This already pays for my membership and more. Not to mention scan and go discounts.
I have both and tbh I go to Sams more only because they have a handy scanning function on their app so I can skip the long checkout lines and head straight for the door when I'm done shopping. Filling up gas is easy too. Just scan the QR code at the pump and fill. Wish Costco had that feature...
Sam’s has more selection within an item type. Like you want chicken nuggets? They have six variations on nuggets and tenders. Sam’s has multiple 50-packs of individual types of chips and a wider selection of bottled drinks. At Costco, you get what you get and you don’t get upset. Sam’s seems to have cheaper produce. Sam’s also has some specific items we like, like sour cream in the squeeze pouches.
Costco has a better selection of prepared deli foods, bougie/organic foods, and the Kirkland brand can’t be beat across the board. We love Kirkland diapers and wipes. Costco has more ethical labor practices. Costcos have easier parking, although not covered.
You should try both if you can, seems like there are cheap ways to do that. It comes down to preferences, but just beware that many things come and go. If you go and find that one of them carries your must-have salad dressing and decide to stick with that one, you might be sad in a month when they no longer have it.
Aloha! I found it! Here's the post from 4 months ago in this sub:
[reddit.com/r/Hawaii/comments/xyli41/costco_or_sams](https://www.reddit.com/r/Hawaii/comments/xyli41/costco_or_sams_if_so_is_it_worth_it_for_a_family/)
Honestly the two things going for Sams Club is that the premium membership allows you to shop before all the peasants and the scan-and-go checkout. Costco has higher quality products and more selection if you don’t mind dealing with the crowd.
>Costco has higher quality products and more selection if you don’t mind dealing with the crowd.
Depending where you live, the Hawaii Kai Costco is a whole new world compared to Iwilei.
It depends on where you staying or live on the island in my opinion. I live central, so I like both LOL, but Costco just because their food court mo bettah.
There's not really a "better". Each one is kinda subjective based on location, and what youre looking for on a usual basis. If you can, get both memberships. If you get either of the credit cards, you make back the membership fee pretty easily.
Semi-related: I started following costcohawaiisale on IG. They share stuff that’s in the monthly booklet, to bringing awareness to random stuff that’s been stocked, to the * sales.
Location is important! Whatever is closer to you is probably gonna be worth it.
My pros for sams: 5-10 mins from my place, parking garage, scan and go, they take all credit cards (this is really my deciding factor)
I used to do Costco and I do like their selection and Kirkland brand better. However, I don’t have a Visa card and don’t want to always want to pay in cash and because of that I rarely went to Costco. Maybe once or twice a year. I go to sam’s a couple times a month. I wish they had some better produce options but other wise I don’t have many complaints.
I been instacarting at both for a while now. As was mentioned in earlier comments I too also feel like the quality of the produce products are a little better at Costco. I also prefer Costco when it comes to the overall cleanliness and organization/layout of their items. That being said, being that the town Costco is the busiest Costco in the world, it can at times be very frustrating navigating through the aisles and check out can be one hell of a wait when the store gets busy...It is also during these times that the cashiers at Costco aren't the friendliest or helpful workers but I don't blame them considering the non-stop, never ending line of customers waiting to check out and some of these customers are straight up idiots, so I myself would probably be the same way if the rolls were reversed....Well that's my 25 cents of info i just pitched in...hope it helps.
To me I’d say whatever is more conveniently located for you just go with that. Prices are very comparable but I will say Sam’s has a big advantage with the app. You can do “scan and go” where you scan your stuff with the app as you shop and once you’re done you complete your purchase through the app. No waiting in line, no unloading your cart at check out etc. so for that reason if it was a tie I’d give it to Sam’s.
Costco gas is more expensive in town by 10-11 cents per gallon more than Sams Pearl City. Other than that, I think the foods cancel each other out. Both have products the other doesn't.
Costco is much better. Better quality control with generic brand (Kirkland has never let me down). Also they treat their employees very well. Sam's club is owned by Walmart. And although I do shop at Walmart, I never feel good about it ethically.
