Costco (NASDAQ: COST) and Walmart's (NYSE: WMT) Sam's Club use similar business models. Consumers pay an upfront membership fee to gain access to warehouses, which are no-frills stores both companies sometimes call "clubs."
In exchange for paying the membership fee, members are promised low pricing. They generally get that, but that doesn't mean you can't lose money joining one of these warehouse club chains.
Both Costco and Sam's Club offer lots of ways you can blow your money. Here are some of the top ones that you can easily avoid.
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