I visited Costco and Sam's Club to scope out their Halloween-candy selections.
Melissa Wells/Insider
I went to Costco and Sam's Club during the first week of October to compare their Halloween candy.
It took 10 minutes of searching to find the limited candy choices at my Costco in California.
I preferred Sam's Club's wide variety of Halloween candy, including items I had never seen before.
'Tis the season for cobwebs, carved pumpkins, and skeletons, but for grocers like Sam's Club and Costco, it is also the opportunity to stock up on candy their members will inevitably buy in preparation for the spooky holiday.
Ahead of Halloween, I decided to visit both retailers, which require shoppers to buy annual memberships for access to bulk items that are typically priced lower than at other stores. I wanted to see which store had the best selection of candy for trick-or-treaters or Halloween parties, and where the best prices could be found.
Here's what I saw.
I'm a Costco member and, in previous years, I haven't seen a particularly wide selection of Halloween candy for sale there, so I didn't have high expectations.
Melissa in front of Costco.
Melissa Wells/Insider
Costco's cheapest membership, the Gold Star Membership, costs $60 annually. My family are Executive Members, so we pay $120 a year. The Executive membership gives shoppers additional perks, including an annual 2% reward on most purchases.
Upon entering, it was clear I wasn't going to find Halloween candy by accident.
Side of entrance aisle in Costco.
Melissa Wells/Insider
As it's the start of October, I thought there might be some acknowledgment of Halloween when I entered my local store in California, but there was no reference to it, as far as I could see. Instead, I was greeted with the usual shelves of products, including coffee and cold medicine.
I looked down the snack aisles, thinking I might find the candy there.
Chips aisle in Costco.
Melissa Wells/Insider
I went down aisle after aisle of nuts, chips, pretzels, and snack packs, but there was no candy to be found.
I even found Christmas chocolate and gingerbread decorating kits before I found Halloween candy.
Lindt advent calendar; Gingerbread decorating kits at Costco.
Melissa Wells/Insider
I passed everything from lawn decor and themed pajamas to Christmas candy before I found the Halloween selection.
That said, the Christmas items I passed definitely caught my eye, especially because they seemed like bargains to me. The advent calendar retailed for $18.99, and the gingerbread decorating kit cost $12.49.
Finally, as I neared the back of the store, I spotted the first hint of spooky season: a crate of pumpkins.
Crates of pumpkins at Costco.
Melissa Wells/Insider
After seeing these pumpkins on my left, I turned directly to my right and finally found what I was looking for.
And sure enough, there was the section for Halloween candy.
Costco Halloween candy section.
Melissa Wells/Insider
I eventually found the candy between the produce and frozen items. It was a smaller area than I anticipated — and, as I would come to find, not entirely all candy nor all Halloween-themed.
Along with the Halloween candy, another holiday had also set up camp: Día de los Muertos, or Day of the Dead.
Edward Marc Day of the Dead Halloween bark; Tajin Chili & Lime Gummy Rings variety pack at Costco.
Melissa Wells/Insider
As Southern California, where I live, is a heavily Hispanic-populated region, it makes sense to dedicate some resources to Día de los Muertos, or Day of the Dead, which is in early November. Still, I was surprised to see it next to the Halloween candy.
The first inkling that I was getting toward the Halloween candy was this ghost-and-monster cookie decorating kit.
Bakery Bling ghost and monster designer cookie kit at Costco.
Melissa Wells/Insider
The kit comes with 16 cookies for $9.79.
None of the candy seemed to be Halloween-themed, but the store had discounts favoring the holiday.
Ferrero full-size variety pack at Costco.
Melissa Wells/Insider
This Ferrero full-size variety pack comes with 36 full-sized chocolate bars, including Butterfinger, Crunch, 100 Grand, and Baby Ruth bars. It had $7 off for a final cost of $20.69, or 57 cents per bar.
There were also multipacks of favorites like Hershey's, Kit Kats, and Reese's.
Hershey's variety pack at Costco.
Melissa Wells/Insider
This full-size variety pack came with 30 full-sized chocolate bars that were $7.30 off at $20.59, or nearly 69 cents a bar.
The last variety pack also had full-size packs of M&M's, Milky Ways, Twix, and Snickers.
Mars variety pack at Costco.
Melissa Wells/Insider
This Mars full-size variety box came with 30 full-sized packs. It was $5.20 off at $20.79, or 69 cents a bar.
Kirkland, Costco's brand, also had its own all-chocolate variety assortment jumbo bag. I imagine a big bowl of these classic candies would be a hit with trick-or-treaters.
