Forums > General > Living, Working, Retiring

Anonimo

Feb 14, 2005, 4:55 AM

Post #1 of 19 (2344 views)

Shortcut

Costco vs Sam's Club Membership

Can't Post | Private Reply

Our dues at Sam's Club, here in Little Rock, Arkansas are up for renewal soon. (We have no Costco).
I'm seriously considering dropping the Sam's membership and getting a membership at Costco instead, probably in Morelia. (Hopefully by June).

I've visited Costco in New Jersey and I was favorably impressed. What are some of the pros and cons of either discount warehouse store in Mexico, especially in Morelia, and does the dues structure differ from the ones here in the U.S.?

Many thanks.

Uncle Jack

Feb 14, 2005, 5:04 AM

Post #2 of 19 (2260 views)

Shortcut

Re: [Anonimo] Costco vs Sam's Club Membership

Can't Post | Private Reply

Anónimo;

We had both cards and dropped Sam's after the first year. In Guadalajara the Costco was much better for us and what we couldn't find there, we found at WalMart.

uj

Jerry@Ajijic

Feb 14, 2005, 5:12 AM

Post #3 of 19 (2258 views)

Shortcut

Re: [Uncle Jack] Costco vs Sam's Club Membership

Can't Post | Private Reply

One thing we noticed about the two stores is that CostCo in GDL & in NOB carries a good inexpensive line of vitamins. Sam's does not. We take a good many vitamins so that makes a difference to us.

Anonimo

Feb 14, 2005, 5:21 AM

Post #4 of 19 (2258 views)

Shortcut

Re: [Jerry@Ajijic] Costco vs Sam's Club Membership

Can't Post | Private Reply

Thanks to all; we will make the switch.

Saludos,
Anonimo

Don

Feb 14, 2005, 7:36 AM

Post #5 of 19 (2226 views)

Shortcut

Re: [Anonimo] Costco vs Sam's Club Membership

Can't Post | Private Reply

We have both cards and are keeping both. When we return to the states, we use Costco as they have more stores on the west coast. In Mexico, we use mostly Sams as they have many more stores in Mexico. We usually shop in Colima, Colima as it is easier to drive to and has less traffic than Guadalajara. There we use Sams and City Club. No Costco. I find the stores very similar and with the exception of a few items, prefer Sams in Mexico.

jennifer rose

Feb 14, 2005, 8:19 AM

Post #6 of 19 (2213 views)

Shortcut

Re: [Anonimo] Costco vs Sam's Club Membership

Can't Post |

We have both Costco and Sam's in Morelia. At opposite sides of town. Costco seems to carry a better, albeit somewhat more expensive line of merchandise. Costco has a broader range of pet products, but Sam's has a more extensive frozen food selection. Sam's has a good gourmet aisle, but I prefer Trico for those products.

Costco allows up to 6 members on a single Negocios membership. While it's designed for businesses, as long as Costco has been in business in Morelia, at least a decade, they've never questioned our group membership. The group membership brings the per/socio cost down to something like $120 M.N. On the other hand, Sam's allows only two or three on a business membership, and they scrutinized my RFC like it was the Magna Carta or something. You might consider getting together five of your closest friends and business associates to get a joint membership. Both stores have become uptight about the use of others' cards by nonmembers.

Costco's Mexican card is valid in the US.

A year or so, after shopping successfully several times with my gardener's Sam's card, they insisted that I produce whom I'd said was my husband. They didn't buy my line that he was in the bathroom, forcing me to abandon a cartful of merchandise at the checkout.

gpk

Feb 14, 2005, 8:40 AM

Post #7 of 19 (2208 views)

Shortcut

Re: [jennifer rose] Costco vs Sam's Club Membership

Can't Post | Private Reply

I use both Sam's and Costco in Irapuato/Leon and (now) Morleia. They seem very different to me and I know I save more than the cost of the memberships in the savings on the cost of toothpaste, bath soap, vitamins, cleaning products and many other items that don't seem to be available at other stores. I think they both cost 350 pesos now, about US31.50, a year. Sam's now gives a 50 peso discount if you pay for the membership with a Walmart/Sam's credit card.

cristalhombre

Feb 14, 2005, 9:36 AM

Post #8 of 19 (2197 views)

Shortcut

Re: [gpk] Costco vs Sam's Club Membership

Can't Post | Private Reply

I have to vote my conscience here......sorry to be political - but it's my nature. I do think this is a side of the story that must be heard, so hopefully the "delete police" are taking a siesta.

Now I must admit I am a stock holder (small potatoes) and have been since 1988 when I lived in Seattle and could see the opportunity this young company had.

