Forums >Off the Beaten Path>warehouse store membership ?
Ultra Cowboy
P.S. I am seriously considering my next electronics purchase there.
WYBMADIITY
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We have a Costco where we live in Taiwan. It is one of the few places that have foreign food or odd cooking items we can't find anywhere else. We can also use our member card from Taiwan at the US stores when we go back to the States.
Tessa
I started doing most of the grocery shopping at Costco when the grocery store checkers went on strike about 10 years ago, because I didn't want to cross the picket line at Safeway (Vons is the chain out here but Safeway is the parent). Now I do almost all the grocery shopping there. I have one teenager still at home and a 20 year old college student, and I've found Costco to be competitive in price and great in quality. Milk, butter, eggs, cottage cheese. Produce. Meat, especially chicken. Laundry detergent, TP, paper towels, napkins. Canned goods and dry goods.
Gasoline's cheap, tires are good price and good quality, and they will fix a flat for free. I have gone in several times with a nail or similar object in the tire and they have fixed it quickly -- all they do is look up my membership to verify I bought the tire there.
I've also been very pleased with electronics. DS is hard on laptops. His has been fixed a couple of times through the Costco concierge program which gives you two years of warranty.
The big drawbacks are that their selection isn't great -- if you want Campbell's soup you better want mushroom or chicken noodle, for instance, and canned catfood is an assortment of pates even if you have a finicky feline who only likes one or two types of canned food -- and the lines can be long. You do need storage space if you do a lot of Costco shopping. But their customer service is great. And I have the executive membership and it more than pays for itself in cash back at the end of the year.
dog person
Can't believe no one has mentioned the hot dog & soda for a buck fifty.
Kristian
Totally agree. Our Costco trips now end up covering two nights of dinners. The wife and I and kids do the hot dogs and soda and yogurt for dessert. We also buy a large pizza for $7 (somewhere around that price) for dinner the next night.
delicate flower
I've purchased three pairs of Head running gloves at Costco for $10 each. THAT MAKES THE MEMBERSHIP WORTH IT!
The samples are cool but I get really annoyed at the fat people who hover around the sample tables waiting for stuff to finish cooking. If the plate's empty when I walk by, so be it.
<3
Proboscis Colossus
I started doing most of the grocery shopping at Costco when the grocery store checkers went on strike about 10 years ago, because I didn't want to cross the picket line at Safeway (Vons is the chain out here but Safeway is the parent). Now I do almost all the grocery shopping there. I have one teenager still at home and a 20 year old college student, and I've found Costco to be competitive in price and great in quality. Milk, butter, eggs, cottage cheese. Produce. Meat, especially chicken. Laundry detergent, TP, paper towels, napkins. Canned goods and dry goods. Gasoline's cheap, tires are good price and good quality, and they will fix a flat for free. I have gone in several times with a nail or similar object in the tire and they have fixed it quickly -- all they do is look up my membership to verify I bought the tire there. I've also been very pleased with electronics. DS is hard on laptops. His has been fixed a couple of times through the Costco concierge program which gives you two years of warranty. The big drawbacks are that their selection isn't great -- if you want Campbell's soup you better want mushroom or chicken noodle, for instance, and canned catfood is an assortment of pates even if you have a finicky feline who only likes one or two types of canned food -- and the lines can be long. You do need storage space if you do a lot of Costco shopping. But their customer service is great. And I have the executive membership and it more than pays for itself in cash back at the end of the year.
Ah yes, the tires, forgot about those. We almost always get ours from Sam's, and even if they don't usually carry a make/model, they can order them. Free lifetime repair and rotation/balance, even if it is a special order.
"God guides us on our journey, but careful with those feet." - David Lee Roth, of all people
On On
What are some examples?
Anything that goes on sale in a grocery store can be cheaper. Examples are cookies, cereal, pastas, etc. Nothing is ever on sale at Costco but it also never more than 15% over cost.
If you use coupons or buy on sale items at a grocery store you can save money over certain items in the discount stores. If you just like to go in and buy what you want this week and not worry about if it is on sale this week or next then in the long run you will save a lot of money at the discount stores.
