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

[ShokWaveRider]

If you go in the Returns door they do not check your membership. Then you can walk around and snoop.

 

[Chuckanut]

I think you need a bike trailer -

Perhaps a trip to a Costco in the Netherlands is necessary to see how it's done.

 

[COcheesehead]

LOL

 

[Ian S]

We like their Jose's Organic Mayan Blend whole bean coffee. It's pretty cheap if you buy it at the warehouse. We buy our prescription glasses there and while it's cheaper to buy at online stores, we invariably have to have adjustments made for fit after we get them. Their car rental prices are not always the best: we prefer to use autoslash which will typically get you the best deal including a Costco price. Also love their Sanders salted dark chocolate caramels! Still hard to imagine shopping there without a car to handle the large packages of most items.

 

[pacergal]

We tend to go less often ever since the kids are out of the house, now a family of two, we just can't eat a lot of the stuff before it spoils. But we do buy paper products there, love the organic hamburger and Prime meats, large bottles of vitamins, etc are cheaper.
DH likes the kombucha, the case of small Naked juices are good. And the variety of nuts available is great.

 

[Chuckanut]

My local Costco has a good price on Kimchi.

 

[Goldendoodlebug]

I buy their allergy medicine. Until they raised the yearly subscription price recently, it alone saved me the cost of the yearly subscription. If you buy a lot of vitamins or supplements , you will probably save enough to justify the yearly price and they are easy to transport on a bike.

We buy their dog food and have it delivered, we don’t have to haul big bags of food, it comes to our door.

We buy frequently buy gas there, although you wouldn’t use it.

Other items include a 65 inch TV, AirPods on sale, huge poinsettia at Christmas, a raincoat, vests, pants.

I really like the cheese, high quality, good price, wine, better than bullion soup base.

We bought a freezer and began to buy meat there, but they are in such huge quantities, I wouldn’t buy them if I only had a bike

 

[MarieIG]

It's an issue for me because they are wasting my time. I already stood in line once at the register. I'm not eager to stand in line twice. If their loss control people have some reason to suspect that I have shoplifted (such as having watched me on camera), then they are free to detain me, call the cops and see if they are right. But to stop me just because I am walking out with a cart of things that I have already paid for and that now belong to me is unacceptable.

It's simple, really. If you want to throw down with me, then do it and live with the consequences. If you can't, then leave me alone.

Conversely, when I go, I always smile at the receipt checkers, and wish them a good day. If there is no line, I chat with them for a moment or two. I figure they have a long day standing on their feet, and many are elderly. But - I tend to do this, i.e. library, supermarket - even when I pay my property taxes in person.

 

[Gumby]

Conversely, when I go, I always smile at the receipt checkers, and wish them a good day. If there is no line, I chat with them for a moment or two. I figure they have a long day standing on their feet, and many are elderly. But - I tend to do this, i.e. library, supermarket - even when I pay my property taxes in person.

I've got nothing against the receipt checkers personally. They all seem like fine people just doing their jobs and I know they didn't make the policy. I just dislike Walmart's approach to loss prevention. If people are stealing, catch them and call the police. But don't annoy everyone else just because you don't want to pay for better loss prevention staff.

 

[MarieIG]

I've got nothing against the receipt checkers personally. They all seem like fine people just doing their jobs and I know they didn't make the policy. I just dislike Walmart's approach to loss prevention. If people are stealing, catch them and call the police. But don't annoy everyone else just because you don't want to pay for better loss prevention staff.

Costco has the membership agreement - Walmart does not.

Loss prevention policy has changed in our general area over the last 2/3 years - the "soft stop" is the prevailing method.

 

[MarieIG]

Perhaps a trip to a Costco in the Netherlands is necessary to see how it's done.

Excellent

 

[Turbo29]

Common OTC medicine at local chain grocery - 100 tablets/$9.99. At Costco 400 tablets/$5.69

Even if the larger bottle expires and you throw out half of them you come out way ahead.

 

[Koolau]

I can't add a lot to what's been said. Costco really honks me off from time to time. They often don't have stuff I bought just last week. They may or may not ever have it again. They move their stuff around and make it difficult to find. It's difficult to get any human help there. Their parking lot is always a zoo. On and on.

BUT, they have consistently good prices. Costco is one of the things that we've found to make Paradise affordable. We get rebates from their card that easily pay (more than pay) for the cost of the card AFTER we've saved money on most of their stuff. Are they perfect? Far from it. Would we give up our card? Not a chance.

