Tell Me About Costco

[Cachoo]

I've never visited a Costco. What do you like? Dislike? I was not interested until I peeked at this "Mental Floss" piece.

Costco Facts

 

[Artemis@BC]

I've never visited a Costco. What do you like? Dislike? I was not interested until I peeked at this "Mental Floss" piece.

Costco Facts

I loved #9 in that list.

But to answer your question: I love that they pay their employees more and treat them better than pretty much any other mass merchandiser -- and still manage to make extraordinary profits. So take that, Walmart.

I've never had a membership myself, it's never seemed worth the price since I'm only shopping for 1, but I go a few times a year with friends who do and always find bargains. And if your location has a gas bar and you drive regularly, you can save enough for the membership fee right there.

But you really have to know your prices. Many things are bargains, many other things are not. And of course if you buy a 2-pound block of cheese at a "good price" but it goes bad before you can eat it all, that's not any kind of savings.

And you have to be a disciplined shopper, and not succumb to the various end-of-aisle displays.

Other dislikes would include the contribution to car culture (you pretty always have to drive to a Costco), and the lineups.

Other likes include their house brand: Kirkland. I don't think I've ever bought a Kirkland product that wasn't excellent.

 

[Peaches LaTour]

I've been a Costco member for about 25 years. Like anything else, it is good and bad.

I intensely dislike the fact that you have to use either a debit card or their exclusive credit card (can't remember what one it is right now) cash or check. I cannot use my regular visa credit card (which isn't their exclusive credit card), I don't use my debit card, don't write checks and rarely carry much cash so I am really limited to what I can buy there. But this is just a personal quirk of my own.

Unless you really need bulk products, it probably isn't worth it. In our household the items we buy from Costco are: Kleenex, toilet paper, Irish Cream (yum ) which is a very good buy, some fruits when they are in season.

I tried buying tires there once and discovered it wasn't a bargain at all so I went elsewhere. A friend tried to buy a car through them but it was such a hassle that he gave it up.

I agree with Artemis@BC that the Kirkland brand is excellent - we always go that route when it is a option.

Overall, I will keep my membership. Hope this helps.

 

[PDilemma]

We do Sam's and my parents-in-law do Costco. Sam's membership is slightly cheaper and the location is more convenient. What we have found is that all Costco cultist praise and lists like this aside, the two places carry almost the exact same stuff. My in-laws will be feeding us or using the Kirkland products and bragging about how wonderful and amazing and one-of-a-kind they are and we will realize they are exactly the same as the Member's Choice equivalent at Sam's. And we have occasionally found out they are paying more.

And here, the difference in employee wages is quite small. Costco employees get slightly more, but not a lot. I think that depends on locale more than anything.

 

[made_in_canada]

We do most of our grocery shopping at Costco. You do have to be disciplined but even for two of us we spend $50-$100 less every two weeks than what we were spending at the regular grocery store. We typically go in the morning which bypasses most of the line issues. Meat, cheese, bread is always cheaper there. There produce tends to be better than what the other grocery stores around here have too. If we didn't have a freezer beyond the fridge though it wouldn't be worth it.

 

[smurfy]

Costco just opened up 2 miles from me in Oct.
I joined - mostly for the gas.
Regular gas is not much savings, but my car requires premium and the savings is minimum 15 cents up to 40 or 50 cents per gallon.
With the distance, it is the closest gas station for me.
Prior to the opening, the next closest Costco is over 30 miles away, I had never been to one.
There is a BJs about 5 miles from me, and I have taken advantage of the free 60 day membership a couple of times.
Some prices are good.

I am single, so a lot of the food product is just too much. I know I can freeze stuff, but just not worth it.
I have bought some of the bakery goods for some work meetings -tasty and folks like them.
Thomas' English muffins - you get 18 (3 packs) - I prefer them fresh, not frozen.
The $5 chicken is delicious. I have to check out the website.
Milk - grocery store chain for nonfat milk is $3.50/gallon - Costco charges $1.89. I do drink a lot of milk, and do buy it by the gallon.
I saw some Dearfoam slippers in Costco for $10, Kohl's had them on sale for $16 from regular price of $24.
They will begin accepting VISA card (and I think Mastercard too, not sure) on April 1 (date may be off - definitely soon).
The staff is very pleasant and helpful.
I love the free samples! One time the samples were Oreos - loved it!
For me, the gas and milk more than pay for the membership.

 

[gkelly]

My sister and I got a membership together two years ago. Then she decided she was spending too much money there on things she might not have bought otherwise, but not going often enough to save the cost of membership on things she did need, so she decided to cancel the membership.

Because I'm single with some food restrictions and not a lot of storage space, there weren't as many things for me to buy there.

