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Matt Meiser
08-16-2007, 9:32 AM
Rob Blaustein's mention of Costco reminded me about something I wanted to ask What do you think of Costco. We are getting one near us in about 2 weeks. We used to have a Sam's membership but dropped it because it was so far away (twice as far as Costco will be) and once we stopped buying diapers there we weren't going there much. I've heard Costco carries a lot of nicer stuff than Sams. Is a $50/year membership worth it for a family of 3?

Art Mulder
08-16-2007, 9:47 AM
Matt, we've got a Costco about 3km from our house, so it's pretty close.
I've had a membership for many years.

We find it to be worthwhile. Like with any other store, you need to know your prices. Some things are cheaper, some aren't. Some of the things that aren't cheaper, are (IMHO) a better quality for the same price.

For us, we find that milk, eggs, and yogurt is always cheaper at Costco. A friend of mine at work, with two kids, said that he covers his Costco membership on milk alone. I also find that some of the cereals are cheaper, and you're getting brand names. I don't usually buy fruit there, as it is mostly larger units (ie: huge apples, huge oranges) and more expensive. Some of the clothing is also cheaper/better. (made in Canada blue jeans, equivalent quality to Levis IMHO, and for $20!)

Another thing that we've started using Costco is for digital prints. Check out their electronics as well. Two years ago when I bought a digital camera, we went to Costco to buy the larger memory card, as it was $20-25 less than at other stores.

My boss bought his hot tub at Costco, and he figured that the savings on that alone gave him at least 5 years of membership fees. Big things like that come and go. Sometimes they're there, and the next week gone.

However, I have never set foot in a Sam's Club. So I have no idea how it compares.

---

ETA: I forgot -- you can always go to the store and they'll let you check the place out. Or go shopping with a friend. I've seen them hand out one-day passes as well. So you can give it a trial run before committing. Check back with your store closer to opening. Around here they sold half-price memberships when the store opened, to try and suck in new customers. Why not give them a call and see if that is happening at your store?

Rob Bodenschatz
08-16-2007, 9:54 AM
We belong and think it's worth it. Take a look at the Executive membership. It's $100 for that but you get 2% back at the end of the year. So, if you spend $5K, the membership is free. That sounds like a lot but if you plan to make some big purchases, you can get there easily. Plus, as Art wrote, you can typically make up your membership fee in the cost savings of one big purchase. We did that with a Rainbow playset the year we joined.

I've never been in Sam's either so I can't compare.

Nancy Laird
08-16-2007, 9:59 AM
We belong to Sam's Club and love it. We buy all of our cat food and litter there, cleaning supplies, good meat, frozen stuff, canned goods. Costco is building a new facility nearby and we're going to join that too since they carry some things that Sam's doesn't.

But the BEST thing about Sam's (and Costco) is that gas is usually a few cents cheaper than the surrounding branded stations. That, for us, makes the membership worth it--with two vehicles, we save our membership fee in about 3 months.

Nancy (127 days)

Ken Fitzgerald
08-16-2007, 10:00 AM
Matt.........For some 15 years the nearest Costco was 110 miles away and my wife and some friends and I would go there once a month to do some shopping. Then 10 years ago they built one across the Snake River from Lewiston in Clarkson, WA. We shop there regularly. On most things, especially if you can put up with buying in bulk quantitiy and packaging, you can save money there. We've bought furniture, groceries and recently I bought my new Nikon digital camera at Costco. Near as my youngest son and I could figure, I saved $278 on the camera over the same camera and lens that we viewed at a local camera shop.

Wes Bischel
08-16-2007, 10:05 AM
Matt,
I suspect with it being new, there will be some deals on membership fees. I think ours runs a $10 gift card with new membership. Keep your eyes open for that either locally or on the web.
We dropped our membership this last year when the fees went up - we have a BJ's here as well so we signed up there for this year (silent protest?;) :D ). As others have said, they do have some good prices on things, and some pleasant surprises when it comes to new items in stock.

FWIW,

Wes

Jeff Bower
08-16-2007, 10:08 AM
Where I live the Costco is on a mall's property so you can buy gift certificates to the mall and use them at Costco without getting a membership. I've done this a few times to buy some bulk items and once to buy a large amount of beer/wine for a party we help organize.

Also on a side note about Sam's, when I was in college, one of my friends had a membership and we would go there at least once a week to "have lunch" by eating every free sample we could find.:D

Burt Alcantara
08-16-2007, 10:12 AM
We've been members for over 3 years. We have the Executive card. At the end of the year, they send us a check based on our purchases for the year. It works out to be cheaper then the Standard.

