Warehouse club grocery savings or not?

[audreyh1]

I get the impression that Costco is the highest price of the three main warehouse clubs but haven't seen any cost comparisons to verify that. I know Sam's club, for example, has some potential savings vs Walmart/Aldi but I just can't bear to spend 1-2 hours to deal with shopping there (and run to ANOTHER grocery store each week ). So perhaps BJs or Sams is the way to go.

I would expect so. Costco tends to carry higher end products.

And, BTW, my Costco seems to do an outstanding job of managing the supply chain. I'm always amazed how fresh the produce and meats/seafood/poultry are. I noticed quickly that Costco seemed to do a better job on handling produce than my trusty HEB does. Of course I also pay good attention to pack dates on meats/seafood/poultry and expiration dates on produce - especially since I'm purchasing in larger quantities and it usually means two recipes.

 

[audreyh1]

BTW - Aldi's owns Trader Joe's

 

[Ready]

I don't think all warehouse clubs are equal. Costco fans are loyal because of the Kirkland brand. The quality is usually better than the name brand and far less expensive. I haven't found that to be the case at Sam's Club. I haven't shopped in a BJ's in over 25 years because they are pretty much east coast only, so I can't comment on that.

The membership fee is pennies compared to the amount I save. And the return policy alone more than justifies the membership fee. We get 2% back on all of our purchases anyway, so the $100 membership fee is usually offset by around a $300 rebate check.

 

[timo2]

The supply chain is poorly managed at WalMart, the meat and produce are not the best quality to begin with and tend to be old. The frozen stuff collects frost on it and I'm never sure if their freezers operate properly. Walmart is for cheap dishwasher detergent and window cleaner. Sometimes they are cheaper than Costco for paper goods.

I don't think Costco fish is very fresh and the salmon was tasteless and mealy when I bought it.

I buy boneless, skinless chicken pieces when they are on sale at Sprouts and freeze them in cooking quantities. The chicken has good flavor and freezes well. Beef and pork are not on the menu. Beef is too expensive and has no flavor no matter where you buy it. Costco beef is not as good as what is sold in the small local chain, but that's not enough of an improvement to pay the high price. The stomachs here do better with fish and chicken than pork and beef anyway.

Trader Joe's was cheap 20 years ago. Not today. I still buy some things there, peanut butter and olive oil are two things I always buy there. Sprouts produce is generally better than the big chains' produce and they have good sales.

We buy Safeway loss leaders for things we use or like. The local high priced Whole Foods competitor has Clover milk at a very good price and some good albeit expensive produce. Everything else is breathtakingly expensive. I call it the neighborhood convenience store, since it is several miles closer than the chains. No Aldi's or Winco here.

That makes total sense and is the sort of the logic we use to shop also. DW likes the Trader Joe's chicken better than everyone else's. and the only beef we like at Costco is the organic ground beef (although the ground buffalo was good when we bought that). The steaks we get at Sprouts are better than Costco's in our opinion.

What bothers me about the fish supply chain is that much of it is either originating in or being sent to China for processing and then sent back, with no point of origin labeling. Chicken is going that way also. The oceans are a toxic wreck, so had the thought of giving up on seafood except that it is still is still better for you to eat fish than not to eating fish. Here is a site for fish quality Seafood Watch - Official Site of the Monterey Bay Aquarium's Sustainable Seafood Program

I keep hearing about mealy salmon at Costco, be we have never had that occurrence. And the trout we got at Costco was tasty...almost all USA trout is from Idaho fish farms, so those seem to be safe from international food chain issues.

 

[Another Reader]

BTW - Aldi's owns Trader Joe's

And I suspect they are packaging the same products and charging different prices for them at the two chains. I just don't have an Aldi's here to test my suspicion.

 

[foxcreek9]

BTW - Aldi's owns Trader Joe's

No, common heritage but two separate companies.

 

[wmc1000]

we have been members of both Sam's Club and Costco in the recent past. while their are savings to be had in some areas for us we didn't go enough to justify re-upping. we have a supercenter a few miles from us and their milk is always under $1 a gallon so we buy that and their store brand items we need.

