5.8% more at costco and other such places

[jann1033]

on the today show today,

they did a comparison between supermarkets, walmart type places and costco type places...the most expensive for the same items was the costco type places! so much for bargains there! they said the best overall was supermarkets since it had good selection and the cost was only a little more than walmart type places ( plus maybe they shop like me and over spend at the last store since i did so good at the first one ) and store brands were the best way to save in general( bleech, give me bumble bee albacore over cheap generic any time!)

 

[Lewisc]

It really depends what items you check. COSTCO doesn't run "loss leaders" to get you in the store. Items that supermarkets feature in their sale circulars (soda for example) are almost always more expensive in places like COSTCO.

You can always beat a COSTCO price if you can use a doubled coupon on a sale item.

I just looked at the Today show website. COSTCO was only 1.59 % more. Some items weren't available in both places.

I'm not sure how they did the survey. They said they used identical items (same UPC code) but almost everything I buy at COSTCO is a special warehouse item with a different UPC code. Eggs in COSTCO are generally sold in 3 dozen packages and the supermarkets don't generally carry that.

 

[crisi]

I think it really depends on what you are buying.

I know milk is a $1 a gallon less at Sam's Club than the grocer I often shop at. $.75 less than the cheap grocer. And I got pounds of strawberries for half the price of even the cheap grocer this spring (froze a lot of them). But Sam's is weird - some things are always cheap, but with produce, you are definately shopping the bargains.

On the other hand, with gas at $2 a gallon this morning - you can eat up a lot of savings driving around for bargains.

One this I've noticed is that my cheap grocer has great prices on produce, but its all more ripe. Lettuce needs to be used up in a few days rather than the week or more I can get if I buy it from the "luxury" grocer. Grapes, peppers, oranges, etc are the same. If I'm going to use it promptly, I can buy it there. If not, I throw it out faster.

 

[Bella the Ball 360]

BJ's takes vendor coupons and both Bj and Costco send out mailers with coupons in them. I do not care because if you go to Costco on a regular basis you are not tempted to buy things just for the coupon or the sale. Although, you cannot beat their holiday decorations. I saw some of the same items at the Yankee Candle Flagship store for 3x and 4x the price. It depends on what you need. Not to mention the bakery at Costco. God!! The muffins alone cannot even be compared to what they sell in a reg grocery, I am not even going to think abou the cheesecake or the cookies.

 

[year2late]

If I used Costco for my routine grocery shopping, I would certainly not be doing well.

Usually the money we save on specialty holiday items and gas is morethan enough discount to justify the membership.

 

[dis-happy]

I KNOW I'm saving money over my local grocery stores.

The savings on 4-5 gallons per week of milk more than makes up for the membership cost. Plus, we are saving 10-20 cents per gallon on gas, esp. for the car that only takes premium gas. Need new tires---we saved a mint there too. Meat, eggs, bacon, cheese are all cheaper---they're my staples, since I'm an Atkins girl. Some things, like juice boxes or fruit cups I buy on sale at Target or the grocery store---overall, those items cost more compared to sale prices.

FWIW, USA Today had a great article about Costco in yesterday's paper.

 

[Poohbeck]

We just got a Costco in our town this past August and I love it. I bring my calculator to make sure I am saving, and usually I am.
I am saving over $1 for milk compared to the local grocers. I buy at least 3 gallons a week.
Also, eggs are much cheaper. I can get a double 18-pack for almost the same price as a dozen at the local grocer.
The same thing goes with their bread, bagels, juice bags and cheese.
I Just make sure I watch the prices and stay in touch with the local grocer flyers. But, so far I am definetly saving. But, you do need to watch and know your prices because some items are dfinetly not a bargain especially if they don't carry a generic brand.

 

[luvdisney14]

You can't beat the price anywhere for sheet cakes at costco. I buy them for every birthday and party.

 

[LisaNJ25]

And the Roses are $12.99 for two dozen. You cant beat that.

 

[momtofour]

Great thread!! I just got my "executive rebate" of 2% back. As it totalled nearly $150.00, I am still trying to figure out where I spent nearly $7500.00. I buy no meat, produce, or non-food items there. I guess it was alot of milk,macaroni and cheese, and snacks. I am trying to become a little more aware of where I spend my dollars in this store. I think I go in there and think that it is all such a great "bargain." As I throw out or donate 8 of the pop tarts my son did not like because he didn't like the flavor, I am finally deciding it is not the best store for us after all. Don't get me wrong. There are some wonderful deals to be had but I just really lose track of the money in there because I think it is all such a great "deal." In reality, probably not!!

