Between membership fees and all the common mistakes people make when shopping at Sam's Club,
warehouse clubs don't always save consumers money over time. But if you're hip to these missteps,
you can certainly make membership worthwhile and end up coming out on top financially.
The single biggest mistake people make while shopping at Sam's Club
is blindly assuming everything there is cheaper. It's not. And if you pick up items that cost
more than they do elsewhere, it potentially can cancel out all of your savings on other items.
For example, according to Kiplinger, at Sam's Club you typically pay more
for certain things like name-brand cereal or diapers to name a few.
Also consider sales and coupons. Sam's Club does not accept any manufacturer or competitor coupons
— making them even cheaper when they're bought at grocery stores, big box stores, or Amazon.
You might not think of the floor of Sam's Club as the front lines of a raging psychological war...
but it is. The Sam's Club masterminds have cleverly pitted you against yourself.
Why did you pay $45 for a year's membership? You bought the opportunity to save money.
So it's in your head that you have to earn that money back in savings so you're not a sucker.
Therein lies the trap: You spend more to save more. This phenomenon gets uglier
if you spring for the Plus membership. You have more upfront expenditure to make up,
plus you earn 2 percent cash back on qualifying purchases. This
"reward" makes it even more tempting to get a bunch of stuff you wouldn't otherwise buy.
Buying something cheaper isn't necessarily the same as spending less money. Since
package sizes aren't the same, to make fair price comparisons between Sam's Club and another store,
you look at cost by standardized units.
At warehouse clubs, you can only buy large packages of most goods.
If you use it all, you successfully saved some cash. But if not, you wasted money.
This means some products aren't smart purchases at Sam's Club — especially
those with quickly approaching expiration dates. Think twice about buying massive
containers of anything, because if you throw something away before it's used,
you're wasting money — no matter how little you paid for it.
Of course, not everything necessarily needs to be used before it's expiration date. In fact,
if you're not buying medicine from Sam's Club because of the expiration date,
you're making a huge mistake.
We're talking about over-the-counter drugs, sold in gargantuan quantities
and representing some of the best opportunities for savings at Sam's Club.
"Do you have multi-packs in france?" "I don't think we take so much medication
in France like you do." "Oh. Well that's a shame."
The issue is that expiration dates on medicine are usually just arbitrary dates ranging anywhere
from one to five years after production, included simply because they're required by law. In fact,
about 90 percent of common medications remain safe and effective even 15 years
after their expiration date, though this doesn't always apply to prescriptions.
Most mistakes we cover here relate to money, but let's take a minute to talk
about something that's almost as important as money: your health.
So many of the offerings at Sam's Club are giant packages of ultra-processed foods,
which are usually high in undesirable ingredients. They're also generally high in calories and low
in nutrients. A diet consisting of lots of ultra-processed foods increases the risk of
obesity, high blood pressure, and other unpleasant conditions, according to The Washington Post.
Sam's Club carries a lot of those foods, and they tend to have a longer shelf life. Research has
found that, on average, warehouse club consumers spend five percent more per person in the
household per month on packaged foods, and that each person eats eight percent more calories.
Sam's Club employs the usual tricks of the retail trade to get their shoppers to buy
more expensive items. They use careful placement in an intricately designed floor plan to make
sure you trek through most of the store before you find the basic items you're looking for.
That means you probably see and notice items you normally wouldn't,
increasing the likelihood that you'll buy them.
"Oh my god, Oh my- Cam, Cam the paper shredder I wanted huh? Confetti and cross cut. Yup."
They also often spur you along by triggering some fear of missing out, labeling pricier
products positioned for impulse purchases as "limited quantity" or "limited time only."
If you're succumbing to these impulse purchases,
chances are you aren't saving money. In that case, your Sam's Club membership isn't helping you at all.
So far, most of the mistakes
you make at Sam's Club fit into the theme of buying stuff you don't need.
There's a simple trick to prevent this: Make a shopping list beforehand.
Armed with a shopping list, you only need to muster the strength to stick to it.