 

[RockyMtn]

I probably pay for my Costco membership three times over just what I save on rental cars on their travel website. Add in the gas, wine, booze and their Callaway leather golf gloves and I am well ahead of the game. Don't buy a ton of food there anymore (as it is now just the two of us) other than coffee, steaks and baby back ribs.

 

[karen1972]

I keep a spreadsheet of price per ounce/count and based on that I do most of my shopping. There is no one place that is cheapest as they all run sales and they all have lose leaders. I also am brand loyal in some cases, so I end up shopping at BJs, Food Lion, Harris Teeter (love their pasta sauce) and Aldis with a run every once and awhile to get cheap wine at Trader Joes.

 

[euro]

I keep a spreadsheet of price per ounce/count and based on that I do most of my shopping. There is no one place that is cheapest as they all run sales and they all have lose leaders. I also am brand loyal in some cases, so I end up shopping at BJs, Food Lion, Harris Teeter (love their pasta sauce) and Aldis with a run every once and awhile to get cheap wine at Trader Joes.

That's pretty much our approach too - means hitting many stores each week (I don't actually mind - I go during "off-hours"

 

[athena53]

There's another reason that I like Costco even if they're not the cheapest on the block for similar quality. They treat their employees better. I'm willing to pay a premium for goods and services produced by companies who value their employees. It's a luxury, I know- if you're trying to support 3 kids on a minimum-wage job you go to Wal-mart, but I'm glad I have that option.

 

[Ready]

Whenever I think of Walmart versus Costco, my thoughts are that Costco sells high quality stuff for very reasonable prices, while Walmart sells cheap stuff cheap.

I haven't shopped in a Walmart for years, so perhaps it's changed.

 

[audreyh1]

Whenever I think of Walmart versus Costco, my thoughts are that Costco sells high quality stuff for very reasonable prices, while Walmart sells cheap stuff cheap.

I haven't shopped in a Walmart for years, so perhaps it's changed.

I don't think Walmart has changed. I occasionally go in for something specific.

 

[daylatedollarshort]

I keep a spreadsheet of price per ounce/count and based on that I do most of my shopping. There is no one place that is cheapest as they all run sales and they all have lose leaders. I also am brand loyal in some cases, so I end up shopping at BJs, Food Lion, Harris Teeter (love their pasta sauce) and Aldis with a run every once and awhile to get cheap wine at Trader Joes.

That is what I do and then stockpile the loss leaders, overstocks and closeouts. My last Grocery Outlet receipt was $60 spent on $160 worth of food. GO had organic, grass fed beef even cheaper than Costco so I stocked up on that last week and just chucked it in the freezer.

 

[RetiredGypsy]

I'm at least as concerned with quality as with price. Costco has some quality items that are better than the grocery store...

BJs compared favorably in terms of quality over Wal-Mart and Aldis for me, and was a toss up against Publix in terms of healthy food choices and protein quality. After looking at ingredients between the four, BJs offered the best quality value for serving or unit price. But their produce was hit or miss, so once a month I went to BJs for everything besides produce, and once a week I went to Publix for that when I wasn't growing it myself, maybe throwing in the odd treat and weekly Publix sub in too.

BJs has a military membership deal where the $100/year for 5% back is only $70. They have a similar deal for the $50/year membership with the 3% back offer.

 

[aja8888]

Whenever I think of Walmart versus Costco, my thoughts are that Costco sells high quality stuff for very reasonable prices, while Walmart sells cheap stuff cheap.

I haven't shopped in a Walmart for years, so perhaps it's changed.

Outside of food products that are sold by large corporations (General Mills, etc) and local meat and produce, all other "stuff" is the same junk in both stores that arrive by container ship from China. The only difference is Costco sells it for a higher price.

 

[FUEGO]

Outside of food products that are sold by large corporations (General Mills, etc) and local meat and produce, all other "stuff" is the same junk in both stores that arrive by container ship from China. The only difference is Costco sells it for a higher price.

Yeah but but but... you get to feel superior when you pay more at Costco! That has to be worth something.

