5.8% more at costco and other such places

[DISNEYDADINOREGON]

I am a manager for Fred Meyer(Kroger) and my wife works at Costco. I do not see how you can compare a regular grocery store to a wholesale wherehouse??? Apple and Oranges pardon the pun. We buy everything either at Costco or Fred Meyers. You can not compare the quality. All perishables at Costco are restaurant quality and otherwise unavailable to the general public. All other items are bulk and sold in different quanities. And the extra saving on non-food that are unavailable elswhere as well. I am sure the people that run Costco in Washington State are not very happy with this comparison especially on national TV. If you know your prices you know what to buy and where. Costco key demographics is 30-50 years olds with 2 incomes and +/- $100,000.00 income. Many of these customers do not really look at the prices too closely. Most stores do 1ML$ days. This should tell you something.

 

[brivers222]

We have a SamsClub membership (for the last 6 years) and yeah the prices aren't always "cheaper" for the items there, but you have to realize the a majority of the time you are buying in bulk. Therefore you are paying more, but you are also paying for a whole heck of a lot more of that same item you can find on a walmart shelf half price.

 

[jann1033]

the costs were for the same items, amount ect. ( ie not 16 oz generic peaches at one store and 48 oz del mote at another) if they did not carry those items they were not included in the cost or %of difference. cost co didn't carry a few things and that is why the % in the article and the show might be different. think it was Al Rocker who asked a question of the analyst bout that and that is when the analyst said... it was really 5.8% if you accounted for the items not included in the costco price. they also cmpared walmart/ kmart type stores which were also cheaper for the same items than the warehouse costco/sam/bj type places but close to the grocery stores.

 

[Mom+4]

I have been a Costco member for about 2 1/2 years, and a Sam's member for at least 15. I LOVE Costco!!!!!!! I buy 7-10 gallons of milk a week each for about $1 less than the local grocery store. Over a year I figure that saves me about $300 - $500. I also have found that some of the other services that Costco offers such as check printing and home and auto insurance can be a great source of savings. I just changed our home and auto insurance from Liberty Mutual, who we had had for almost 20 years, and who had really screwed us recently, to Costco which is through American Express insurance. The savings on our homeowners insurance was about $500 per year, and the savings on our 3 cars was over $120 per MONTH! This is for the same or better coverage. I mentionned this to a friend and she called and is saving $60 per month on her cars.

I am a firm believer in the saving potential of a Costco card, as long as you do your homework.

 

[MateasMom]

Originally posted by jann1033
. they also cmpared walmart/ kmart type stores which were also cheaper for the same items than the warehouse costco/sam/bj type places but close to the grocery stores.

This has me thinking....maybe the area they used to compare has very inexpensive groceries. I live in the land of $5 boxes of cereal, $3.75 for a loaf of bread. Orowheat bread is $4 for a 2 pack at Costco, $3.59 reg price at the market. I mentioned boneless skinless chicken breast earlier, $5.99 lb at the grocery store $2.99 at Costco. Bananas are $.99 for a HUGE bundle. Baged salad is $1.99....the same price for 1/3 the size of the same brand at the grocery store (they don't carry the mega bags).

Their study can say whatever it wants. I know through first hand experiance and very careful shopping that, when I don't have the time/effort to drive around town shopping the sale ads, Costco is by far the cheapest option for my families 'basics'. The great quality is just icing on the cake (the $14.99 for a HUGE and delicious cake at Costco ).

 

[Lewisc]

I'm sure you are accurately posting what the show said. Asumming the COSTCO would be selling the missing items at the same price as the grocery store is misleading and overstates the savings.

Those of us who shop at COSTCO know the entire report is bogus. The majority of items we buy at COSTCO aren't available at supermarkets (3 dozen egg package) and therefore aren't included in the survey.

I'll agree if you limit your survey to items that are generally available in both stores (soda, case of snapple, budget packs of paper goods) and pick the lowest sale price of the year the supermarket will be cheaper.

Originally posted by jann1033
the costs were for the same items, amount ect. ( ie not 16 oz generic peaches at one store and 48 oz del mote at another) if they did not carry those items they were not included in the cost or %of difference. cost co didn't carry a few things and that is why the % in the article and the show might be different. think it was Al Rocker who asked a question of the analyst bout that and that is when the analyst said... it was really 5.8% if you accounted for the items not included in the costco price. they also cmpared walmart/ kmart type stores which were also cheaper for the same items than the warehouse costco/sam/bj type places but close to the grocery stores.