Costco?

strickland8052 · August 2015

What are your thoughts on Costco? Is it worth it?

We have one near my office, but it is far away from my house. I was thinking of maybe getting a membership and planning a monthly trip after work on a designated day every month. If it were near my house, I'd sign up in a heartbeat, but I'm not sure it is worth it when I'd probably only go once a month and would have the burden of going on a weekday. I currently shop at Kroger, and I'm pretty happy with the prices, but I'm interested in Kroger for things like wine, paper towels, toilet paper, etc. Plus I hear the cake and cooked meals are pretty good too!

bridejl · August 2015

My aunt and I just talked about this a few days ago. She said she looked into Costco vs. Sam's, and said the Costco membership is considerably larger than Sam's so she wouldn't switch.

I'd price out what you would save there vs. the membership fee to see if it would be worth it.

hoffse · August 2015

Costco is like a shopping a miracle - just saying

But seriously, if you buy the right things there the membership pays for itself very quickly.

H takes a Costco-brand zyrtec for allergies every morning. They sell a year's supply for $12 when it goes on sale (sales on that happen about 4x/year). That by itself pays for our annual membership. Everything after that is bonus. Other things we buy there:

-Frozen chicken breasts - large and individually vacuum-sealed so they stay good for ages

-Olives

-Olive oil

-Artichoke hearts

-Fresh spinach - $4.50 for a pound I think? It's huge.

-Feta

-Mozzarella

-Avocados when they are in season

-Pears or apples when they are in season

-Bread - pretty much half price compared to most grocery stores

-Bagels that we freeze - same deal as the bread and they sell Einstein brand

-Eggo waffles

-Turkey sausage

-Milk

-1/2 & 1/2

-Coffee

-Bottled water

-La croix bubble water

-Gatorade

-Beer

-Paper products

-Cleaning products - dish detergent, laundry detergent, etc.

-Costco kitchen trash bags are the best deal around and they go on sale every year on black Friday

-OTC meds

And then some random things we've bought from there include televisions, our mattress, laptops, etc. Their men's oxford shirts are excellent and frankly rival Brooks Brothers for quality (H has both). H has hunting/fishing shirts from there that are very high quality. I buy yoga pants from there when I can find them. We also buy H's underwear and socks from there now. They have excellent deals on small appliances and landscaping/gardening stuff when it's in season.

And for some reason, GREAT deals on wrapping paper, bows, cards, etc. a couple times a year, including right before the holidays.

They also have some excellent pre-packaged meals - for instance, H and I have been buying their cilantro lime flank steaks recently to grill up. They are delicious. They also have a chicken alfredo pasta that's incredibly tasty and goes on sale now and then. We usually keep one of those in our freezer in case we have last-minute guests.

I really need to get a vacuum sealer because they sell bulk meat in good cuts for GREAT prices. But we don't have one yet so we can't really take advantage.

hoffse · August 2015

I will say that Costco and Sams sell very different things.

My parents have memberships to both, and we share their Sams membership. We rarely go to Sams even though it's right down the street. We prefer the offerings at Costco much more.

short+sassy · August 2015

hoffse said:

They also have some excellent pre-packaged meals - for instance, H and I have been buying their cilantro lime flank steaks recently to grill up. They are delicious. They also have a chicken alfredo pasta that's incredibly tasty and goes on sale now and then. We usually keep one of those in our freezer in case we have last-minute guests.

I really need to get a vacuum sealer because they sell bulk meat in good cuts for GREAT prices. But we don't have one yet so we can't really take advantage.

I literally had this from Costco for dinner last night, lol! It is really good. Now I need to go find that cilantro flank steak @hoffse speaks of. The rest of my long post describes my favorite Costco purchases with prices.

I had a Sam's Club membership for years...and then they opened a Costco MUCH closer to my house about two years ago. At least in my area, I prefer Sam's because they are much bigger stores and so they have more stuff...but not enough to switch back.

I bought my husband an enormous chocolate cake for his birthday at Costco. It was only $15 and was delicious. My H had a slice twice as big as normal for 3-4 nights in a row and we still gave half the cake away to neighbors.

We also often buy their pizzas in the deli section (not the hot foods). It's huge (barely fits in our oven) is only $9 and is covered in pepperonis where you can't even see any space. Now we're spoiled and almost refuse to order pizza from anywhere else. Why would I want to spend $20 on a Dominoe's delivery when I can swing by Costco and get a way bigger and tastier pizza for $9?

They have good deals on wine and alcohol, but I wouldn't call them great. Then again, my state mandates profit margins for alcohol (ie artificially raises prices), so it is possible there are better deals in other states.

I also buy toilet paper and paper towels there. I usually buy the 24 count Bounty Select-A-Size for about $18, but they sometimes have it on sale for $14-$15. I don't remember toilet paper prices off hand, but it is a similarly good deal.

Another thought, if it is pretty close to your work, Costco can also be a great "grab n go" place for lunch. In their deli area, they have things like entrée sized salads or sandwiches with a small salad in the $5-$6. They also have big pepperoni calzones packaged as two that (I think) are $8. And I'm telling you, HALF of one of those calzones is a full meal.

