Is Costco worth the $60?

[Rich Engelhardt]

I notice a lot of people here go to Costco.
I had a membership at Sam's Club and used it exactly one time in the year I had it.

However - I notice that according to Gas Buddy, Costco & Sam's Club are always the lowest price for gas & being retired I can now take advantage of being able to buy gas when I want to as opposed to when I need to.

I just don't know if I'd use it for anything other than gas.

What else is there that can make it worthwhile?

Costco is closer than Sam's Club and it's actually on the path to a place I drive to three times a week. Sam's is out of the way and I seldom go in that direction, so, I'm looking more at Costco.

[Brian Runau]

We have been members for years. Good quality items and generally less expensive than standard grocery chains. We buy all our meat there, frozen goods, lunch meat, cheese, bread etc... some items are not available at grocery and i assume more expensive, but we don't buy a lot of these. Prime cut ribeye is
$15.99/lb. I have the more expensive membership and the cash back pays for the membership and some extra cas back. Brian

[Greg Parrish]

Something as simple as extension cords could make it worth it. I’ve bought their two pack of 25’ long 12ga extension cords a few different times. They are around $35 for two where other local stores are more than that for one and Amazon is about that much for one.

Just depends on what you are looking for but many times you can get better pricing.

[Rob Luter]

Another vote for Membership. We have the "Executive" level and it pays for itself every year in what we save. Costco is our primary source for meat, fish, some produce, gas, paper products, cleaning products, etc.. Plus we get a rebate back every year.

[Ron Selzer]

signed up early this year so I could buy hearing aids. seems like every time we go there it is $300 to get out. 45 minute one way drive to get there.
Ron

[Bill Howatt]

Another case of "everybody's different". First are you just buying for yourself, or 2, or ... people in the house.
We are 2 people and find that it is worthwhile for paper products like towels, toilet paper. Meat is generally a better price than regular stores. Condiments like ketchup, pickles, are good prices but you may have to buy in packages of 2 or more - this is perhaps a detractor for some, you typically are buying in larger quantities and have to store the excess and ensure you will run through the dated products in time.
IMO, a best place to buy electronics like TVs since you get an extra year warranty included and their extended warranty costs, if you are interested in one, are very reasonable.
However, do not assume Costco is always the best deal for everything all the time. Case in point, went to buy an inkjet printer and got it at Costco then found I could get it on sale at Bestbuy at a lower price. Took it back - with no hassle BTW.

[Jim Becker]

For us, as long time Costco members, it's been absolutely worth it and we have the more expensive Executive Membership which provides a rebate on purchases that for us covers multiple times our membership cost each year. That, combined with the cash back rebate for the Costco/Citi card adds up to a meaningful amount of money. (4% back on gas which makes the least expensive gas in the area even less expensive, too) We are only two people, yet with buying things at Costco that make sense to do so, we more than benefit from the membership. That includes things like appliances, tires, as well as paper products, come cleaning supplies (laundry detergent, dishwasher detergent) and food products that we actually use. Contrary to what some folks think, you do not have to by massive quantities of stuff to benefit from Costco. And if something doesn't satisfy you for whatever reason, they will take it back, no questions asked. Even things you order from Costco online.

I don't do business with Wally-World, so Sam's isn't an option. BJs is a favorite of a friend of mine, but I don't like their store. So it's been Costco since about 2011.

[Stan Calow]

We had both for awhile because we heard good things about Costco and wanted to check it out. We did prefer it over Sam's, but it was further away, so dropped it. Both Sam's and Costco are good for people who have enough money on hand to buy 5 pounds of bacon at once, or a 24 pack of toilet paper. Not everyone has the ability to take advantage of bulk purchases. But like Jim says, not everything they sell (such as clothes) come in large quantities.

We have friends who like to use Costco services especially for rental cars, vacation travel, and buying tires & batteries. I dont know that it's always cheaper, but as far as gas, you could do some math to figure out if you will make up the cost of membership in a year.