The best deals for me were eyeglasses (when we first joined), eye drops, and a few food items I would buy almost every time we went: Kind bars, pecans, Amy's low-salt lentil soups, super-sharp cheddar, raspberries when they had them. I stocked up on those things and a few others last time I went before the end of the year. (Obviously none of the raspberries are left now.)

 

[Kasey]

I'm single and don't have a large home, so my time there is limited. But bulk things that don't go bad (paper products, cat litter, etc) and vitamins, cat food and some canned goods make it worthwhile to me.

 

[Cachoo]

ks for your responses. Someone at another site called the roast chicken the "beesknees." There is enough in the article, your posts and my sister's love of the place to make me curious. One just opened here a few months ago and I've purposely stayed away. I only found out lately that they treat the employees better than a lot of their competitors. So I think I'll give it a go. I'm also wondering how little I will have to pay for gas. I used my points at my local grocery store a few weeks ago and bought for 95 cents a gallon. It sounds like Costco might offer an even deeper discount.

 

[purple skates]

My mother gave me a membership for my birthday in November. There were some great deals over Christmas, and the clothes they had there were unexpectedly of good quality (however, mostly large and extra large in the men's area). I bought some awesome steaks that we cut into more reasonable portions and froze, ditto cheeses and other things like that.

My only advice if you decide to join is a) have a plan for storage because pretty much everything is supersized, and b) be very careful about impulse buys.

 

[Susan1]

Nothing current to add to the discussion!, just that a small company I worked at had a Sam's membership. I used to go there to get bulk coffee room supplies (sugar, creamer, stirrers, etc.) at lunch - cheaper than the grocery or discount store. They also had a personal card you could borrow and pay for your purchase yourself. I bought a skirt there that was half the price of the exact same thing at Elder Beerman (oops, Dayton reference - Bonton other places? - prices between Macy's and Penney's). And when my ex and I were dating, he had a card at Sam's through GM and bought me a pink 10-speed bike!

 

[snoopy]

I just got a membership at Costco and was told they will start accepting visa next year.

Also, I am a olive oil user and read an olive oil review that the Kirkland brand uses 100% olive oil so that was a plus for me. Some of the typical grocery store brands like Barillo cut their olive oil with cheaper stuff.

 

[Spun Silver]

We tend not to go there, or to BJ's (similar and closer to us), because of the supersize quantities and impulse buying potential. I read somewhere that their Kirkland cat food is good for the price, so I got a friend to get me some, but my cats weren't that impressed with it, and neither was I. We have gotten a GPS and a printer there on impulse and they worked. Their thin-crust frozen pizza is decent. Oh, and we got towels from BJ's that my very picky sister thought were great. So, a mixed bag. We let our memberships lapse at both Costco and BJ's. I feel we do better at Shoprite, Aldi's and, for towels, Home Goods.

 

[Spun Silver]

I just got a membership at Costco and was told they will start accepting visa next year.

Also, I am a olive oil user and read an olive oil review that the Kirkland brand uses 100% olive oil so that was a plus for me. Some of the typical grocery store brands like Barillo cut their olive oil with cheaper stuff.

WHAT??? I am going to have to start reading olive oil labels!! Do they use food coloring too? I love green olive oil.

 

[Aceon6]

Loyal Costco member here, and ours doesn't sell gas! We probably save enough buying Kirkland tissues vs. Kleenex to justify the membership.

In addition to paper products, we like the bulk nuts, steaks and chops, instant coffee for DH's office, cereal when they have the ones we use most, bakery items, Brita filters, and gum (Orbit is about half the drug store price.) When needed, their office supplies and household stuff are competitively priced. I've bought Adidas workout gear and men's clothing as well.

Our former newsboy got a job there as soon as he turned 18. You have to be 18 to operate a forklift, and those jobs pay extraordinarily well. He was hired at about $2 over minimum wage and was making $15 an hour once he passed his probation period. He'd get a raise every 1000 hours or so and they always found shifts for him when he was home on college breaks. When he got his degree, it was a coin toss whether to take an entry level management job or stay with Costco as the wage and promotion opportunities were about the same. He took the management job mostly because he'd have nights and weekends mostly free, but was sad to leave.

 

[IceAlisa]

#5, my parents' cat is a huge fan of the Costco chicken. No other snacks for her. I think it's pretty awesome too but too high in fat.

For a brief but glorious moment Costco carried this amazing Sabra Roasted Eggplant. Just like a drug dealer, they had me hooked and quickly stopped carrying it. I wrote to them and to Sabra only to find it had limited distribution. I thought it was like crack.

