What does Costco Have That I Can't Find Other Places?

[simple girl]

*one of my prescriptions with GOODRx is cheapest here, cheaper than with insurance

*the fresh organic spinach is an incredible deal

*LOVE their flap meat - best cut I've ever found for stir-fry's - can't find it anywhere else

*great deal on organic maple syrup

*love the canned boneless salmon and tuna

*certain face cream I use is cheaper here than anywhere else, even with $5 coupon at other stores

*love their cases of organic black beans, black olives, and canned tomatoes

*great deal on large bottle of capers

*love their mixed fancy nuts, again great deal

*love the organic boneless chicken thighs and how they are packaged for easy freezing and thawing

 

[Mark1]

That was the 1st thing I looked into and found out they use instacart and everything would be about 15% more and they don't offer the same things as in the store. I'm really into having things delivered. So I was (at first) excited about it.

Brook, it sounds like you might be a candidate for a Sam's plus membership verses Costco, due to free shipping. We have both a Sam's membership (~ 8 miles away) and a Costco membership (> 100 miles away). Excluding wine, we do > 99% of our shopping at Sam's compared to Costco simply due to the distance to the stores. As noted above, Costco Kirkland products are typically superior to Sam's Member Mark, but the gap is much smaller today then it was 15 years ago. In fact a few items are superior at Sam's (e.g. Organic Chicken Bone Broth), and other items are identical since their the same product (Premier Protein Drinks).

The reason that you are a candidate at Sam's is the free shipping at Sam's and the lack of a price mark up at Sam's for shipped items. As I noted earlier, you will have to be a "Plus member", at maybe $100 or $110. Note: the "Plus" does get you cash back, just like the "Executive" does at Costco.

I just find it insane that Sam's will ship me very heavy items for free without markup. The two examples above are cases in point. Because I can't buy the Chicken broth or many flavors of the Protein drinks I like within our local store, I instead have them shipped. How can a store ship me a 6 pack of chicken broth at $16 that weighs in excess of 10 pounds at a profit

 

[Koolau]

Using Costco to save money may well be dependent on where one lives. On the mainland, we don't have easy access to Costco and use Sams for some things. Costco is almost 2 hours away. But also, on the mainland, we have easy access to Aldi. So we buy most of our produce, milk, ice-cream, eggs, packaged lunch meats, etc. there. The rest, we buy at Kroger and Sams.

But in the Islands, There simply is no comparison. IF (big if) Costco has it, we'll save half or more by buying there vs any grocery store. The only competition is Sams (and Walmart.) Costco is much closer, so Sams is used mostly for specific kinds of canned goods that Costco doesn't carry. Mentioned before, Costco (and to a lesser extent, Sams) has helped a lot of folks afford Island life. It's that dramatic a savings in the Islands.

 

[Chuckanut]

8 oz of Marscapone cheese at the local Kroger affiliate is $3.69. Trader Joes is better at $2.79. Costco sells a 16 oz container for $3.89.

Alas, I must correct the above. Costco has increased the price of the Marscapone to $4.89 since my last purchase over a month ago. It's still the best deal but not by quite as much. I do not know if the other store's prices have also suffered such a large increase.

 

[Ally]

We joined, but I hate going. I order what I need, and get great bargains on lots of things that I would buy at drugstores or Walmart. Since I make a big order, shipping is free.

 

[RobbieB]

You do not use Costco to save money. You use Costco to spend more dough than you planned. Not even counting the membership cost. It's a big trap. I avoided it until the covid and it was the only place to get paper.

Why do you think they have those really big carts? So you can load in five (or more) hundred dollars worth of stuff that you don't need. But you do like...

Yeah, Costco.

 

[Music Lover]

You do not use Costco to save money. You use Costco to spend more dough than you planned. Not even counting the membership cost. It's a big trap. I avoided it until the covid and it was the only place to get paper.

Why do you think they have those really big carts? So you can load in five (or more) hundred dollars worth of stuff that you don't need. But you do like...

Yeah, Costco.

We use Costco as a couple and have no problem not overbuying. Bulk toilet paper doesn't go bad, we don't buy bulk vegetables or fruits we won't be able to eat, we'll buy bulk meat if it's a good price and freeze the extra.