You can also use their car-buying services (Sam's has similar), but I have cautions about that.

[Bill Dufour]

My father and brother both bought trucks from costco. School in town bought a commercial membership for $100 and let teachers buy an extra card for $5.00. Got to be too much hassle to collect the fees each year.
Bill D

[Jim Koepke]

There are many things to consider with Costco.

A lot of their meat selection is USDA Prime. I like the stew beef, usually in 3 or 4 pound packages. It gets divided up in to smaller packs and frozen at home.

The tuna we buy comes in a larger can that normally seen at most stores in packs of a dozen.

We also do a lot of shopping at Fred Meyer, a local Kroger affiliate. They have a rewards program that provides a discount at their fueling stations up to $1 a gallon. Their price is usually the lowest price locally and the discount knocks it down well below any others including Costco. What is really nice is when we fill up across the river in Oregon the gas prices are usually 10-30¢ a gallon less than in Washington. In Oregon there are attendants to pump the gas. One of them once told me it is cheaper in Oregon because the insurance cost is less. My guess is it is a few things combined that make it cost less.

Many things at Costco are competitively priced. Some items might cost more. Often this is actually a slightly different product. One example could be refried beans. The Costco price may be the same or more on a particular brand. Though the ones at Costco are organic as compared to the same brand at other stores being "traditional."

The trick to saving money at Costco is to know your prices and to know if something is a different variety of the same thing you might purchase elsewhere.

jtk

[Alex Zeller]

I had both a business and executive memberships. I got the business membership when I was working at a glass company. They just opened a store and we were sitting in the office when a woman pulls up in a car. On a scale of 1 to 10, she was a 10. The owner was out but his son was there. The first words out of his mouth was "What ever she's selling, we're buying". So I got a membership (plus didn't have to pay sales tax). Years later my father got a membership and you're allowed two people on it. So he asked if I wanted the second. A few years later they came up with a credit card so I got that as well.

Costco is a mixed bag. If you like buying in bulk it's worth it. But, as I found out, it's not a savings if you can't eat the food before it goes bad. I bought a generator and a welder from them for very good prices. I have bought engine oil from them. I even bought a computer monitor from them. All were cheaper than I could get elsewhere. After moving to my new house they are just too far away to justify so I didn't renew the membership. I have friends who i could go with but never do. The one thing I miss buying was Oil Eater (not even sure if they sell it there now). It's a great degreaser. Nobody else sells it locally.

If you drive buy it so it's not a special trip then it's probably worth it. I've never been to A Sam's club but assume they must be similar. If Sam's club didn't interest you then Costco may not either. You can always go with a friend who has a card and use their card to check out. Most of the people I know who get the membership do so because there's an item or two they really like that can't be bought elsewhere. As for gas, I'll pay more not to sit in a line and I can't remember not seeing a line of cars. If they opened up more gas stations, say a 5 mile radius of the store, for members only I probably would get another membership.

[Jack Frederick]

Costco was a once every 4-6 weeks for us prior to Feb’s move. Now, 7mi away we buy our gas there and as a couple have limited buying due to the packaging size of many items and the multiples you see. You have to know your prices to get the best out of any of these places. I shop in places where I am comfortable and the people are friendly and Costco covers that nicely. A few years ago my daughter bought their car through Costco. We find it to be a good value and will keep shopping there, so, thumbs up on Costco.

[Rick Potter]

As others have said, it depends on what you buy. In my case, I find that many of their store brand of foods is from major brands.

Our Executive Visa card is the only one we normally use , and buy almost everything with it...everywhere. We recently got our percentage rebate, which was just over $2,000 cash back. That was with our buying very little gas, as we drive mostly electric. In the past, we have gotten discounts on new cars also.

[Rob Luter]

I forgot to add that their prices on prescription eyeglasses are pretty tough to beat. They're about 1/2 of what the local optical stores charge.

