Your Sam’s Club membership cost actually includes a lot of free events, like the Taste of Sam’s Club event that took place at all stores on Friday, Nov. 10 - Sunday, Nov. 12. Only for Sam's Club members, this event included a whole week’s worth of free samples packed into just three days!
The annual Taste of Sam's Club event is part of Sam’s Club Black Friday festivities, so it's a good opportunity to scope out Sam’s Club Black Friday deals while you're there to decide what’s worth buying before the prices drop Nov. 23 - 26.
Here’s everything to know about the most recent Taste of Sam’s Club event — including what foods you got to sample and when you had to arrive to avoid the biggest crowds.
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1. The Taste of Sam’s Club event gives you free samples of their best holiday foods.
Always show up hungry to a Taste of Sam’s Club event, because they serve up tons of holiday samples in one weekend. The event is basically one big holiday taste test. You get to try main dishes like ham and turkey, along with mashed potatoes, soup, pies, and more at dozens of sample stations set up throughout the store.
If that sounds like a lot of food, it is! Sam’s will help you decide what to come back for as you prep for your Thanksgiving dinner and holiday feasts.
It’s also something that Costco doesn’t offer during the holidays; this tasty event is one of the perks of having a Sam’s Club membership.
2. All Sam's Club locations hosted the event Nov. 10 - 12 from noon to 5 p.m.
The most recent Taste of Sam’s event kicked off on Friday, Nov. 10 and lasted through Sunday, Nov. 12. Sam’s Club locations participated from noon - 5 p.m. local time.
And unlike the Sam’s Club Merry Express event (which is only at select locations), the Taste of Sam’s event takes place at all Sam’s Club stores nationwide — kinda like the Sam’s Club Trick or Treat event they held for Halloween.
3. You don’t need to register — just show up ready to eat!
There’s no registration required for Taste of Sam’s, unlike the Merry Express event, which you need to sign up for in advance to reserve your spot.
You will need to show your membership card at the door, like you would any other time. You can bring up to two non-members along with you, as long as you accompany them the entire time you’re in the store. Your non-member guests can receive free samples, but only members can make purchases at checkout.
4. Go early — but not too early.
Since this is a major event — and weekends in general are always the busiest time to shop at Sam's — we recommend going as early as you can.
Samples are available as supplies last, and the store will likely be swamped right at noon. There’s a sweet spot around 1 p.m. - 2 p.m. where there’s little risk of samples running out, but the original excitement has died down a bit.
TIP: If you’re not interested in trying the free samples, plan to get your Sam’s Club shopping done before noon on event days to avoid the crowds.
5. This year’s event had more samples than ever before.
Sam’s served up an entire week’s worth of samples in the daily five-hour event, so we recommended you should arrive hungry and plan to snack your way through a mini holiday feast.
This year’s menu featured all the supplies you'd need for a holiday meal, so you could taste-test everything ahead of time and decide what to come back for as you’re prepping Thanksgiving dinner.
Taste of Sam’s Club Menu for 2023
Here's what you could expect to find among the free samples.
Appetizers & Soups:
Main Courses & Sides:
Desserts:
6. They might run out of free samples, so go on Friday or Saturday if you can.
This year’s event had more samples than ever before, but they were only available while supplies lasted. Since it’s impossible to predict how many people will show up, we always recommend going early to Taste of Sam's — and planning to visit on one of the first two days, if you can.
7. Plus members don’t get early access to the samples.
There are plenty of perks of being a Plus member, including early access to the store and extra savings. But Plus members don’t get in early or get first dips on this sample extravaganza.
Related: Here's why the Sam’s Club Plus membership is still very much worth it.
8. While you’re sampling, take advantage of the current Instant Savings deals.
Taste of Sam’s fell right in the middle of the Sam’s Club’s Instant Savings event, which is sort of like a round of early Black Friday deals going on from Nov. 1 - 22.
Before you walk the aisles, check our list of the best Sam’s Club deals and scope out all the new items at Sam’s Club.
9. If you’re not a Sam’s Club member yet, you can join now for just $20!
If you’ve been thinking about getting a Sam’s membership, you can join Sam’s Club for just $20 right now! The basic membership is usually $50, so don’t wait to take advantage of this half-price deal.
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