It's only a trap if you fall into it.

 

[W2R]

Nothing?

We went to Costco once, a few months after the store here opened for the first time. They let us in to look around (but not buy), so we did that.

I didn't see anything rare or unusual. I just saw LOTS of everything, mountains of it. The store was huge, as was the parking lot, so going there was very tiring. There weren't any huge bargains that got my attention. And, we never need large quantities of anything.

So, we didn't join and I don't feel like I'm missing anything. The only thing I've heard of that could make me join would be hearing aids, if I ever need them (I don't yet). I have heard (online) that Costco is the best place for hearing aids.

I don't really know anybody that belongs. Maybe Costco is better in other regions.

 

[old medic]

At our regular store there are usually two "inspectors" at the exit doors, but the "inspection" is so cursory that it is a non-event. They just take the receipt, eyeball the cart.

At our Sams Club, they scan the receipt, then scan 3 random items, If they match, you go.

We dropped our Costco membership many years ago, Sams always seemed to have better choices and prices.

 

[simple girl]

We joined, but I hate going. I order what I need, and get great bargains on lots of things that I would buy at drugstores or Walmart. Since I make a big order, shipping is free.

I hear ya - I hate going, too! The parking lot is HUGE and there is never a close spot. The worst part is they don't have cart returns out at the edges of the the parking lot. So you either have to slog your empty cart all the way back to near the entrance or leave it near you car in the lot like everyone else does, waiting to roll into a car. (I never do that, since I'm a rule follower, lol. )

Ordering online doesn't work great for me since several of my favorite items are fresh foods, as well as a prescription.

 

[athena53]

It's only a trap if you fall into it.

Totally agreed. I'm a disciplined shopper in Costco AND my regular grocery stores. I have a list and I pretty much stick to it unless the cart of marked-down food items in the grocery store has something interesting. (That's how I discovered farro.) I'm not in stuff-buying mode anymore. I did buy pillows in Costco last week but that's because I'd decided beforehand my current ones were getting grubby and needed replacing.

Another point in Costco's favor: good employees who stick around for years. I've been going to this one since I moved to the area in 2015 and see many of the same faces there. I care about how businesses treat their employees.

 

[audreyh1]

You do not use Costco to save money. You use Costco to spend more dough than you planned. Not even counting the membership cost. It's a big trap. I avoided it until the covid and it was the only place to get paper.

Why do you think they have those really big carts? So you can load in five (or more) hundred dollars worth of stuff that you don't need. But you do like...

Yeah, Costco.

We just don’t have trouble with that. We are mainly grocery shopping for the two of us. We don’t walk the aisles, but go to specific locations for things on our list. And unlike some have experienced, our Costco rarely moves things around. Their produce is generally in such good shape we have no trouble using it up. The meat/poultry/seafood - we often freeze half. We rarely buy non-perishable items except for a few frequently used things.

 

[Gumby]

..We don’t walk the aisles, but go to specific locations for things on our list. ...

That's a good idea regardless of where you shop. When I make our grocery list, I envision the store and put things on the list in the order that I will pass by them on my trip through the store.

 

[MarieIG]

That's a good idea regardless of where you shop. When I make our grocery list, I envision the store and put things on the list in the order that I will pass by them on my trip through the store.

IMHO, some aisles in any store are best avoided. (When I had little ones, I quickly learned to avoid the candy and junk cereal aisles. Of course, I also was very quick on the draw with the use of that two letter word "No". )

 

[audreyh1]

That's a good idea regardless of where you shop. When I make our grocery list, I envision the store and put things on the list in the order that I will pass by them on my trip through the store.

That’s what we do everywhere we shop. In grocery stores we are typically shopping the store perimeter anyway with much that we don’t visit.

 

[Midpack]

You do not use Costco to save money. You use Costco to spend more dough than you planned. Not even counting the membership cost. It's a big trap. I avoided it until the covid and it was the only place to get paper.

Why do you think they have those really big carts? So you can load in five (or more) hundred dollars worth of stuff that you don't need. But you do like...

Yeah, Costco.