[Allan Dozier]

I use Sam's now instead. When i started the retirement journey I got rid of several credit cards and settled on two which just happened to be Mastercards. Unless they have changed Costco believe it or not will only accept Visa due to their arrangement. It's not worth keeping a Visa card just for one store.

[Mike Chance in Iowa]

Over 10 years ago, back where we used to live, there was a Sam's Club and a Costco not too away. What I did was bought the Sam's Club membership and assigned the 2nd card to my neighbor and she bought the Costco membership and assigned the 2nd card to me. This worked out great as we both had access to both locations. We also picked up items for each other and split some of the items since we both had 2-person households.

We found Sam's Club had a few nice items for garden & farm chores, but overall, Costco had better quality items such as food and clothing. After my old neighbor passed away, I let my Sam's card expire. Even though we don't have a Costco nearby, my LOML and I have the Executive Membership so whenever one of us has an errand in the direction of a Costco, we load up on items we need.

[Bruce Wrenn]

Regularly I buy cooked chicken, toilet paper, paper towels, plastic cups, napkins, and of course hot dogs for lunch. Wife buys broccoli soup, nuts, gluten free bread on regular basis. When they have sales, we buy windshield wipers, batteries (AA, and AAA.) Here in NC, you don't have to be a member to buy prescriptions, glasses, hearing aids, or alcohol. I usually can buy gas for less then Costco's price, plus I don't have to wait in a LONG line to buy it. About twice a year, they put pork loins on sale for $5 off. We have both Costco, and BJ's membership, but Costco is half the distance from our house as compared to BJ's. What grips me most about Costco is you purchase something today, and next visit they no longer carry it. We joke that on Friday nights, they don't check membership cards, but VISA's instead, as we are the only people in there who speak English as a primary language. Seems to be a social outing for the whole family as there are kids every where.

[Mel Fulks]

We liked Costco. Prices were good. But there was too much odd ball stuff that we wouldn’t allow in the house . And we had to DRIVE
over there ! We use Amazon now.

[Mike Henderson]

I've had a Costco membership for many years (maybe 20) and find it worth while. Hearing aids are much less expensive as well as glasses. The food items are priced well, but many are large packages.

Mike

[dennis thompson]

We have been Costco members for many years. We go there every week or two and find their prices and the quality of their products to be excellent. They also have the best prices for gas but I seldom buy gas there as the lines are just too long.

[Stan Calow]

I just remembered that Consumer Reports once said Costco was the best place to buy diamonds too based on cost.

[George Yetka]

I read something the other day about costco. They dont aim to profit on anything they sell. Their profit is on their memberships alone. That being said they dont always have the absolute best pricing on things they get the best price they can. That and the hot dogs will never change price until the original creator dies.

I hit sams once a month and spend 250 or so. (water, paper products, etc) So I cover the membership cost.

[Brian Elfert]

Not everything is cheaper at either Costco or Sam's Club. Brand name items are generally cheaper, but places like Aldi can often beat them both if you are okay with store brands. One thing I find is if you are not really disciplined you might eat more because you bought that giant package of whatever. Costco is generally pretty bad for eggs as they often have only the cage free organic eggs that cost $4 or $5 for two dozen when a dozen eggs at other stores was around $1. (Regular eggs are close to $1 per dozen now at Walmart.) Locally, Costco has a three pack of Bellatoria pizza for about $4.50 per pizza. Those same pizzas cost up to $9.99 at a regular grocery store.

Costco is really good if you are into organic food. They have a lot of organic food at good prices. Sometimes they don't have a non-organic version so the prices can be high if you don't care about the organic part.

[Stan Calow]

$1 a dozen! Are you kidding? They were up to $6-7 a doz earlier this year, down to around $3 now, even at ALDI. Bird flu wiped out millions of chickens.

But yeah, ALDI is a great place to shop for food items, Good quality for most of their store brand. Same corporate owners as Trader Joes. Don't think they have them out west.

Part of the Costco strategy is knowing that if you buy 5 pounds of bacon at once, you're likely to cook up and eat more than one pound at a time.