Costco is a great (let me repeat.......... GREAT employer) with family wage jobs and they really are interested in that aspect of the business plan. I have several friends who work in the Corporate level, including the former HR director. They are very flexible with hours and will allow all of it's employees (non-seasonal) to participate in benefits (health care!!! & 401K) relative to there work schedule after 30 days of employment. It's unusual in todays business world to find "good" employee relations, but Costco has that down pat!

Walmart (Sam's) has a poor track record here. I will not slam them as I think they are more like the normal corporation today.............. If you want to see how Walmart has approached the market check out the Frontline series on PBS. Hey I'm not saying they are wrong, but not friendly to the workin man.

Anyway my vote is for Costco primarily for the reason stated above. I do think they have a superb product line.

Recently I took back a Costco brand ballistic nylon suitcase (big one) that had been all over the globe with my wife and I several times, in fact I know I bought that at their original store on 4th Ave South in Seattle over 15 years ago. Anyway the zipper was failing (the little metal teeth were tearing away). I expected them to offer a repair job for the zipper. I would have been fine with that. To my surprise without any fuss I was told to go get a replacement in the store ($139.00) and come back to the customer service counter.

Yes, Costco is tops in my book. Not to mention the best fresh meats, produce and now seafood here in Vancouver on Fridays (clams, mussels, lobster, catfish, snapper, crab legs)..... I made a giant pot of Bouillabaisse (seafood stew) for all my neighbors on Saturday. 12 of use dined quite well. good wine selection too.

Costco is very savvy at their game of high volume, HIGH QUALITY, consumer goods. PS the stock has been a home run too! :-)

enuf........................

"NOT ALL WHO WANDER ARE LOST...."

Marta R

Feb 14, 2005, 12:23 PM

Post #9 of 19 (2171 views)

Shortcut

Re: [jennifer rose] Costco vs Sam's Club Membership

Can't Post | Private Reply

"Costco's Mexican card is valid in the US."

Is the same true the other way around, that is, are US cards okay in Mexico?

<aside> cristalhombre's right. </aside>

Marta

esperanza

Feb 14, 2005, 12:33 PM

Post #10 of 19 (2167 views)

Shortcut

Re: [chrisnmarta] Costco vs Sam's Club Membership

Can't Post | Private Reply

Yes, your USA Costco card is valid in Mexico. You'll have to have them validate it for the system here (a bar code strip is placed on the back), but then you're good to go.

http://www.mexicocooks.typepad.com

Carol Schmidt

Feb 14, 2005, 12:37 PM

Post #11 of 19 (2168 views)

Shortcut

Re: [chrisnmarta] Costco vs Sam's Club Membership

Can't Post | Private Reply

>"Costco's Mexican card is valid in the US."

>Is the same true the other way around, that is, are US cards okay in Mexico? >

Yes, I used my US card for the first year in Mexico.

Remember, Wal-Mart made the news recently for building a store within easy sight of the pyramids near Mexico City, and it has had other protests on its site selection process.

Carol Schmidt

Anonimo

Feb 14, 2005, 1:28 PM

Post #12 of 19 (2156 views)

Shortcut

Re: [cristalhombre] Costco vs Sam's Club Membership

Can't Post | Private Reply

Thank you for your conscientous post about Sam's and Costco. I would never shop at Sam's if there were a Costco near here. The thing is, Sam's is an Arkansas native, and it will be a long time Hell freezing over before a Costco opens in this state.
At the Costco at which my parents shop, in NJ, the members are given free cake and coffee when the store opens. Never seen that at Sam's. The foods lineup is superior at that NJ Costco, compared to any Sam's I've been in. The snack bar even has better stuff on its menu, although I haven't tried any of it. (Three: Little Rock, Sherwood, AR and Cuernavaca. Mexico.)

Saludos,
Anonimo

Marlene

Feb 14, 2005, 2:21 PM

Post #13 of 19 (2143 views)

Shortcut

Re: [esperanza] Costco vs Sam's Club Membership

Can't Post | Private Reply

I was shopping at Sam's Club the other day with a friend from Canada, here in Mazatlán for a short visit. When time came to pay for her purchases they redirected her to the service desk. She presented her (valid) Costco card issued in Canada, and in return they issued a "day pass" so she could purchase a few things.

Brian

Feb 14, 2005, 2:29 PM

Post #14 of 19 (2139 views)

Shortcut

Re: [Marlene] Costco vs Sam's Club Membership

Can't Post | Private Reply

On a related topic, I just read that PriceSmart has gone bellyup in Mexico as of the end of this month ( I just renewed my one year membership!). As far as I know, they only had locations in Celaya, Irapuato and Queretaro.