The problem there is impulse buying. Anyone who is susceptible to that would fall into that “trap” anywhere, not unique to Costco. I have a Costco, Target, Harris Teeter and Trader Joe’s shopping list on my iPhone at all times. I know what to buy where to save, and I don’t have to make extra trips to any of them, it’s not rocket surgery. And our annual rebates (far) exceed our Exec membership cost every year, so that’s not an issue.

 

[Gumby]

We are also "perimeter" shoppers. There are aisles that I have never gone down in many of our local stores (not Aldi, because they have only 5 aisles total).

 

[Out-to-Lunch]

We are also "perimeter" shoppers. There are aisles that I have never gone down in many of our local stores (not Aldi, because they have only 5 aisles total).

I am also a perimeter shopper. But I also got fairly lucky with my local chain grocery store. They built it as a "showcase store"; it is large, but it has two levels. The lower level contains all of the stuff that normally would be on the perimeter. The upper floor has all the "aisle" wares. I only have to go upstairs for a few things like EVOO.

 

[braumeister]

We are also "perimeter" shoppers.

Same here, and I have come to actually enjoy the layout. In most supermarkets, they seem to have the produce, meat, and dairy sections as far from each other as possible, so I look at it as a chance to burn an extra calorie or two and it goes toward my "step count" for the day.

For the same reason, I generally take the first parking space on entering the lot, so I have more steps to the door.

 

[audreyh1]

Yep, produce, seafood, cheese, meat/poultry, long hike to dairy, then long hike back to front of store.

The meat section itself is enormous, but most things I head to the butcher counter. If I’m looking for cuts for my smoker, however, I have a long section of refrigerated chests to browse.

 

[fh2000]

Someone may have mentioned that their return policy is amazing. One time I bought 2 boxes of chocolate cookies. At the parking lot, somehow one box fell on the ground and cookies scattered all over. I was going to just collect them and put inside a garbage bin. An employee just walking by and quietly said, "don't tell anyone I said this, but you can just go inside and return it. Grab a new box and pay for it again"

 

[COcheesehead]

I knew someone who sold their products to Costco and they told me one of Costco’s marketing techniques was they discovered customers liked to “treasure hunt”. That is why you see some things only once and new things pop up all the time, but for a limited time.

Some of the Kirkland appellation level wines are tremendous values. The Châteauneuf-du-Pape and Gigondas blends are usually a screaming deal.

 

[Happyras]

I knew someone who sold their products to Costco and they told me one of Costco’s marketing techniques was they discovered customers liked to “treasure hunt”. That is why you see some things only once and new things pop up all the time, but for a limited time.

Some of the Kirkland appellation level wines are tremendous values. The Châteauneuf-du-Pape and Gigondas blends are usually a screaming deal.

Totally agree on the wine. One thing I have learned quickly is that sale items tend to later be priced the same as the sale. We always look for items ending in $XXX7 or $xxx0, this indicates they are being closed out or last one to be sold. So far this past 6 months I scored an LG 83 inch OLED TV for $1200 less, and new powered leather couches for 1/2 price, and some great heavy lined shirt coats for $9.00 (prior $29.99). I bought a cast iron Instapot on sale regular $179 for $134, then found it later marked down to $94.97. My favorite jeans were marked down to $6.97, but rang up at $5.00 at check out.....

The best policy is the 30 day guarantee. Just take the receipt to customer service if something you bought recently is lower, they refund it. I bought an outdoor furniture set, which was marked down, and later marked down further and got the refund. This has happened a lot to me, you just have to be aware. BTW we have been to Costco 4 times in the last 7 days, but its pretty close.....Our Costco is in Redmond, just east of Kirkland so maybe we see better deals here locally.

 

[athena53]

The discussion that just showed up in my feed on buying glasses on-line also jogged my memory: my optical exam in January was $90. They have racks of fancy designer eyeglasses but they cheerfully hand you your prescription which you can then use to buy elsewhere. I've used only Zenni but have been very happy with them.

 

[Happyras]

However, that said, yesterday we went to Costco to get fresh King Salmon, as QFC had some, Costco usually does too for much less. NOPE, just that cr$#ppy farmed raised and some frozen old sockeye fillets. We went to QFC and scored a great piece of fresh King, but it was $40/lb. Typically, Costco would have the same for less than $24/lb. Still a bit costly, but well worth it for those who know the difference.