 

[MateasMom]

Originally posted by luvdisney14
You can't beat the price anywhere for sheet cakes at costco. I buy them for every birthday and party.

Yep. And they're so yummy too! Also the muffins, rolls, bunt cakes, holiday pies, pot pies, premade meals. Ect Ect.

We don't buy 'packaged foods' at Costco or otherwise. We buy household items, fresh meat a produce, ect at Costco. The meat and produce is VERY high quality. Sure I can buy lesser quality meat/produce for less at the grocery store, but I can't get the quality foods cheaper. For instance.....Foster Farms boneless skinless is $2.99 a pound at Costco, it's $5.99 at the grocery store...goes on 'sale' for $3.99-$4.99. The lesser quality boneless skinless SOMETIMES goes on sale for as low as $1.89, usually more like $2.99-$4.99. I'd much rather buy the Costco meat, not have to worry about whether or not it is on sale, and have a high quality meat.

 

[Castillo Mom]

I'm always out to get the best deal possible! After years of shopping at grocery stores using double coupons, I switched to Costco for just about everything. As my boys have gotten older, it's become more cost effective to buy in bulk. I absolutely love Costco and I know for a fact I'm saving more money there. The only time I go to the grocery store is if they're having a special sale, but that's about it. I shop at Costco faithfully every 2 weeks and recently switched over to Executive Membership. I just got my rewards back and it came to $100 and I've only been and Executive member for about 8 months. I guess it depends on what you buy and your family size.

BTW, I purchased a 1 gb compact flash memory card online at Costco.com for $149 in July. I found it to be a great price then. Now they're selling it for $74.99!

 

[jann1033]

Originally posted by Lewisc

I just looked at the Today show website. COSTCO was only 1.59 % more. Some items weren't available in both places.

I was typing as they were talking so they definetly said 5.8% and took into account the inablitly to buy some items there. they checked the same items in all the types of stores they checked and i believe the same brands if possible. the bottom line from an unbiased source was they don't save you. personally i don't have one near me and so couldn't care less..with gas at almost $2 a gallon , no way i'd drive 45 mins to get to one but thought it was interesting info

 

[HenDuck]

I think it just depends what you're buying. Definitely milk, gallon juice, eggs, bread and some veggie and meats are cheaper at Costco/Sam's. I also buy one huge roll of Christmas wrap at Costco for $8 and it lasts me 1 1/2 to 2 seasons. (Although everyone's present is wrapped in the same paper.)

Gas is definitely cheaper at Costco, especially here in Hawaii.

You gotta do your homework and know your prices.

But I love Costco's Caesar salad!

 

[CheapMom]

I was typing as they were talking so they definetly said 5.8%

Go to- http://msnbc.msn.com/id/3032633/?ta=y

look where it says "more today show video" Hit the right arrow till you get to 7/10 and press launch. You can watch the video where the guy clearly says Costco... is 5.81% more expensive.

Anyway- I wonder which is correct- the guy on Today that says 5.8 or the text on the website that says it is 1.something%
They said they calculated it by the 50 top purchased products. Many times you will find very common purchases as loss leaders so that may explain the big savings.

I saved several hundred $ on my Disney Cruise which I booked through Costco so I am a Costco beleiver. They also have really nice semi-prepared meals...

 

[jann1033]

i think the diference was because costco didn't have 2 items in the cart from the other stores...without it was a lower % because the cost was lower with out the 2 items than the other stores with the 2 items so adding the 2 items would have brought the %up to the 5% figure.

 

[ripleysmom]

I also buy my meat, eggs, milk, and bread at Costco. Their meat is awesome and I would rather pay a bit more for a quality cut of meat.

Basically when you go to Costco, BJs, etc. you have to know your prices.

 

[PrincessDadx2]

My experience is that you can almost always get a cheaper price/product than Costco but you can seldom get a better quality product for the price. We buy almost everything there and are usually very happy - one stop and our savings on gas and executive membership more than pay for the fee in themselves.

 

[mamalle]

My experience is that you can almost always get a cheaper price/product than Costco but you can seldom get a better quality product for the price. We buy almost everything there and are usually very happy - one stop and our savings on gas and executive membership more than pay for the fee in themselves.

I could of written the same post. I wholeheartly agree. I was spending so much more at my grocery store before I started shopping at costco.

 

[sperk99]

Hi All,

I just went to Costco for a set of tires on my CRV and they came out to 150 less than a discount tire chain in my area. They also filled them up with Nitrogen, lifetime tire rotations free, and a waranty for sidewall (that's unheard of). Best thing...they were done is one hour!