Costco...

[keptwoman]

Is opening here in July. We don't have anything like this currently.

Is the membership cost worth it for the savings made?

Is it the kind of place you shop weekly/monthly/occasionally?

 

It's $60 to join so I'm just wondering if it's worth it. It's a 60 min drive to get there so I'd only be going when I need to do a trip for other things too.

[Spetzi]

I shop there quite a bit, but I would say it's not worth the membership cost.

 

Most items are less expensive, but many food items are about the same at getting them on sale at the grocery. Most toiletries & cleaning products are cheaper at Costco, but you often have to buy a large bottle/box/package of it. Diapers and wipes are a lot cheapers (or were a few years ago when I used them.)

 

The photo processing is GREAT and cheap.

 

They offer good prices on appliances, but they don't offer a wide variety. If you don't care what kind of fridge you get, you can save a few hundred dollars. If you want specific features, you might be out of luck. Same goes for electronics, although they have a wider selection.

 

Books and video games are cheaper, but you might be tempted to buy more than you need. ;)

 

There are some good buys on clothing, especially for younger kids, but you may not find what you want and it may not be there the next time you go.

 

You can order items online now--mostly larger ticket items.

 

Their bakery is very good.

 

I like Costco, but I don't get there as often as I'd like and I'm not as far away as you'll be. One drawback for us, I can't get EVERYTHING I want there, so I still have to stop at Target or the supermarket at some point.

 

HTH,

[Valerie in MI]

I don't think it's worth driving an hour to. We went monthly or so when we lived nearby but now that we are an hour away we don't go there. The renewal fee is automatically charged to your credit card even if you haven't been there in months. So watch your bill for that....if you don't think of looking at the emailed bill since you haven't shopped there in a long time that charge may be on there along with late fees ....guess how I know :-/

[Ferdie]

I love Costco for their quality. We go there once a week, mostly for the organic spinach. We eat almost 4 lbs of spinach a week and their price is 1/2 of what the grocery store charges. We easily save $60 a year in the cost of spinach alone. I also buy our dairy and meat there since most of it is hormone and additive free.

 

They also have a great store brand line called Kirkland. Their Kirkland laundry detergent scored really high in consumer reports. We also use their store brand shampoo, conditioner and toilet paper.

 

Additionally, they also have a great return policy on most of the items they sell. My dh bought a Magic Bullet blender that broke after 5 months of use. He took it back and got a full refund - no questions asked.

 

Lastly, I love the cost savings of buying certain items in bulk. We go through a lot of oatmeal, vanilla extract, frozen fruit, frozen OJ and chicken nuggets and it is convenient to have the larger sizes on hand.

Edited May 28, 2009 by Ferdie

[sixpence1978]

I would say it depends on what types of things you would buy.

 

We are currently on a plan where the rebate on the credit card that we use there essentially pays for the membership fee.

 

We go 1-2x a month and use a ton of the coupons they send out, which drives the prices down even more. For example, my dad was in the market for a printer that would have cost him 400 + the cost of the print cartridges. We were able to use a Costco coupon and get him the same thing with 2 cartridges for 340.

 

We do have a freezer in our basement so it makes shopping there a bit easier. We usually stock up on all kinds of meat and cheese, salsa, frozen pizzas, spaghetti sauce, freezer bags, TP, etc...

 

Driving an hour would be a bit of a pain though. Ours is about 20 minutes away, so it makes it worth it. Once yours is constructed though, you can go there and ask for a free pass for the day. You couldn't buy anything with the pass, but it would allow you to check out the prices (and sizes) and help you decide.

[Gretchen in NJ]

Costco has great notebooks! I save a lot of $$$$$ by buying my notebooks from them.

 

Food:

We try to eat as organic and less processed foods as we can. So, Costco is not a great fit for us.

 

Electronics:

Great deals. They stand behind their products.

 

Their return policy use to be two sentences long and absolutely wonderful. They have had to make some changes to it due to customer abuse, but it is still great. Customers were bringing back 2 year old TVs that worked find and exchanging them for the new lower prices.:glare:

 

We recieved a great price on an outdoor table and chair set 6 years ago and it still looks brand new.

[Ginevra]

It's worth it for me. Mine is about a half-hour away and is located central to my other shopping. So, it's not actually convenient, but I can go when I am also planning to go to any of the following: the mall, Kohls, Target, the homeschool store:drool::001_wub::001_tt1:, Sports Authority.

 

Once, I did a cost evaluation on things I often buy and it was definitely worth it. I go about one to two times a month and my membership is only $50.00. (Why is yours more?:confused:) If you are a die-hard local sales shopper, it might not be worth it. I don't get a regular newspaper and I don't want to fiddle around with trying to track down sales, so it is worth it to me. Plus, the price of staples is less, sometimes way less. Milk and cream are a steal. Milk never goes on sale at the regular grocery.

