I have seen much complaining about Sam’s Club changing their policy on free shipping for Plus Members. Some people have said they are going to dump their Sam’s Club membership and start using Costco. I don’t see where Costco offers free shipping as a part of their Executive Membership. Am I wrong?
I have had memberships in both clubs. I have settled on Sam’s Club, and I am happy with them. They seem to have more locations than Costco. The variety and quality of products are good. Is the change in shipping policy enough to jump to Costco?
I have been a Sam’s member for over 30 years and Plus member for the last 5 or so. I am not happy with the change since they already went up 10 dollars last year. I don’t intend to drop the Plus because I hardly ever had an order under 50 anyway. If it ends up that I am no longer happy I’ll switch back to regular member. You can drop the Plus and they will refund the difference.
I sometimes have items shipped to my home if the store happens to be out of something. Some items must be ordered online. Items are usually shipped via FedEx and I get them the next day. It is not difficult to spend $50.00 on an order when purchasing from a warehouse club. I do not see the change in policy as a big deal.
Hi there,
Costco does not offer free shipping like Sam’s Club does. At Costco, shipping is included on many items but not on all of them. It is important to note that in many cases, Costco tends to markup an item online vs finding that same item in the club. I wanted to point that out to help save you as much money as possible.
It is very easy to check the online and in-club price. You can call your local store and give them the item number.
For me, my nearest Sam’s Club is 40 miles away and use them solely for the free shipping. I am waffling on how I should proceed. Time will tell.
Thank you for writing in!
-Anthony from Team Clark
The Sam’s Club I go to gets extremely busy during the day and on the weekends, As a Plus member I can get in during early hours and avoid the busiest times. I like that. The driving distance between Sam’s Club and Costco is about the same for me. I usually get gas at Sam’s Club too. It saves a lot.
We’ve been with Sam,'s for about 7 years. Every time we visit, they have stopped stocking items we use. Bj’s opened nearby last year, we joined. Never use Sam’s for shipping (we have basic membership), so we are leaving when our renewal is due. Except for no local gas, BJ’s has nearly all of our favorites.
It’s a 45 minute drive to the closest Sam’s Club. I order items to be shipped regularly and go in person once every 2-3 months for frozen foods. I don’t anticipate having a problem hitting the $50 minimum for free shipping. I feel sorry for the FedEx guy, though…they send everything in one huge, awkward, heavy box.