# Is Costco worth it? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [August 2, 2011, 4:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-costco-worth-it/591192 "2011-08-02T16:34:15Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 12\ **Page:** 4
**Author:** ![gaffa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/e68b1a/32.png) [@gaffa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gaffa)\ **Post date:** [August 3, 2011, 11:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-costco-worth-it/591192/61 "2011-08-03T23:44:16Z")
> [@Incubus](#): > > One thing I like is you can purchase movie tickets through them which only cost $7 then use them on a Friday night and save a couple of bucks. Its also convenient to get them ahead of time. This, more than any other thing. My wife and I go to a LOT of movies. I love Chicago, but it is a pretty expensive place theater-wise. AMC’s River East 21, down near Navy Pier, has the most expensive standard admission in the city of $11.50. CostCo passes bring that down to $8. > [@Dangerosa](#): > > It depends. We pay for our membership in half and half and dog food (they have a darn good grain free dog food - house brand - for much less than I pay at the pet store). But we have a large dog and go through a LOT of half and half. Any opinions on their cat food? We’ve been buying Science Diet and it just keeps getting more and more expensive and the bags keep shrinking. > [@](#): > > Other things we tend to buy there because the cost/quality ratio works out in our favor…sometimes meat, cheese. (We often do a prime rib for Christmas dinner - Costco’s prime rib is cheaper than anywhere else’s a Christmas time) Milk. Eggs. I buy ribeye sub-primals from CostCo and cut them into steaks myself and save $2 a pound. The eggs are an amazing deal as well. > [@](#): > > Toilet paper - I don’t use more toilet paper simply because I have more rolls of it in the basement. However, we don’t buy our paper towels there unless they are carrying the type that comes in half sheets - we like the half sheet paper towels. Cleaning supplies - especially laundry detergent. I buy the 36 pack of single-wrapped rolls of Scott tissue there and am set for a very long time. I buy the Kirkland brand of paper towels and think they are better quality than most of the name brands. They are rugged enough that I use one as a napkin for dinner then use it to scrub out the cast iron frying pan with kosher salt. > [@](#): > > Its best - if you don’t have six kids or a business - to have a “Costco buddy” - i.e. someone who you can buy five pounds of strawberries and split them with. Or six heads of romaine. Or 20 lbs of hamburger. I have different shopping lists for different stores. CostCo for most staples, but Aldi for a lot of the rest. No meat is cheaper than the individually frozen chicken leg quarters from Aldi - $3.99 for a five pound bag. And their hamburger is excellent quality as well, packed in a Cryovac tray, something I wish CostCo would adopt. > [@perfectparanoia](#): > > We go there for whatever is cheaper and/or will save me hassle. So, for example, laundry detergent can be had cheaper at retail stores if you find it on sale. I am very happy with CostCo’s Kirkland brand laundry detergent. A 3 gallon tub is cheap, lasts a long time and is free of the perfumes and crap infesting most major brands. ---
**Author:** ![Tranquilis](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tranquilis/32/3639_2.png) [@Tranquilis](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tranquilis)\ **Post date:** [August 4, 2011, 5:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-costco-worth-it/591192/62 "2011-08-04T17:53:46Z")
I’ve got two young kids & a pack of dogs. Cosco’s worth it, to me. Cleaning supplies alone would pay for my membership. My local Cosco has some surprisingly high-shelf items at prices that still beat their low-shelf peers at the local grocery stores, and the ability to load up on staple foodstuffs (and a few exotics) that are both healthy _and_ liked by the kids is a God-send. Part of what makes my membership worthwhile is that it’s fairly close, about five miles. One aspect that _could_ be troublesome, isn’t, for me - I’m talking about the need to buy in fair bulk to get the best savings. I have shelf space for days, and a good-sized chest freezer. I’m in there about once a month, walk in and out having typically spent about US$150, compared to about US$250 if I were shopping in a typical grocery store. Bigger-ticket items are similarly discounted, though those purchases are rather more rare. ---
**Author:** ![Queen\_Tonya](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/q/4491bb/32.png) [@Queen\_Tonya](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Queen_Tonya)\ **Post date:** [August 4, 2011, 7:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-costco-worth-it/591192/63 "2011-08-04T19:36:00Z")
We rarely use our membership, as the nearest store is 13 miles away and I’d have to pass dozens of other grocery stores to get there. Never have a problem finding stuff to buy once we go, usually meat, fruit and dairy products. Got some _amazing_ coffee there last time. I think I keep the membership active because of my parents. They’re retired and take a lot of vitamins and supplements. No Costco near them, but they love stocking up when they’re visiting us. According to them, they save about 40% on that stuff, so I’m happy to take them twice a year or so. ---
**Author:** ![Palo\_Verde](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/65b543/32.png) [@Palo\_Verde](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Palo_Verde)\ **Post date:** [August 4, 2011, 7:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-costco-worth-it/591192/64 "2011-08-04T19:41:25Z")
I have 6 kids, plus my husband and me, and so many people assume I just LIVE at Costco, but I really don’t. I have had memberships in the past but I never thought I got $50 worth of saving, so I haven’t renewed our membership. In my opinion if you really like brand name things, like you only buy Kraft brand mac 'n cheese or Hunts ketchup, maybe it’s worth it. But I am perfectly happy with store brand mac 'n cheese and ketchup, so I think it’s cheaper to buy that stuff at the local grocery store than the name brand stuff at Costco. ---
**Author:** ![akwally1](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/akwally1/32/3220_2.png) [@akwally1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/akwally1)\ **Post date:** [August 4, 2011, 7:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-costco-worth-it/591192/65 "2011-08-04T19:44:32Z")
Another thing to add to the excellent examples so far: Vacation packages. My wife and I saved about $150 on a Disneyland trip over what it would have cost for the exact same hotel and park tickets purchased separately. Plus, we got a couple of Kids “character dining” certificates worth $70 in meals (which can be used almost anywhere in the park, it doesn’t have to be used for the chracter dining)and an $80 Disney Dollars card as well. Overall savings: $300 Plus since we have the Costco Amex, I also got the 1% cash-back on the purchase price. I love Costco… ---
