We finally got a Costco and people have lost they damn mind. I thought it might be safe to go on a weekday morning yesterday and still had to stand in four separate lines outside in the heat before I could even get the membership card, and then once I got in it was like the world’s worst sightseeing tour made completely out of astonished zombies. I should have given it more than a month.
Anyway, I’ve read a few lists online of what’s really worth the effort and money - everybody seems to like the maple syrup, OTC drugs, nuts, etc. But what else? Like, is the car insurance competitive? Are there other semi-hidden things people tend to not take advantage of? Unfortunately (well, fortunately really, just poor timing) we no longer need baby formula and we’re hoping to bid diapers farewell soon, I know those are hot items. I was surprised to see they had a liquor store in this state, but I’ll need to price compare on that (which sucks because no ads.)
I got talked into the executive membership by a Costco employee who no shit told me to use the (really super great) coupons, get my cash card in the mail, then get my $55 back and drop down to the regular. (Free batteries, y’all. 72 free goddamned AA’s, and if you have a toddler you understand that is like a bucket of fucking gold. Frankly that’s probably worth the upcharge right there once I also get my free chicken and pizza and my $20 in the mail.) I’m thinking we don’t really need the cash back as I don’t intend on spending that much at Costco with just the two and a half of us, but I do notice the fine print says the executive membership gets you increased discounts on some services. Anybody have any experience with getting a little something extra there with the fancypants card?
(Saddest thing in the world: it took so long to register that I did not have time for a hot dog.)
I’m also curious about this. We just joined Costco last week with the Executive Membership.
Maple syrup is indeed half the cost there (YMMV.) I price compared our most commonly used items, including steel cut oats, almond milk, nuts and laundry detergent. It all comes out cheaper than what we were spending by 1/3 to 1/2.
As for meats, their prices were competitive but I’ve found a cheaper option, Zaycon Fresh. You buy your meat in bulk (say 40 lbs), pick it up on the designated day at your local vacant parking lot (usually a church) and the prices really can’t be beat. My favorite thing about it is that it’s all locally sourced meat. So far I’ve bought pork tenderloin at $3.29 per pound and chicken breasts for less than $1.59 a pound.
ETA: I went with my husband to check the place out (he usually does the grocery shopping because I despise it.) After we toured the place, we sat down for lunch somewhere else, and I said, ‘‘So. That place is like my own personal version of hell. But it’s way cheaper. So if you’re willing to go there, I’m all in.’’ He agreed.
Costco is good. I miss the days when I had both a Costco and a Sam’s within about a mile; now Sam’s is 15 miles and Costco is pretty much in another state.
All club stores push their “executive level” cards because they get $40-60 more out of you right up front. it is probably a waste of money for most families and users; you get all the same sales and discounts, and if you do the math, you have to spend quite a bit to earn back the premium, which tends to come back in the inefficient and limited ways most rebates do.
72 store brand AA’s are about $12. It’s the only place to buy them, frankly. But it’s not enough to make me pay extra for a membership.
As for ALL forms of “Oh, I will take all the goodies and earn the premium back and i win, win, win because I’m going to drop to the regular level next time…” um, yeah. Except that most people don’t. They keep renewing at the “premium” level because of the come-ons and because it’s human nature and because it’s only $50 you’ll probably make back anyway. So they might have given you back your first premium with batteries, pizzas and promises, but you’re likely to end up paying them a lot more over the next 5-10 years… and they know it.
Club stores are great (although I never found anything useful about BJs over the other two). But the best deal for 90% of buyers is whatever membership option is cheapest. (At Sam’s, the small-business one is best if you qualify.)
And yeah, watching the first week of a new club store is second only to the mania of WalMart on Black Friday. People go absolutely apeshit because they can buy 72 rolls of TP.
Exercise for the reader: Have you thought about why these stores have membership at all?
Well, the other reason to get a Costco membership rather than a Sam’s is that they treat their workers well, which is one reason I was very excited to have the option here.
I get the Christmas roast from Costco. Their USDA Prime is expensive compared to their USDA Choice ($80 or $90 for a three rib roast vs. $35 or $40), but it’s still cheaper than getting one from a butcher. And Costco beef is very good. Our corner market gets their rib-eye steaks from Costco, and they’re so good that they’re almost the only steaks we buy.
Costco’s pizzas are pretty good, but they’re too big to fit in our fridge or freezer.
I like Costco. Don’t go during the weekend, though. If you can get there early afternoon on a weekday, that’s your best bet in avoiding crowds.
Their rotisserie whole chickens are a tasty, inexpensive meal idea (although I’m currently sick of them because we get them so often).
Grab the Newman’s Own K-cup coffees if you’re a coffee drinker with a Keurig.