Oh, and by the way (doesn't apply to OP, obviously) we save the cost of the membership just with using their gas. Last night, I saved $0.65/gallon over the street corner stations. YMMV

 

[Brook2]

Apologize if this was already mentioned (long thread) but given that the OP doesn’t have a car - Costco delivers (at least they do here)

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.

 

[Koolau]

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.

If I could trust the folks taking my order and the delivery folks, 15% sounds like a real bargain - even more so if it allows you not to own a car.

 

[NW-Bound]

We have been members of Costco and its predecessor Price Club for decades. No, they don't have things that are so unique, but their price is often significantly lower. Their merchandise is not top-notch or luxurious, but I don't find inferior stuff often. Just solid middle-range usable stuff.

When I am not shopping around for very specific features or particular needs, the stuff at Costco is usually good enough and I don't have to worry about getting ripped off.

I don't mind showing the receipts at the door. It's fast and because everyone does it, that's not like they single you out as a potential shoplifter.

We are all treated a lot worse by airport security.

 

[brett]

Long time Costco customers.

In store and on line. Just had a new washer/drier delivered today that we ordered online. Price and their white glove appliance service were both top notch.

 

[athena53]

I'm happy to participate because I have had missing items and stopping theft helps keep prices as low as possible.

I've had missing items pointed out to me twice. Totally agreed on theft- in my local grocery stores the employees have been told not to pursue shoplifters- a legitimate safety reason, but it still means that it's easy for thieves to get away with it.

I'm a household of one and buy a lot of produce, which I always use up before it goes bad- but I could NOT bring my purchases home on a bike unless I made multiple trips! I also like Costco for the big-ticket items where the array of brands and pricing is dizzying and you have no idea which choice is a decent value. I've bought a mattress, car tires, a furnace, plantation shades and major appliances through them.

 

[braumeister]

Another point is that I find the quality of Kirkland branded items to always be top notch.

 

[audreyh1]

I like that Costco carefully tests the items they choose to sell, almost like consumer reports, and pick items that are a good quality/price trade off. So you don’t get a wide selection, but you know what they do carry will be good. So I don’t spend nearly as much time making decisions about exactly which new printer, etc.

 

[ElizabethT]

I'm on the fence of whether to join Costco. They won't let me "try it out" - I have to become a member.

Is it worth it? More than finding discounts, I'm more interested in - if they have things I can't find other places. I tend to buy healthy, unprocessed foods, so I'm not sure if Costco is like shopping Walmart or a standard grocery store chain (which I don't usually need to do).

I have 'tried it' out twice by purchasing $10 gift cards, paying the remainder of my purchases balance each visit by credit card. I believe I bought them from a student selling them as a fund raiser.

I'm not a Costco user, I didn't care for the taste of the processed food items I ended up purchasing (not a reflection on Costco, per se, more that I find my own cooking just tastes better), and the gift card visits didn't change my mind, but I did have fun exploring the store on my own.

 

[splitwdw]

Don't you know anyone that has a Costco membership that would take you with them so you could see what your local warehouse offers? As mentioned previously, if you buy a membership and don't find it beneficial you can turn your membership back in at customer service and get a refund.
Every club warehouse in my area checks your order at the door. It doesn't take that long. The hardest part of waiting in line is the person behind me that starts complaining about the line as soon as they get in line. Have some patience!

 

[Rianne]

We get all our fresh fruit from Costco. If you go on a Friday or Saturday there are so many samples you can forget lunch. The cheese selection is excellent and our Costco has a wonderful fresh deli section. I stay clear of baked goods. If you have a local bakery, much better.

 

[jazz4cash]

When I was curious about Costco I went to guest services thinking I could get a guest pass to just look around. No pass, but they did let me browse. At Sam’s club the longest line is to exit the store. They are not counting, they are auditing.

 

[mystang52]

Everyone's different, but FWIW I don't see the benefit of Costco for groceries. I joined Costco 5 years ago solely for the Hearing Aids. I only go there for hearing checks and occasional hearing aid servicing. Their service is excellent. When I'm there, I'll occasionally browse the aisles; I don't do scientific analysis, but as best as I can tell their prices are not better than my grocery stores, especially comparing the frequent sale prices at grocery stores.........and I don't have to buy a 50 gallon drum of ketchup. Add to that the usually very long checkout lines, and any potential small savings would not be worth it for me.
Their car rental rates are good, but I've usually done better with AAA Travel, and Costco doesn't offer my preferred Hertz. Like I said, everyone is different, but if I had normal hearing I would not join Costco.