Umm…thanks for picking up the stuff your wife and I needed at Sam’s tonight…hope you like the food we fix for ya tomorrow…What kind of gum did ya get?

PS. We usually go to BJ’s wholesale just because it’s closer to our house and I don’t have to renew my membership.

I don’t hate Sam’s, but we swapped to BJ’s a couple of years back and have had no regrets. Maybe it’s just our local BJ’s, but the crowds there are always at a manageable level, which makes for a more enjoyable shopping experience. Especially in contrast to our local Sam’s, which always seems to have a ridiculous number of people shopping, regardless of the day or time.

I cancelled my membership to Sam’s Club despite enjoying some aspects of shopping there. I’m not the typical male in the shopping regard. If I’m in the mood, I actually like to shop. Alone though. I do not shop well with others. I like to move on to the next item when it’s time. I start to get nervous after looking at one item for more than five minutes.

Ronzilla, I agree with you on the standing in line thing, and the checking the receipt thing. Where exactly am I going to stash 12 bottles of 57 sauce and a case of tomato soup anyway?

An awesome point in linking the fee based membership and standing in line. Ultimately, it’s why I cancelled my membership; crowds in general, and standing in line in particular. Or at least that’s what I tell my friends.

Another reason might be that my wife said we had to use the food we’ve had in storage since 1998, before she will let me buy anymore.

I don’t hate Sam’s. In fact, I’m quite happy to shop there. I once figured that if we just bought milk at Sam’s, and nothing else the whole year, we would more than make up the annual fee. Over WalMart milk prices, which are still less than Kroger and other grocery stores.

But maybe it’s because I live in a small city that the crowds are typically very manageable. Or maybe it’s that we choose to do our grocery shopping at times where it’s less crowded. Like, we avoid the first of the month when possible.

The receipt checking can get bothersome if there’s a long line, but that’s rarely the case for us (see above). Plus, they girls like to be the one to hand the receipt to the lady, and she usually draws a smiley face for them. Three cheers for the receipt checking lady!
Also… Curt, you wouldn’t have to stash the 12 bottles of 57 sauce and a case of tomato soup anywhere if they didn’t check your cart. That’s sort of the whole point… you could just walk out with it in broad daylight if they didn’t check.

You don’t go to Sam’s for impulse buying. You buy a case of gum because you (and your kids!) chew a lot of gum, or because it’s a tradition in your family that, at church, when the sermon begins, every gets a piece of gum. Then you go through five pieces of gum in one sitting. Or, maybe you use gum as a potty training treat, and go through several pieces a day because of that. Whatever the cause, you buy a case of gum at Sam’s because you go through a whole lot of gum, and it’s cheaper to buy 50 packs of gum for 37 dollars, than it is to buy 20 packs for 20 dollars. Or whatever the cost difference may be. It all boils down to it being cheaper per piece to buy a case of gum than a pack of gum.

I do get bothered by the ladies with food samples, though, when you take one (or three or four for the kids), and don’t buy the product. They seem to take personal offense. But that’s the extent of my complaints. I don’t even care that they don’t take Visa. They take MasterCard now, which is what I use for 5x bonus points.

I liked Sam’s Club until they stole my daughter’s Ipod from our car while they were putting on tires. They’re refusing to take responsibility, so we’re boycotting.