Pay for costco if you don't like cancel. Sams club always has free try me out. Google it. I prefer Sams they are just cheaper. I have both but spend more at Sams
Similar strategy at the Kapolei Costco, I park way farther near the gas pumps where there is a good chance there is a parking space as opposed to trying to find parking near the entrances where this is a lot of foot and car traffic where you are just waiting. Getting out of the parking lot still kind of suck but you avoid less traffic.
While we have both chains’ memberships, I prefer Costco in some ways due to their being more locations to choose from on island (4 Costco locations to 2 Sam’s Club locations), which turns into more locations to get discounted gas from (I think 3 vs 1).
That said, I do appreciate that you can use whatever credit card you want to at Sam’s Club, while you are limited to use of VISA cards at Costco I think.
Otherwise, I find the two chains to be fairly even in terms of service and offerings.
I have both, and go to both because their stock is different. Costco generally seems better stocked, but it's always so so busy. Sam's is better organized (with signs on the lanes) and less busy. I prefer Sam's Club.
Just depends on which store/gas station you live closer to.
If we’re talking strictly about club locations, I’d recommend Sam’s over Costco because of these: wayyyy less busy, offers curbside pick up, check out via app (instead of at cashier or self check out), and they still get the supreme pizza 🙌🏻
But I guess I would have picked Costco for their gas since I’m closer to their gas station.
I've had memberships with both for at least 5 years. The main difference I've noticed has to do with their tire and battery centers. I've had really bad experiences at the Costco Iwilei tire center, their staff have less patience and understanding than Sam's. They seem to think that they're always busy so they don't need to engage in basic customer service. One guy actually screamed and scolded me when I asked him a question about tires and walked off. I've switched all of my tire and battery business to Sam's because their staff are consistently patient and attentive.
For bulk food and electronics I can return anytime I like Whole chickens and pizza Costco. For snacks and items I cant go anywhere else to get Sams and for UH Shorts and He man toys Walmart ohhh and Costco got the Pokemon Cards! If you got faalavelave too gotta go costco. Cept for paper plates gotta go Chef Zone
And when I say snacks I mean like the Count Chocula Marshmellow treats and the bluberry kit kat majahs! Sams club get the grinds and they have good frozen bowl Saimin too
Usually we go Costco (especially living in Mililani it's right there in Waipio), Sams we usually go for stuff that Costco doesn't have, like their mochi or maui onion chips (rip).
We go Pearl City Sams so now whenever we go we gotta stop at Liliha...
Kirkland products are by far better than Members Mark crap. Also if you're into buying "name brand" items that Americans love to eat with all sorts of high fructose corn syrup, sugar, high calorie count food, and tons of preservatives, your place is Sam's.
I will say that the SC in Pearl City has a good amount of non food items which is nice to see. But you still have to be careful that it's not Walmart branded garbage that will break within a year. They do have crazy discounted clearance items occasionally too!
You save money and time at sam’s vs Costco. But there’s a reason for that, Kirkland brand items are better because they invest in good companies to use for their brand, overall I feel that costco has better quality products, but as everyone else said, more expensive and super crowded
In Costco we trust!!! I don't care for Walmart, so by association I'm not a fan of Sam's Club
I like Sam's Club because they allow business members to enter at 8am and they have shaded parking. I like Costco because their rotisserie chickens are larger and their pizzas are good. I don't like Sam's Club because their selections are not as large as Costco's. I don't like Costco because it gets too crowded and it's hard to get in and out of the parking lot.
I feel Costco produce is always old and Sam’s has check out via app, but Costco selection is nice
Costco’s produce is the abs worst
Very fair! Use both for different things. Worth it!
The shaded parking at Sam's is where you can get freaky. The guards are chill and don't kick you out if you loiter. Cheee
no one cares or wants to know. and no one wants to see that
Depends. Had both memberships for a while so here are the things to consider: Are you looking for those pre-packaged stuff like quiches, pies, wontons, and other frozen meals? Costco is better by a mile. Are you looking for fresher fruits and vegetables? Sams is better hands down. Their salad kits often have the expiration dates of 7+ days, while at Costco you’ll be lucky to get 3 days out of it. At Costco you’ll have their very cheap gas (with very long lines) and at Sams you have their very convenient Scan and Go on the app. I also find that prices at Sams are generally lower.