[Jim Becker]

Stan, it's true that bird flu had an impact on supply. But at the same time, the largest egg producer scored record profits...

Trader Joe's is a major favorite for me. In fact, we're having Indian tonight for meatless Monday compliments of their excellent selection.

[Patty Hann]

...
But yeah, ALDI is a great place to shop for food items, Good quality for most of their store brand. Same corporate owners as Trader Joes. Don't think they have them out west....

Aldi's started showing up in metro Phoenix a few years ago.
There are now 10 in the area. Closest one is about 6 miles.
I don't know about the rest of AZ or other states in the west/southwest.

[roger wiegand]

At least once a week for me I easily make back the cost on blueberries alone-- I eat them for breakfast every morning, year round. It's also my source for Peet's Major Dickason's coffee at a fraction the price of the grocery store, without which I could not survive. Our Costco doesn't do gas, but now I don't buy it any more anyway.

[Mike Soaper]

I previously had a Costco membership when they had some tires I wanted, as a plus they filled with nitrogen.

As I understand it Costco claims to sell "top tier" gasoline, I don't believe Sam's or Bj's make that claim.

If you like bacon Consumer reports once gave Costco's Kirkland brand bacon top billing.

That said, we mostly shop at Bj's , sometimes Sams

[Ronald Blue]

I have no idea if they are worth it since it's a 2 hour drive to the closest one. Sam's is 40 minutes away but we also have the Sam's Plus membership. So we get free shipping on many of the items we use. The others we get in store. We usually end up in the store every 3-4 weeks. They also have "Scan and Go" for Plus members and we love it. No waiting in a check out line. Sam's app has it built in and as you put items in the cart you can them. When finished you hit pay and head for the exit. Easy Peasy. It depends on your needs whether it will benefit you with any of the membership stores. Base it on whether you will use it enough for the things you use regularly and not because of a "one time bargain".

[Bruce Wrenn]

$1 a dozen! Are you kidding? They were up to $6-7 a doz earlier this year, down to around $3 now, even at ALDI.Paid $1.06 a dozen today at Aldi's. Milk was $2.86 a gallon, and their rolls of sausage are $2.29 a pound. I will put Aldi's sausage up against any of the name brand sausages. Don't buy Aldi's milk, as Food Lion across the street is same price, but it lasts well beyond sell by date. Can't say the same for Aldi's milk. You had better drink it by sell by date, or plan on converting it to buttermilk.

[Brian Elfert]

$1 a dozen! Are you kidding? They were up to $6-7 a doz earlier this year, down to around $3 now, even at ALDI. Bird flu wiped out millions of chickens.


Walmart has large eggs for $1.04 per dozen right now. I splurged and spent an extra 12 cents for extra large eggs as sometimes I get hungry a few hours after breakfast. I got the prices off their website just now. It is also how much I paid last week. I checked Costco on Monday night and the cheapest eggs are $2.49 per dozen.

[Brian Elfert]

I have no idea if they are worth it since it's a 2 hour drive to the closest one. Sam's is 40 minutes away but we also have the Sam's Plus membership. So we get free shipping on many of the items we use. The others we get in store. We usually end up in the store every 3-4 weeks. They also have "Scan and Go" for Plus members and we love it. No waiting in a check out line. Sam's app has it built in and as you put items in the cart you can them. When finished you hit pay and head for the exit. Easy Peasy. It depends on your needs whether it will benefit you with any of the membership stores. Base it on whether you will use it enough for the things you use regularly and not because of a "one time bargain".

The Scan and Go applies to any membership at Sam's Club, not just Plus. I use it every time I shop there. One time I left my phone in the car and actually had to use self checkout! The horror of it!

[roger wiegand]

I won't use any of the systems that put cashiers out of work. There are already way too few jobs for people who can't do more sophisticated work.

[Brian Elfert]

I won't use any of the systems that put cashiers out of work. There are already way too few jobs for people who can't do more sophisticated work.

