Sam’s Club

Discounted prices. Bulk selections. Seasonal products. Auto, photo, pharmacy, vision, & hearing services. Sam’s Club doesn’t pretend to be fancy. It’s got what I want for cheaper prices.

There are so many items at Sam’s Club that are NOT any sort of discount considering you’re buying slightly in bulk. Several times I have found that their prices are higher than other grocery stores for the same item. Prices have definitely inflated on some items drastically. This used to be my go-​to for certain food items and now it’s just not worth the trip and the long lines. I also used to prefer their store brand paper towels and tp, but they’ve also gone down terribly in quality. I would never pay for a membership here. I feel that’s a bit of a joke considering most items are not discounted enough to make it worth it. It’s still nice to peruse the huge store and try to find a deal or an item that you can’t find elsewhere.

Store review:
When you don’t have a costco settle for second best Sam’s club. I am surprised that this location has quite a large selection, ample food samples, and friendly staff. I don’t usually stock up on house hold items here, because it is cheaper to get them on sale elsewhere if you wait, but some high points of sam’s club include
1. Lots of free food samples even on weekday
2. The free sample machine that dispenses a sample of the week item
3. 4.99 rotisserie chicken, delicious and cooked well
4. Random frozen food items that make great family dinner including most recently jim beam plank salmon, cod fillet, and clam bake kit
5. If you need things in bulk like chips, condiments, etc than this might be a good place to visit.
6. Food court for your cheap all beef franks, pizza, etc.
Some of the quality of food items are not so good i.e.e the mix of different ice cream bars, sandwich, cones from the generic company that sells to walmart as well was simply terrible. The ice cream tasted like water. Overall I am happy to at least have a Sam’s club here
Pros: free samples, large parking lot, cheap food court, friendly service
Cons: avoid off brand items here, you have to pay a membership fee yearly
Hidden deals:
— Free samples and they have a free sample machine you can get a free item once a week located by the food aisle
— Look for groupon of living social deals for annual membership. I was able to pay 45 dollars for the deal that got me a 25 dollar gift card and a bunch of coupons for free food essentially making membership free

It’s a darn shame that there’s no Costco here in Urbana-​Champaign because the service of Costco is vastly superior than that of Sam’s Club. First off, they don’t bother mailing you a hard copy of the monthly coupons the way Costco does. Second, sometimes the gap between monthly coupons can last longer than a week. Third, the customer service people sometimes give false information about which coupons are available and they don’t even have the hard copies of coupons on them at all times. Not all of us possess smart phones. Lastly, note that they don’t accept American Express or Visa.
Some other problems that I have found in this Sam’s Club that I don’t find anywhere else:
–Their eatery will not give you a free cup of water when you ask for one.
–Their gas station is the only gas station I’ve ever seen in my entire life that doesn’t have squeegees (I like to wash my windows while my gas fills up).
–Unlike Costco, they don’t have ink refilling services.
–Their official website does not have an autofill option and is also not user friendly.

The organization and cleanliness of this Sam’s Club is on par with others however the customer service I received was iffy. After ordering a whole pizza at the counter the workers forgot about my order for 10 minutes despite there being no one at the line. My pizza then came out completely undercooked and when I complained the lady was unapologetic and made me feel like it was my fault for not liking the pizza and it was a shame that we would have to have a «whole new one». The second pizza was cooked properly though I don’t appreciate being villified for having an honest complaint. My second star is knocked down for the gas prices. This Sam’s location provides the same price or 1cent cheaper than its competitors for gas so how is that worth the membership?

The gas prices are only a couple of cents cheaper than other gas stations in the area, hardly worth a membership if you are just looking for cheap gas.
Inside, the building looks pretty much just like every other Sam’s Club. Furiously hungry, I decided to eat at the Club Café. My family ordered the Supreme/​Deluxe pizza. The pizza was under cooked, quite unappetizing to eat. This was likely because the pizza wasn’t put in the oven until ten or so minutes after we ordered, so in an attempt to get it to us faster, they gave us the unfinished pizza. We asked for it to be put back in the oven. This is apparently against policy, so they cooked us a new one (of course, trashing the old one). This second pizza was hot and crispy, although still lacking in any sort of flavor. It was also very greasy! A very «budget» pizza.
As far as bulk shopping goes, they have most things, although not necessarily at a cheaper price than buying «individual» packs at a typical supermarket, e.g. strawberries.
A membership card has to be shown at the entrance, the café, and obviously, when checking out. I felt the card check at the entrance and café were unnecessary, as this is the first Sam’s Club in several years that has asked for it anywhere other than checkout.

