costco

[rt green]

we just got a Costco in our city.  I've never been near or in one. is it worth it to join up? is it any different than anything else? we've had a sams club for years now. I've been to that.

[Bronzedodge]

It's like that.  Free to walk through the Cosco's here without a card.

[71charger_fan]

Personally, I dropped Sam's Club and switched to COSTCO.

[ACUDANUT]

Why should you have to Pay to shop?  That almost sounds a tax before you even buy anything. Also who needs bulk hotdogs ect?

[kpkube]

we just got a Costco in our city.  I've never been near or in one. is it worth it to join up? is it any different than anything else? we've had a sams club for years now. I've been to that.

Do they have a gas station?  Compare the prices to other stations. 

[skip68]

I stock hotdogs    We've had our membership for about 3 months now.   I like it for bulk items.  Especially if you've got kids.       

[68X426]

We've been members for more than 20 years.  Yeah it's worth it, several times over.  I can be pretty frugal with my dollars, and yet I pay the fee every year, and every year it more than pays for itself.  Yeah, we pay to shop, seems odd but it works. 

In Northern California they all have gasoline and it is always the lowest price.

You have to shop hard on the Internet to beat their quality and prices.  Especially for hot dogs.

[Kern Dog]

I buy mayonnaise in 5 gallon buckets, so COSTCO is great for that.

[Troy]

I am not a member but a guy at work buys everything there - even his car! If you suck at haggling and hate dealerships, part of their membership includes special pricing through local dealers. Prices are set so all you have to do is pick what you want. From what I read it's a very competitive price and is lower than what most people end up haggling for. It works best for high volume cars though. The guy at work had one built to order so they just started the pricing for the model he wanted then added options. I'm a single guy who eats out twice a day and only cooks on weekends so I'm not their ideal client and don't have a membership. However, I'm trying to change that and my diet and there are some things I'd definitely like to buy in bulk. Just need to crunch the numbers to see if I'm going to actually save money.

Troy

[John_Kunkel]

I don't know if Costcos in the rest of the world are like mine but the word "Costco" always evokes the thought of "standing in long-long lines"....I don't do lines.

Never seen an example where I couldn't beat their prices online. (Ditto Sam's Club)

[Fred]

OMG! Hurrah for COSTCO.........so glad they opened up here. We joined two years ago and haven't looked back. And yes, the membership fee pays for itself.
The quality is top shelf and there are always bargains to be had. And the tastings are great, there's always something new to sample. We go once a fortnight just for the hell of it.
The Mrs. loves their almond stuffed olives and Jagermeister is $6.00 cheaper than anywhere else.......buy a few bottles of that and you've got your membership fee back in one shopping spree. But it's not always about getting the best price, it's finding things you can't get anywhere else and getting good quality food that you enjoy eating.

I've got to say though, we've never seen trolley's as big as that before, not here in Australia at any rate BUT we have no trouble at all filling one lol.

[rt green]

maybe i should try it. sounds good.

[Ponch ®]

its totally worth it for the $1.50 hotdog / soda combo and the pizza.

Although if it has an outside food court, you don't need a membership. 

[ITSA426]

I bought a stainless steel tool box from costco a few years ago.  I wasn't real impressed with the quality, plastic wheels, etc.  It rusted after a while so I returned it.  After more than two years the return was hassle free.  They stood behind it better than the manufacturer warranty.  Overall a positive experience.  Just gotta watch what you buy.

[myk]

It would be worth it for the gas prices, or maybe not; the lines to get gas at San Diego Costcos reminds me of the pictures of people trying to buy gas in vain during the oil crisis...

[Mike DC]

 
Is Costco a lot cheaper than Sam's Club?   

I had a Sam's Club membership like 15 years ago and was not very impressed.   It had all the drawbacks of buying in bulk but the prices weren't cheaper to go with it.  Stuff would be like $95/pair at Sam's instead of $49/each at Walmart.

[draftingmonkey]

Just the savings for TP and paper towels pays for our membership. The booze is cheapest at Costco (in states where they can sell it), and check gasbuddy.com and you'll see they usually have the bets price for gas. Get there early to avoid the long lines otherwise a pain.  As for long lines inside the store it is surprising how quickly the lines move. Every checker has a box person. Some of the best hassle free returns you'll ever have will be at Costco.  My Flonase for my allergies, while pricey because I have to purchase in a bulk pack is still half the price of what it costs elsewhere.  Their pharmacy prices are competitive if not better than the competitions.  The missus and I have never regretted joining. Just my  .

[funknut]

Been a member for over 12 years and have always said the day I don't save my membership's worth in a year I'll drop it.  There hasn't been a year where I've saved less than $200.  I have a family of 5 so we go through typical bulk items pretty quickly.

As others have said, their gas is particularly cheap, especially the 93 octane.  I have one about 10-12 miles from me and unless I'm running on fumes I refuse to fill up anywhere else. 

The Costco here only sells 87 or 93, where most stations have 3-4 grades, each 15 - 20c more expensive than the last, so at a normal station the 93 octane is about 75c more than the regular.  Costco's 87 octane is the cheapest around and the 93 is only 25-30c on top of that.

When I lived out in NorCal the parking and checkout lines were ridiculous. I felt like I was going to an MLB game.  In Ohio it's no worse than a normal grocery store unless you go during peak hours on the weekends.

By my estimation, Costco's prices roughly compare to average 'sale' prices at other retailers.  You can definitely score some better deals elsewhere, so value shoppers that don't mind the legwork of going to several stores to find the deals may not benefit as much.

Years ago, I wouldn't have ever thought to buy perishables at a Costco.  These days you can get great produce (even lots of organic options, if that's your thing) and the meat department is impressive.  $5 for a whole roasted chicken.

They also offer a number of membership perks like car buying programs, vacation packages, heating/air conditioners, water softeners, etc.  They seem fairly random, but I guess if they have what you're looking for you could potentially save some good money.

It's been great for us.

[303 Mopar]

They have great food samples on Saturday!  You can basically walk around and get lunch free.  

[Fred]

And the best thing is you can have entrée, mains and dessert all in the one visit!  

We can sample food here every day of the week. it's great.

And yes........the cooked chook is so worth buying. Makes for an easy lunch. $6.99 here and so much cheaper than chicken from anywhere else.

[68X426]

Never seen an example where I couldn't beat their prices online.

We see the examples every time we shop.  Sorry to hear that it doesn't work out for you.  I enjoy going there, lines and all.

And then in addition to the better than online/Amazon prices, we buy what we can't get online - gasoline, cottage cheese, Sam Adams Hopology assorted case of beer, salmon, Dave's Killer Bread, Costco's exclusive items, on and on, and save every single time.

[rt green]

well. quite a lot of praise. rumor has it that the house whiskey tastes like Crown when mixed with coke. and the house rum tastes like Saylor Jerrys.  anyone tried it?

[68X426]

 
I'm a rye guy so don't know about their whiskey or rum.

My wife is a gin cocktail enthusiast.  Which is different from a gin soaked barroom queen.  So she gives a thumbs up to their house gin.  Says it's comparable to Tanqueray London Dry (but not as herb-y), with a much smaller price tag, and a step up from Beefeaters and Seagram.

[rt green]

ginsoaked barroom queen.  now that's funny!