Costco: Convince me to join

[migirl]

A brand-new Costco just opened in our city, and we went and checked it out yesterday. I thought the prices seemed ... okay, but a lot of the stuff we'd buy is the same or cheaper at my regular grocery store if I just wait for a sale.

The clothes, electronics, etc. seemed ... okay. I wasn't blown away by anything I saw.

But, I feel like people LOVE Costco (I know people who - before this store opened - would drive 40 miles out of their way to the nearest one) and maybe I was just missing something.

So, what do you love about Costco? What's good? What type of extra member services do you use, and how do you like them?

[Thirteen]

The produce in bulk.
The amazing discount when we bought our cars.
Cheap lamb and seafood.
Buying stamps and movie tickets cheaper.



Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[SoonerTexan]

I still bum off my mom's card

They do have awesome furniture, though

[poky]

It's a slightly different mindset. I love costco for many reasons, but here are some:

- side benefits of membership, like the car buying service among MANY others
- EXCELLENT customer service; those electronics you weren't impressed by typically have a 90-day no-questions-asked return policy, and are all backed by their "concierge service" (call a number and get a native english speaker who will walk you through troubleshooting and help you figure out if you need service, and help you get it if you do) and usually includes an automatically-extended warranty and an option to buy a cheap extension to that warranty as well. Don't like anything you got there? Bring it back, and with *some* exceptions (like electronics), return it for a refund. This is why I bought my dad's laptop there. When he has problems with it, and calls me, if I don't know what the problem is, or don't have time to help him, I can point him at the concierge service, and they'll help him out.
- less packaging overall on a lot of products, since you're buying in bulk, and no grocery bags, since you have the choice of nothing or reusing their case-boxes that they would otherwise throw away anyway.
- don't have to wait for sales to get those lower prices.
- I've heard they treat their employees really well. This seems to be borne out by the fact that we've seen the same handful of cashiers there every time we've gone in for the past 5 years.
- they're based right near my home town; I like to support that.

That said, there are some downsides:
- DO NOT go there before major holidays. You couldn't pay me to set foot in one today or tomorrow, for instance (except maybe RIGHT at opening); everyone and their dog will be stocking up for their 4th of july bbqs. Same with memorial day, superbowl sunday, etc.
- If you fall in love with a particular product, kinda like Trader Joe's, it's always a crapshoot whether they'll still have it there the next time you go. There are things they ALWAYS have, but they change stuff up regularly.
- It's tougher if you don't have storage space for things like cases of TP or paper towels or kleenex, or 5lb bags of frozen chicken breasts. One of the first things we bought way back when we first got a membership was a chest freezer so we'd have room for the frozen stuff we buy there.

[GreyhoundsRUs]

Bakery, their "heat-and-eat" foods, vacation deals

[spotty_dog]

Eh. The last time we had a membership was in 2003. We barely used it, and let it lapse. Now our nearest one is 40 miles away, so for about 3.5 gallons of gas per trip plus $55 per year, we'd have to be talking about a lot of savings.

We used it a lot in college though. One of our roommates had a card through his family, and we'd buy tons of frozen chicken breasts and potstickers and taquitos, plus Coke and beer and toilet paper by the case. Oh, and you've gotta love all the free samples while you shop!

[fluffhead]

Many items are cheaper on sale at the supermarket. But their fruit is very high quality and usually cheaper than the supermarket, and we tend to buy their juice boxes, choco milk and chips-like snacks for the kids' lunches. Their milk is much cheaper, and TP and tissues if you can store them are also cheaper.
The Kirkland beer is actually Saranac, and is really tasty. I've heard that the kirkland single malt scotch is also good, but that's where I draw the line.
I've also bought cameras there for gifts, and things like dehumidifiers and air conditioners online.
They frequently have other great stuff in the tools dept - like branch trimmers and things. It's a dangerous place to go if you have unlimited storage space.
Don't go around lunch time - there are people who troll for free samples, blindly crossing busy aisles with their enormous carts and stopping short for a free bite of cheesecake.
I do the higher membership level and get 1% back, which makes sense if you buy alot - their amex card works out really well, but we haven't gotten our act together enough to do that.
Oh - and gas is cheap too.

[TulipsAndSunscreen]

Bulk fruits and veggies
Tilamook cheese
Large hummus (we go through that stuff like water)
Sales on pita chips/sweet potato chips
Quinoa/dry goods in larger quantities
Their greek yogurt prices are competitive

And I will agree with poky about their electronics. We bought a digital camera, used it at an event and HATED it (we had taken it out of the box that night) and returned it the next day, no questions asked.

[Michele]

I go once a month and stock up on Mickey Mouse chicken nuggets, Kraft string cheese and maple syrup. The string cheese is half the price of my local grocery store and we go through at least 5 sticks a day.

I also get chicken breasts and boneless skinless chicken thighs for the freezer. Morningstar "sausage" patties are much cheaper there than at my local grocery store.

I also like the random finds. I got the kids towel-robes for after the pool/beach. I found 5-pks of LearnToRead books cheaper than the stores. Hannah Anderson clothes.

And the compact fluorescent lightbulb prices are WAY cheaper than anywhere else.

I like that I don't have to remember the coupons-they are applied automatically.

Downsides are that products aren't consistent. And I hear their pharmacy is part of the "black market" for heartworm prevention. Elanco doesn't sell Trifexis to them, but they still seem to be able to carry it. But that's more of a personal "beef" related to the online pharmacies and everyone trying to get a piece of the veterinary drug market.

[GreyhoundsRUs]

The $110 membership gives 2% cash back on all your purchases. If you get less than $55 back (the difference between the two memberships), then they refund you the difference (so if you only get a total of $20 back, they will give you $35).

[SuzySunshine]

I also do a lot of the freezer stuff Michele mentioned, although I now need to get a deep freeze again. I also get diapers and wipes. I also use this blog, http://forum.savvyshopperdeals.com/t...pon-Best-Deals which I'm pretty sure someone on here pointed me to.

We have not done electronics but DH has been keeping an eye on their TVs as he is in the market for another one. I also look at their big kid toys but always double check prices because sometimes they're a deal and sometimes they aren't.

We haven't used their travel but we have a friend that has used their Hawaii deals A TON!

[bokelley]

Car rental deals were fantastic. Also some of the kitchen stuff are great deals.

[v-girl]

Beer
Wine
Pans
Foster Farms chicken nuggets
Cereal
Giant boxes of tampons - ha ha!
Toothbrushes
Toothpaste
Kirklands laundry detergent
Kirklands cleaning wipes
Vitamin Water

[Sheherezade]

H

[ms.conception]

we have a large family and buy things there that are definitely cheaper and more convinient to buy in bulk. Toilet paper, paper towels, cleaning supplies, dog food (when we had a dog), socks and underpants, garden stuff, meat (their meat is excellent as is their produce), cheese, milk and cereal are all generally cheaper for us. They also have a lot of organic stuff, great dried fruit, baking goods and specials when they have them, are really great. We buy big packs of applesauce, big packs of granola bars and other lunch box things, juice boxes etc.. in bulk.

We have an executive membership which means we pay more, but at the end of the year we get cash back and it always pays for our entire membership.

We also buy our tires through them, and have had some services done.