Having a list while grocery shopping is a good habit with compelling benefits, anyway. It saves
time in the store because you're not trying to remember what you need. That eliminates browsing
that can cause you to buy more, and unhealthy food decisions are often made impulsively.
Not every mistake you can make at Sam's Club involves buying things you don't
need. Lots of people don't buy things they should, and that's another big mistake.
When you need certain more expensive non-grocery items, your warehouse club may be the best place
to buy. For example, you can save money getting a new set of tires at Sam's Club instead of an
automotive shop or get a television for cheaper than at an electronics retailer.
And where do you usually go for your caskets? The funeral parlor?
Savvy consumers save hundreds on final resting vessels at Sam's Club.
"Cameron! Guess what I found? Coffins! They sell baby formula and they sell coffins,
you can literally buy everything you need from birth to death."
Your Sam's Club gas station is another good place to enjoy that warm, fuzzy,
elitist members-only feeling, knowing that you're filling up
your tank at prices that are often 10 to 20 percent lower than what others are paying.
While Sam's came in second place overall in a national survey of best places to get gas, in
its category for warehouse clubs, big box stores, and supermarkets, it ranked number one. Sam's took
second place for other important factors like price, pump speed, fuel quality, and appearance.
If you've never paid any attention to the gift card selection at Sam's Club,
you may be missing out on prime opportunities for significant savings.
Normally, of course, you purchase gift cards for the exact amount of their value. But at Sam's Club
the store sells gift cards at up to a 25 percent discount on the total value of the card. Most
of the discounts aren't that high, but there are certainly decent savings available on gift cards.
And of course, when you're buying gift cards at a discount like that,
it would also be a mistake to only buy them as gifts. If you see a selection
of cards for places you frequent, stock up and save big down the road.
If you're a cost-conscious consumer, failing to pick up booze at Sam's Club is a big mistake.
Even if you're not a member, you can still purchase alcohol at any Sam's Club;
thanks to a law prohibiting beer, wine, and liquor sales to members-only groups,
this part of the store is open to all in some states.
"Thank you alcohol."
Sam's Club made some waves in the wine world a few years ago when they introduced their
Member's Mark Chardonnay for $8 and people and reviewers actually liked it.
Sam's Club has since released other store-brand wines,
but Member's Mark wines aren't the only alcohol bargains at Sam's Club. For instance,
you might score macro beer for 25 percent less than you'd pay elsewhere, or vodka for
15 percent less. And no matter what anyone tells you, there's no shame in buying booze in bulk.
You can definitely find winning deals on TVs at Sam's Club.
But savvy shoppers also know to do their due diligence before buying high-ticket electronics.
Getting the best price on a television is much more about timing than where you buy,
according to Consumer Reports. Also, pay close attention to exactly what you're getting when you
purchase electronics at Sam's Club. Check all the specs to be sure it's not a lower-quality version
of the same product you intended to get. Make sure it comes with everything it should come with,
too. Sometimes, the models sold at warehouse clubs don't come with the accessories you expect.
If you just can't bear to wait in line to pay at Sam's Club, there's an app for that. Download
the store's Scan & Go app to your phone. It lets you scan items' barcodes as you shop
and then pay through the app when you're done. The app also lets you track your spending, so it helps
you notice if you're wasting money on extraneous purchases. You need to flash the digital receipt
to an employee before waltzing out with all that stuff though, so don't get any ideas.
There's also Club Pickup, where you can order everything you want and pay for it online,
then pick it up as soon as four hours later. As an added bonus, removing yourself from the
in-store shopping experience eradicates the risk of impulse purchases and other wasteful spending.
What if we told you there's one common mistake people make while shopping at Sam's Club that,
if eliminated, could spare you from making a bunch of the other mistakes we've talked
about - Going to Sam's Club alone is one of the worst mistakes you can make.
Find yourself a shopping buddy, split the cost of membership,
and split those enormous quantities of stuff you can't possibly get through.
But the benefits don't end there. You and your shopping buddy can act as each other's
financial adviser. Prevent each other from straying from your respective shopping lists,
falling madly in love with something you sample, or purchasing a new washer/dryer set on a whim.
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