A slice of cheese pizza on the way out the door is a very cheap, very yummy lunch or dinner. I had one yesterday (and my jaw dropped when I noticed the sign indicating it was 700 calories).
The only thing that mildly pisses me off about Costco is that you have to wait in line to exit the joint.
mmm
Bolding mine. Please explain. Do toddlers run on batteries or something?
As for Executive Membership benefits, I made good use of their rental car discounts while I was searching for a job in Boston. Though I’m not sure you get much better discounts than you would through AAA, Costco does use Alamo, and I like their service.
As for things to like, the liquor store in our Costco generally has very good prices but a limited selection. It’s a great place to buy decent cheese in bulk. They have the lowest prices on prescription drugs I’ve seen so far. Capers, olives, sundried tomatoes, and roasted red peppers are usually a good deal there. Their steaks are decent for the price, but nothing special. Just be careful, since it’s super easy to walk in thinking you just need a couple things, and then end up leaving with a $150 bill.
When we got our first membership, we went through and I recorded prices for all the stuff we cared about. Most things were noticeably cheaper than the local store, but every now and then you run into something that isn’t worth it (like 24 cans of chickpeas).
Costco had the best Christmas crackers. The prizes were actually useful. I haven’t seen them in a few years, though. I don’t know if they don’t have them anymore, or if I’ve been arriving too late and they’re sold out.
One thing that has disappointed me about Costco is every and any prepared food item we’ve bought there. Whoever their taste-testers are think everything from curry sauce to ravioli should be sweet. So basically everything in their freezer section is off my radar, now.
I haven’t done it for Costco, but when I first joined Sam’s back in the day I did a cost-per-unit comparison to my regular grocery store and found that it was cheaper for shelf-stable items and more expensive for everything else. I assume Costco is the same, and try not to buy things like milk and eggs there, unless it’s a major inconvenience not to.
The thing about Costco is that you have to make it a mission to get out of there in under 40 minutes and not get too many things.
You might not end up saving all that much money in the long run, but they let you take stuff back so the one time you return that $700 computer that wasn’t working right, then you have made back all that money that you thought you weren’t saving.
Even if you don’t have a lot of battery powered toys - we much prefer not to, but then the inlaws give you this shit and even if you take the batteries out of some of them and pretend that that dump truck doesn’t make any noise, you’re gonna need a lot of batteries.
Plus, toddlers also turn on your Xbox controllers all the time, and I only have one rechargeable one and it doesn’t work very well, so we need batteries for that too.
Beats the hell out of the stuff for little babies that rocks or vibrates. All of that takes D cells and why on earth would you have D cells lying around in 2016?
Over several years, I never found any of them all that great. On a par with doing your homework and finding a good source yourself - i.e., know what car you want and what to pay for it before going to a dealership. Contractors and such had good pricing, but not great - if you shopped around on your own.
I guess having a whole buttload of sorta-approved, okay-priced services and such available as part of the membership is a positive… it’s just not, IMHO, much of one.
One difference between Sams and Costco is that the food in Sams seems more geared towards people using the products for retail, while Costco seems more for the consumer. For example, Sams has a wider selection of chips in individual, retail-ready bags, while Costco has more giant bags of chips. When we buy stuff for the concession table at our kid’s events, we always go to Sams.
The wine selection at Costco is excellent. They are one of the largest wine buyers in the country.
That’s a good observation. I’d put the hierarchy at Sam’s-Costco-BJs, noting that BJs has very little in bulk packs and is mostly a grocery’s “large pack” aisle expanded to a whole store - a grocery store aimed at big shoppers, not the loaf-and-jug market.*
Which is why I preferred Sam’s for most shopping. With a large family, I was willing to buy, store and manage bigger bulk packs of almost everything. Costco overlapped on some things, but generally packaged things a little smaller and a little pricier. (I’d still shop at both if there was one closer than 40 miles…)
And then there’s Trader Joe’s, the grocery store for people who buy for one or two light, fussy eaters.
I love my Costcos in the Yucatan. We have one in Cancun and in Merida. They have a great assortment of cheeses. That cannot be found anywhere else. And their vanilla ice cream is incredible. Because of their distance from me, I usually only go there 2-3 times a year.
I did have to teach their employees about the Costco satisfaction guarantee policy. I bought a cordless drill. The second time I used it, it wouldn’t charge. I returned it to the store. They had no more available, and insisted that the 90 day guarantee had expired. I told them I lived 2 hours away, and didn’t come in often. I had to go through 5 levels of employees, explaining the exclusive Costco satisfaction guarantee each time. Finally got Alejandro. His badge indicated 15 years with Costco. He made a phone call, and they agreed to repair it. And to come back in two weeks. When I returned, they stated they couldn’t repair it and refunded my money. I guess they aren’t familiar with the guarantee in Mexico.
