Costco revisited

[Broken Arrow]

So a fairly new Costco opened up near where I live. It's about a 20 minute drive away though.

I'm just wondering in what situation would Costco be worth joining, if at all?

I also have a BJ that's closer to me. How is Costco compared to BJ, or Walmart for that matter?

[dcox20]

no idea what BJ is except for, well.. you know... and in that case I'd go for the BJ.

we have tons of Costcos over here and they're great, the best way to become a member is to check with your employer - they may have a corporate program you can jump on. otherwise it's still a good thing to go for as you can often earn cash back on everything you purchase

[Broken Arrow]

Originally Posted by dcox20

no idea what BJ is except for, well.. you know... and in that case I'd go for the BJ.

Hahah, I can't believe someone went there. Just to set the record straight, BJ is also a warehouse club, but admittedly one with a rather peculiar name indeed!

[momof1in150]

Most people I know prefer Costco above all other wholesale stores. Our BJs is 5 minutes from my house, Sams is 40 minutes and Costco is 1.5 hours so you know which one I picked. Plus our BJs is small so it doesn't have a lot of fluff (ie temptation) that they other ones have. I also get my membership through church for $20 a year so it is worth it to stay at BJs.

[LivingAlmostLarge]

For the gas it's worth it. Even if you are single and it's that close. My BIL is a single guy but the gas makes it worthwhile.

[scfr]

Could you tag along with someone you know who is already a member next time they go shopping? Or better yet, give them the cash to buy you a gift card so you can go on a trial shopping trip yourself and take all the time you want, since you may be hesitant to make your friends wait while you cruise the aisles. Not sure if the rules are the same, but it used to be that you could go in and shop with a gift card even if you weren't a member.

I remember you were trying to eat a bit healthier (and at home more often) ... You may be surprised at how many healthy, delicious, easy-to-prepare or ready-go-eat things Costco offers.

I'm a fan of Costco, but I know it's not for everyone; that's why I'd suggest you try it out.

[CoryWM]

I'm not sure about the memberships of other places, but atleast at costco you get to sign up two people for your money.. get a family member on board and split the membership. Also on the gift card idea. I'm pretty sure you could probably buy one on ebay, if it works that you can take it for a test run.

I fear going into costco when I go. It couldnt be more tuned for overspending for the slighly above average american. You have to be even more disciplined than if you were at say safeways. At safeways, if you think oh, it'd be nice to have an energy drink for lunch tomorrow. You buy one. At costco you buy 24 of them at a cheaper per unit price. The impulse buys cost 10x more because of the quantity.

If you can stick to buying toilet paper, trash bags, etc. You make a killing off the membership.

[Marcymox]

Here's my problem with costco- ( my membership is getting dusty from unuse)
I love the concept- I'd love to be able to just go in, buy a year's worth of TP or dog food or whatever and not have to buy that stuff again for a year. Some stuff, especially cleaning supplies and paper will keep for a very long time.

the problem is I don't have that extra money each month to stock up. Costco is full of "start up" costs- the membership, and the extra money to stock up. I could buy a years worth of TP there for about 50.00- but I don't have an extra 50.00 in my grocery budget just for TP. I have about 6-8.00. I could get a year's worth of dog food for 70.00- but I don't have an extra 70.00 that month in my grocery bidget to boy dog food- I need that 70 bucks for things like milk and bread, ect. I have 17.00 set aside that will cover me buying dog food every 8 weeks.

I guess the point I'm trying to make is I KNOW that buying in mass quantities will save money in the long run- and if you average it over a year I'm sure buying at costco saves lots of money- I just don't have any extra left over each month to do any sort of stocking up. It's one thing to stock up at the grocery store- maybe 10 cans of soup for 10.00 , but it's something else entirely to stock up on a CASE of soup at Costco for 36.00.

[mstrohm]

We used to have 9 people in our home (my wife's parents and her grandmother) and the warehouse membership was worth it. Now we only have 4 in the house and I wonder about its value. We still use it and visit every other week to get a few staples, but we have to be pretty close to the brake even point.

[Broken Arrow]

Thank you all for the input so far. Please, keep it coming.

[luzianne]

It's worth it to me. Like someone else said, you have to watch what you buy. We buy toilet paper, paper towels, Kirkland (Costco's brand) dishwasher soap, Kirkland dishwashing soap (same as Dawn antibacterial), bath soap (bars), sometimes toothpaste if it's a kind we like, sometimes mouthwash, Prilosec (GREAT deal - can't get it cheaper anywhere else), paper plates, Pepsi/Dr. Pepper, Kirkland brand ibuprofen (two 500-tablet bottles for $8.99), Kirkland brand "Slim Fast" and we get our prescriptions there.

Good we may or may not buy there, depending what we need/how much we need/what they have. We LOVE their Panko-breaded shrimp. It's about $16 a box, is a heck of a lot of shrimp for that price, and is delicious! We get out our frydaddy and cook shrimp every once in a while. Their tortilla crusted tilapia is also good; we didn't like the other kind (can't remember what it was but didn't compare to the tortilla crusted). Some things I'm afraid to try because it comes in such a huge quantity that if we don't like it, we have wasted a lot of money.

Before Costco I was buying toilet paper at the store a couple of times a week and now that we buy the big package for I believe about $16-$17, it lasts a few weeks. Same with paper towels.