Prescription drug prices fluxuate a bit but that usually works in our favor.

We buy all meats there. Beef, chicken, pork and occasionally fish. Great quality, great prices.

Produce: salad and pineapple. The rest is usually pretty but tasteless and quantities that are too large.

Other things we buy are all paper goods, washing liquids, soaps and detergents,
Coke, bread, cheap tool sets, shelving, shorts/jeans, some gardening stuff like chips and soil, and the occasional item here and there.

You wont have a problem getting value out of your membership. BTW, they have a snack counter with unreal prices. They sell a slice of pizza that is almost as big as a normal pie for less then $2.00.

Highly recommended!
Burt

Art Mulder
08-16-2007, 12:20 PM
But the BEST thing about Sam's (and Costco) is that gas is usually a few cents cheaper

:confused: Costco sells gas? :confused:

Not in any store that I've seen in Canada.

However, that reminded me that they do refill propane tanks at the store by us, and it's probably $5-8 cheaper than taking it to a gas station.

Nancy Laird
08-16-2007, 12:34 PM
:confused: Costco sells gas? :confused:

Not in any store that I've seen in Canada.

Art, both Costco and Sam's here in the States have gas stations - at least the vast majority of them do. Even some of the WalMarts have gas stations at reduced prices that you don't need the Sam's card to use.

Nancy (127 days)

Joe Pelonio
08-16-2007, 12:41 PM
We have both, and have for years. Costco is 5 miles away, Sam's 20. We hit both about once a month and spend more at Sam's. Some things are better at one or the other, but both save us a lot of $ even after the membership fees.
We only pick up a few odd things and some sale items at the regular grocery stores. A big freezer helps a lot.

We never get gas at Costco because the lines are miles long. Sam's never has a line and is lower than Costco by a few cents, so when we go there we take whichever vehicle has the least gas and fill it.

Matt Meiser
08-16-2007, 12:49 PM
Yep, our new Costco will have a gas station. It was a major point of contention in approving the site plan in Toledo.

Oh, and if they sell Rainbow play structures, I'm in big trouble. LOML Jr (5yo) got a video on them in the mail. Now when we are out she checks out every one she sees to see whether or not it is a Rainbow.

Randal Stevenson
08-16-2007, 1:25 PM
Also on a side note about Sam's, when I was in college, one of my friends had a membership and we would go there at least once a week to "have lunch" by eating every free sample we could find.:D

You wouldn't believe how many people we see do that.

We have both here, within about 4 miles of one another. I have a business membership to both and visit normally once a week. For commercial stuff, I have a prefference based on what I buy. But because they are so close, they do a lot more price fighting between the two (my boss told the store manager of one, who the secret shopper for the other was, since they couldn't figure it out).
For home, being single, a lot of things are WAY too much (volume), but essentials (TP, laundry stuff, etc), I can buy once or twice a year, and be done with it. Sometimes they have free memberships when first opening (they gave them away here, the first month), at least ask them for a walk through, and take a list of things that you normally shop for and prices (judge for yourself).

Jim Becker
08-16-2007, 1:48 PM
Coincidently, Professor Dr SWMBO signed up for a shared membership yesterday at work. We generally don't shop at "membership warehouses", but for the "half-cost" of the shared membership deal, we decided that Costo might come in handy from time to time for some things. We have to drive a fair way, so it's not going to be any kind of regular stop, but we're willing to see if we gain any benefit in the next year.

I bagged the Sam's club membership years ago as we weren't gaining any value from it and we pretty much don't shop with Walmart, either.

Montgomery Scott
08-16-2007, 2:14 PM
Matt,

We've been Costco members since 1989 and the last five years or so we switched to the executive membership when they told us we were spending $4500 a year there, which is our average now, except for last year we spend $7500 that included a Rainbow Play system (check out their website for the models including http://www.costco.com/Browse/Product.aspx?Prodid=11189673&whse=BC&Ne=4000000&eCat=BC|50126|62601|62603&N=4019778&Mo=24&pos=1&No=5&Nr=P_CatalogName:BC&cat=62603&Ns=P_Price|1||P_SignDesc1〈=en-US&Sp=C&ec=BC-EC12635-Cat62601&topnav= (http://www.costco.com/Browse/Product.aspx?Prodid=11189673&whse=BC&Ne=4000000&eCat=BC%7C50126%7C62601%7C62603&N=4019778&Mo=24&pos=1&No=5&Nr=P_CatalogName:BC&cat=62603&Ns=P_Price%7C1%7C%7CP_SignDesc1&lang=en-US&Sp=C&ec=BC-EC12635-Cat62601&topnav=)
which is very similar to the one we bought. The executive card pays for itself every year now.

