Well, it doesn’t seem like you need much convincing, but I’ll share my experience anyway.
I went to check out printer cartridges on a guest pass to see if I wanted to buy a membership. I found that the savings on printer cartridges from what I could buy them at the nearest stores around here would make up for the membership price just on that.
So I got the membership.
Later, I found out that the contact lenses there were half the price that my doctor was charging. So a year’s worth of contact lenses would save me enough for another membership price.
So since I’m saving enough to make up the price of membership, I think it’s worth it.
And as you’ve noticed, just walking in there is pretty cool all in itself.
As for the “sharing membership” rules - I only barely was able to get mine, because I had not updated my driver’s license and my mom and I still had the same address. We plan on keeping it renewed, so it’s OK.
The $25 or so is well worth it even as a single, especially if you save on any of the packaged foods. I like getting cases of things like Propel and V-8. It’s awesome for parties - my mom catered her own wedding and Costco saved her a bunch. Their frozen appetizers were awesome even for a family of foodies and picky eaters. The food quality is, in general, quite good. I can only get my favorite veggie burgers there.
Selection of different flavors stinks - kind of a pain sometimes, as a vegetarian - so you can’t choose what kind of stuff that you get. Still, it’s great to stock up. Some of the portions are way bigger than a single person could use (like spices) but other things are more reasonable. I’ve taken in a friend and gone around selecting items that we split by the box - I paid for half, she paid for half, and they didn’t have any problem that she didn’t have a membership.
If you don’t mind eating the same thing a lot, the produce is cheap and good for some things. Their epic size veggie trays - awesome! I like buying the huge bags of sugar snap peas, too.
They also have good deals on big wedges of cheese (Parmesano Reggiano, for example), and their tubs of hummus are top notch.
The big negative is that it’s hard to just spend a few bucks, so if you’re a weekly budgeter, it’s probably not for you - I typically spend at least $80 even just getting a few things, but they last a long time.
It’s great for diets - stocking up on healthy foods to have them around for convenience. I always buy protein bars and that kind of thing at warehouse stores.
They also have some neat kitchenware items - the stock rotates so it’s worth coming back every so often!
It’s a big, concrete building with a lot of boxes, but that’s not important right now.
Oh, wait, yes, it is.
We just switched over to CostCo about six months ago because my wife decided that Sam’s Club is teh Satan. No complaints, no hassles, great food. We buy big bags of shredded cheese, decant it into ziplock sandwich bags, and freeze them. Since we just use it for cooking, it doesn’t matter if the texture is thrown off by the freezing process.
You didn’t ask but I’ll compare it to Sam’s Club. We used to have both memberships, only because CostCo meant a trip across town. When CostCo opened a second location, we let the Sam’s membership lapse and have missed it not at all.
One big advantage to CostCo is the “Kirkland Signature” house brand of almost everything. These tend to be VERY reasonably priced and I have yet to encounter a quality problem with any of these items, off hand I can recall buying Kirkland:
Contact lens solution
Dog food
Olive oil
OTC hay fever remedy
Car Battery (made by Johnson Controls)
Plastic cling wrap…seems even better than “name” brand.
CostCo also tends to have locally produced or popular items:
Locally roasted coffee
Locally grown green chili
Salsa from local restaurants
Blue corn tortilla chips
Locally owned/made tortillas
I doubt many of these things would sell well in middle America, so it reflects local control over the selection.
In contrast, Sam’s selection tended to be more “white bread”, with selection determined at a corporate level.
CostCo’s airplane-less conveyor belts also seem to make the lines move faster compared to Sam’s plywood register stands…though the “pre scan” idea is something CostCo should copy. (When all the lines are open, helpers would come out and use a handheld device to scan the items of the next person in line, which could then be downloaded to the register in a couple of seconds)
Finally, I NEVER EVER encountered any tall sized clothing at Sam’s, while occasionally CostCo will sometimes have a few…enough to be worth checking anyway.
Interesting that this discussion came up now–I just got a mailer from CostCo offering me a $10 gift card if I join with my Amex card.
I’ve had a Sam’s membership for a while now (ex’s, but she keeps renewing it and left my name on it). The present Mrs. Know’s company used to have a corporate account at CostCo, so we’d go in occasionally to buy stuff for ourselves.
I have to admit that, as similar as the two are, I prefer CostCo. We bought out 27-inch flat screen there–cheaper than anywhere else, and a great TV. The snack bar is wonderful–LOVE the pizza! And the Chicken Bake…Chicken Bake…mmmmm…must have Chicken Bake…
:smack: Sorry, where was I?
I didn’t know about the “federally regulated items” rule–thanx for that info! I think I’ve made up my mind–gonna get that membership!
They’ve made the “Executive” membership level a no-brainer. We renewed our membership last night, and were told that we’re guaranteed a minumum $50 rebate at the end of the year. So, the Exec membership costs $50 more than “Gold Star” but we’re guaranteed to get at least that $50 back. If we spend more than $1000 at the regular front-end registers*, then we’ll get more back.
Getting into the store an hour earlier than the riff-raff is also a nice perk, especially on weekends.
It’s about the only gotcha - the Exec rebates don’t apply to purchases at other areas like the tire shop, gas station or optical. IIRC, the cafe and pharmacy are also excluded. Too bad, we’d have made a killing on gas alone.
One quibble about gas - they only have 87 or 91 - no mid-grade. Our vehicle needs mid-grade, so premium is somewhat of a waste. OTOH, we filled up with premium for the same price as regular elsewhere in town.
