Costco membership--worth it?

[dgthree]

I'm only one person, and I think Costco membership is worth it. I probably cover the cost of membership just in the amount I save on bottled water (the drinking water in my area is not good). I also buy the AMC movie passes there fairly often, as they work out to be $8.50 each, and can be used at any time, even when the theater says "no passes." Gas savings are also great - last night, I filled up at $3.15/gallon, while the lowest price I had seen on no-name gas was $3.17, and most stations are $3.21 - $3.25.

 

[JB2K]

HI! THere is a deal on Zulily today for a costco membership for $55 with a case of water bottles, a 48 pack of batteries and a rotisserie chicken. Wondering if it is worth it? We are a small family with my dh and dd being vegetarian. It is also about 20 minutes away vs. normally just shop at supertarget which is 10 minutes away. THoughts?

Costco is a warehouse club, which means as food items go, they don't carry "everything" -- if they have stuff you do like/want, it might be worth it for the monthly trip.

Otherwise, if you're a small family with a SuperTarget nearby, you most likely have everything you need, there.

 

[pjlla]

Just chiming in....

we really like/love our Costco membership.... and we have to drive an hour each way to the ONLY Costco in our state.

I don't buy many of the cleaning products any more because I prefer to make my own (for health/environmental/cost reasons), but when I did buy their environmentally friendly "free" laundry detergent, I thought it worked well.

Our standing Costco list includes the dried mango (for DD), the Kirkland organic chocolate milk boxes (for DS), fish oil and other supplements (for DH), organic milk (although we can get it just as cheaply at Market Basket without having to buy 3 half gallons at a time), plain greek yogurt, sardines (for DH), almond butter (Marantha brand at a FABULOUS price if you don't mind the big jar), himalayan pink salt (best salt we have EVER tried), cinnamon (we use a LOT around here), Fancy Feast cat food (mostly when they are offering an in-store coupon....otherwise I can usually do just as well at Target with a sale/coupon combo), some meats and cheese, low carb tortillas, fresh fruits and veggies (grapefruit is a great buy this time of year), mixed nuts and peanuts, and the occasional take-and-bake pizza. The rotisserie chicken is a great deal, but unless we time it just right, we aren't there near a meal time and it is cold by the time we get home anyhow.

DH insists that we spring for the higher level of membership (business??) that pays us back every year. That rebate pretty much pays for our membership renewal every year, so I figure it is worth it.

I don't think that we are the "typical" Costco shopper... I don't buy many convenience/frozen foods (burgers, chicken breast, frozen pizzas, frozen desserts, Lean Cuisine multi-packs), we don't buy booze or soft drinks, I don't buy books, DVDs/CDs or magazines and VERY FEW cosmetics. I don't buy many soft line products either (sheets, towels, kitchen stuff), although DH has bought some jeans and some dress shirts and been happy with the quality. We have used their photo service a few times and found it to be a good deal. We have also rented cars online through the Costco website and gotten a VERY GOOD rate (and I shopped around a LOT!).

They are FABULOUS about returns!!

The ONLY thing I really hate about Costco is the fact that they will only accept cash, debit cards, or their own Amex card. I would LOVE to use my Southwest Airlines card and get air miles, since I usually drop $100-$300 every time I shop there. And they do NOT take coupons.

BTW, the frozen yogurt at the snack bar is DELICIOUS~ HTH..........P

 

[Egdisney]

Can someone tell me a little more about their meat and milk? Do they have organic beef and or chicken? How much does it cost? I am also interested in the cost of their organic milk. Thank you!

 

[beansmom]

another pro of a costco membership is their travel service. we saved $500 on our car rental on Maui for next month.

I used mypoints and got a free membership which made it even sweeter.

 

[LJSquishy]

Can someone tell me a little more about their meat and milk? Do they have organic beef and or chicken? How much does it cost? I am also interested in the cost of their organic milk. Thank you!

Their organic ground beef is $16.99 for 4lbs I think. Unfortunately they don't have any other organic beef cuts. Organic boneless skinless chicken breasts are $5.99/lb and whole organic fryer chickens are around $2.49/lb and come in a 2pk. They also sell organic chicken thighs but I can't remember the price on those.

Their organic milk is not something I purchase because i don't know where it comes from. For instance, Horizon brand organic is a terrible company with poor practices...and I don't want to support them. Costco's organic milk isn't a bit money saver either. I buy a gallon of Organic Valley (co-op company that gets milk from your local area and is available all over) milk for $5.78.

