Tell me about Costco

[disneysteve]

We've belonged to BJ's a couple of different times over the years and never found it to be worth it for us. There just wasn't enough there to make a special trip and we didn't regularly save enough to justify the membership fee. I've recently had a few people tell me that Costco is much better than BJ's. I may take a ride over there tomorrow to check it out and do some price comparisons.

So all you Costco fans, tell me what you love about the place and what items you go there for that save you a significant amount over regular stores.

[dynobyke]

i work at sam's club and the reasons i hear costco is better is because they have higher quality products. sometimes people hand me their costco card by mistake, so i ask them which one they like better and the differences, etc. the one i've heard the most is about the brands costco has to offer. (better brand names) such as nautica clothing (which we have but maybe not as big of a selection) and other products we dont have (muscle milk protein shakes) costco membership i believe is $50 per year whereas sam's membership is $40. it also depends on the area you live in, you could have a bad experience at a sam's club or costco just because of the customer service or attitude of the employees at that location.

personally i think bj's, costco, and sam's are basically all the same when it comes to types of merchandise, the only difference will come down to brand names, and whether that is important to you or not. also, another tip when shopping at those places, any item price that ends in a "1" is on clearance, and usually has a significant price reduction (price ending in 1 is the reduced price). weve had alot of items on clearance for nearly 50% off or more but we dont advertise it, so only the sharp shoppers will catch it, and then through word of mouth that item will be sold out before lunchtime! for instance, we had a $7.78 box of granola bites priced down to $1.81, and the week after that, bear naked granola variety pack marked down from $7 something to $3.81. it's usually snack items or smaller groceries this happens to. if you do end up at costco, ask them if they handle clearance items the same way

[sweeps]

Used to have Costco. I always found good deals on custom cakes, milk and OJ, batteries, dishwasher tabs, gasoline (if your Costco offers it), postage stamps, and the snack bar. Most things were no better than I'd find at Target or the grocery store (particular if they're on sale --and I wouldn't have to buy a palette worth of the item!). Some things were absolute ripoffs -- electronics and fruit are 2 examples that come to mind.

Costco (and I'm sure the other clubs) rely on people not paying attention to prices. People assume everything's a good deal, so they load up, and overpay. We did the math and determined it wasn't worth the $50 membership (and extra gas to get there) for us.

[LivingAlmostLarge]

Meat, the meat at costco is select instead of choice. It's a higher cut for a lower price than a supermarket. The taste is different as well. So I would have to say meat quality.

Second, tires, tvs, clothes. They have excellent warranty on Tires, TV. Also their prices are very competetive.

Third, eye exams or contacts. Their prices are very good, easily as good as online if not better with coupons.

Fourth, cheeses. Cheeses are cheaper than at speciality stores and at a supermarket they are not as good quality for a lot more money. Like selling 24 month aged parmesean versus the 12 months in the store for more per pound.

Fifth, they have cheap movie tickets, mccormick and schmicks, etc. You get a discount on restaurant gift certificates, etc.

Sixth, they have cheap quality items in bulk. I know anti-freeze is cheaper than anywhere else. Also we've bought a queen inflatable mattress that is great for $129.

Also the return policy is excellent. And the best deal if you have it is the gas. The gas is usually 10-15 cents cheaper. When we used to pay $400/month we were saving a ton, I was driving 8-10 tanks a month. I guesstimate we saved $10/month on gas because we were driving so much. That paid for the membership.

I rarely shop at the supermarket. It has to be an awesome deal to beat costco.

[markusk]

I have to agree with others on the forum:

Gas is cheaper than anyone around. No driving around to get the cheapest price.

Meats and fish are very good.

I like the the price of the 2.5 lbs of coffee beans

Kirkland is Costco's generic brand. It is considered "best" of the generics, and in fact is now considered a "name brand."

Wife just bought a nice speedo bathing suit for a good price ($20).

The only limitation is that you either have to pay cash or use AMEX. If you get the Costco AMEX, you get 1% cash back. This year we got back $80There was a promotion last year: If you are self employed (if you are a physician with own private practice, you qualify), you can get the small business card version of Costco AMEX where you get 5% cash back on gas in addition to the 1% for the other stuff.

