For holiday entertaining, I purchase a wheel of brie that I warm in the oven, top with a gourmet jam/jelly, and serve with sliced baguette. Costco also sells a very large package of four varieties of pre-cut cheese that I set our with salami and crackers.
Friend just asked me today to take her for the “prime” filet mignon for her family holiday meal- they love it.
Also, made the boneless Short Ribs this weekend- delicious !
Bought car through Costco
Bought air condition system
@powercropper My Costco has very good organic hummus. You could make a simple GF veggie platter. https://www.blessthismessplease.com/simple-diy-hummus-platter/
I recently saw a lot of nuts in the store. You shouldn’t have any trouble finding those.
For a fundraising event, someone bought a bunch of the frozen bacon wrapped scallops that are heat and serve. They were very popular and were the first food item to disappear.
Costco gift card? I asked our local Costco if I could purchase a Costco gift card for a non-member’s use. They said no. Any recipient would still need to show a membership card at the register. ??? Is this location specific? (responding to earlier post regarding same)
Here’s what the website says:
Members and non-members may use the Costco Cash Cards to shop at any Costco location in the United States, Puerto Rico, Canada and online at Costco.com.
Non-members will be charged a 5% surcharge over the member’s posted product prices (except for prescription drugs) when purchasing on Costco.com.
https://www.costco.com/Costco-Cash-Card.product.10024438.html
Edit: @kjofkw I believe the recipient just shows the Cash Card at the register, and the cashier puts in some generic code instead of a membership number.
Anyone know if Costco sells 9V 10 year batteries (lithium)? I don’t see them on the Costco website but that might be because they aren’t mailable? :-??
One thing I know is don’t assume the car buying program or AC etc are money saving or advantageous. I have never had Costco beat out my own leg work for either. Subaru might be particularly affected but I would have tried at least 3 times with no luck and got my own better price negotiating.
There are a lot of things that Costco has that is not great pricing. As someone else alluded to, almost all the third party stuff that you see as you exit is not that good price-wise. School and office supplies you can always find cheaper elsewhere. Cereal I only buy if there is a sale price. Almost all Asian foods I can get cheaper at Ranch 99 or H-Mart or the like. Rental car pricing used to be the best but I can always do better nowadays using Autoslash.
Always shop their sales! I rarely buy anything that’s not on sale.
I find the grocery store routisserie chicken a little slimy from Kroger. Those Costco ones are huge. Since you all like them, I take it they are more a little drier than wet?
I can beat Costco’s auto buying by at least $2-3K by doing my own negotiating. When I was looking for someone to re-carpet the stairs, even the usually expensive Home Depot beat the Costco’s, so I don’t purchase such big items from Costco. I haven’t done travel yet, but I’ll be sure to compare thoroughly when it’s time for us go cruising…
I’m not smoking and I’m not laughing. Not if anyone propogates any racial stereotypes on a forum where the primary mission is to dialogue on college admisisons. I don’t think you meant to, but I want to steer away from any racial stereotypes.
At my student’s Asian Night meant to celebrate culture, a “comedian” said “You know you’re Asian when you find a 25 lb bag of rice in your pantry (cause no one else would buy it).” Some colleges are quick to want to stereotype Asians as Math loving and violin playing students that aren’t well rounded. I just want to restate Costco or not, we love all kinds of food, have all kinds of skills, all kinds of talents, interests and make all kinds of contributions to our communities we live in and serve.
How are the rice prices, @TiggerDad? Better than H-Mart? 
I am really liking this thread and don’t want it shut down, so let’s turn the conversation back to Costco! 
Here’s my opinion on their auto program: some people are good negotiators, and some are not. For those who are willing to shop around and play hardball, yes, they can beat Costco’s pricing. For those who don’t like the negotiating process (let’s face it, buying a car is a PIA), Costco will likely beat any quote they’d get from the dealer.
H-Mart is always more expensive when it comes to rice, so I always get them at Costco.
Yes, car purchasing is a real PIA. What basically Costco does is to take the pain out of the process by offering a certain set pricing below MSRP pricing with those dealers they work with. It’s of course a personal call. I know I was totally exhausted by the time I was done negotiating and trying to have two dealers beat each other’s best price offer.
I’ve heard that a
price ending in .99 means regular price
price ending in .97 means markdown
price ending with .00 means clearance item. (not coming back)
If you see a * on the upper righthand corner of the sign that means the item will not be restocked. (gone for good)
.88 is a manager’s markdown. This price is determined at the individual Costco store level. Used to get the product out of the store ASAP.
I went to my Costco today, and thought of y’all! This was a pretty big trip.
I bought gas, paper towels, paper plates, a big chunk of Parmigiano-Reggiano, milk, bagged salad mix (the one with the blue cheese, thought I’d give it a try) a bag of coffee beans, prosciutto, some kind of seedy/nutty bread for my son, a pair of Sketchers walking shoes (comfy), Christmas wrapping paper (the 4-pack),Kirkland body soap, Kirkland’s “Chocolates from around the world” to throw in Christmas stockings, Kirkland cashew clusters ( for DH, but they are really addictive) EVOO (I bought a different kind this time after talking with a man who was buying it with instructions from his wife), canned black beans, canned diced tomatoes, organic free-range chicken broth in cartons, and chocolate covered toffee almonds, an impulse buy.
I saw the gigantic bags of rice. In my Costco, rice in this quantity is purchased mostly by Mexicans, and brown rice is purchased by Haitians/Jamaicans, from what I’ve noticed. We also have Hasidic Jews buying lots of Kosher products in quantity along with the stuff everyone buys. I enjoy the camaraderie that I experience when all of us are out shopping for our families. And yes, I’m irritated when the place is mobbed, and people are rude. But today was peaceful and friendly.
I like the huge packages of asparagus, which hold up way better than my supermarket’s offerings, which get slimy in a day or two. Except for when it’s seasonal and I can get it from a local stand, this is great asparagus. I’ll make soup and quiche, etc, to use it up.
I bought two pairs of glasses there, the first time ever that I bought more than one, and it was great to have choices! We also bought our TV, and this desktop computer.
In the past I’ve checked and found that I was mostly saving money. Sometimes a lot.That first year, I even noticed that our checking account balance was higher than usual.But now, the quality and selection is worth a trip to me.
I wanted to mention at least once a year I see a promotion on groupon for Costco membership at a discounted price usually also offering a high value of coupons. Currently groupon is selling BJ’s wholesale club membership for $25.