Costco does sell organic eggs also but they are not actually free roaming so I don't buy them. I can't remember if they say "free range" on the carton but that isn't the same as free roaming. We now get our eggs from my husband's coworker who raises organic chickens and she said every morning is like an Easter egg hunt because the chickens lay all over the place. That makes me happy.

 

[jdcthree]

Their organic ground beef is $16.99 for 4lbs I think. Unfortunately they don't have any other organic beef cuts. Organic boneless skinless chicken breasts are $5.99/lb and whole organic fryer chickens are around $2.49/lb and come in a 2pk. They also sell organic chicken thighs but I can't remember the price on those.

Their organic milk is not something I purchase because i don't know where it comes from. For instance, Horizon brand organic is a terrible company with poor practices...and I don't want to support them. Costco's organic milk isn't a bit money saver either. I buy a gallon of Organic Valley (co-op company that gets milk from your local area and is available all over) milk for $5.78.

Costco does sell organic eggs also but they are not actually free roaming so I don't buy them. I can't remember if they say "free range" on the carton but that isn't the same as free roaming. We now get our eggs from my husband's coworker who raises organic chickens and she said every morning is like an Easter egg hunt because the chickens lay all over the place. That makes me happy.

To add to this very informative post - The egg carton says "cage free." I believe the milk is $9.99 for 3 half gallons. (I am going to do some digging about the source of the milk after reading your post.) We really like the organic ground beef. We don't eat a lot of red meat, but when we do that's where we get it.

 

[manning]

Love their return policy. There is a 90 day limit on tv/electronic, but very liberal on other things

I had a Cuisinart brand K-cup coffee maker that broke after two years. I couldn't find the sales receipt for return to Cuisinart for repair. I needed it to determine when I bought it. I called Costco to see if they had a copy. They said no problem just bring it back for a refund. What? you got to be kidding. Nope, bring it in. They gave me a full refund. Just had to have all the parts.

 

[bedogged]

Our Costco opened just over a month ago. We practically live there now. We are 20-25 minutes away.

Gas is cheaper, they don't play the up and down games like Speedway does. If it's 2.99 one day, it's not 3.39 the next, it might be 3.05 instead.

Printer ink is much cheaper, we are trying the refill program next time.

Many pharmacy items are cheaper. My wife's ambien prescription is 20.00 a month cheaper, our dog's seizure medicine is nearly $50 a month cheaper.

Milk is 2.34 a gallon, most other places is 2.99 now.
We get 24 Kings Hawaiian rolls for 3.89, close to what the others charge for 12.
Their prepared food selection is great-it can get pricey and you have to eat a lot of it but it is worth the money.

The money back guarantee makes it a slam dunk. If you don't like it, you get a full refund.

Just a FYI, you don't have to be a member to use the pharmacy. Also, you can order from the web site without being one.

 

[Vidia2]

I hope this isn't off topic but does Costco allow you to shop as a guest one time only or can you go in to check out what they have?

We shop at Sam's and we end up having to go to two additional stores to get everything we need. We're a family of meat eaters as well as vegans who eat sprouted bread etc.

Sorry if I'm butting in. :-/

 

[lauti]

I hope this isn't off topic but does Costco allow you to shop as a guest one time only or can you go in to check out what they have? We shop at Sam's and we end up having to go to two additional stores to get everything we need. We're a family of meat eaters as well as vegans who eat sprouted bread etc. Sorry if I'm butting in. :-/

Not technically, but you can buy Costco cash cards online and then they have to let you use them, member or not.

 

[Egdisney]

I hope this isn't off topic but does Costco allow you to shop as a guest one time only or can you go in to check out what they have? We shop at Sam's and we end up having to go to two additional stores to get everything we need. We're a family of meat eaters as well as vegans who eat sprouted bread etc. Sorry if I'm butting in. :-/

I don't know if they let you shop, but they will let you look around. I called the one in Omaha and the manager told me to come on in. He even said to make sure I come on the weekend for better samples. If your store isn't as friendly, tell them you have a prescription to fill. Anyone is allowed to use a pharmacy at any warehouse store.

 

[Vidia2]

Not technically, but you can buy Costco cash cards online and then they have to let you use them, member or not.

Thanks!