If you are in the market for a flat screen tv in the near future, the membership alone is worth their excellent return policy ("no questions asked")

I had a BJ's and a Costco membership while living in the Philly area and this is going to sound strange, but the "atmosphere" at Costco was more "vibrant/alive" and more fun to shop. The BJ's was dusty and kind of empty of people, but the BJ's always had only 1-2 cashiers and the lines were always LONG. I once asked why the cashiers were so slow to one of the customers near me. He said it was because their turn-over was very high due to BJ's low wages and so most of the cashiers were almost always new ALL THE TIME so they were slow.

Costco knows how to make their stores more inviting -- so you spend more money there

[Joan.of.the.Arch]

I've heard really good things about their Tempurpedic knock-off memory foam mattress. One of these days I'm going to buy one. It is less than half the price of competitors.

The item I care about most at Costco is their 3# bag of frozen Wyman's wild blueberries. I think last time the price was $6.99. Before so many media stat doctors started recommending blueberries, Costco practically gave them away.

We buy various dairy items there. Milk, cheese, butter, eggs, cream. But not always. Sometimes they are the best buy, sometimes not. Sometimes they have a cheese that I've never seen and I just want to try it.

Fresh asparagus is usually way cheaper there than anywhere else, but you have to be willing to buy a lot of it. A lot of asparagus is grown in my area, and I prefer that, but Costco fills the seasonal gap by importing from other parts of the world, of course.

In autumn, I buy large bags of pecans there. Consistently they have been good quality.

We used to buy a lot of our wine there, but have since found a better, closer choice.

Oddly enough, two years ago, Costco had some plants I had been scouring the local nurseries and garden centers looking for to no avail.

They do sell a huge amount of stuff we're just not interested in. I always feel anxious to LEAVE when I'm in there. Don't know why, but the place just saps my energy.

I'm sure you can get a guest pass to visit.

Oh, judging from what I see in other people's baskets, they must be the #1 seller of bottled water in this area. I see it going out by the caseload. Does that mean their price is good?

Despite having some good bargains, I'm not sure we will renew our membership next year. We let it lapse for three months last time, and now as gasoline prices go up, it becomes less worth the trip....

[Ariadne]

I find Costco is good if you're planning a get-together at home, and need to stock up on fruit, veggie and cheese platters.

My gf and I split the membership even though we don't live together. I think the $50 annual fee isn't worth it when you factor in driving there and the time you spend wandering around the store.

My FH loves Costco because he thinks EVERYTHING is a deal. The days we go, I take a list, stick to it, and just in case, I limit the amount in the bank account. If he wants to buy something that is beyond what is in the joint account, he needs to pay for it out of pocket on his own.

[disneysteve]

Thanks for all of the replies so far. You're doing a good job of talking me out of it, which is pretty much what I expected. I doubt it would be worth the membership fee.

[poundwise]

I don't have any experience with Costco, however, we had a SAM'S Club membership once and a trial membership with BJ'S Club before as well. Though there are some advantages, we found that we fared better apart from the membership shopping clubs. I have no interest in any of them any longer. I don't think I would use them even if I had a free membership; I certainly wouldn't pay $50 a year to shop there.

[FrugalFish]

I'll help too

I haven't had a costco membership in years. Seems like they have a lot of convenience foods, and when it comes to non-convenience foods where the price is great, the quantity is often hard to get through if you're only a family of 2 or 3.

Gas is generally a little cheaper there. My BIL sat in line for an hour last weekend to fill up his tank and save about 10 cents/gallon. My DH refuses to buy gas there, since they buy from whoever can provide it cheapest and quality sometimes lacks. Probably doesn't matter as much for today's newer cars, but for us with our old cars it can cause problems.

My online frugal friends like costco for buying milk at a discount. This is a non-issue here in CA where the state dairy board regulates the minimum price for milk. Milk is actually the same price or a little cheaper at a few of our local grocery stores than it is at costco.