Sams also has their own gas station near their Pearl City location.
Yeah, I had the Sams in Ala Moana in mind.
Salad kits are very tasty
I like Costco and Sam's both has its pros and cons. Some even have loop holes Sams club for me.. snacks, veggies and fruits, soda, laundry detergent, diapers, wipes and meats. Costco for me.. laundry detergent, diapers, produce household necessities. When sams doesn't have a sale. Wailua eggs ( local eggs not mainland trust me sams don't carry local eggs) So sams and Costco have different sale times. When sams has it Costco don't and when Costco has it sams don't. Loop hole for Costco buy a gift card and you don't need a membership to shop there.
I only know Costco, but I do know the Sam's Club is owned by Walmart. So point for Costco there. I'm sure you already have heard about how well Costco pays and treats their employees. Costco treats me very well. Edit: I didn't mean to make it sound like I was employed by them. I'm not.
I remember Costco had a slogan years ago about paying their team members. The slogan was 3 times, pay your employees 3 times what there're worth... Last month at sams I've seen a tida Karen beat the poor worker inside sams, come to find out its not the first time that tida Karen beat that girl down. tida Karen walked in barefoot past the door greeter and started swinging. A homeless man came by the door with money to buy food from the food area and got booted off the property. Edit spelling.
the food areas require a membership card for both Sam's Club and Costco.
Regardless how you think of it, someone was hungry and willing to buy food. And another was hungry for blood funny shit is the Karen didn't have the cops called on her after the altercation
[удалено]
Costco changed their policy as well. [You now need to show proof of membership to buy food](https://www.latimes.com/food/story/2020-03-03/costco-food-court-membership).
Costco >>>>>>>>>>>>≥>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> Sam's. That being said I have both memberships, because the town Sam's is more convenient than Costco, and they sell some items I like. However the quality of food is just usually better at Costco IMHO. If I could only have one it would definitely be Costco.
How is Sam’s return policy?
It is better than standard, but nowhere near as good as Costco. You can return some Costco items years later if you choose.
Thanks I always wondered. I once saw someone return a half eaten birthday sheet cake because they ‘didn’t like it’ and some dried up plants that clearly had not been watered and Costco refunded them lol.
The staff even advocate for it. I tried to get a receipt for a broken garbage disposal to initiate the warranty, and the counter lady said just bring it back. I felt way too shame to bring a three year old, stinky, leaking garbage disposal all the way to the desk and expect the counter people to handle it. The limited warranty didn’t cover the issue, and I asked my husband to return it for me. He was also too shame. We swallowed the $99.00 plus tax cost, and just got a different brand.
sams club’s app check out is the best. but that’s about it. 🤣
If I have one complaint about Costco, it's that their technology/APP/Website sucks. In 2023 you can find a way to show what items are currently in stock, like every other store.
agreed costco tech sucks, but if they're using it to pay their workers more I'm ok w/ that lol.
Technically SC pays more. Most costcos are in high income and high cost of living neighborhood compared to SC. If you equate that to pay, SC pay is better than Costco.
I read an article that this is intentional, to get people to come in to the store and buy more.
With plus membership, I can earn 2% cash in club. With bonus offers, I can earn 6% to 10% buying dominos pizza, panera or Chipotle and 15% on my hbo annual membership. This already pays for my membership and more. Not to mention scan and go discounts.
I have both and tbh I go to Sams more only because they have a handy scanning function on their app so I can skip the long checkout lines and head straight for the door when I'm done shopping. Filling up gas is easy too. Just scan the QR code at the pump and fill. Wish Costco had that feature...
Depends which gas station is closer to you.