Darn it! I just did a big shopping trip there last night but didn't get any calzones. Now I want one, lol.

als1982 · August 2015

We have a membership through my mom (members can add a second family member for free). We like it, but don't go very often. I think if you're a smart shopper you can get the same or better deals elsewhere. Plus the place is a crazy madhouse here! It's always so packed and then the check out line takes at least 15 minutes. If we didn't get the annual membership for free it isn't something we would pay for.

bparkhur · August 2015

My MIL gave me a Costco membership for my birthday, and it's great so long as you know what's actually a deal. The best thing I've come across is the price on string cheese. Between me and the kids, we probably eat five cheese sticks a day. You can get a pack of 48 for only $9.xx at Cosco! That's a pretty awesome price considering I was spending $8 for 24 at Publix.

I also like Costco for bottled water (40 bottles for 3.50), although I'm trying to limit bottle water these days.

You can find very decent prices on organic chicken, TP, Lysol Wipes, Kind Bars, etc.

vlagrl29 · August 2015

We love costco. We would buy our meat in bulk from costco before we bought part of a cow earlier this year. It's great.

hoffse · August 2015

Oh yeah their pizzas are delicious. Also, love their rotisserie chickens for $4.50! Somehow the Costco chickens are better than the Publix chickens.

They also take all the rotisserie chickens that didn't sell the previous day and make a great chicken salad from them. It's a VERY good chicken salad, and it's nice to know they don't just throw them out.

To be fair, one thing we don't buy there very often is cereal, unless it's a sale item. We can usually do better with couponing.

We also don't buy many toiletries there because again - couponing.

But if you're willing to do kirkland brand (their in-house brand) for food items, odds are you'll be saving money in the long run most of the time. I don't coupon as much as I should, but when you are literally getting twice as much mozzarella at Costco as at Publix/Kroger for exactly the same price.... I'll just buy it at costco instead of holding out for a coupon at some other store.

They also have some specialty foods that I don't really see anywhere else. We love their mango jam and sweet onion salad dressing, for instance (sounds weird, but it's great).

They also do seasonal food. Around Thanksgiving they have these enormous pumpkin pies. They taste great and cost less than the ingredients would cost to make them.

Also, we have their executive membership and get 2% back on all of our purchases. We spend enough there that we typically get rewards that cover the entire cost of the executive membership each year.

Finally - Costco is a company I can get behind. They treat their employees well, they close their doors on holidays, they provide full benefits, promote from within, etc. I don't feel like I'm crushing my soul just to get a bargain like I do at Walmart. I still shop at Walmart on occasion, but it's painful. I know I'm a huge Costco cheerleader, but I really do appreciate the fact that they provide their members with good quality products and good bargains, they treat their employees well, and they still manage to turn a nice profit for their shareholders. It's like... exactly the model that I wish all of corporate America would follow.

hoffse · August 2015

Sorry, the alcohol comment made me remember a fun story from this weekend - we found Kirkland brand Cotes du Rhone wine at Costco for $7! It was honest-to-goodness tier 2 wine exactly like the kind we had during our tasting in France. Properly labelled and regulated by the French government and everything.

We bought it, drank it, and agreed we had tasted something almost identical over there.

H then called his dad to tell him about it because Cotes du Rhone is FIL's absolute favorite. He usually spends around $20/bottle. FIL went to Costco and bought an entire case.

JoanE2012 · August 2015

LOVE Costco! We get so much from there. We've even used them for travel several times, got our tires there and will probably get our garage doors there.

Just pay attention to the prices. For example, the Costco brand (Kirkland) paper towels are cheaper per unit than the Bounty even when on sale. Sale does not always mean a good deal (unless you are very brand loyal).

vlagrl29 · August 2015

and I recently bought DD's halloween costume from costco for $20, a frozen elsa hoodie for the fall for $10 and a 2 piece outfit for $15 - BAM! They also have really good egg rolls and spring rolls.

ETA - I have a good friend that used their kirkland diapers for her babies - I prefer pampers swaddlers myself

strickland8052 · August 2015

Wow! So many good stories about Costco!

You guys have convinced me! I'm buying a membership!

MommyLiberty5013 · August 2015

Another Costco person, here! We love it. It makes soooo much sense for us on our dried goods and paper products.

strickland8052 · August 2015

We got our membership, and I'm so pleased! Here are some of my top deals:

20 skinny cow ice cream sandwiches for $5
A 24 pack of Blue Moon seasonal variety pack for $20
24 bottles of water for $3

Considering I eat a skinny cow ice cream nearly every night, I think this deal alone could probably pay for my membership.

als1982 · August 2015

strickland8052 said:
We got our membership, and I'm so pleased! Here are some of my top deals:
20 skinny cow ice cream sandwiches for $5
A 24 pack of Blue Moon seasonal variety pack for $20
24 bottles of water for $3
Considering I eat a skinny cow ice cream nearly every night, I think this deal alone could probably pay for my membership.

Jealous. If our Costcos sold beer and wine I might change my opinion on the value of their membership!!

hoffse · August 2015

strickland8052 said:

We got our membership, and I'm so pleased! Here are some of my top deals:
20 skinny cow ice cream sandwiches for $5
A 24 pack of Blue Moon seasonal variety pack for $20
24 bottles of water for $3
Considering I eat a skinny cow ice cream nearly every night, I think this deal alone could probably pay for my membership.

***************************
Ha I almost bought those skinny cows myself this weekend. IIRC they go on sale every 3-4 months maybe? H and I stock up on sale items we eat a lot to try to carry us through the non-sale months.

Costco?

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