Sam’s Club and Costco devotees are often positive that their preferred store has the best deals on groceries like seafood, but both teams can’t be correct. So let’s compare and see who’s right. The following prices are from Denver, Colorado, area stores. Seafood prices and availability fluctuate between regions, so things might be a little different depending on where you’re located. But here in the Centennial State, at least, seafood fans on one team or the other might be surprised to realize their favorite protein could be cheaper at another store.
Take salmon, for example. One comparable product between the two retailers is wild sockeye salmon. Sam’s Club customers can walk out with a roughly 2.5-pound fillet for $36.55 at $14.62 per pound. Costco offers bulk purchases of sockeye, which one might assume means a discount is in store, but not so. Ten pounds of the fish costs $229.99, equating to $23 per pound. Other species of salmon reflect a similar price discrepancy.
If cooking tuna steak is more your style, Sam’s Club is once again the better deal — by far. Member’s Mark yellowfin ahi tuna goes for $9.17 per pound, generally coming in 2.5-pound packages. This is another item you have to buy in bulk at Costco, and even then you’re paying a premium of $23 per pound for a 10-pound container. Unfortunately for Costco fans, with some exceptions, the higher prices on seafood extend to the frozen aisle of the store.
What about frozen seafood at Sam’s Club and Costco?
Although it’s undeniably best when it’s fresh, if you watch out for the red flags with frozen seafood that signal poor quality, it can still be a good product. And for many of us in landlocked states, that’s the only way you’re getting things like shrimp without paying through the nose. Thankfully, Sam’s Club and Costco both have plenty of seafood in their freezers…