Rob Bodenschatz
08-16-2007, 2:56 PM
Matt,

We've been Costco members since 1989 and the last five years or so we switched to the executive membership when they told us we were spending $4500 a year there, which is our average now, except for last year we spend $7500 that included a Rainbow Play system (check out their website for the models including http://www.costco.com/Browse/Product.aspx?Prodid=11189673&whse=BC&Ne=4000000&eCat=BC|50126|62601|62603&N=4019778&Mo=24&pos=1&No=5&Nr=P_CatalogName:BC&cat=62603&Ns=P_Price|1||P_SignDesc1〈=en-US&Sp=C&ec=BC-EC12635-Cat62601&topnav= (http://www.costco.com/Browse/Product.aspx?Prodid=11189673&whse=BC&Ne=4000000&eCat=BC%7C50126%7C62601%7C62603&N=4019778&Mo=24&pos=1&No=5&Nr=P_CatalogName:BC&cat=62603&Ns=P_Price%7C1%7C%7CP_SignDesc1&lang=en-US&Sp=C&ec=BC-EC12635-Cat62601&topnav=)
which is very similar to the one we bought. The executive card pays for itself every year now.

That's the one I bought in 2004. Mine didn't come with a chimney. :(

Just stain/sealed it last weekend.

Bob Childress
08-16-2007, 2:57 PM
Ironically, our Costco just had its grand opening this morning! Hurrah!!! Been waiting 2 1/2 years, ever since we left Arizona, for them to get here. Been driving 110 miles to Charlotte 3X a year meanwhile.

Costco is the bee's knees. Biggest difference I see from Sam's is that Sam's really caters more to businesses, like restaurants, while Costco is more upscale for consumers. Have dropped both Sam's and BJ's now that Costco is here. (Local BJ's will probably now bite the dust.) Executive membership pays for itself every year, so it is essentially free.

Plus, Costco's online shopping features many more quality items, not found in the warehouses, at good prices.

[No affiliation, except for periodic wallet kidnappings.:D ]

Dave Sinkus
08-16-2007, 4:52 PM
That's the one I bought in 2004. Mine didn't come with a chimney. :(

Just stain/sealed it last weekend.

Just a note Rob - no pictures, it didn't happen:rolleyes:

We have used Sam's club and let the membership expire. No big ticket purchases so it wasn't cost effecive. The major obstacle to us - family of 5 - is the jumbo size for most everything. We toured a Costco and the cereal box is about 984 ounces :rolleyes: , which would take a month and a half for me to eat. Cost per ounce is usually lower, it's just storing the unused portions that can be challenging.

Milk, eggs, cheese is always a better buy, but we always buy something else while we are there.....brats, frozen shrimp, etc. The packages are large

Art Mulder
08-16-2007, 5:01 PM
JThe major obstacle to us - family of 5 - is the jumbo size for most everything. We toured a Costco and the cereal box is about 984 ounces :rolleyes:

Dave,

The vast majority of these cereal boxes have two pouches in them, so things going stale is not an issue. Just leave the box in the basement and take out one pouch, which is not really much bigger than the standard large size in a regular grocery store.

Heck, my family of 6 would eat the half box of mini-wheats in about 3-4 days...

Mark Rios
08-16-2007, 5:08 PM
Maii, JUST GO SIGN UP!!! :D :D :D If it turns out that you don't care for the store after a day, a week or even a few months, Costco will refund you the remaining cost of your membership.

I love Costco. Even though my evil ex-wife used to work there, I still love it. :D

Steve Clardy
08-16-2007, 6:35 PM
No Costa's around here.

Sam's club is 2.5 hours away [Kansas City], so we don't go there.

Gary Keedwell
08-16-2007, 6:44 PM
Ironically, our Costco just had its grand opening this morning! Hurrah!!! Been waiting 2 1/2 years, ever since we left Arizona, for them to get here. Been driving 110 miles to Charlotte 3X a year meanwhile.

Costco is the bee's knees. Biggest difference I see from Sam's is that Sam's really caters more to businesses, like restaurants, while Costco is more upscale for consumers. Have dropped both Sam's and BJ's now that Costco is here. (Local BJ's will probably now bite the dust.) Executive membership pays for itself every year, so it is essentially free.

Plus, Costco's online shopping features many more quality items, not found in the warehouses, at good prices.

