Costco anyone??

[disneymom15]

So we're getting a Costco in our area. Would live to hear opinions from those who are members. Is it worth the money to join. Please give me the "good and bad"
sides to this company.

[VWL Mom]

I've been a Costco member for years. You have to know your prices going in. I've found dairy, produce, some fish and seafood, and canned goods to be the best savings. I buy those things that are individual and wrapped together as opposed to jumbo size. For ex: a four pack of normal size rather than one 100oz portion. Things like paper products, water, and soda are normally cheaper in the grocery stores or Wal-mart. But my absolute favorite is the fresh cooked rotisserie chickens, yum!

I've also found good pricing with rental cars, eyeglasses, and pharmacy. Their online pharmacy has a pricing guide, I get one of my prescriptions cheaper through them than using insurance.

Usually they offer a one day shopping pass to try it out so you can check it out before committing to a membership.

[CanadianWDWFan]

You have to know your prices going in. I've found dairy, produce, some fish and seafood, and canned goods to be the best savings.

The one piece of advice that I always give with Costco is ,like Lynn says, know your prices going in. I like to browse online as well to check what they have. The online store differs from what the store itself will stock. We have two stores that are pretty close but their offerings do differ, not by a huge amount but subtle things.

We are also Executive members, which costs more than the regular membership, where we get "Costco cash" back that we then apply to our membership fee, we haven't paid membership fees for years now.

[JanetMegan]

I'm probably going to get some backlash from the Costco lovers here but we had a new one open up a little over a year ago and swapped our membership from the local BJs to Costco and we have been disappointed. My issue with Costco is that they never seem to have the brands I enjoy. I'm picky about a couple things (toilet paper, cat food) and we were constantly not finding our favorites. I admit some things were nice (meat etc) but we are actually going to swap back to BJs once our year is up.

[tinkwest]

We've been shopping at Costco for over 35 years. We use Costco for some specific things that we find as a good deal regularly such as coffee, seed for yard birds, pork chops, some produce, multivitamins. We go about once a month to get these items and then check on some others that we have found to have competitive prices on occasion such as bread and juice. I like to go there when I want little packages of items. For instance, individual bags of trail mix & granola bars to throw in a backpack/purse or individual bags of oatmeal & small cans of V8 to have at breakfast time when you are on a trip.

One thing I have found is that you can not expect to find the exact same items every time you visit. The staples remain fairly unchanged, but many times I've wanted to duplicate an item from my last trip and they've switched to another brand or temporarily stopped carrying something. And I agree with Lynn that it is better to buy a "bundle" of items rather than a huge container of something. I would much rather put a box of cereal on the shelf and store two other boxes up high or out of the way until I'm ready to use them rather than try to find a shelf in my kitchen that will accommodate a 64 oz container of Cherrios!

Big ticket items can be a savings. We've purchased quite a few pieces of patio furniture there. But don't just expect these types of things to be cheaper. You need to do your homework.

What I don't like is the mob scene. It is just too crowded for me. But then, I'm generally not a fan of shopping. And if it's a day when they are passing out lots of free samples - watch out. People will abandon carts to get a sample, causing a road block! My husband loves Costco (and shopping in general) so I usually let him go alone although that can be costly. Last week he went for bird seed and coffee. $120 later he was home, without the coffee.

[BrerGnat]

I can't imagine life without Costco. We get so many things there that we can ONLY get there. They have great prices on cleaning supplies, vitamins, OTC meds, toiletries and pantry goods. Their produce is so fresh. Dairy is a steal. We have a family of 4 and we buy about half our food there. For the level of quality, I find Costco price to be fantastic. Also love their guarantee. I have bought several electronics and appliances there. Saved a ton.

[Fangorn]

I have to agree with Natalie. I can't imagine not having a Costco. We've been members for well over 30 years.

The cons:

• It can be extraordinarily crowded at times. Going at opening, or at dinner time is generally a good thing. Saturday's at noon is a bit like 3 minutes after Wishes during the Christmas season.
• Costco does not carry everything you may want, and even if they do carry the product, it may not be the brand you like.
• Food items can indeed be "seasonal". For instance, in the Fall, our store carries some phenomenal soups (at seriously great prices); they always disappear in March.
• As mentioned, not everything is cheaper at Costco. Cereal is one of those things that can usually be found cheaper at the grocery store down the street.
• non food items constantly change. If you see something you might want, get it. it probably won't be there next week.

Pros:

• Meat, produce, diary are always fresh and have the best prices around.
• The bakery and deli are really, really good.
• In our area, the pharmacy is nearly always the cheapest.
• They've pretty much stopped selling food items in super duper ginormous containers. It's pretty much bundles with multiple jars/bottles/packages now. Although if you want flour or sugar, you may only find it in 25lb bags.
• Prices on electronics are excellent (but selection isn't very broad).
• The return policy is fantastic. Take it back, get your money, no questions asked.
• Not all Costco location sell gas, but here in Portland, Costco always has the best gas price in town.

Like a previous poster, we're executive members, which gives us a 2% rebate on everything (including gas). Because of that, we haven't actually paid for our membership in like 15 years.

It may take some time to figure out the store, and what makes sense for your family there. But overall, Costco is a pretty good deal.

Steve

[AZ Disney]

We are costco fans!!!! Absolutely love it.

Meat, wine and more wine, some produce, never bananas, frozen foods, yogurt, clothing, gas, home decorating, you name it and they have it. Clothing is great especially for men. At one time, if you liked an item you had better buy it right away because the follwoing week they may no longer have it or carry it. That was frustrating. That has changed a lot, but depending on the season it still happens. We purchase many "kirkland" products and in my opppinion the quality cannont be surpassed. There is even a show on the rigor that costco puts products through before putting the Kirland label on them. Gas is always the cheapest in the area and we even have a car wash. With that said, we do enjoy shopping at Sam's club on occasion. They have very different stuff, so we go with our friends about once per month to change it up.

[brownie]

We like going to Costco, but for specific things. You do need to do your homework to know if you're saving money. If you see something you want, get it. They may not have it the next time you're there.

You can't beat the hot dog & pop combo at the Costco "food court"; add a churro and you have an OK meal for $2.50.

[princessgirls]

I'm a big fan. I go weekly to supplement my grocery store stuff.

The bottled water and milk alone. The produce, meats, bakery, detergent....

I recycle, and maybe I'm in the minority.... but I can't stand all the reusable water bottles that I have to hand wash and run out of room to store. I can't do it anymore.

I feel like the old women in the shoe....SHE HAD SO MANY REUSABLE WATERBOTTLES SHE DIDN'T KNOW WHAT TO DO.
so she said NO MORE!!! And just brought a big bag of them to recycling.
Costco for me!!!!
Julie