 

[aja8888]

Yeah but but but... you get to feel superior when you pay more at Costco! That has to be worth something.

I believe there are less handicapped parking spaces at Costco and more pumps at the fuel island. That means less old people with walkers blocking the aisles and quicker times at the fuel island. Both big pluses for Costco.

 

[athena53]

Outside of food products that are sold by large corporations (General Mills, etc) and local meat and produce, all other "stuff" is the same junk in both stores that arrive by container ship from China. The only difference is Costco sells it for a higher price.

Most of their clothing comes from China- I always read the labels because I don't buy "Made in China" if I have alternatives. I still trust Costco to monitor the supply chain and the product quality more rigorously than Wal-Mart, where price is everything.

 

[audreyh1]

Most of their clothing comes from China- I always read the labels because I don't buy "Made in China" if I have alternatives. I still trust Costco to monitor the supply chain and the product quality more rigorously than Wal-Mart, where price is everything.

Someone mentioned they find Costcos depressing. I find most Walmarts depressing. I don't find Costco depressing - well lit, not cramped, I can easily make a beeline to my favorite sections. Not a whole lot of staff around, yet if you do need help from an employee, they are obviously very well trained.

They have their cohort of buyers who do a lot of product testing, kind of like Consumer Reports, so the limited choices they give us means they have usually filtered down to the best value option, and I am rarely disappointed.

And they treat their employees much better, yet I still get great deals.

I am not a shopper who goes for the cheapest option. A lot of cheap stuff is junk. I want value for my money, and I will pay a little more for something if I think I'm getting better quality for that additional cost. Costco seems to be geared to my type of shopping, so they save me a heck of a lot of time as well as delivering good value to me.

I expect the membership serves as a filter for higher end customers like me. Fine by me as I get enough back on the executive rebate to way more than pay for my annual memberships, and that's not even counting the credit card rewards.

Costco has been very successful with their model, one of the few big retailers not suffering from online shopping. Amazon, I'm sure, has them in their sights. Funny that both are based in the Seattle area.

 

[Chuckanut]

Some things are cheaper at places like Costco all the time. At other times the super market may be cheaper on some items IF they are on sale.

The advantage of Costco is that I don't have to shop the sales to ensure that I am getting a cheaper (not the cheapest) price. And who has time to drive from store to store to get the cheapest price on everything one buys?

I find that a combo of three stores: Trader Joe's, Costco and the local Kroger outlet does just fine overall.

 

[athena53]

They have their cohort of buyers who do a lot of product testing, kind of like Consumer Reports, so the limited choices they give us means they have usually filtered down to the best value option, and I am rarely disappointed.

I really count on this for items such as electronics, hearing aids, mattresses, A/C units, etc. where the product selection is mind-boggling and prices are all over the place. I do research on some things (especially travel) but appreciate the legwork Costco does to narrow down choices.

 

[Chuckanut]

Costco has been very successful with their model, one of the few big retailers not suffering from online shopping. Amazon, I'm sure, has them in their sights. Funny that both are based in the Seattle area.

Amazon is not invulnerable. If Costco carries a food item I find that it is almost always cheaper than ordering the same or similar item from Amazon. In fact, even on non food items, I find Costco is usually cheaper. Either the price is lower, or they offer some extra with the product - like tossing in an extra set of replacement brushes with the Roomba I purchased.

Besides, Amazon won' sell me a hot dog and soft drink for $1.50. And the Amazon rotisserie chicken arrived cold and yucky the last time I ordered it.

 

[sengsational]

And the Amazon rotisserie chicken arrived cold and yucky the last time I ordered it.

DW came home from Sam's today with rotisserie chickens. When she goes to Sam's, she always comes home with them. We eat one and she makes chicken salad out of the other. Probably cheaper than buying raw chicken and cooking it....and I think it's pretty good!

 

[timo2]

DW came home from Sam's today with rotisserie chickens. When she goes to Sam's, she always comes home with them. We eat one and she makes chicken salad out of the other. Probably cheaper than buying raw chicken and cooking it....and I think it's pretty good!

Rotisserie chicken is awesome for things like Quesadillas and other Mexican dishes.