[KarenSue]

I like going to Costco - it's very convenient to where I work and I fill up the gas tank there as well. We got a graduation cake for our daughter from Costco and it was such a great price - under $20 and absolutely delicious. I also like to buy books because they are 40% off.

We just went a couple of days ago and I found a postal scale for E-Bay for around $20.00 - great find.

[momof1in150]

Another thing to consider is that BJs takes coupons and to the best of knowledge the others don't. I save quite a bit with their coupons and other manufacturer's coupons.

[boefixepa]

Our Costco DOES take coupons, but check with your location. A few things I've found to keep in mind.

1. GREAT for items that keep long term, as someone else mentioned, paper goods, cleaning supplies etc.

2. Wonderful for restaunt style dishes, plates, forks, spoons, cups! I love them.

3. Wonderful for toiletries, especally with coupons. Toothpast, tampons, soap, etc.

4. The only place better for spices then Costco, is Sam's. The selection at Sam's is 3-4 times better,

5. Canned items are GENERAL less expensive then stores, but stores can bet them on sale.

6. I can find better pricing for bulk flour, wheat & sugar

7. Yeast, you will not find a better price then the Sam's/Costco! You can get 4 Lbs at the same price of one of those little jars at the store. Toss 1-2lb brick in the freezer keep the other one in a mason jar in the fridge to use as needed and they last just fine!

8. If you have a large family and use it before it goes bad, the milk, cheese, and such are a great price. Some I can freeze and some I can't, so it's hit and miss for me.

THINGS TO BEWARE OF!!!

1. If you don't need it....it's not a deal...even if it a good price!

2. If it's not on your list DON'T buy it!

3. If you use/eat more of it because you are buying in bulk, then you are NOT saving money!

4. If you have to drive an extra XX amount of time to get the gas or wait 15 minutes idleing, waiting in line to fill up...are you really saving any money?

Work currently pays for my memebership, so it is worth it for me at this point in time. it can pay to have a memebership, and like one poster mentioed, some people have the 'start up' cost to deal with. I know my mom always felt the same way about that....and I don't have the easy answer for it. The warehouse stores can be a blessing or a curse! Just like credit cards, it depends on how it is used.

[Schadenfreude]

Definitely worth it for me! Especially household supplies (dishwashing detergent, TP, paper towels, laundry liquid, sponges, multipurpose cleaner, toilet bowl bleach tablets, etc).

Also, I find that their produce far suprasses my grocery store in both quality and price. The avocaodes are not only cheap ($0.83 vs. $1.29), but the best tasting around.

Oh! And the pet supplies! I don't know why I just discovered this, but normally a medium bag of kitty litter runs about $7 at the grocery store, but at Costco, the giant 50lb bag is $6. CANNOT beat that. Especially for my giant kitty.

Bulk meat is another favorite. I buy 6lbs of ground beef, and separate it out into individual 1lb baggies and freeze. And the blocks of Tillamook cheese are about $1.50 cheaper than at the grocery store. I could go on.

I find we make up cost of membership within 6 months (and it's only a 2 adult household).

[pearlieq]

A couple of things:

1.) Costco-brand (Kirkland Signature) products are often near the top of the list whenever Consumer Reports rates household goods (dish soap, lightbulbs, etc.) They seem to have a quality house brand.

2.) Their snack bar is amazing! And there's always what we call the "sample buffet". One could have a very cheap (if not terribly healhty) lunch or dinner there.

3.) Anyone can use their pharmacy--you don't have to be a member. So, if you wanted to check it out, you could tell them that you were there to use the pharmacy and they'll let you walk right in. You wouldn't be able to buy anything except for perscriptions unless you became a member, but you could at least case the place and see if the prices on things you would buy are good enough to make it advantageous to join.

4.) Costco frequently offers a $10 gift card when you sign up for membership. Check the freebies board here or do some googling and find yourself an offer before you join.

[PrincessPerky]

If they wont let you 'cruise' to see what they have..you don't want to shop there...you might have to talk to a manager, but you should be able to get a guest pass, just wont be able to buy anything.

Regardless of what you decide this time, keep rechecking, the one product that saves you more than the cost of membership might go up (or down elsewhere) in a week.

As to the start up cost, put that 6$ away for a couple of weeks and you have it, and the dog food doesn't all cost 70$....buy the cheap stuff...and you can save on 'little' things, like milk, 50 cents (at least) saved per gallon might not seem like a lot, but multiply by 5 gallons a week, that is 2.50 each week, (which is $130 a year, well over the $50 joining fee)

[musubi]

along with all of the other reasons to have a costco membership, remember that costco treats its employees humanely. they earn a decent wage and have excellent benefits. that alone makes me feel good about paying that membership fee.

but i love that costco has the cheapest gas prices in my area as well--

[LuckyRobin]

I think Costco is good for diapers and wipes, TP, Paper products, bags (like Ziploc), books, milk, bread, produce, light bulbs, batteries, oil (both cooking and motor) and canned soups, chili, sauces, condiments and the like. It's pretty bad on meat (except seafood), and I'm not impressed with their canned meat, canned veggies or canned fruits.

The reason I stay with them is for the gas. It's a difference of between 30 and 50 cents a gallon right now.

[Plassky]

is Costco the same as Sam's?