[Chris in VA]

If you like brand name items, you can definitely save $ there. We shop cheaper off brand, so it isn't a savings for us. I will say their quality is very good, their produce is much better than our local grocery (but not the farmer's market), and sometimes they have great bargains on things like children's books, coats, and eye glasses.

I wouldn't shop there regularly, but I do think it could be worth it.

[dcjlkplus3]

Yes - it is definately worth it.

Milk and bread alone would make it worth it.

Their meat and fresh fruit are wonderful.

When we have had to let our membership lapse, I hated it.

I cringed every time I saw how much meat was at Walmart even, and then the $50 (or $100 for executive membership became totally worth it.

We even moved up to the execuitive memebrship so that we get a portion (2% I think) back - it pretty much pays for our membership.

[Alicia64]

With our new economy, I did a pretty decent cost breakdown and found that if you are into bulk cooking and buy giant sizes of flour (25 lbs. is $6.39), sugars, beans, oils etc. etc. etc. then it IS a deal over regular stores.

 

Same with eggs, butter milk.

 

Oh, and I love the giant cans of tomato paste, tomato sauce (giant can is $2.19) and ketchup. Ketchup is a killer deal! I forget but a giant can is in the neighborhood of $3. My son drinks it.

 

But I live ten minutes away from three Costcos so I try to make it about twice a month.

 

Also, the quality of what you buy is very good. Ex: dh won't drink the cheapy frozen OJ from our discount grocery, but loves the frozen OJ from Costco. And it's cheaper.

 

Without doing the math, it's hard to know if the $60 fee plus the hour drive would be worth it for you, but you might do the math to see. You might find out it is.

 

I just could never go back to buying tiny quantities of flour, sugar etc. Seems like a rip off now to me.

 

A lot of times when moms say Costco isn't worth it, they're not actually doing the math. That's what it comes down to. And if you're not into cooking and baking from scratch then, no, it isn't worth it.

 

The "attractive" aisles that are easy to reach are full of convenient food that is beautiful but pricey. The only way Costco really works is if you're willing to troll the "boring" aisles and get giant boring bags and cans of stuff.

 

Alicia

[Amira]

It wasn't worth it for us, and we had a Costco 5 minutes away. Almost anything *I* buy at Costco can be found for the same price or less at stores without a membership fee. And now that my nearest Costco is at least 30 minutes away, I can find everything cheaper and closer, even though I live in a generally expensive city to live in.

 

But I know many, many Costco fans who think it's worth every penny. It just wasn't worth it for us.

[Kay in Cal]

Yes! I buy almost all my milk, eggs, meat and bread at Costco. Meat especially... the savings is quite steep, and the quality is very good. Also asparagus. We eat a lot of asparagus, and the three pound bags at Costco are frequently less than a pound at my supermarket.

 

However... I always get my membership through my job (church). We buy paper, toner, pens, etc for the church office there. Does your dh work someplace with a Costco account? It is cheaper to add additional cards rather than a whole membership.

 

Costco/Trader Joes is our usual bi-weekly shopping trip.

[happygrrl]

It's all about the math. We try to buy organic, and Costco prices are a little less than *half* of my cheapest local grocery. And that includes the fact that I drive TWO HOURS ONE WAY to get there! No, seriously, TWO HOURS. And I am going there today!:)

 

Do a search on Costco, as there are several posts where people have listed the items they buy. I know stores vary from region to region: my mom has different items in TX than we do in OR. We also use the membership that gives cash back. Using the refund, this year our membership cost us only $18. Even with the gas and membership cost calculated in, my budget has been cut significantly by going there.

[KellyinPA]

Our Costco is about 20 minutes away(in the same area as Target, Border's , Michael's) and I go once or twice a month. They send out coupons about once a month so I'll typically use those to try something new or stock up on what we like. My typical purchase there includes: cases of water, juice boxes, individual boxed snacks (great for pool, field trips, vacations) some cleaning supplies,coffee,popcorn. Their veggie and fruit tray prices are much better than my regular grocery store (Giant). They have a nice bakery and the sheet cake prices can't be beat, imho.

 

So, is the cost worth it? Not sure, but I enjoy shopping there. Oh and you can get a hot dog and large soda for $1.50 for lunch:)

[joannqn]

We have a membership but only buy certain items there. I have done the math and have found that most of what we buy is cheaper at the grocery store when bought on sale with a coupon.

 

We buy...

 

dog food

cat food

butter

eggs

diapers

wipes

espresso beans

Hershey's syrup

flour tortillas

Tillamook cheese

pinto beans

gallon sized freezer ziplock baggies

Stretch Tite syran wrap

Aller-clear (generic Claritin)

and a few other occasional things.

