Costco

[protecteur]

I was thinking of getting a Costco membership and was woundering if its worth while? Is the prices cheaper then regular stores and does it have good selection etc...

[slayer_glade]

It's extremely worth it for me. Others, not so much. There are a lot of Costco discussion threads on SC that you can read if you like.

What you should do is call or physically go to Costco and speak to someone at customer service. They used to provide a guest day pass so people can check the store before signing up. I'm sure they still do.

[Zonny]

There are several threads out there on this topic I think.

I have a Costco membership and I enjoy it. But you do need to be a Smart Canuck and be aware of how much things cost normally, whether coupons are common for that item, etc., before you buy. Not everything is a deal there.

Here's what I buy regularly:

Propane - costs about $12 to fill the tank
Mushrooms - I LOVE mushrooms. A 1.5 pound package of fresh mushrooms is $3.99. Sobeys charges at least $6 for the same package.
Broccoli - a bag of florets , about 2.5 pounds I think, is about $5.49. This might not be as inexpensive as frozen or whole bunches on sale, but for lazy folks like me whose family loves broccoli, it's a good deal.
Mini carrots - 5 pounds is about $5.49
Kirkland granola bars - $7.59 for 48 bars.
Kirkland Sunsweet pitted prunes (my senior mom lives with us! LOL!) are about $6 for a big bag.
Applesauce cups for kids lunch - a pack of 24 is under $8 I think. They're not Motts, a brand I've never heard of, but they're good, and the price is good as a grocery store sale.
Yoplait yogurt tubes - a pack of 24 is $7.69. You can get cheaper on sale in the regular grocery store, but when it's not on sale, not bad here.
Liberté Greek Yogurt, 2x500 grams (but only plain) is about $7.69. I think regular grocery store charges about $5 for one of these tubs.
Cereals go on sale fairly regularly - not always the ones I want, but when a jumbo box of what we use is the right price, I'll buy a couple.

Meats

- steak is a bit more expensive than the local grocery store, but their sirloin grilling steak is 10x better than anything I can get at the local grocery store. If I'm buying steak, I'm going there.
- Beef roasts are BIG, but I buy a sirloin tip roast for about $35, cut into three pieces for the freezer. About $3 a pound, better than grocery store price and better quality. There's a guide available in the meat department for free, about how to cut your large piece of beef into a more manageable portion.

- Chicken drumsticks or thighs - to be honest, I don't find a difference in quality in poultry really, and they are a bit more than the sale price in our local grocery store, but better than regular price from there. If there's not a sale on, I buy thighs and drumsticks at Costco. The chicken breasts are much more expensive than sale price in grocery store, don't know if they're better, never bought them as I find they're too expensive.

Clothing can be a good deal too. DH bought a very good quality hoodie there for less than what he'd pay at Roots but it's just as good. I got a Roots swimsuit there not long ago for I think $23. Even Walmart and Zellers are charging $40+ for a name brand swimsuit. One bad thing is you can't try it on, but they will take it back, unlike any other retailer out there.

Another important factor, they have a great return policy. If you're not happy, bring it back.

This is all I can think of for now! What else can everyone else think of?

[divinedivagirl]

Their epsom salts are the BEST price EVER! 5.5 kg for $7.99

Baking products: 10 kg flour(white or whole wheat), 2 kg brown sugar, baking powder, craisins, raisins, sea salt, cinnamon....

Fruit: $6 for 9 Bosc pears (delicious and inexpensive)

Meat: They have a 4 kg box of EXCELLENT chicken breasts *frozen* for $29.99
You get about 30 chicken breasts that don't shrink and taste great!

Definitely check Costco out!!! You do have to watch prices but it can be worth it! =)

Just updated my trade list!

Lots of baby formula, grocery, health food and pharmacy coupons including:

Baby Food coupons:
GERBER GRADUATES, GOOD START, HEINZ BABY CEREAL, NATURE VALLEY

Grocery Coupons:IVANHOE, ORVILLE REDENBACHER, TRE STELLE, HEALTHY CHOICE, GLAD,
Pharmacy coupons: CENTRUM, SPINBRUSH, PRONAMEL, DISNEY multivitamins

SOON TO EXPIRE COUPONS!!!!

BABY FORMULA COUPONS
1 X $12 off ENFAMIL A+ can of powder Mar 31/12
2 X $5 off SIMILAC SENSITIVE Mar 31/12
2 X $5 off SIMILAC READY-TO-FEED NURSERS Mar 31/12
and more!

PHARMACY
CLARITIN, ARM & HAMMER, ORAJEL FOR KIDS, NICORETTE, FLINTSTONES multivitamins, ROBAX PLATINUM

Would love to TRADE with you!!!

[protecteur]

Cool will go check them out! Now the big question should I get the premium membership with 2 percent cash back!

[slayer_glade]

Cool will go check them out! Now the big question should I get the premium membership with 2 percent cash back!

That all depends on how much you buy. Tho with Costco, if you don't get back enough to cover the membership, they can refund you the difference and put you on the cheaper one.

I have the 2% one and even tho I don't spend enough to pay the membership fee, I still get enough back that what I do have to pay is less than the cheapest membership. So I've never asked for the difference and to switch.

[Anna Michele]

i have a membership i use maybe 5 times a year and they don't take coupons

[blueeyetea]

Like a lot of things, it depends on your situation. Most of the merchandise at Costco is sold in huge quantities and more often than not, the price is just a few cents cheaper than what you'd pay at a regular store. If you watch and shop the sales at other groceries, you're more likely to find better deals at other stores.

Case in point, recently I was at Costco with a friend and I spotted Cashmere toilet paper. Costco was selling it at $7.99 for 24 DR, which made it out to 33 cents a roll. Every week, a store in the area has it on sale for between 33 cents and 37 cents a rolls. Factor in the cost of the Costco membership and you can see it's not worth it.

Another thing about Costco is the opportunity to overspend. I hardly know anyone who walks in there who doesn't pick up extras that they didn't intend to. Like all grocery stores, you go in to buy a bag of milk, but you walk out of there with ground beef, a bag of chips, frozen fish and a favourite magazine. The difference at Costco is that you'll spend about 4 times more on these impulses. One pound of ground beef ($6) at the grocery store is 4 pound ($20) at Costco. A bag of chips at 300g ($2.50) morphs into two mega-size bags ($8). One pound of shrimp becomes 2kg.

If you're on a budget, all these add up and fast and not necessarily for the better, since you still have to store the bigger quantities. So, yes, you're getting a good deal when you think cost per unit, but is it really a saving if you have more than you normally consume? It's one thing to be enticed by chocolate bar at the grocery store. You eat it and it's gone. A box from Costco will still contain another 23 bars that has to be consumed eventually. If you're on a diet and shouldn't be eating chocolate in the first place, was it really a saving to spend $17.99 for a box of 24 instead of the $1.75 at the grocery store?

So, considering all the above, is it worth the $55? I personally don't think so, but it's only myself and my husband, and I don't like keeping huge quantities of stuff we don't use a lot.

Having said all that, you can always try out Costco by getting a gift card. Go with a friend that has a membership to buy the gift card and then you're set to shop until the gift card runs out.