Massive Mistakes That Are Costing You Extra Money At Sam's Club

How much you spend on your weekly shopping lists can look completely different depending on which stores you visit. Some grocery stores are surprisingly cheap, and membership-first retailers like Sam's Club stand out in this regard thanks to the numerous perks and discounts they provide their shoppers. However, not all of those members take advantage of all the deals available to them, and mistakes like that can cost more than you might think.

Sam's Club charges $50 per year for a standard Club membership, and $110 for a Plus membership. If you pay either of those fees and proceed to shop without a strategy as normal, you're not saving. Instead, you're simply paying for access to somewhat competitive prices. The real deals aren't always sitting on the shelf in plain sight, waiting for you to stroll down the aisle and notice them. You need to do a little extra work to find out what perks are available thanks to that membership fee, and how you can make the most of them. 

At Sam's Club, you get perks like Instant Savings, member-exclusive prices, and curbside pickup. These are all tools that can help you save a little extra on each trip or each online order. The more often you visit Sam's Club without embracing these perks, the more you'll lose. To avoid letting your membership fees go to waste, beware of these pitfalls that trip up many Sam's Club members.

Believe it or not, you can start saving money at Sam's Club before you even sign up for a membership. Though you generally need an account to get the most out of your Sam's Club experience, even this restriction has a few workarounds that could get you access to membership-level deals in the store without investing the annual fee.

The first mistake a shopper can make before they even get through the door is paying full price when there are cheaper ways to join the club. We already know that Sam's Club has two annual pricing tiers, but they don't always cost the $50 and $110 listed on the website. Sam's Club offers discounted sign-up promos at different times throughout the year, and joining at the right time could allow you to become a member without parting with the full amount you'd normally pay. There are also senior and teacher discounts that take 60% off of Club memberships and $50 off of Plus memberships for qualifying new members. So, both individuals aged 50 or older and qualified teachers considering a Sam's Club membership get an even better value than the average consumer.

An even better way to save money would be to get a membership for free, and Sam's Club's free trial program makes that possible. If you haven't had a Sam's Club membership for at least six months, taking advantage of these trials is one of the clever ways to save money at Sam's Club for a brief period without making a year-long commitment.

Sam's Club may be a membership warehouse, but it does offer online shopping for non-members. But just because you can still shop online for some of the things you need doesn't mean you're saving. Online shopping as a guest comes at the cost of a 10% service fee on each order. The thing is, Sam's Club and other retail stores with member-only savings want you to go the extra mile and pay for the membership fee. So, even if you can theoretically shop at competitive prices without a membership, that service fee can negate a lot of those potential benefits.

The more you shop at Sam's Club without a membership, the more often you'll be charged a service fee — and those figures add up quickly. Just in scale, a 10% service fee means you're paying $110 on a $100 order and $275 on a $250 order — not including delivery costs. If you make two orders worth $300, you'll end up paying about $60 worth of surcharges, which is already more than the price of a Club membership for the entire year. 

On top of that, guests shopping at Sam's Club don't get to enjoy the perks that really make choosing the warehouse retailer worth it. All the major benefits — including  curbside pickup, free deliveries, and Sam's Club's Satisfaction Guarantee — are exclusive to members. So, shopping casually as a guest is a sure way to lose money.

Perhaps the biggest mistake you can make at any grocery store is walking in without a mental, digital, or physical list. When it comes to in-store shopping, many people underestimate the power of marketing tags and just how convincing displays can be in getting shoppers to buy more than they need. According to conversion rate optimization agency Invesp, 80% of impulse buys are made in an in-person store. Supermarkets take advantage of this, using product display strategies, free samples to whet your appetite, and discount specials. 

If you walk in without a clear idea of what you're planning to buy, you're very likely to pick up something extra. Before you know it, you've exceeded your budget. If you shop every other week, even one unplanned extra $15 spent per in-store trip will turn into $30 a month. In six months, that figure comes up to $180. But there is a way to avoid this trap: Sam's Club offers a free curbside pickup to all its members no matter how much they spend. Opting for this service will ensure you only purchase what you need, as someone else will be doing the shopping for you. All you'll need to do is drive to the store and scoop your order up when it's ready. You'll never need to walk down the aisles, thus avoiding the threat of potential impulse buys altogether. In the long run, this grocery shopping strategy saves shoppers money and time.

When you consider the perks available to Plus members — such as free deliveries, early shopping access, and 2% cashback rewards — the extra $60 might seem worth it. However, not everyone will get the value they might expect from this higher membership tier, as many of the perks have qualifying thresholds. 

The 2% cashback reward only applies to qualifying pre-tax purchases made in a physical Sam's Club location. You might be saving more, but to get that extra $60 you paid for the Plus membership, you'd need to spend about $3,000 per year at Sam's Club. While that might be feasible for larger families or those who plan on shopping at Sam's Club exclusively, that still means a lot of trips to the store — especially since those rewards do not get applied to online purchases.

The most impressive perk for Plus members is the free delivery offer, but even that only applies to orders above $50. If you're a moderate shopper using the delivery option to replace just a few things around the house, chances are you'd need to pay the standard delivery fee of $12. Do that five times in a year, and you spend an extra $60 — the same as the upgrade to Plus. Finally, some of the other perks simply don't benefit everyone: Plus members get extra pharmacy and optical savings, as well as early access and discounts to the Tire & Battery Center. If you don't wear glasses, rely too heavily on medication, or own a car, that reduces the potential returns from splurging on a Plus membership considerably.

Saving more as a shopper at Sam's Club isn't just about lower shelf prices throughout the year. Unless you have the time to traipse around every last corner of the warehouse, odds are you'll miss out on some deals without the proper tools. Many of the discounts, including the rotating Instant Savings promotions, are easiest to spot from inside the Sam's Club mobile app. Sam's Club doesn't change out these offers on a regular basis, so the safest way to make sure you make the most out of your Instant Savings is to check the app regularly — especially before you head out to shop. That way, you can plan your shopping trips to maximize discounts and avoid any nasty surprises when you go to check out.

In terms of what actually gets discounted, the store applies Instant Savings to a pretty mixed bag: You can often find discounts for food and non-food products from Member's Mark and name brands. Sam's Club's app also has its famous Scan & Go feature that lets members scan items and pay right from inside the app so they can skip the checkout line altogether. This feature can save members on a tight schedule precious time on their shopping trips, allowing them to bask in their vast savings even longer.