Other National Chain Store ~ Question: Costco ~ Is it worth it?

[busyasabeecrg]

Lucky me!! My son pays for our membership as a gift. We bought our TV there and got a good deal. Always buy gas there, but buy groceries sporadically...only items cheaper than grocery store or items for which there are no coupons.

:frown:
Now that none of our grocery stores double $1 coupons, I plan to buy a lot more there, and happy to learn from the manager that they are going to stock a lot more organic products. He said I will be surprised how many!!
That is the best news he could give me!!

[thriftycj]

I'm lucky enough to have a costco a block from my apartment. I have found it to be a good investment, for the following things alone:

1. Optical. I get my contacts there through my insurance. Also purchased glasses that are a great deal....very low price and very good quality.

2. As others have mentioned, milk. At least a dollar cheaper than the grocery store, though our Aldi here now is more competitive.

3. Organic Spinach. A large 1 lb. tub is less than $4.00. I eat a LOT of spinach and save a ton of money on this.

4. Allergy medicine. A 300 ct. bottle of generic claritin costs 11.00. While I can get Alavert for free during CVS deals, this insures I have some year round...plus I tend to use my deals to get the Alavert-D for when I need the decongestant.

Gas isn't really any cheaper for me, so I generally don't get gas there. The savings on just the milk and allergy meds more than pays for the membership. I'm definitely saving money shopping there. PP are correct too about the great quality of the produce (and, I might add, meat) and the pizza is yummy.... as are the other crazy cheap snack bar items.

Plus, I save money on many a saturday having a snacky lunch of samples as opposed to eating out or cooking at home.

Lastly, so many items are cyclical. I have an apartment, and while soda is super cheap now, I don't have the space to store enough to get me through the winter months when it isn't so cheap. Costco, while not rock bottom during cheapo season, is still very reasonable during the lean sale months...makes my stockpiling a bit more manageable.

[gen_here]

For us, it isn't worth it. The prices aren't that great compared to places like Winco (a couple blocks away from there), and we have to drive over an hour to get to our Costco. We won't be renewing our membership when it comes due.

[ILv2Shop]

Originally Posted by Liz The Costco AMEX TrueEarnings card (the green/blue one). The AMEX fee is waived if you're a Costco member. You get 3% back on gas--including at the warehouse (notice most credit card rewards specifically exclude earnings when gas is pumped at warehouse stores); 2% back on travel/restaurants, 1% back on everything else. I continue to support Costco because of their great business practices (hence why I refuse to deal with Sam's Club). The produce is nicer than the grocery store, and cheaper as well. Their $7-8 pizzas that you take home and cook are awesome and way beyond worth the inexpensive price. The seafood is as nice as the stuff I drive down to the market on the water for, and less expensive.

Totally agree. The rebate money I get back each year buys us a nice toy or gadget. I love Costco and the way they help the community also. Sometimes I just don't feel like chasing deals and thats when I'm heading to Costco.
(Theres another thread somewhere that asks people to list what they get there thats pretty good) Here's the link...Is there anything you buy at Costco, Sams etc...

[Maismom]

I haven't renewed my membership for few years since I started couponing. I agree that they have good quality meat, etc. but we are family of 3 (DH, DD and me) and don't have to buy so much stuff. I can buy a lot of stuff with $50 (membership fee) with coupons. It may be worth it for a large family, though.

[amanzo01]

At costco I get cheese 5.xx for 2lbs, milk 5.xx two gallons, bread 3.55 for two loafs
(no HFCS), sugar, flour and spices. Everything else I get with coupons at other stores. They have jeans for a good price and they get the carters pj's w/ feet for cheap in the winter also. Mostly I like going to costco, getting samples and looking around. I've been back and forth on keeping my membership since I started couponing a year and a half ago. I think the savings on staple items is worth it but I always walk out w/ more than I planned on buying. They also have organic items for cheap if you buy those items.

[Poodlemama]

I love Costco too. I save .05-.07 cents on gas there, and their three packs of organic 2% milk are a better deal than using a q at the store.

also, they mail out Costco coupons eeyr now and then that save even more. I recently saved about $20 on chlorine tabs over what I would pay at the pool store or Lowe's.

But, you have to know your prices from the grocery store becuase some things are NOT a better deal there.

They do have a pretty big organic selection, which I like.

ETA: I get a great price there on the 18 pack of organic eggs- and we go through a lot of eggs!

[TanyaMT]

We love Costco but have to be careful on budgeting. It is about 1 mile from our house, so we get our gas there, which is cheaper.

We also get some things cheaper there than even with coupons, such as eggs, milk, fresh organic produce, flour (we get the huge 25 lb bags as I do baking bread and such), powdered milk, spices, etc.

[anothershopper2]

I think it all depends on where you live and how you want to shop. DH loves Costco and he also lets MIL have the 2nd card. So they get some savings from there. DH gets good savings on the bigger ticket items, but not all items are better priced there. In my area where produce is really high at the supermarkets and the sales aren't great - getting produce and seafood at Costco is a great deal. One time I got 10 organic peaches for $7!! Really cheap compared to the supermarkets. I live in a doubling area but we don't get a lot of good doubling cpns, and I can't stack cpns and the such, so I'm willing to sometimes just get items at Costco. Also vitamins are typically cheaper for me at Costco. DH loves his Kirkland suitcase. And we're really made use of the card while on vacation over the years (both in Hawaii & Alaska - go figure!). We don't have the gas stations at our Costco so we can't save there, but we certainly wish we did. We are considering switching our eye (contacts etc) over - we didn't know that they offered it.

[pokerpansy]

I love Costco! As my husband calls it, Costcoriffic! If I had to compare Sam's or Costco I would definitely pick Costco because of quality and selection. Sometimes you can get something you might need at Sam's but I think the meat and seafood is much better at Costco and they always have new and interesting things at Costco.

But as others have said, it depends if it is worth it to you. If you have the AMEX credit card and you spend alot, it will end up your earnings will pay for your membership.

You do have to compare if it is a better value then at other places, especially if you can get it on sale somewhere else. Also, if you have the space to store some of the bulk items. Costco does have coupons instore and mailed out ot members and that is a great time to buy because they are usually on laundry detergent and cleaning supplies which can be expensive but is a good deal this way.

The produce is a great value and as I said, the meat and fish are a great price and great quality. They have more and more organic at a good price too!