Bluegoat Posted October 24, 2016 Share Posted October 24, 2016 I've not used Costco often in the past, but am thinking of getting a membership. In the past I haven't because I'm not willing to buy things like meat and veg from them, but we are using enough of other products now to buy bulk amounts. I rarely use Amazon, only if I absolutly can't get something elsewhere. But a big factor for me are fair employment policies - Costco is a really excellent employer in a sector with many poor ones, and Amazon I consider to be pretty dodgy. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TranquilMind Posted October 24, 2016 Author Share Posted October 24, 2016 I've not used Costco often in the past, but am thinking of getting a membership. In the past I haven't because I'm not willing to buy things like meat and veg from them, but we are using enough of other products now to buy bulk amounts. I rarely use Amazon, only if I absolutly can't get something elsewhere. But a big factor for me are fair employment policies - Costco is a really excellent employer in a sector with many poor ones, and Amazon I consider to be pretty dodgy. Yes, that is a big factor for us. Costco treats its employees -and its customers - very well. That's why we have always gone there instead of Sam's. I have a membership to both but I don't think I have set foot in Sam's in 10 years. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lady Marmalade Posted October 24, 2016 Share Posted October 24, 2016 amazon - I can shop when I'm grungy after working in my yard. costco . . . I have to take a shower and put on clean clothes. Seriously? Costco is for when I'm grungy from working in the yard, have to pause to run a kid to the dance studio, and I realize that the day has gotten away from me and I've given no thought to dinner. A quick wash of the hands and my grungy self is happily dashing to Costco to pick up a rotisserie chicken, salad, and garlic bread for dinner. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Arcadia Posted October 24, 2016 Share Posted October 24, 2016 Neither since we don't buy whatever is cheaper at Costco. We rarely buy meat or fish. We have friends with Costco membership so we went in to look a few times and didn't get anything. I have 3 Costco within a three mile radius and 2hr delivery for Amazon Prime. But my local Safeway which is across the street is cheaper than both for groceries and toiletries. I am surrounded by grocery stores within a five miles radius though and competition is stiff. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mellifera33 Posted October 24, 2016 Share Posted October 24, 2016 Amazon is cheaper when your nearest Costco is 441 miles away. My son asked about you yesterday. "How is the lady who has to drive two hours to get to a Walmart?" He is very concerned that you have to live on pretzels and red bulls from the convenience store if you can't get to a grocery store often enough. :laugh: 6 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mellifera33 Posted October 24, 2016 Share Posted October 24, 2016 I bought a Costco membership recently after reading here how awesome it is. I went once. It was a nightmare - the store is huge and because we eat a mostly vegan diet I couldn't buy much of anything. I hadn't realized how few options there were in terms of brands/types of different things. The produce was un-buyable, it was so bad (either rotten or not ripe yet or overpriced, and very little of it organic). So it was just $55, no big deal, but for me Amazon is a much better deal. Hell, a membership to *Walmart* would be a better deal than Cosco. This must vary by area. Our Costco carries a bunch of different grain mixes, many varieties of rice, vegan soups, seedy breads, several kinds of non-dairy milk, and lots of organic produce. We live in the PNW, Costco-land, and our stores are awesome. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted October 24, 2016 Share Posted October 24, 2016 My son asked about you yesterday. "How is the lady who has to drive two hours to get to a Walmart?" He is very concerned that you have to live on pretzels and red bulls from the convenience store if you can't get to a grocery store often enough. :laugh: Haha... let him know that we haven't starved to death yet. LOL Actually, just yesterday we took all our coolers to a grocery store 228 miles away and stocked up. So we're good for a little while! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Girls' Mom Posted October 24, 2016 Share Posted October 24, 2016 tell me more - do you have the amazon cc? (which I've always ignored, but I buy enough stuff there.) eta: otherwise I would just see it as having a cash rewards cc and getting their rebate. I do have the Amazon CC, which I pay off each time I use it. I also have an executive membership at Costco (which basically pays for itself each year), and I use my Chase VISA now, which also offers 5% cash back. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Girls' Mom Posted October 24, 2016 Share Posted October 24, 2016 I bought a Costco membership recently after reading here how awesome it is. I went once. It was a nightmare - the store is huge and because we eat a mostly vegan diet I couldn't buy much of anything. I hadn't realized how few options there were in terms of brands/types of different things. The produce was un-buyable, it was so bad (either rotten or not ripe yet or overpriced, and very little of it organic). So it was just $55, no big deal, but for me Amazon is a much better deal. Hell, a membership to *Walmart* would be a better deal than Cosco. Interesting. Here the produce is usually very good, although you have to be careful price-wise. Some things are better deals than others. They carry a lot more organic items at better prices than many of our local stores. I can get much, much better deals on frozen vegetables and fruit at Costco. Coconut milk, coconut oil, olive/avocado oils, nuts...all SO much cheaper there. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ravin Posted October 24, 2016 Share Posted October 24, 2016 I'd rather they had compared the prices of a bunch of Kirkland stuff that I regularly buy. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gardenmom5 Posted October 24, 2016 Share Posted October 24, 2016 I'd rather they had compared the prices of a bunch of Kirkland stuff that I regularly buy. kirkland is costco's house brand. sometimes they have things on amazon, but for Kirkland items Costco will always be cheaper. it's funny. I grew up in kirkland. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ravin Posted October 24, 2016 Share Posted October 24, 2016 There are quite a lot of Kirkland products on Amazon, actually. Even though it is Costco's house brand: https://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_noss?url=search-alias%3Daps&field-keywords=kirkland Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Spy Car Posted October 24, 2016 Share Posted October 24, 2016 I looked up the price on a JBL Flip3 blutooth speaker (as the kid is getting one for Xmas). $139.99 at Costco. $79 on Amazon. Where I live there are few things I can't purchase for less (especially food items) for less than Costco. And I find that I don't enjoy the experience, the oversized packages, or the long lines. We let our membership expire. Bill Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
katilac Posted October 24, 2016 Share Posted October 24, 2016 Another vote that it's comparing apples and oranges. And that it's rather a short and weird list of things to compare. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MotherGoose Posted October 24, 2016 Share Posted October 24, 2016 I don't have a Costco within a reasonable distance of me, but I vote Amazon. Only difference might be for fresh or frozen stuff which we can't get from Amazon, but which might be Available in large cities via Amazon fresh. And when I did go to Costco there was a larger impulse buy issue for me than Amazon. I've done no price comparisons, but delivery is the deal breaker for me. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TechWife Posted November 2, 2016 Share Posted November 2, 2016 Now I want a Bose Bluetooth speaker, though. I didn't know such a thing existed until I read their article. I just want to follow up on this. I went to Costco at the end of last week. I now have a Bose Soundlink Mini. :lol: It's awesome. While there, I also purchased 9v batteries for our smoke detectors, some Clinque moisturizer and a gallon of milk. On the milk, we usually purchase it in 1/2 gallons. I paid $2.37 for the gallon and thought that was a good price. When I got home I had an email with my grocery store weekend specials - milk was $1.69 per gallon. Oh, well! At least I didn't have to stop at a second store on my way home. Things i will probably go back for: Heavenly Ham gift certificates $100 for $75 and movie gift certificates (I don't remember the prices on those). Maybe bath towels for my mother. I am going to try to remember that I can rent cars through them - I sometimes find myself needing a car for a week at a time. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mimm Posted November 2, 2016 Share Posted November 2, 2016 Boo... Some of don't have a Costco anywhere within realistic driving distance. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
IfIOnly Posted November 3, 2016 Share Posted November 3, 2016 (edited) I can't get quality pork loin (for $1.99 a lb.) at Amazon and make amazing, authentic carnitas like I can at Costco. ;) Amazon has stuff I need and can't get at Costco either. I regularly shop both. Eta: Did you know you can wrap a stack of corn tortillas in a hand towel and steam them in a steamer basket? The best! Corn tortillas are ridiculously cheap at Costco too. Edited November 3, 2016 by ifIonlyhadabrain 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CadenceSophia Posted November 3, 2016 Share Posted November 3, 2016 Amazon Prime takes about 2 weeks to get to me and they won't ship half or more of the regular foods to my address so there is no comparison. Costco is also about 50% of the price of the local grocery store for basic items. We could not eat nearly so many vegetables if I had to pay $2.50/lb for onions and $5/lb for lettuce. The joys of Alaska :) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
StaceyinLA Posted November 3, 2016 Share Posted November 3, 2016 I shop both, but honestly, as much as I like the items at Costco, I am always frustrated with how LONG it takes to check out, and I absolutely avoid it on weekends. I also get frustrated because I find items I love and the next time I shop, they're gone. In addition, our sales tax in Louisiana is 10% - online shopping saves me a pretty good bit. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kewb Posted November 3, 2016 Share Posted November 3, 2016 I use them for different things. I love them both. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
VaKim Posted November 3, 2016 Share Posted November 3, 2016 There is not a Costco within a hundred miles of us. Amazon is definitely cheaper for me. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Spryte Posted November 3, 2016 Share Posted November 3, 2016 (edited) We'd let our Costco membership expire. But due to son's asthma and VOC issues, we use air filters that require specific refills. $$$. The Costco prices on those refills, plus the annual membership are still less than we can find anywhere else. So we save a little bit on the refills, and get our memebership thrown in. I like the rotisserie chickens - it's the only rotisserie chicken that's safe with DS's allergies, so it feels like we're getting away with something when we buy one! Edited November 3, 2016 by Spryte Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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