We stopped eating their dog deal when they switched from Coke to Pepsi.
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As I posted before, I don’t like carbonated beverages (after many years of Diet Sprite addiction) so I give away my cup and eat the hot dog. Still worth it!
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It’s a personal “protest” , being in the home of Coca Cola!
I also miss their soft serve chocolate ice cream 
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I miss their combo pizza. Sad they only have cheese and pepperoni options now. I used to freeze the leftover slices and reheat in a covered skillet for an extra crispy crust.
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Someone needs to do a study on how many extra calories a person ingests as part of a Costco trip. Between samples and the food court I”m thinking for some it’s A LOT!
Since samples returned after the COVID pause I’m much more selective about what I sample. I try and limit it to things I”m truly interested in how it tastes or something decadent I might not buy other words. Not gonna sample some spinach artichoke dip on a tortilla chip that I know how it tastes and I don’t even buy!
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I found the key to not sampling at Costco; I got Invisalign 8 weeks ago! It is not worth the removing them and brushing my teeth while there for a sample!
The first time I went, I forgot I have the Invisalign in and picked up a sample; it when straight to the trash! 
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I never try samples. It’s a weird quirk of mine.
My husband likes the new chocolate chip cookies, they have tons of calories.
We usually pass by the snack bar unless it’s a drink or a cookie.
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Tried the Grain & Celery Salad (in the deli section). I was surprised at how much I liked it. I tried to look up the nutritional value and found that it is getting rave reviews.
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We try some of the samples. Sometimes my husband and I split… or one tries and recommends if liked. I prefer to not bring home something new unless we both like it.
I’d rather they raise the hot dog price than the membership fees!
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wow… 75 million households have a Costco membership. And plenty of others have Sams. Or both.
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That’s why they will raise the membership price and not the hot dog price. Much more profitable.
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Our Costco just got chocolate soft serve!
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Speaking of ice cream - Costco used to have this vanilla ice cream bar they would dip in chocolate and nuts are you were purchasing it. I’ve only gone to the food area a couple of times ever, but it was worth it for that ice cream.
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Just discovered that Sam’s Club has a $1.50 “fro-yo” in chocolate or vanilla. It’s a new favorite for my wife 
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It depends on many factors. For example, Sam’s Club basic membership is $50. Costco basic membership is $60. If Costco increases membership to $65, it may cause a larger number of consumers to choose Sam’s club instead, impacting their long term revenue for many years in to the future. Some consumers may conclude that Sam’s Club’s prices are generally similar or lower than Costco, so why pay a 30% premium on membership fees for Costco? I’d expect Coscto customers to be less likely to switch to Sam’s Club over having to pay an extra 25 cents for their hot dog meal.
I personally favor Costco over Sam’s Club for a variety of reasons including the following. I am willing to pay the extra membership fee for these benefits. However, if a Sam’s Club opened up closer to my home, I’d probably give it a try as a comparision.
- I live far closer to a Costco warehouse than Sam’s Club.
- At the time I joined, I much preferred Costco hearing aid offerings and services to Sam’s Club. Now that Costco dropped the ball with their rechargeable hearing aids to the point of discontinuing the entire Kirkland Signature line, this may have changed.
- Costco has more locations in my region, which is more convenient when traveling, such as when stopping for gas.
- I like certain specific products sold at Costco and not Sam’s Club. It’s possible that I’d also like the Sam’s Club specific products, but I have not had an opportunity to try them.
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In my opinion, living closer to Sam’s Club certainly makes it easier, although I live pretty close to both stores. I haven’t found the product offerings to be much different. The one Sam’s feature I like the most is their “scan and go.” I can use my phone to scan all the items in my shopping cart, then pay for it and simply walk out of the store. No lines. I can’t say that about Costco. I prefer to shop on Saturday and Costco is complete mayhem. Sam’s is busy too, but not having to deal with lines makes the shopping experience sweet.
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We have several costcos near us and only one Sam’s club. If they raise the membership price, I will grumble but still shop at Costco over Sam’s. It’s also generally a better store. And for the many people in my metro area that are also likely closer to Costco’s, they won’t drop their membership- they will pay for convenience. Probably true for many other major metro areas like ours, so unlikely many will go through the hassle of cancelling/switching memberships over a few bucks. IMO statistics loses out to practicality in this case.
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As mentioned in my earlier post, I also live closer to Costco and don’t plan to change to Sam’s Club. However, both chains have ~600 stores in US, and many customers live close enough to both Costco and Sam’s Club that they need to decide between the 2 stores, which relates to the title of this thread and reason the OP started this thread. Costco and Sam’s Club obviously compete with each to the point where they mimic nearly every possible policy and low price, even the most extreme and unique ones.
For example, we’ve talked about Costco’s $1.50 hot dog deal. Costco has offered the same $1.50 price deal since they first added food courts in 1984. With inflation increasing over the past 40 years, the price remains, making it an extreme value and one of the few items in which Costco may be losing money on the direct sale. It wouldn’t make sense for another store to offer a similar price… except for Sam’s Club.
After offering a similar $1.50 hot dog deal to Costco for many years, Sam’s Club recently (in 2023) undercut Costco by dropping prices from $1.50 to $1.38 for their hot dog + drink deal. It’s clear the price drop relates to competing with Costco. Sam’s Club thinks that losing more money on the direct sale is worth it, if they can get enough Costco customers to switch over to Sam’s Club and spend money on other products/memberships If 12 cents lower hot dog prices are enough to cause some customers to switch to Sam’s Club, I’d expect $15 lower membership fees to also have an influence…
It’s a similar idea for other store items and polices. One of Costco’s more unique policies that I find impressive is their returns . You can return most products at any time for any reason. If you get divorced, you could technically return your wedding ring years after the sale. I heard about someone who successfully returned empty wine bottles to Costco for a refund. I’ve never heard of any other store offering this generous returns before… it doesn’t seem to make sense. The one exception is Sam’s Club. Sam’s Club also permits returning most items at any time for any reason, like Costco. Sam’s Club makes the same exception for electronics as Costco, with the same generous 3 month limit on that exception. It’s clear that the 2 stores are imitating and competing with each other, due to some customers switching/choosing between the 2 stores.
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