How Does Costco Club Work?

With Costco will soon be moving in to Fort Oglethorpe it will be just a short drive for folks living in Chattanooga. Sam's Club has been the leading warehouse club for years in the Tennessee Valley.

"Costco belongs to a class of stores known as warehouse clubs, where you basically pay to play. That is you pay for the privilege of shopping," Tod Marks, the senior editor of Consumer Reports.

And it has lots to shop for- high end merchandise, groceries, medicines in the pharmacy and even tires in the automotive department.They have more than 55 million members and could soon add a few more.

With news of a possible Costco in Fort Oglethorpe, we wondered how that would affect the Sam's Club on Lee Highway. But when we asked Sam's Club shoppers today if they would stay here or travel to Costco, we got mixed reviews.

"I've heard they're great and would love to go so I'm excited," said Cindy Arendale.

But Art Brito has been a lifelong customer of Sam's Club and says he'll continue his loyalty.

"Well, I will stay at Sam's because the of the customer service. They always have been good to me. The prices are right too," said Brito.

But according to Tod Marks at Consumer reports, there are lots of reasons to head to Costco

"They sell diamond necklaces costing tens of thousands of dollars, rare hand blown glass from France. You'll see, they sell caskets. They sell everything under the sun. Fine perfumes, from time to time they sell grand pianos., they do vacations," Tod Marks said.

Folks like George Fisher are excited about having a new option for shopping.

"We love it. We've been looking forward to it for a long time. We go to Marietta to the Costco because they have some items that this Sam's doesn't have. So having both is a great opportunity to get what we need," said George Fincher. 

But whether you shop at Costco, or Sam's Club, you're making a good choice.

"A warehouse club is the greatest test market in the universe, because items have to move. They're a volume business. They're a limited assortment and they're not the biggest stores in the world. But if they don't move items off the sales floor quickly, they'll typically be gone in a hurry," said Marks.

Memberships at Costco start at 45 dollars a year for a basic customer membership. Costco is the largest warehouse chain in the U.S.

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