 

Everything else we buy is cheaper at Safeway because I stock up when it is on sale with a coupon. However, those items that we do buy make up more than the cost of membership.

 

I can get 2 gallons of milk for $3.96 at Safeway or $4.50 at Costco. Toilet paper is cheaper per unit when on sale with a coupon at Safeway. Meat is great quality but more expensive at Costco. For example, I can get fresh boneless skinless chicken breasts for $1.88lb at Albertsons or $1.99lb at Safeway. The cheapest chicken at Costco is $2.15lb at Costco for the flash frozen stuff in the bags.

[Unicorn.]

It is for us, but it's only a 15-20 min drive. The milk and cheese alone make it worthwhile. The best part was, it was $50 for a membership, and I had to replace a tire on my car. We saved $50 on it by going to costco, so that alone paid for the membership. That said, however, I would not use it at all if I had to drive an hour away.

[BikeBookBread]

Yeast! Red Star active dry yeast by the 2 pound vacuum pack is only about $4! I make my own bread, and at $8 for a silly little jar at the local grocery store, I save a ton... (forget the little 3 packs of envelopes...I don't even want to go there!)

 

We also get their wonderful organic fresh and frozen produce, Quaker Oats, jars of pesto, organic peanut butter (no added oil -- just nuts and salt), parmigiana reggiano cheese...

 

I'll be hitting them up for some school supplies here soon, too.

[st_claire]

I love Costco. You will save more money if you buy things only on sale, but I like going because I know they beat regular prices and they always have top quality.

 

The membership is free is you get the executive one and spend enough. So it's win-win. I shop there at least once a week.

[SonshineLearner]

I love to buy their boxes of Annie's Mac and Cheese:-) I also like things like seltzer or "more natural" soda. Veggies and such are good if you can get what you need. Electronics and such are usually decent. Snacks are usually less. (I like their fruit leather, no sugar) I always pick up pot stickers...(lots less expensive) If I'm buying lasagna, it's less...and really good. If you are into once a month shopping, it'll probably work out for you. (You only need to save $4 a month) My mom and I take turns calling each other when we go there. Also, here...they have fun food to eat for lunch...really inexpensive...AND, they give great samples...It's like sample city at lunch! OH, and their cheesecake is really good...and a great price...as well as their bakery...if you buy that stuff...

Carrie:-)

[bettyandbob]

the membership is worth it to me, but not for an hour drive.

 

One problem with Costco is that there is a temptation to spend waaaaaay more than you planned or should simply because you keep seeing things that are a "good deal". I think we wasted a lot of money the first couple of years of membership for this reason. Now, I rarely go off my shopping list. I really like that the location I go to now has gas too. Besides groceries and gas I get prescription medicine and prescription glasses there. Again, I would not drive an hour. However, I live in a large metropolitan area and don't drive long distance for anything (except a good medical specialist for my kids).

[Jenny in Atl]

For us... YES! Dh owns his own business, and Costco has been great for both the supplies he needs (cheaper than the other big box office places) and the food/household stuff for the family. I agree, not all things there are a great deal, but enough are if you know what to look for, like the Kirkland brands.

[Alice]

I think you really have to be someone who knows prices. I have found some things to be much much cheaper, some to be about the same as on sale at the regular grocery store and some to be no cheaper or more expensive.

So, you can't assume that it's all a better price.

 

Also, you have to be good about resisting impulse buys. All the ones I've been to are arranged so that all the impulse buys are in the front and you have to walk by clothes, toys, books, electronics, etc to get to the food. I'm good at ignoring all the other stuff but I've definitely been sucked into the "Oh, look what a great price on brownie mix or cashews or dried fruit or whatever..." and then ended up with a lot of something I didn't really want or need.

 

My work gives us a membership as a perk, so we use it. Even so, we rarely go. Mainly for us it's for the diapers. They are 1/2 price from anywhere else so that alone makes it worth the trip. We typically also stock up on certain things when we are there (oatmeal, peanut butter, certain drinks, etc.) Ours does offer organic produce, milk and eggs. But our family is small so it's not always a bargain to buy those things in bulk. I do get meat there when I go and then use our freezer. I'd say for us we go maybe every other month and stock up on a few things, but don't use it for regular shopping. We would easily save the membership cost in diapers.

[Tap]

I haven't read all the responses since I need to run, so pardon if this is a repeat of someone else.

 

Our Costco once told me that they will prorate a membership if you try it and don't like it. So you may be able to buy a membership, try it for a couple of months and then if you don't feel it is for you, you may be able to get a partial refund. You can probably call and ask.