**Author:** ![Electric\_Monk](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/2acd7d/32.png) [@Electric\_Monk](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Electric_Monk)\ **Post date:** [August 6, 2011, 12:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-costco-worth-it/591192/66 "2011-08-06T00:25:38Z")
My nearest Costco is 15 miles away, so I only go about once a month. But the membership is still worth it just for coffee, tires, chicken breasts and kitty litter. But the biggest savings is on the vacation packages, especially cruises. I just booked a Princess Alaska cruisetour for $400 per person less than I could find anywhere else. Costco uses the same search engine as CruisesOnly and OnlineVacationStore, so you can directly compare prices. Big savings at Costco Travel. ---
**Author:** ![RaftPeople](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/6f9a4e/32.png) [@RaftPeople](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RaftPeople)\ **Post date:** [August 6, 2011, 1:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-costco-worth-it/591192/67 "2011-08-06T01:04:26Z")
> [@Machine\_Elf](#): > > No doubt this is part of their strategy: you pay an annual membership fee, so you feel compelled to shop there (almost) exclusively, so eventually you lose track of what similar items cost from other stores. Having worked on some of their computer systems and dealt with their VP’s regarding target margin during a specific optimization process, I can tell you that this is (or at least at the time was) absolutely not their strategy. They were almost fanatical about keeping the margin at a relatively specific and reasonably low percentage to make sure they did not lose members due to a perception of prices not really being that good. ---
**Author:** ![Dangerosa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/22d042/32.png) [@Dangerosa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dangerosa)\ **Post date:** [August 6, 2011, 1:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-costco-worth-it/591192/68 "2011-08-06T01:52:25Z")
> [@RaftPeople](#): > > Having worked on some of their computer systems and dealt with their VP’s regarding target margin during a specific optimization process, I can tell you that this is (or at least at the time was) absolutely not their strategy. > > They were almost fanatical about keeping the margin at a relatively specific and reasonably low percentage to make sure they did not lose members due to a perception of prices not really being that good. The accounting model is cost plus. Not many people use it and the upshot of a cost plus model is that since you take a loss on nothing - if someone has a loss leader than they are cheaper. Which is why things like laundry detergent on sale is usually cheaper. But you have relatively low costs across everything. Costco makes the majority of its profit on membership fees. The product purchase pays for operating expenses ---
**Author:** ![MacTech](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/c0e974/32.png) [@MacTech](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MacTech)\ **Post date:** [August 6, 2011, 3:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-costco-worth-it/591192/69 "2011-08-06T03:22:01Z")
Well, their law school isn’t the best, the last lawyer they graduated was a bit of a moron… “Welcome to Costco, I love you…” Seriously though, no Costco’s in my area, just BJ’s Wholesale and a single Sams Club, I had a membership at BJ’s but never really used it so I let it lapse… Maybe I should find a Costco, after all, I could really go for a Starbucks right now… 😉 ---
**Author:** ![LSLGuy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lslguy/32/5813_2.png) [@LSLGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LSLGuy)\ **Post date:** [August 6, 2011, 2:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-costco-worth-it/591192/70 "2011-08-06T14:01:30Z")
I don’t have a membership. I went with a friend recently. I saw a mob scene, an ugly noisy warehouse environment, and prices within 5% of what I pay at my local uncrowded regular stores. Count me out. ---
**Author:** ![Anna\_Nimity](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ecae2f/32.png) [@Anna\_Nimity](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Anna_Nimity)\ **Post date:** [August 18, 2011, 10:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-costco-worth-it/591192/71 "2011-08-18T22:14:01Z")
Its worth it if you know your prices. Some things are priced 50-75% less that you could buy it elsewhere and then again some things actually cost more. For example, I bought a 25-lb. bag of long grain rice at Costco for $9. You can’t even buy it anywhere here on sale for that, also bought a 1/2 gallon of honey for $12. Kirkland cat kibble is comparable to high end cat food…no corn, no by-products, etc. but its $18 for a 25 lb. bag. As someone else mentioned, Kirkland brands are great. They have very customer friendly policies and attitudes. The Costco I shop at sells prescription eyeglasses. I went to them once and asked how much it would be to replace the nose rest thingy on my glasses. They just did right while I was standing there for free! I remember when businesses used to be like this waaaayyy back when customer service meant what it was called, but its wierd to encounter it now. Anyway, I only buy certain items at Costco that I know are an incredible deal, maybe 10 or 12 things I regularly buy there. So I only go there maybe every other month. Its definitely worth it though. Also, you don’t have to be a member to use the Costco Pharmacy. There prices are 50-70% less that Walgreens or Target on many drugs. We don’t have insurance right now and my blood pressure meds (generic) were $38 at Target, I got them at Costo for $9. ---
**Author:** ![VOW](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/vow/32/3043_2.png) [@VOW](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/VOW)\ **Post date:** [August 19, 2011, 2:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-costco-worth-it/591192/72 "2011-08-19T02:32:52Z")
I’m a Sam’s Club snob. And you have to know what you’re doing, but yes, it can be totally worth it. OTC and supplements come in a “Club Pack,” bottles which are much larger than what you can find anywhere else, and the prices are great. Hamburger 90% lean, and cheaper than anywhere else. One of my best values is coffee. We’ve always liked the Sam’s Club brands, excellent quality. ~VOW [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-costco-worth-it/591192.md?page=3)