 

[snowbird]

We tend not to go there, or to BJ's (similar and closer to us), because of the supersize quantities and impulse buying potential. I read somewhere that their Kirkland cat food is good for the price, so I got a friend to get me some, but my cats weren't that impressed with it, and neither was I. We have gotten a GPS and a printer there on impulse and they worked. Their thin-crust frozen pizza is decent. Oh, and we got towels from BJ's that my very picky sister thought were great. So, a mixed bag. We let our memberships lapse at both Costco and BJ's. I feel we do better at Shoprite, Aldi's and, for towels, Home Goods.

You ate the cat food?

 

[Allskate]

WHAT??? I am going to have to start reading olive oil labels!! Do they use food coloring too? I love green olive oil.

Most olive oils that are imported into the United States are not pure extra virgin olive oil. Much of it is rancid and a lot of it is not extra virgin or isn't even entirely olive oil. Kirkland has been an exception, though they recently changed suppliers, so I don't know if that's still the case.

http://www.berkeleyside.com/2011/12/08/author-you-may-not-like-whats-lurking-in-your-olive-oil/

I usually buy the California Olive Ranch oil that is mentioned in that article. It tastes good, is relatively affordable and made relatively close to where I live, so it's not being shipped half way around the world to get to me. I'm not a Costco member because there isn't one conveniently located near me and because I think it would not be economical for me. I'd end up buying stuff I don't need or buying in bulk and watching much of it go bad and go to waste. My latest grocery habit is Grocery Outlet. Much more affordable for me. I try to go at least once a month, though I never know what I'll find.

 

[IceAlisa]

I am scared to click on that olive oil link.

 

[snoopy]

This is definitely thread drift but California products seem to be consistently high quality. I use California Ranch olive oil occasionally too. And I only buy California rice. Rice grows in water and Chinese rice sits in a lot of polluted water. California is crazy regulated yes. But there are some benefits to all that regulation. Of course now that I'm thinking about it, California probably shouldn't be growing rice.

 

[TheGirlCanSkate]

I have membership and get tp, paper towels, toothpaste, toothbrushes, cleaning supplies, and frozen raw chicken breast tenders as my most regular purchases. I also use the pharmacy (anyone can use the pharmacy, you don't need to be a member). They have good gluten free pretzels too. I also buy butter (store it in the freezer) and cheese (make sure to use cheese recipes so it doesn't go bad). They have a great price on fresh vegetables too. I live in a pricy area so a lb of butter at the cheapest sore is about 3.50. I get 4 pounds at costco for about 9.00. You have to know how much you would pay elsewhere - if you don't know how much items cost elsewhere, you can end up buying big and spending more.

I don't like Sam's Club at all. It seems closer to a Walmart where I am and I can't shop at Walmart at all (for some reason they trigger panic attacks lighting? chaos? No idea).

 

[TheGirlCanSkate]

This is definitely thread drift but California products seem to be consistently high quality. I use California Ranch olive oil occasionally too. And I only buy California rice. Rice grows in water and Chinese rice sits in a lot of polluted water. California is crazy regulated yes. But there are some benefits to all that regulation. Of course now that I'm thinking about it, California probably shouldn't be growing rice.

I'll take CA rice over AR or Texas rice!

 

[Spareoom]

I live in Taiwan and Costco (yes, Costco) is like a golden haven of Western food. It's one of the only places on the island I can buy legit cheese, sour cream, English muffins and Reeses cups. So that's why I have a Costco membership, lol. I bought it here in Taiwan; it was about 30 USD and it works worldwide.

Word of warning; Costco's in Taiwan are STUPID crowded. Like, don't go if you have a fear of crowds, lol. http://www.ourincitingincident.com/2011/08/worth-the-costco/

 

[pat c]

We've been costco members for a few years. We don't have one close so when we go to where there is one, we stock up.
Like others have said, know what you want, watch the impulse buying. But I have got some hellishly good buys there, tools, gardening supplies etc.

 

[Wiery]

Their steelhead salmon is excellent!

 

[Cachoo]

I am scared to click on that olive oil link.

After the "60 Minutes" piece last Sunday I want to know what Italian olive oil is not tainted because it sounds like they have put their corrupt mitts on a lot of it. I don't want to pay $$$ for something cheap or worse, canola oil treated with chlorophyll to make it appear like olive oil. I do wonder how our merchants, including Costco, will respond to the report.

 

[Twizzler]

Costco cakes are AMAZING!!!!!

 

[TheGirlCanSkate]

Lol at the Taiwan Costco! That is awesomely awesome.

 

[Really]

Kirkland brand wine is great. Apparently so is the Irish Creme. I buy bread there for our school breakfast program, and we buy meat there. The steaks are wonderful -- I just wish Cdn stores had tri-tips. Like others said, you need to know your prices, but there are definitely benefits to be had.

 

[moebius]

Costco cakes are AMAZING!!!!!

I think they are too sweet, especially the carrot cake.