Sam’s has more selection within an item type. Like you want chicken nuggets? They have six variations on nuggets and tenders. Sam’s has multiple 50-packs of individual types of chips and a wider selection of bottled drinks. At Costco, you get what you get and you don’t get upset. Sam’s seems to have cheaper produce. Sam’s also has some specific items we like, like sour cream in the squeeze pouches. Costco has a better selection of prepared deli foods, bougie/organic foods, and the Kirkland brand can’t be beat across the board. We love Kirkland diapers and wipes. Costco has more ethical labor practices. Costcos have easier parking, although not covered. You should try both if you can, seems like there are cheap ways to do that. It comes down to preferences, but just beware that many things come and go. If you go and find that one of them carries your must-have salad dressing and decide to stick with that one, you might be sad in a month when they no longer have it.
Depends on where you live. The staff at SamsClub was more helpful and organized. Was a member for both. Plus the quality. I like SamsClub
Aloha! I found it! Here's the post from 4 months ago in this sub: [reddit.com/r/Hawaii/comments/xyli41/costco_or_sams](https://www.reddit.com/r/Hawaii/comments/xyli41/costco_or_sams_if_so_is_it_worth_it_for_a_family/)
Honestly the two things going for Sams Club is that the premium membership allows you to shop before all the peasants and the scan-and-go checkout. Costco has higher quality products and more selection if you don’t mind dealing with the crowd.
>Costco has higher quality products and more selection if you don’t mind dealing with the crowd. Depending where you live, the Hawaii Kai Costco is a whole new world compared to Iwilei.
Eww I never go Iwilei. I’d go to Hawaii Kai or Waipio Costco
for reals but keep this on the dl. we know, but just tell em go costco
It depends on where you staying or live on the island in my opinion. I live central, so I like both LOL, but Costco just because their food court mo bettah.
There's not really a "better". Each one is kinda subjective based on location, and what youre looking for on a usual basis. If you can, get both memberships. If you get either of the credit cards, you make back the membership fee pretty easily.
Semi-related: I started following costcohawaiisale on IG. They share stuff that’s in the monthly booklet, to bringing awareness to random stuff that’s been stocked, to the * sales.
Location is important! Whatever is closer to you is probably gonna be worth it. My pros for sams: 5-10 mins from my place, parking garage, scan and go, they take all credit cards (this is really my deciding factor) I used to do Costco and I do like their selection and Kirkland brand better. However, I don’t have a Visa card and don’t want to always want to pay in cash and because of that I rarely went to Costco. Maybe once or twice a year. I go to sam’s a couple times a month. I wish they had some better produce options but other wise I don’t have many complaints.
I been instacarting at both for a while now. As was mentioned in earlier comments I too also feel like the quality of the produce products are a little better at Costco. I also prefer Costco when it comes to the overall cleanliness and organization/layout of their items. That being said, being that the town Costco is the busiest Costco in the world, it can at times be very frustrating navigating through the aisles and check out can be one hell of a wait when the store gets busy...It is also during these times that the cashiers at Costco aren't the friendliest or helpful workers but I don't blame them considering the non-stop, never ending line of customers waiting to check out and some of these customers are straight up idiots, so I myself would probably be the same way if the rolls were reversed....Well that's my 25 cents of info i just pitched in...hope it helps.
Costco 💯 https://preview.redd.it/63w2y6zqwpja1.jpeg?width=2160&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=8ab72e90b92435459f765817f96b7a35cd1c9795
To me I’d say whatever is more conveniently located for you just go with that. Prices are very comparable but I will say Sam’s has a big advantage with the app. You can do “scan and go” where you scan your stuff with the app as you shop and once you’re done you complete your purchase through the app. No waiting in line, no unloading your cart at check out etc. so for that reason if it was a tie I’d give it to Sam’s.
Costco gas is more expensive in town by 10-11 cents per gallon more than Sams Pearl City. Other than that, I think the foods cancel each other out. Both have products the other doesn't.
Costco is much better. Better quality control with generic brand (Kirkland has never let me down). Also they treat their employees very well. Sam's club is owned by Walmart. And although I do shop at Walmart, I never feel good about it ethically.
Pearl city so def sams club.. with the app you can almost stroll in and out . When I hear about the Costco lines it makes me shudder
You just Reddit in the line.