Kirkland Signature All-Chocolate Bag at Costco.
Melissa Wells/Insider
Packed with 10 different types of mini candies including plain and peanut M&M's, Reese's Peanut Butter Cups, Snickers, Kit Kats, Milky Ways, and Twix, this bag of treats cost $19.99.
There was also a variety assortment jumbo bag of "funhouse treats."
Kirkland Signature Funhouse Treats at Costco.
Melissa Wells/Insider
With nine different candies, ranging from Twizzlers and Haribo Gummy Bears to Skittles and Starburst, this Kirkland signature Funhouse Treats bag cost $18.99.
In terms of Halloween-themed items, the first I saw was this Frankenstein's monster-themed Reese's dispenser.
Reese's Frankenstein-monster dispenser at Costco.
Melissa Wells/Insider
This fun Halloween dispenser in the shape of Frankenstein's monster's head opens up to reveal Reese's Peanut Butter Cup skeletons. It cost $10.59.
Although not technically candy, Costco seemed to get more into the Halloween spirit with this spooky snack mix.
Frito-Lay Spooky Snack Mix at Costco.
Melissa Wells/Insider
The Frito-Lay Spooky Snack Mix comes in at $18.99 for 54 bags, or 35 cents a bag.
It also carried limited-edition spooky Twinkies and ScaryCakes.
Hostess Halloween Cupcakes & Twinkies at Costco.
Melissa Wells/Insider
Hostess Halloween Cupcakes and Twinkies comes with 32 treats for $9.99, or 31 cents each.
There were monster-shaped fruit snacks, which also seems like a good option to offer trick-or-treaters.
Monster Mash fruit snacks at Costco.
Melissa Wells/Insider
This monster-mash fruit-snacks box comes with a whopping 90 pouches for $10.99, at 12 cents a pouch.
The final Halloween-themed snack in Costco's lineup was this Utz Halloween barrel.
Utz Halloween barrel at Costco.
Melissa Wells/Insider
This Utz Halloween barrel of 70 Bats and Jacks-shaped pretzel treat bags for $7.69. That's almost 11 cents a bag.
Despite some fun themed items, overall, I thought the Halloween section at Costco seemed very limited, with a narrow selection of discounted items. It was also not particularly easy to find in the store.
That said, I thought the prices were really reasonable, which is typical of Costco, which allows shoppers to buy multi-packs or items in bulk — and why people like me are members.
When I broke it down, each candy bar or bag of snacks was much cheaper than I'd seen at other stores. So, despite the lack of variety, I think Costco could still be a good option for people looking for a low-cost Halloween.
Next, I drove to my local Sam's Club. I'm actually not a member so I had no idea what to expect.
Melissa in front of Sam's Club.
Melissa Wells/Insider
The cheapest available membership, which is the Club Membership, according to Sam's Club, comes out to an annual payment of $50. The equivalent to Costco's Executive Membership is the Plus Membership, which costs $110 a year.
Even though I'm not a member, the staff at my local Sam's Club graciously allowed me to look around to see what they had for sale.
But this visit started very differently to my Costco trip — the Halloween candy was visible to me as soon as I entered the store.
Halloween candy at Sam's Club.
Melissa Wells/Insider
Sam's Club seemed to be embracing Halloween a lot more, placing its candy right at the entrance.
At the display near the entrance, I recognized the Utz Halloween Bats and Jacks-shaped pretzels.
Utz Halloween Bats & Jacks Shaped Pretzels at Sam's Club.
Melissa Wells/Insider
But Costco had the better deal: Sam's Club's barrel cost $7.98 for 66 treat bags (weighing a total of 33 ounces), while Costco's cost $7.69 for 70 bags (at 35 ounces).
The Utz Halloween Mini Cheese Balls, however, were a Halloween-themed item I hadn't seen in Costco.
Utz Halloween Mini Cheese Balls at Sam's Club.
Melissa Wells/Insider
These Utz Halloween Mini Cheese Balls were 56 treat bags for $7.98, or 14 cents a bag.
I continued looking around and, not much further into the store, I found the first full aisle of candy.
Halloween decor and candy aisle in Sam's Club.
Melissa Wells/Insider
As I walked past the entrance, I passed Christmas trees and lawn decor at first, but quickly spotted giant Halloween-themed decor that would lead into my first official aisle of candy.
Unlike Costco, Sam's Club had themed chocolate collections. These monster bags had hundreds of pieces of candy in each.
Halloween Monster Bag (left); Mars Bat Bag (middle); Halloween Villain Bag (right) at Sam's Club.
