Sam's Club Online Store-It IS a Big Deal
by - Written: Aug 14 '02
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| Full Review |
SamsClub.com
I’ve been a Sam Club member for a few years now and just recently I started using the website. I still prefer shopping in the brick and mortar Sam’s Club store but the website is great for price checking and last minute gift giving.
Are You A Member
If you aren’t a member you will need to pay for a membership either at your local store or online. If it’s for business you can get a membership for $30 or $35 for a personal account. I don’t think I could live without my Sam’s Club card even though I only shop there a few times a year. You’ve got to love those 5lb containers of mayo and toothpaste.
What You’ll Find
Just like the brick and mortar store the websites items vary. They mostly offer home and office products. Some of their categories are computers, electronics, toys, tires, food, outdoor, business, books, movies, etc. So you see they have a lot to chose from.
Auctions
SamsClub.com offers an auction area that is a lot like Ebay. You need to have an account before you can bid on anything; it’s the same account you get when you register with your Sam’s Club account. One of the cool things they offer is Plunging Prices. To me this looks like their way of getting rid of over stocked products or products they are no longer going to carry. The price will start at a certain amount and you can buy it then or take your changes and wait for the price to plunge. They tell you what the price will plunge to at what hour of the day. Just sort of a neat concept.
Payments Accepted: SAM'S CLUB Credit Account, Discover, Visa, MasterCard, and American Express cards.
Shipping
You can calculate what your shipping will be while you are reviewing your cart. They go by zip code so I can’t give you a shipping chart. But I can tell you that I’ve always thought their shipping charges were at least fair, if not a little bit low compared to other sites like Walmart.com or Target.com.
Returns
Sam’s has a good return policy if you are near a Sam’s Club store since you can take it to that store. Make sure to read their FAQ because large items and jewelry cannot be returned to a location. They have an online return process that you need to follow and they outline it for you. You will be refunded shipping costs only on shipping errors made by Sam’s Club.
Site Performance
Unfortunately site speed is not one of SamsClub.com best features. It’s usually pretty slow with a few time-outs every great while. Speed is something they definitely need to work on.
Private and Secure
SamsClub.com uses SSL to keep your credit card information safe and also promises not to share your information. I haven’t had any spam from Sam’s and the way I keep track of where I’m getting spam from is always giving an email address like sams@mollman.com since I own my own domain name.
Overall
Their site could use some improvements with performance but they aren’t lacking in any other categories. Customer service, shipping times, prices and products are all of high quality. If you don’t have a Sam’s Club store near you I can’t say it’s really worth it to buy a membership considering shipping costs, but if you do-I highly recommend getting a membership and shopping your little heart out.
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This is my tardy submission to the Fill in the Blanks Write-Off. It’s a write-off that includes two reviews, one on a product and one on the store where you bought the product.
Participants: Quasar, Kurt_G, NC10, Bops_mom, Opinionated3 - Co-host, Pluckyduck - Co-hostess, Opalman - Co-Host
Recommended:
Yes
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