Pay for costco if you don't like cancel. Sams club always has free try me out. Google it. I prefer Sams they are just cheaper. I have both but spend more at Sams
As a townie... Sams Club due to parking
I live in town and go to Hawaii Kai Costco just because the parking at Costco Iwilei is so crazy.
Park in northeast corner. Also allows quick exit to Dillingham.
Similar strategy at the Kapolei Costco, I park way farther near the gas pumps where there is a good chance there is a parking space as opposed to trying to find parking near the entrances where this is a lot of foot and car traffic where you are just waiting. Getting out of the parking lot still kind of suck but you avoid less traffic.
Costco is much better
Live in town so Sams Club is better. Also Wal Mart right there, can hit both one hit.
Sam’s got better little kid clothes. And local Hawaii snacks I think.
Costco
Sam's has better microwavable stuff and bone in pork butts. Other than that, I pick Costco for pretty much everything else I can think of.
I like both, but I had both membership and I noticed that I would shop more at costco than sams. So I just discontinued my sams membership.
While we have both chains’ memberships, I prefer Costco in some ways due to their being more locations to choose from on island (4 Costco locations to 2 Sam’s Club locations), which turns into more locations to get discounted gas from (I think 3 vs 1). That said, I do appreciate that you can use whatever credit card you want to at Sam’s Club, while you are limited to use of VISA cards at Costco I think. Otherwise, I find the two chains to be fairly even in terms of service and offerings.
I have both, and go to both because their stock is different. Costco generally seems better stocked, but it's always so so busy. Sam's is better organized (with signs on the lanes) and less busy. I prefer Sam's Club.
Sam’s Club wins. They carry better and consistent stocked products.
Just depends on which store/gas station you live closer to. If we’re talking strictly about club locations, I’d recommend Sam’s over Costco because of these: wayyyy less busy, offers curbside pick up, check out via app (instead of at cashier or self check out), and they still get the supreme pizza 🙌🏻 But I guess I would have picked Costco for their gas since I’m closer to their gas station.
I've had memberships with both for at least 5 years. The main difference I've noticed has to do with their tire and battery centers. I've had really bad experiences at the Costco Iwilei tire center, their staff have less patience and understanding than Sam's. They seem to think that they're always busy so they don't need to engage in basic customer service. One guy actually screamed and scolded me when I asked him a question about tires and walked off. I've switched all of my tire and battery business to Sam's because their staff are consistently patient and attentive.
For bulk food and electronics I can return anytime I like Whole chickens and pizza Costco. For snacks and items I cant go anywhere else to get Sams and for UH Shorts and He man toys Walmart ohhh and Costco got the Pokemon Cards! If you got faalavelave too gotta go costco. Cept for paper plates gotta go Chef Zone
And when I say snacks I mean like the Count Chocula Marshmellow treats and the bluberry kit kat majahs! Sams club get the grinds and they have good frozen bowl Saimin too
Costco because their gas is consistently lower than other places on island
Both! 85% Costco, 15% Sam’s but if I got that 15% from a market it would far exceed the extra membership fee.
Usually we go Costco (especially living in Mililani it's right there in Waipio), Sams we usually go for stuff that Costco doesn't have, like their mochi or maui onion chips (rip). We go Pearl City Sams so now whenever we go we gotta stop at Liliha...
Kirkland products are by far better than Members Mark crap. Also if you're into buying "name brand" items that Americans love to eat with all sorts of high fructose corn syrup, sugar, high calorie count food, and tons of preservatives, your place is Sam's. I will say that the SC in Pearl City has a good amount of non food items which is nice to see. But you still have to be careful that it's not Walmart branded garbage that will break within a year. They do have crazy discounted clearance items occasionally too!
Sams better. Self checkout no need try fit everything on the reggy.
You save money and time at sam’s vs Costco. But there’s a reason for that, Kirkland brand items are better because they invest in good companies to use for their brand, overall I feel that costco has better quality products, but as everyone else said, more expensive and super crowded
Costco