 

Costco is the closest store to my house, so I am there a few times a week. I find that I save on most items, but there are a few that I don't. The price of gas alone more than covers my membership so I feel it is very worth it for us.

 

We used to live an hour away from one, and still felt we got enough benefit from having it to justify it. But we lived in a small town with no discount grocers to compare it to at the time just Safeways, and Fred Meyers.

[Deidre in GA]

i love Costco but i'm not sure i'd join if it meant a 2 hour round trip. you can save a lot on eyeglasses and contacts. tires are a good deal if you need them with lifetime rotation. i save on gasoline and - until Aldi seriously undercut them a few months ago - milk. the return policy is absolutely awesome and my membership is covered by the American Express card deal. Costco is 15 minutes away and worth it for me - but not if i had to drive as far as you would.

[KrissiK]

It's worth it for us, and it's a 45 minute drive. I get milk for 1/2 of what it is in our local supermarket, refried beans are less than $1/can, in our supermarket they are $1.25. Yes, I have to buy in bulk, but canned stuff lasts. When I was buying diapers, the quality of the Kirkland diapers and wipes was better than Target's store brand. I get cheese there much less than the grocery store. I love their individually frozen chicken breasts. I haven't comparison shopped those, but they're much better tasting than the "fresh" chicken at the supermarket. Their meat is high quality and we have a deep freeze. We've also bought appliances there - my kitchenaid is from there, our kids' play structure is from there. We do have a card that gives us cash back, too, so that helps with the membership fee. Plus, when you go there with kids, it's great when they have all the food samples out!:)

[Greta]

We love our Costco membership. It works out well for us because it's right on dh's way home from work. So I send a list, and he does the shopping -- which is great because when I go I'm always tempted to buy more than we need! :D

 

They do have *some* organic foods, which is nice for us because it is things we eat in big quantities: eggs, butter, peanut butter, things like that. And the organic foods that they do have are much cheaper than we can buy them elsewhere.

 

They have really yummy prepared foods there too. That's something we usually only buy when we're having people over. (I like to cook for my family, but when doing it for others, I always seem to get nervous and mess something up! But we can buy prepared stuff at Costco and no one seems to notice that it isn't homemade because it tastes so good.)

 

We also buy basic household goods like paper towels, laundry detergent, dishwashing soap, etc. there.

 

This is something that we don't do often any more, but we used to buy DVDs there a lot. They have good prices on them, especially if you don't mind waiting a little while after it's first released.

 

They have really nice furniture there, usually only in Jan/Feb, which I always wish we could buy but never do. Good prices on appliances too.

 

Oh, and fantastic prices on OTC medications. I'm on allergy medicines almost year-round, and that's by far the best place to get them.

[Ginevra]

I can get 2 gallons of milk for $3.96 at Safeway or $4.50 at Costco.

 

How in the heck can you get 2 gallons of milk at Safeway (or ANY supermarket) for less than four bucks? I don't think I've ever seen milk at a *sale* price at a supermarket. The only similar thing I've ever seen is buy six gallons at $4.00 a gallon and then you get a gallon free. But you have to collect those proof-of-purchase tags and buy the six gallons within a time-frame. That was totally too involved for me. I went to Costco today and the milk was 2.29/gallon. It's more than that at Martins and that is the big-savings grocery store around here. When the price of milk went up to four bucks a gallon (was that last year? Or two years ago? Anyway...), I wouldn't consider buying milk anywhere but Costco or Martins. I think it was $3.something then.

 

Oh and Hallelujiah! That is the one place you can still get ice cream in the honest-to-goodness half gallon and not the miniscule shrinking 1.5 quart size grocery stores are trying to pass off.

 

There are things for which I am now so used to getting in a large size that the regular sizes seem ridiculously overpriced and short-lived. Like dryer sheets, dishwashing powder, Windex, sticks of butter, bread, chicken breasts and those god-forsaken snacks I wind up having to get for the kids' sports.

 

I love Costco. It was even worth going there today in a thunderstorm! :auto:

[keptwoman]

Thanks everyone. I do cook from scratch and never buy convenience foods and I keep a price book. So it sounds like it might be worth the visit to check out the prices. It would certainly be nice to find organics are cheaper there... that would make me very happy. Particularly if they have organic flour because that is a very ouchy $2/kg at the cheapest price I've found so far.

[BikeBookBread]

Thanks everyone. I do cook from scratch and never buy convenience foods and I keep a price book. So it sounds like it might be worth the visit to check out the prices. It would certainly be nice to find organics are cheaper there... that would make me very happy. Particularly if they have organic flour because that is a very ouchy $2/kg at the cheapest price I've found so far.

 

I've never seen organic flour at mine :( We go through tons of flour which I buy in bulk or buy from our local commercial Wheat Montana distributor...