NJ Trail Series NJ Trail Series on Facebook NY NJ Runners Group @rickmcnulty
What are some examples? This is a sincere, honest question from a person pondering joining... don't read it as a coded version of "I disagree".
This is a sincere, honest question from a person pondering joining... don't read it as a coded version of "I disagree".
Milk at BJs is probably $1 cheaper per gallon than at the regular stores. We usually buy 2 or 3 gallons a week.
The membership we have is about $35/year. OK, so maybe 4 months...but, we still save. Meat and cold cuts are usually pretty cheap too.
What (in our specific case) is not cheaper? Mmmm...coffee, some electronics, some sundries (toothpaste, etc). Some. But not all. But, as others have pointed out, you sometimes have to buy in bulk, and that can be a problem. You really have to pay attention to everything, and it can be a pain.
Booze is cheap too (if you are into that sort of thing). Some really nice wines for good prices.
As for service...unbelievable. They will bend over backwards.
And, also...there are no bags, so you have to use the boxes that are piled up near the exit. If that bugs you...
Jeff
A Saucy Wench
I'm not sure if that is a perk or not.
People have mentioned the lines being long. It is hard if you work normal hours, but if you have ANY flexibility at all get there right when they open. If you have a list and powerwalk it (even if you do have to go in search of some stuff) you can completely beat the lines. Heck, once I got to the checkout before they had OPENED any of the lines. Do not ever go on a Saturday if you can avoid it.
I have become Death, the destroyer of electronic gadgets
"When I got too tired to run anymore I just pretended I wasnt tired and kept running anyway" - dd, age 7
Oh yeah, thumbs up to Costco for booze too.
Being in Canada this makes me cry. I can really only by booze from (a) the government or (b) the maker.
We have Costco though - we have ample storage in the new house and a two year old. Savings in diapers and wipes alone is worth the membership.
First or last...it's the same finish line
HF #4362
Oh man, The Beer Store! I used to live in Detroit, and would go to Windsor a lot. We go across the bridge and it was so nice. Just like the states, but something was different. Could never put my finger on it!
Just kidding, I love Canada. And not just Ontario. However, I would live in Toronto, or the surrounding areas in a heartbeat.
Weird booze laws , though. In most of Maryland, you can't buy booze at a chain store like 7-11 or the grocery store. But, it's not a state run store, you just can't find it everywhere. Just odd.
Good thing I gave up drinking :-)
BTW, I still have not joined yet. But man, the bird seed prices have really, really gone up. And I am the bird lady of Annapolis.
- Anya
Speaking of Costco and booze - I was in Costco last Saturday and still hadn't made my purchase of Super Bowl beer yet so I wandered over to the booze area and found that they were selling Kirkland Signature brand beer by the case. It's a mix of four six packs of 'craft'-style beer. I didn't buy any cuz I was skeered of Kirkland beer but then I saw this site that lists the brewers. On the West Coast it's Gordon Biersch and I really like their beers. Just an FYI - might be worth a try. The price was sure right.
http://www.mymoneyblog.com/which-brewer-makes-costco-beer.html
Prejudicial against fat people.... REPORTED!
Seriously though, for me, I just keep it simple and hit Wal-mart for most of the basic things I need. I can't imagine that the prices for the things I buy at Wal-mart are that much cheaper than Costco / Sams, especially considering you have to pay to be a 'member'....
Why do they charge you to be a member? If they did not charge and spread that cost out across their food items, would they even be any cheaper than other places?
The Plan '15 → /// "Run Hard, Live Easy." ∞
Speaking of Costco and booze - I was in Costco last Saturday and still hadn't made my purchase of Super Bowl beer yet so I wandered over to the booze area and found that they were selling Kirkland Signature brand beer by the case. It's a mix of four six packs of 'craft'-style beer. I didn't buy any cuz I was skeered of Kirkland beer but then I saw this site that lists the brewers. On the West Coast it's Gordon Biersch and I really like their beers. Just an FYI - might be worth a try. The price was sure right. http://www.mymoneyblog.com/which-brewer-makes-costco-beer.html
I've had some of the Kirkland Signature wine and it is pretty drinkable.