 

[Vidia2]

I don't know if they let you shop, but they will let you look around. I called the one in Omaha and the manager told me to come on in. He even said to make sure I come on the weekend for better samples. If your store isn't as friendly, tell them you have a prescription to fill. Anyone is allowed to use a pharmacy at any warehouse store.

Thanks. We're going to check them out.

 

[tvguy]

The quality of the meat and produce at Costco is a lot higher than Walmart's, though. My Costco has great produce. I haven't been to a Super Walmart in a year or so, but I had to quit shopping there because the meat was pumped full of sodium and extra water (to make it heavier and extend the shelf life). Can't stand that stuff.

I don't buy beef or pork at Super Walmart , and only buy some produce there. We buy those at the regular grocery store. We do buy the Foster Farms chicken at Walmart. I don't understand how the grocery store can justify $4 a pound more for the same chicken that come prepackage right from Foster Farms..
Gasoline is an interesting to me. Costco is always among the lowest, but ARCO is always the same price or a penny lower, without the 10 cars in line ahead of you.

 

[My2CrazyGirls]

We love our Costco membership. We are just 2 adults, no kids.

We are healthy eaters and buy mostly organic and not a lot of processed foods and still feel it's worth it. The biggest items we purchase are Kirkland toilet paper, Kirkland paper towels (which now come in the select-a-size sheets, yay!!!), Tide laundry detergent, and Finish dishwashing tabs. Oh, and organic brown rice is a big item I buy. I also stock up on organic canned tomato products (sauce, diced, and stewed) and I just noticed the other day they sell organic canned black beans so I buy those now also.

Foodwise, I buy pretty much any and all organic produce they have. They are slowly offering more organic. I just purchased 10lbs of organic sweet potatoes/yams for about $7.50. I also buy organic butter, organic greens, etc. I do not purchase organic milk at Costco or eggs because I buy Organic Valley milk (which comes from locally sourced farms) and we get our eggs from my husband's coworker who raises organic chickens that are essentially free range.

I buy some supplements at Costco as well as allergy meds. They have good quality meat (although their salmon is farmed so I don't buy it)...even have organic chicken and organic ground beef.

It looks like a lot of people buy everything at Costco...since I only buy mostly organic, my cart is never full but I definitely save a lot of money versus buying at Walmart, Target, and grocery stores. They also have great prices on small appliances or other "stuff" for the house you may (or may not) need! And, you can't beat their money back guarantee on almost everything.

We buy what you buy! I looked for organic beans after I saw your post but they did not have them I was so excited to finally see the select a size paper towels....that made my day!

In addition to what you mentioned, we always get the organic chicken broth and organic strawberry jam.

 

[dawnball]

We save more on our car insurance/renter's/etc policies than we pay in membership dues. We also have the Executive membership, which gives us a rebate each year.

 

[LJSquishy]

We buy what you buy! I looked for organic beans after I saw your post but they did not have them I was so excited to finally see the select a size paper towels....that made my day!

In addition to what you mentioned, we always get the organic chicken broth and organic strawberry jam.

I'm sorry your store didn't have the black beans. Maybe it's a new item and they might bring it in soon?? I saw somewhere online that someone's Costco carried Stonyfield Organic yogurt cups...but neither of my 2 Costcos do. Darn! I always buy the organic chicken stock in the cartons, I can't believe I forgot about that! I love that stuff and it's CHEAP!

Haha, you have no idea how excited I was for the select-a-size paper towels...I had even contemplated buying the Bounty ones at Walmart thinking even if they were more expensive, I'd still probably save money by not using as many paper towels (and I wouldn't have to rip them to make them smaller)...but almost right after that I saw that Kirkland made the switch!

Oh...one of the very unhealthy things I do buy at Costco is the Mocha Frappe mix...omg that stuff is amazing as a blended drink!

 

[Lisa71]

We do not go super often but I do like them..our work had a sign up and I was not married at the time...they let my friend be the "spouse"..she still is so we split the cost !! My husband cannot go without me but unless it is electronics he does not want to go...and I love half price!

 

[WisMiss]

The price of organic milk must vary by state. For 3 half gallons in WI, they charge $12. I can find a gallon of organic milk elsewhere for under $7/gallon. I wonder why it is more than in other states, you would think being in WI we would have the least expensive milk.
They have great prices on coconut oil and Nature Valley bars.