Brian

(This post was edited by Brian on Feb 14, 2005, 2:31 PM)

Cynthia7

Feb 14, 2005, 9:42 PM

Post #15 of 19 (2083 views)

Shortcut

Re: [Brian] Costco vs Sam's Club Membership

Can't Post | Private Reply

I have both and find different things at these stores. Having been here 19 years I am just grateful to be able to get quality and variety. When we came here there was so little available. Few canned or items in jars. Potato peelers that looked like Elko and wouldn't cut butter. I felt like I was in communist Russia. Absolutely no returns for defective items. If the refrigerator or stove or tv didn't work when they delivered it -too bad. People in metropolitan areas of Mexico have always had options but people in smaller cities were held hostage by the home merchants. There have been many positive things and with that you always have some negative. Walmart is the largest employer in Mexico. They certainly are not perfect but I hate to think if they weren't here. I read the other day that a checker makes $100. every two weeks...I gather for a 40 hour week. Where I live in Mexico a teacher gets that for an 72 hour week. They have a normal school diploma ( 5years I think) teach a double shift -8 to 8. I guess it's all relative.

gpk

Feb 15, 2005, 3:08 PM

Post #16 of 19 (2016 views)

Shortcut

Re: [Brian] Costco vs Sam's Club Membership

Can't Post | Private Reply

The closing announcement was in the newspaper here in Irapuato today. The story said you could get a rebate on your dues--I'm going to see if that is true tomorrow.

jrice

Feb 16, 2005, 8:33 PM

Post #17 of 19 (1945 views)

Shortcut

Re: [Anonimo] Costco vs Sam's Club Membership

Can't Post | Private Reply

Both of them can be wonderfully fun after you've been here for awhile.

I started with Costco, then dropped it and jumped to Sam's, and found that I'd used it only twice in a year so I jumped back to Costco. I like it better. Got addicted to those big packages of nuts, the presentation of meats, the cheap batteries.

It may just depend a lot on the atmosphere at the stores closest to where you live. The Sams nearest me was dreadfully busy and not terribly well stocked. Neither is going to answer all of your problems.

Costco has a link with the Commercial Mexicana chain; you'll often find some of their Kirkland stuff at CM, a bit higher in price. The CMs near me have crappy vegetable sections, however.

Sams is linked to Wal-Mart's Mexico chains: Aurera, Superama and the like. The one near Teotihuacan is a Bodega Aurera, a chain Wal-Mart bought.

As the previous makes clear, I'm not a fan or foe of Wal-Mart, but I'd say the Bodega near (and not really terribly near) the pyramids is not very ostentatious (I didn't notice it from the top of the pyramid of the sun last weekend) and it is dramatically less damaging to the local archaeological site than is -- for example -- the National School of Anthropology and History or the neighboring Telmex-dominated shopping mall and Olympic housing project in Mexico City, which are planted dead smack bang atop one of the most crucial and still largely unexplored ruins in the Americas, Cuicuilco (believed to be the motherland of Teotihuacan).

Cuicuilco is a great place to visit, by the way, if you are interested in Mexican archaeology. It's an oddly quiet oasis just off the Periferico.

Brian

Feb 21, 2005, 6:10 AM

Post #18 of 19 (1826 views)

Shortcut

And another one bites the dust

Can't Post | Private Reply

Carrefour leaves Mexico

The rumor that French retail giant Carrefour was to withdraw from Mexico has now been confirmed. Currently, local Mexican operations of the French retail giant are planning an April auction for the sale of its 29-store network (26 owned and 3 leased) in Mexico. Although Carrefour achieved a successful expansion in Mexico—annual sales for 2004 reached $750m—strengthening the retailer’s market position from its current seventh place would require an acquisition. Such a commitment in Mexico is unrealistic, given Carrefour’s priorities elsewhere in such core regions as Asia and Europe—along with its successful expansion in Brazil.

Nonetheless, Carrefour may well retreat at a handsome price. Given heightened interest among rival Mexican chains—including Commercial Mexicana, Wal-Mart de Mexico and Soriana—to take over the Carrefour chain, retail specialist at Deutsche-Ixe Bank Joaquin Lopez-Doriga estimates an acquisition price of around $470m.

jrice

Feb 23, 2005, 8:14 PM

Post #19 of 19 (1708 views)

Shortcut

Tragedy for wine lovers in Mexico

Can't Post | Private Reply

Carrefour was not the best place in Mexico City to get the best wines, but it was by far the best place to get the best cheap wines.

It featured all sorts of interesting, if bulk-purchased, wines from unusual (but not bad) parts of France, as well as an unusually good selection of Bordeaux and Burgundy.

The selection of white wines, for example, was at least 12 or 15 times that at my local Superama in the Condesa (which the LA Times oddly described today as the "Greenwich Village of Mexico City"). Polanco, by the way, was assigned the role of Beverly Hills. God only knows what Lomas or the upper reaches of Coyoacan or San Jeronimo may be.

Anyway, Carrefour often had 3 for 2 sales on already discounted wines. And cheap olives.

I mourn.

Back to Gigante, I guess.