Melissa Wells/Insider
While not particularly Halloween-themed, Costco's Kirkland signature all-chocolate bag was the better deal, with 90 ounces of 10 different types of mini candies for $19.99, whereas Sam's Club's Halloween Monster Bag retailed for $21.78 for 200 pieces or 72 ounces.
But Sam's Club does have more choice. It also sells the Mars Bat Bag for $29.68, or 6 cents per candy, and the Halloween Villain Bag, which comes with 230 pieces, is $24.98, or about 10 cents per candy.
Like at Costco, there was a factory-favorites bag. Sam's Club's version comes with 155 pieces.
Hershey's Factory Favorites at Sam's Club.
Melissa Wells/Insider
This bag of Hershey's Factory Favorites cost $19.98. It contains 155 snack-size candies for 12 cents a piece.
The Hershey's Superhero variety pack at Sam's Club was similar to Costco's full-size bar variety packs.
Hershey's Superhero variety pack at Sam's Club.
Melissa Wells/Insider
For $29.98, Sam's Club offers a trick-or-treat mix of 36 full-size bars.
At Sam's Club, that comes to 83 cents a bar, compared to 68 cents per bar at Costco.
Sam's Club seemed to have more large-quantity options, however.
Other large-quantity options included an M&M's mixed bucket of 300 pieces for $59.98, or 19 cents per piece; a Twizzlers 580-piece bucket for $48.78, or 8 cents per piece; and a Snickers 350-piece bucket for $59.98, or 17 cents per piece.
Another aisle over, and there was yet more candy.
Another Halloween candy aisle in Sam's Club.
Melissa Wells/Insider
Upon realizing there was yet another aisle of candy, I thought it was clear which of the two grocers had the upper hand in candy selection.
These Halloween Pretzel Rods were unique to Sam's Club.
Halloween Pretzel Rods at Sam's Club.
Melissa Wells/Insider
There were six each in the shapes of monsters, fingers, and mummies for $14.98.
Another item that I only saw at Sam's Club was this Brach's Candy Corn.
Brach's Candy Corn at Sam's Club.
Melissa Wells/Insider
This mega, 66-ounce bag retails for $9.48.
I also found this fun 24-pack of Halloween Treats Jelly & Swirl Pops for $11.98.
Halloween Jelly & Swirl Pops at Sam's Club.
Melissa Wells/Insider
The pops come in the shapes of ghosts, black cats, candy corn, and pumpkins.
Like Costco, Sam's Club had savory Halloween-themed snacks, including this Halloween Party Pack Popcornopolis selection.
Halloween Party Pack Popcornopolis at Sam's Club.
Melissa Wells/Insider
This 12-count Halloween Party Pack Popcornopolis, which cost $12.98, had individual packs of kettle corn, caramel corn, and cheddar-cheese popcorn.
Still, the candy bags kept coming at Sam's Club. Among them, there was an 105-count assortment of chocolates for $18.98.
Hershey's Halloween Shapes at Sam's Club.
Melissa Wells/Insider
These chocolates included Reese's milk-chocolate peanut-butter pumpkins and white-creme peanut-butter ghosts, Kit Kat Witch's Brew marshmallow-flavored creme crisp wafers, Hershey's Cookies N' Creme fangs, and York dark-chocolate peppermint-patties pumpkins.
Other candy options included tubs of M&M's candies, and value packs of Skittles and Starburst.
I also spotted a Kit Kat Halloween-themed bag, which contained 90 pieces.
Kit Kats Halloween Bag at Sam's Club.
Melissa Wells/Insider
For $14.88, this Halloween bag features regular milk chocolate wafer bars, "Breaking Bones" white creme wafer bars, and "Witch's Brew" marshmallow-flavored creme wafer bars.
There were a lot of Reese's items to choose from, too.
I saw pumpkin-shaped Peanut Butter Cups, in both 36 full-size pieces for $28.88 and $11.98 for 65 snack-size pieces. Another Reese's Halloween-themed option comes in 112 assortment of shapes for $21.88.
Ultimately, I thought Sam's Club had a much wider selection of candy, including Halloween-themed items, and I had to give it the win.
Collage of candy at Costco versus Sam's Club.
Melissa Wells/Insider
I can envision throwing the better Halloween party or being the go-to house for candy with Sam's Club's wider selection of treats.
If you're looking for traditional full-size factory favorites of Hershey's and M&M's or spooky-themed snacks like Frito-Lays or fruit snacks, Costco would be the way to go. In many cases, it had better prices too.
However, because of its wide variety of themed items across multiple aisles, I have to give the edge to Sam's Club.
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