Spending too much at Costco

That Z71 could come in handy to haul all of the bulk purchases back home. My little civic can't hold more than about 2 cart's worth of stuff from regular stores (assuming the 3 kids are strapped in the back seat).

Can I return it 3 years later if I decide it's not working out for me? Might save me some $ versus a lease, too. Or can I return it after just a long weekend? Might be nice to have a free truck to haul stuff when needed without paying to maintain it or having to store it at my house.
 
They grow in cow pies. Hey what's those dark spots on my shrooms?

Have read they're good for migraines. Don't know what type of study's were done.
 
FlyBoy5 said:
Ughh. I too went today. I planned to go from 9:30 to 10:30 (on a Tuesday) to avoid the early morning business owner crowd, the lunch time AARP Buffet crowd, and the mid-afternoon got 7 kids in tow Mom crowd...but it was all for naught. I think 1/2 the population of North Georgia was there and it's like an episode of 'The Walking Dead'. People wander around with no situational awareness at all and I think most were legally blind. I also dislike that the carts are so big that you really should have a commercial endorsement to drive them around the store. Also, I wish there was a limit on the self-checkout...if you have 2 carts with 124 items, it's best you get in a regular line :nonono:

Nonetheless, I spent about $100 and that's about the normal in a month with just me and DW. Thankfully, I only go once every month or so...which is good because for every visit, I am pretty sure I lose 2 weeks off my life expectancy.
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I've been to this store with the wife multiple times as well (Cumberland Mall in NW Atlanta) and it's always a zoo, doesn't matter what time you go during the week.

It is a big turnoff to me as well because of the hassle factor, and I think we'll let our membership lapse when it expires at the end of this year. There are some good deals to be had but with careful shopping they can almost always be beaten with a much better experience at local stores and online.
 
I remember visiting a Costco in Atlanta once - Brookhaven. I have NEVER seen a Costco parking lot so full, and it seemed to be twice the size of the normal Costco parking lot!!!

If the Atlanta area Costcos are always so crowded, I probably would avoid them too. Looking at the map in the past it seemed like there are 5+ Costcos in Atlanta and surrounding areas such as Marietta. It's incredible that they are all still so crowded!
 
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audreyh1 said:
I remember visiting a Costco in Atlanta once - Brookhaven. I have NEVER seen a Costco parking lot so full, and it seemed to be twice the size of the normal Costco parking lot!!!

...It's incredible that they are all still so crowded!
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They are so crowded no one ever shops there any more!
 
audreyh1 said:
I remember visiting a Costco in Atlanta once - Brookhaven. I have NEVER seen a Costco parking lot so full, and it seemed to be twice the size of the normal Costco parking lot!!!

If the Atlanta area Costcos are always so crowded, I probably would avoid them too. Looking at the map in the past it seemed like there are 5+ Costcos in Atlanta and surrounding areas such as Marietta. It's incredible that they are all still so crowded!
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I have been going to the Kennesaw location. My DW has told me that there are too many stay at home moms there and I should go to the one in Sandy Springs in the early afternoon. She's gone there for late lunch a few times and she said it's not as bad. Perhaps I'll give that one a try next time.

Sent from my mobile device so please excuse grammatical errors. :)
 
Oh no!

Could Costco Earnings Signal a Rise in Membership Fees?

Membership fee revenue remained flat sequentially. Because Costco’s net income is routinely very closely aligned with its membership fee revenue, it is vital for the company to either add new members or raise those fees.

Keeping costs under control is also crucial, and that helps explain the recent end of Costco’s exclusive deal with American Express. Costco undoubtedly wanted to pay lower swipe fees and American Express refused. The new deal with Citigroup and Visa that begins next year may be an opportunity for Costco to recruit new members.
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audreyh1 said:
Pure speculation in the article.

Of course at some point fees will go up.
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I was watching Cramer yesterday and he noted that Costco membership fees are pretty price-inelastic: last time they raised them they lost very few customers. Earlier in this thread someone mentioned average income of Costco members. According to Cramer, median household income in the US is $68K and for Costco members it's $91K. I'd be curious to find out how they got the $91K figures; clearly they don't ask your income when you sign up. Maybe it's the people who get the Costco Amex? I could see Amex agreeing to provide aggregate demographics from the credit bureaus for Costco Amex holders.
 
athena53 said:
I was watching Cramer yesterday and he noted that Costco membership fees are pretty price-inelastic: last time they raised them they lost very few customers. Earlier in this thread someone mentioned average income of Costco members. According to Cramer, median household income in the US is $68K and for Costco members it's $91K. I'd be curious to find out how they got the $91K figures; clearly they don't ask your income when you sign up. Maybe it's the people who get the Costco Amex? I could see Amex agreeing to provide aggregate demographics from the credit bureaus for Costco Amex holders.
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Once they have you name it is real easy to get all the rest of the info they want about you... it is not like it is hidden to these companies....
 
I made one of those "treasure hunt" purchases today -- a stand-up paddle board for $400. Last year I had looked into getting one to use at our mountain house (we have a lake), but what I could find ran $800-$1000 dollars. That was more than I was willing to spend, but for half price I went for it. I did draw quite a few looks and comments as I went through the store -- probably because it was 20 degrees outside with a fresh snowfall yesterday.

I went into the store to buy frozen lasagna, dates, and trail mix. Oops.
 
We have one of those Food Saver vacuum units, so to us it's a great deal to buy their meats and parcel them out for smaller future meals for the 2 of us.
I've heard the vacuum bags also work well to keep salad mixes fresh longer, but we haven't tried that yet.
 
Sarpy said:
We have one of those Food Saver vacuum units, so to us it's a great deal to buy their meats and parcel them out for smaller future meals for the 2 of us.
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We do this.

And of course, we bought the food saver thing at Costco.
 
The food saver vacuum bags are great for cheese. Costco carries awesome cheese, but in large pieces. The expiration dates are quite long, but once the cheese is unsealed it won't last to that date. Cutting the cheese into smaller blocks and vacuum packing it, the pieces you're not using will last quite a long time in the fridge.
 
One thing I've noticed about Costco and our overall spending on food:

We're eating a lot more at home these days. We seem to do more so each year. And a major reason is Costco. Both because a) large quantities of fresh vegetables and b) we are able to buy so many high quality foods at a good price.

Wine at a fantastic price too.

Increasingly eating at home is due to finding more things that we like at Costco, and so making them at home instead of going out for them. We'll occasionally try something new, and if we like it a lot, it becomes part of our home cooking repertoire.

So our spending on both groceries, wine, and dining out has been dropping since 2011 (when the local store opened and we joined).
 
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