If someone can't find a job in retail these days they probably aren't looking very hard. Just about every major retailer I go to is hiring these days, even those with self checkout.

I am not going to wait in line and unload my cart at a human cashier at Sam's Club just to keep someone employed. It is so much easier to use Scan and Go. At Costco I will arrange the items with the barcode facing up so nothing has to be unloaded from my cart. If a cashier is no longer needed as a cashier they will most likely be moved to another position since most retailers are short staffed.

[Bill Dufour]

Daughter has a costco membership. She takes my wife maybe every two months. Separate transactions and wife must pay in cash, no checks or credit card. So free is worth the cost. They used to have good deals on tools. Now very little "Man" stuff.
Bill D

[Ronald Blue]

If someone can't find a job in retail these days they probably aren't looking very hard. Just about every major retailer I go to is hiring these days, even those with self checkout.

I am not going to wait in line and unload my cart at a human cashier at Sam's Club just to keep someone employed. It is so much easier to use Scan and Go. At Costco I will arrange the items with the barcode facing up so nothing has to be unloaded from my cart. If a cashier is no longer needed as a cashier they will most likely be moved to another position since most retailers are short staffed.

BINGO!!!! People want to take the position that self checkout is merely to eliminate jobs. Seems like they would take the help wanted signs and advertisements then if that were true. A friend who works at a nearby Walmart told me they had to decide if they were going to restock merchandise or run registers. Most former checkers got pay increases in the transition to floor" jobs too. Regardless of the store they almost all have some form of help wanted advertisements. We've has self serve gas stations for close to 50 years now. I don't recall anyone claiming that eliminated jobs but in reality it actually did.

[Stan Calow]

More jobs have been lost in the US in retail than in manufacturing over the last few decades. But the same is true in both - mostly due to automation. Many complain, but most are OK with self-checkout.

[Jim Becker]

A lot of the loss of retail positions is because folks are not buying as much from retail...IE, online commerce. It's completely reshaping "supply chain" economics.

I personally have no issue with self-checkout and use it often because I can get out of the store faster, at least for smaller purposes. At the food market for the "big shop" and Costco, I prefer to use human checkout so I can take care of bagging things (in my own bags) the way I prefer things to be bagged.

[Dave Fritz]

We have a Costco regular membership with their Visa card. Most of our purchases are at places other than Costco since we live far away and only go when we go to the city for doctor's apts. or to see our children and it's on the way. Every once in awhile they try to upsell us on the Executive membership from our business membership due to high sales. The only trouble is most of our sales at are places other than Costco, so while the total is high we actually don't get all that much at Costco. We stick with the business membership. What am I missing, are they correct?

[Mike Null]

We had Sam's and Costco. We dropped Costco because my wife didn't like them and for me they didn't open early enough. My gas purchases at Sam's pays for the membership but we like their meat dept. as well. Their baked goods are excellent but usually the packages are too much for us.

[Brian Elfert]

Locally, Sam's Club and Costco both open at 10 am during the week unless you have the Plus membership at Sam's Club. (Costco opens 1/2 hour later on Saturday.) Costco stays open 1/2 hour later than Sam's Club during the week.

Costco locally is crazy busy on Saturdays and also on some Friday nights, especially for people buying on Friday night for weekend events in the summer. I have seen lines 20 carts deep with nearly all registers staffed.

[Jim Becker]

Thankfully, the folks checking people out at Costco tend to be blazing fast since there's no bagging so even long lines tend to move along pretty well. It's the nature of these kinds of warehouse operations.

[Patty Hann]

I just joined Costco....
How does the bagging work? BYOBs?


https://youtu.be/WDX4WEPJlt8

[glenn bradley]

Could be seasonal or regional. I avoid Sam's and Costco on the weekends but even when I do have to do a weekend run I do not see lines like you describe unless its Christmas. By focusing the use of one card or the other I pay for my membership in "cash back" pretty quickly so the membership cost is moot.