Why People Prefer Costco Over Sam's Club, According To Reddit – Mashed
Years ago, it might have been difficult to convince someone that in the future, people would want to wander around a warehouse and buy three years’ worth of toilet tissue so badly that they would pay a membership fee to do it. Yet, it is the age of warehouse wholesalers such as Costco and Sam’s Club, where bulk shopping is big business and $1.50 hot dogs with ice-cold soda is as close as humans can get to pure bliss.
Right now, Sam’s Club and Costco are the largest wholesalers in the game. Investopedia states that Costco has more than 800 stores worldwide, with Sam’s Club close behind with approximately 600 stores across the globe. At first blush, the two are very similar. Each one offers a membership for a fee, allowing customers to buy bulk items.
Though the two chains fall into the same niche, when their customers take to social media, it’s clear that there is a fan-favorite. (Sam’s Club, if you think it’s you, you’d better get back in class, because you have a lot to learn.)
On the r/Frugal subreddit, one poster wanted to know, “Why do so many people shop at Costco over Sam’s Club?” They explained that they lived in Texas, which is one of the few states with more Sam’s Club locations than Costcos, according to Investopedia. The poster wrote, “North Texas (DFW) Costco is always packed and jammed. While the more frugal Sam’s Club is half empty.” Reddit responded with vigor.
“Costco has a reputation for quality that Walmart/Sam’s Club does not,” said the top-voted comment. They went on to describe how their husband had inside experience with “food manufacturing,” and that when Costco was scouting the plant at which he worked, they had exacting standards for what was necessary to join the Costco family. This sentiment was echoed by everyone from truckers to printers, who said Costco prized quality and didn’t settle.
Some commenters were loyal for other reasons. One implied they liked Costco more “because the Waltons are horrible people who participate in paying unlivable wages.” Another liked the ease of taking stuff back, stating, “Costco has the best return policy of any retailer.”
With more than a thousand comments on the thread, there were plenty of points made on both sides. Eventually, the original poster relented, saying, “I see now why people prefer it.” Score one for Team Costco.