When I first went back to costco a few years back, it was to get a great deal on tires. Actually, the initial deal on the tires was rather good, but one had a defect and costco told me to go fly a kite when we took it back. Turns out that the tires through costco [at that time anyway] were not really much of a deal because they had no warranty whatsoever- not even against manufacturer's defects.

If your looking for electronics- better deals and names can be found online.

My inlaws have a costco membership. About the only thing they ever buy there is vegetables. I doubt they are saving more than their membership fee.

Not to mention that the place is always like a madhouse.

Hmmm, I guess I like costco even less than I thought!

[scfr]

Best deals on many things but certainly not everything. Not sure if I'll be able to explain this clearly, but I find they have the best deals on non-durables, things that have to be replaced or replenished regularly (not so on durables such as clothes electric things ... those can be had much cheaper at garage sales, Goodwill, clearance rack, etc). Good deals on:

Auto: Tires, Battery, Gasoline (in WA they had the best prices, in TX they don't)

Eyeglasses (got my first Costco pair a couple years ago ... best eye exam & prescription I ever had, and I have always gone to reputable eye doctors, not cheapie places)

Office supplies: Paper, checks, etc. Our store has an inkjet cartridge refilling program.

Toiletries & Cleaning supplies & other house staples (such as trash bags & TP)

Multi-Vitamins (only if you take daily and can use them up before expiration date), OTC medications (we don't buy these at Costco because we don't take enough to justify the large quantities, but if there's something you take regularly might be worth a look), Prescription Meds (again we don't take any, but there's usually a line so I assume prices must be good)

Pet Food (know this doesn't apply to you)

Groceries: As others have mentioned, their store brand is very high quality. They have lots of organic, natural, healthy, quality selections and the prices can be very good. Honestly I can't begin to list all of the groceries we buy there, but some examples are nuts, olive oil, seasonings, milk & yogurt, coffee (the store brand is great), cereal & oatmeal (can't touch the prices anywhere else), frozen veggies & juice.

A word on produce: This area can be hit or miss and it helps to be flexible. I will go in with the idea that I want to buy one fruit and one vegetable, whatever looks best. I can usually find one item in each category that is yummy-looking and fresh at a good price. For example, right now I have transitional apples and organic spring salad mix in my fridge that came from Costco. But I can't go in with a specific item in mind, because I might be disappointed at either the quality or the price.

I'd recommend seeing if you can get a day pass or tag along with a friend, allow yourself plenty of time, go in with an open mind, and focus on the areas where you buy things on a regular basis.

[simpleyme]

I have my Costco card with my business so we do not pay for membership ,well we pay 100 dollar a year but they give me a rebate of a couple hundred dollars, so if you spend a lot of money there they technically do not charge you for membership

If I did not have to shop for work I would not go there
rude unhelpful employees,and they discontinued products out of the blue


we do not have a Bjs or a samsclub

[pearlieq]

We've considered it a few times, but the nearest one is still about 15-20 miles away, and doesn't seem worth the price. If they opened one within 5 miles or so of us, I'd be willing to consider it.

It seems like their products are high quality and a good value. I'm an avid Consumer Reports reader, and I can't help noticing their products are always at or near the top of the list, and they're usually the cheapest.

I would be even more interested if I had a baby, large family, or if I were about to throw a large, self-catered party.

For medications where I have to pay out of pocket, their cost is usually the lowest. However you do NOT have to be a member to use their pharmacy.

Their cakes are delicious and I love their little cafe and the never ending sample buffet. But, of course, that probably not reason to join.

[LivingAlmostLarge]

Milk, totally forgot about milk. For my friends with 2-3 kids they go through gallons of milk a week and there is a huge difference in price. Right now milk is $4/gallon in the store and at costco it's $3.29. It pays for the membership in milk alone.

[disneysteve]

Milk, totally forgot about milk. For my friends with 2-3 kids they go through gallons of milk a week and there is a huge difference in price. Right now milk is $4/gallon in the store and at costco it's $3.29. It pays for the membership in milk alone.

We're lucky here. Wegman's is the cheapest around for milk. Currently, we're paying $3.05/gallon. And we only go through about 1 gallon/week.