Does it pay to be a warehouse club member?

Trefis submits: Retailers like Wal-Mart (NYSE:WMT) and Target (NYSE:TGT) are campaigning to force Amazon (NASDAQ:AMZN) to pay sales taxes.

Big-box warehouse store Costco is often compared with Walmart's Sam's Club. Both stores are places where people go to buy in bulk and save money. 

By PowerOptions:Costco (COST) recently announced it was increasing its annual member fees by 10% ($50 to $55) for 22 million members, that is some serious mula -- $110 million in additional revenue.

Trefis submits: Costco (COST) sells merchandise at heavy discounts through its warehouse clubs competing with large retailers like Wal-Mart (WMT), Target (TGT), BJ’s Wholesale Club (BJ) and Sam’s

Costco Wholesale, the warehouse merchant, announced Wednesday that it will pay a special $3 billion dividend before year's end, saving shareholders from a big bite should taxes rise due to the fiscal cliff.

With earnings season mostly in the rear view mirror, the pickings are getting mighty slim. One sector that still has a respectable presence, however, is the retail space.

Tom Lydon submits: By John Spence Retail exchange traded funds were in the red Wednesday along with Costco (NasdaqGS: COST) after the warehouse club operator reported quarterly net income that fell short of analyst estimates after a charge. Costco shares “have had a good run of late and are enjoying a healthy multiple, so we could see a modest pullback and we would be buyers,” Jefferies analysts said.

I’ve been trying to decide whether I should renew my membership to my local discount warehouse club. Now that I no longer have kids in diapers (hallelujah!) and don’t have any plans to buy a flat-screen TV this year, I had to figure out whether my annual membership fee pays for itself in savings or not.