«ONE STAR» IS TOO HIGH OF A RATING! ***** WARNING******
I would like to report a robbery! The Sam’s Club store in Champaign, IL stole $ 68.49 out of my checking account via a debit card that was inadvertently slid through their credit card machine but was never authorized with my signature nor was it ever authorized with my debit card PIN. After being denied any receipt or paperwork of this underhanded transaction, I walked out of the store upset, distraught and without any merchandise and somehow convinced by the management that Sam’s Club had not removed money from my bank checking account. I have returned to the store everyday since this transaction occurred — yet NO ONE there seems concerned in the least and I am repeated told that somehow this whole thing is MY FAULT?!? I have repeatedly asked for receipts of the «transaction» and the stores management has denied each time — though they have shown me information on these papers — they are still unwilling to even let me have ANY copies; I have been denied ever seeing the videotape surveillance of me standing at the cash register — though the management has reviewed these images and reassured me that this entire thing is totally my fault; I have been denied the merchandise that I supposedly «purchased»; I have in my possession little or no evidence that I was ever in their store on the day they these thieves robbed me of my debit card number and removed money from my checking account WITHOUT MY AUTHORIZATION! … I have reported this robbery to Sam’s Club (corporate) Customer Service and still have heard nothing back from them! Yesterday I filed a former claim against Sam’s Club with the the Better Business Beuro and am currently waiting on a response.

I like Sam’s Club for the most part but they have rearranged the store so I am totally lost. I used to know where everything was now it’s just a guessing game and my feet start hurting from all the back and forth and back and forth. It’s frustrating to say the least. I don’t think I will bother figuring it out because once I do they will change it again so I may as well stay in a perpetual state of confusion. It’s better that way.
One of my favorite buys at Sam’s is the bulk Black Forest Ham. It keeps for a long time and I really like the flavor. All of their meats are pretty good. We get all of our parade candy from Sam’s. They have a good selection on most everything but like all places you need to be aware of what is a good price and what is not. Some things can cost you more here so pay attention.

Going through a remodel and things are looking better. The bathrooms are nifty. Best place to go for warehouse deals!

I have been a Sam’s Club member for years, and I have tried lots of frozen items there. Many of them are very delicious and the price/​unit is just great. Chicken Rotisserie is something I often take back home!

Well I visit Sam’s club twice and that is because we got a membership from work for a year, I will not pay to shop some were to get in, ridiculous!
If you know your prices you find out you don’t safe allot of money you take home lots of food you feel like eating allot more of, that is it .
The people that work there are pretty friendly and it looks like the store is pretty cleaned up most of the time. The do have samples on Saturday’s .They don’t take credit cards only a Sam’s credit card, glad I had a debit card.

Pretty much the only bulk shopping available in Chambanavoy.
Sam’s stocks all the basics for your produce/​household needs, along with a rotating seasonal stock at prices that justify the $ 40 membership fee. You might be able to snag a few items at a slight discount by checking out the clearance section — household in the back of the store, & electronics clearance over by bedding. They also sample on the weekends, which has suckered me into buying stuff I normally wouldn’t have. (Got to sample Pinnacle Cake Batter Vodka one time — ID required!)
THINGS TO NOTE:
–Photo, pharmacy, optical, bakery, tire service, & cell phone representative available.
–Forms of payment: cash, check, all debit cards, Sam’s Discover card, Mastercard credit card. NO Visa or American Express accepted.
–Fuel Center: Membership is required to pump, but gasoline prices are consistently 10 cents+ lower than competing fuel centers. Also open an hour earlier (7am) & later (9pm) than store hours.
–Food court closes a little earlier than operating hours; never been able to resist those cinnamon sugar pretzels that are made-​to-​order!

Shopping on bulk! Woot!
I don’t come here often, but it’s always fun to make a trip to Sam’s Club! You have to become a member to shop here, but as I’m currently using my sister’s card, I just see it as a hella cheap place to shop!
Their produce section has grown over the years, and the quality is actually pretty good… my only qualm about shopping for produce at Sam’s Club is that I’m only one person, and am never able to finish all the fresh stuff before they go bad because they sell in bulk.
Here, you not only find hella cheap food, but also some clothing, electronics, office supplies, etc… really pretty much anything. I especially like how they have their own little food court at each location for just in case you get hungry from all that shopping, but really it’s not necessary. I’ve found that every time I’ve been to a Sam’s Club, there’re free samples down every aisle, so you could probably get full just trying some of everything.
I suggest you try one of their pre-​made pizza’s. Take it home and stuff it in your oven. They’re huge, cheesy, and you pay less for one pizza than you would from a pizzeria.
FYI, they only take cash or debit; no credit cards.
Yay for massive quantities of food!