Just about every class I teach someone asks about Sam’s Club. I usually recommend that people go with BJs since they take manufacturer’s coupons. But in a side by side comparison I wondered- is Sams REALLY that much cheaper than Walmart?
So I took a stroll in both stores and randomly selected items to compare prices. These prices are for Chesapeake, VA and may vary a bit by area.
Here is what I found:
| Sam’s Club | Walmart | |
| Bones Season 1 & 2 DVD |
$ 34.88 | $ 29.96 |
| Criminal Minds Season 1 |
$ 26.88 | $ 29.96 |
| Tron DVD | $ 17.98 | $ 19.96 |
| Tangled Blu-Ray/DVD | $ 24.88 | $ 24.96 |
| Mary Higgins Clark I’ll Walk Alone |
$ 15.94 | $ 18.19 |
| Tina Fey Bossypants |
$ 14.94 | $ 18.89 |
| Boneless Skinless Chicken Breasts (Cheapest Ones) |
$1.97 lb | $1.88 lb |
| Cantaloupe | $1.98 each | $1.50 each |
| Bananas | $.48 lb | $.52 lb |
| Red Potatoes | $.60 lb | $.98 lb |
| One Gallon 1% Milk | $3.02 | $3.02 |
| Horizon Organic Milk Half Gallon |
$3.19 | $3.50 |
| Strawberry Pop Tarts | $.20 per tart | $.22 per tart |
| Corona Bottles | $.96 per bottle | $1.00 per bottle |
| Cinnamon Toast Crunch | $.136 per oz | $.152 per oz |
| Finish Powerball Tabs | $.14 per tab | $.24 per tab |
| Diet Coke 2L | $1.25 each | $1.25 each |
| Eggland’s Best | $2.16 per dozen | $2.48 per dozen |
| Dove Bar Soap | $.927 per bar | $1.10 per bar |
| Tampax Pearl | $.13 each | $.19 each |
| Pantene Nature Fusion Shampoo |
$.197 per oz | $.23 per oz |
| DiGiorno Frozen Pizza | $4.33 each | $5.75 each |
So from looking at these numbers Sam’s Club is cheaper on most items (although the quantities are VERY different). However all of these numbers leave out one very important part in the equation- COUPONS!
Many of the items above regularly have coupons and they can not be used at Sam’s Club. So before you considering getting or renewing a membership check it all out!
{ 3 comments }
What about gas. Gas is often several cents cheaper at Sam’s than most other places and our house fills up on average 2-3 time a week (traveling for work) So with membership price included I wonder if the gas is still cheaper considering the number of times we fill up in a year
Absolutely! I am hoping this post will create some dialogue to the advantages of each!
I do have one comment on this, my husband and I have a Sam’s club membership and while it’s not solely used for this, it saves us a TON in the long run. My daughter is currently 8 months old and as you know, formula is EXPENSIVE. I can get a container twice the size of the one at wal-mart or the grocery stores for the same price at Sam’s. True, Sam’s won’t take coupons, but they will take manufacturers checks. Just a heads up!