[No affiliation, except for periodic wallet kidnappings.:D ]
Bob...you stoled my thunder!:eek: LOML and I have been a member since 1989 and we go there all the time. Great return policy. We bought a 46" HD flat screen there for a great price. A month later the price went down $200...we went back and they credited my credit card the whole $200. Can't say enough great things about the store. They also keep their help for a long time. Know alot of people who have been there since it opened 18 years ago. I read somewhere that they are one of the top paying retail stores in the country for employee wages.
Gary K.

Tim Morton
08-16-2007, 7:32 PM
From what i can tell, costco has a return policy that would make LL Bean envious...so i think thats a BIG reason to join. Nothing worse than having something break 6 months after you buy it and you no longer have a clue where you bought it or where the receipt is. Costco will give you 100% of your money back for life (I think):D

Jeffrey Makiel
08-16-2007, 9:16 PM
My family has a Costco membership. However, we don't use it much and probably won't renew our membership.

It seems that a lot of their food products are simply packaged too large. It ends up either going bad, or I get tired of eating it. Many items, like tools, can be found as cheap, or cheaper, on the internet.

The other thing is that I no longer feel like spending $50 for the privilege of walking thru their door.

Just my opinion...Jeff :)

Roger Bell
08-16-2007, 10:21 PM
We have several Costcos in the Portland area. I have been a "member" for probably onto twenty years. I have a business membership. It is not for everyone. But I think it is reputable, I know they treat their employees well, they are very good about returns and they appear to be a pretty well run business, unlike so many others I could name.

I don't usually fool around with their grocery, but those with big families should consider it. Supersized packages of everything are the norm in the grocery section. I think you can still get USDA Choice meat there. Good prices on cheaper beer, dog food, toilet paper, etc.

I get my eyeglasses from them for at least half off typical retail. Progressive bifocals are $100. That's worth the price of membership alone. Sometimes their tires are heavily discounted. Their tools (DeWalt, Makita, etc) are sometimes pretty well priced. In about 95 they briefly had the Powermatic 66 for under $1000 as I recall. I havent seen that kind of deal lately. They often have good buys on shop shelving, shop towells, fire extinguishers, smoke alarms, car batteries, and other guy-stuff. I have a friend that just bought a new car thru them and was pleased with the price and the lack of hassle.

On the down side, the lines are often way too long, so going in for a single small purchase is never not a good idea. Most people go in there for some serious shopping and often spend a few hundred. They don't have much "selection" and their inventory is what it is when it is. You can't wait forever to shop every store in town compairing prices, because if you do, Costco may be sold out olf the item by the time you return. For these reasons, my wife hates Costco and refuses to go there. Not everything is heavily discounted, but many items are.

Matt Meiser
08-16-2007, 10:39 PM
Maii, JUST GO SIGN UP!!! :D :D :D

OK, OK, OK! I have to wait until they open though. 2 weeks! :D :D :D

Anyone know if we can we pay for an extra membership card for my mom? I've know people who've done that with Sams. Don't know if its technically allowed or not.

glenn bradley
08-16-2007, 11:08 PM
I shop both Costco and Sam's. One place for some stuff and the other for other items. Kinda like Woodcraft and Rockler shopping. With the AMEX rewards card it works out well for me as I buy all my gas and lots of other items there. The rewards pays the annual fee several times over.

Sam's takes Discover in a similar set up but I just use my ATM card there. My Sam's card is off my girlfriend's account and was not an issue. It's not like the jokes; you don't have to buy 5 gallons of spaghetti sauce (although you could). I save a lot of money there and I live alone.

Mark Rios
08-17-2007, 12:24 AM
OK, OK, OK! I have to wait until they open though. 2 weeks! :D :D :D

Anyone know if we can we pay for an extra membership card for my mom? I've know people who've done that with Sams. Don't know if its technically allowed or not.

You can get two cards with the membership. I'm not sure how extra cards are handled but they are not a big deal, Costco likes to take VERY good care of it's members (the'y don't call us customers).

Jim Becker
08-17-2007, 8:26 AM
Oh, I forgot to mention the other thing I was very pleased to learn about Costco when Professor Dr. SWMBO brought home the information...they accept AMEX...my preferred payment method. ;)

Rich Konopka
08-19-2007, 8:04 PM
We no longer are members to Costco. We were members for many years and I have to say it is reputable and great pricing. The one thing the Mrs and I discovered when shopping at Costco is that there were many impulse buys and we were spending money on many unnecessary items.

From a corporate perspective they treat and compensate their employees well for retail. I use to own stock and it was a real yawner. They make most of their revenue from the membership fees. They have an average 14% margin on their products.

Does anyone remember when costco use carry lumber and other building supplies?