My son loves the Naan Dippers that Costco carries.
We have no Costco in Maine, alas. 
I shop there when I visit my mother in CT. Things I buy: Carol Hochman underwear and socks, Big bags of almonds and pecans, some supplements, boneless pork butt for making pulled pork (2 per package), cheese, almond flour, Vietnamese cinnamon. I’ve also bought a stick blender there, and last time I got an Instant Pot for $74.
I would get more perishables if I lived near by,
My sister’s Costco in Indiana has big bags of Jones breakfast sausage links, which I love. Unfortunately, my mother’s only has skinny patties, which aren’t as good. Wonder if they would make the 2-day trip still frozen if I brought a big cooler and a lot of frozen cold packs? I could stock up! 
I could use a little Costco intel. I’m waiting for the cinnamon loaves to return (the ones that are like the pound cake loaves but rolled in cinnamon and with cinnamon swirl inside). I went to Costco this morning and they still have the holiday loaves with 3 different flavors, none of which are liked in our house. But, I have a cinnamon loaf lover and we’ve been waiting since last winter. I’m on the verge of calling other Costco bakeries to see if and when they’ll be making them.
@evergreen5 I have surely seen the cinnamon loaves in our Costco bakery (Ohio) in the last couple of months. I haven’t noticed any “holiday” loaves!
They do some bakery items seasonally. Like the pie flavors (the cherry is AMAZING). They also have a cinnamon coffee cake that can be bad news for me because it’s hard to leave alone ! That is another item that I will cut into sections when I get it home and then freeze and just take out sections (quarters) or pieces as needed.
I have been a member for years and I still stumble across great deals. My dog was put on a liver support medication called Denamarin that was costing me $90/month. I was at the Costco pharmacy waiting to get a flu shot and I looked up and saw it sitting on the shelf behind the cash register. I found out it only cost $62 for the same one month supply. That $336 yearly savings is an example of why I’ll always be a Costco shopper even though as empty nesters, we can’t buy as much as we used to because of the huge sizes.
Golf balls are a great deal. This year they had two types of Kirkland and a Callaway. Paperback books are priced great, but the selection in my store is not as good as it used to be.
The downsides to Costco are the crowds, and how often they quit carrying an item you’ve fallen in love with.
I miss the packaged dry Montmorency cherries they once carried. Yummy and reasonably priced as well. I also miss the frozen honey bbq chicken wings. Keep hoping these items will make a come back. :((
We made the pilgrimage today!! It certainly felt like a pilgrimage as it isn’t super close and we walked almost every single aisle to get an overview of what is offered. Still not enough exercise to burn off what we consumed while there.
For a Thursday afternoon, it was still pretty busy. I can’t imagine what it must be like on a weekend! Crazy. There were plenty of samples. I probably ate 5-6. 
I wish you could sample even more though because some of the packages were so big, it is a real leap of faith to buy something you have never tried and don’t know if you will like it. A few of the things I sampled were okay but not something I’d want to buy. (BTW, since it came up on this thread, they did have a sign up looking to hire people to work as samplers. $12.49 per hour. In my area, baggers/checkout clerks at the regular grocery stores can make $12-15/hour so didn’t seem like that much for a job where you have to be “on” and selling all the time, unless you are really extroverted.)
A few cons at my Costco: I find the signage a pain and something to get used to. For packaged items, they give the price per pound quite often instead of price per item. I get that with meat and veggies/fruit but for other things it seemed weird like some packaged, refrigerated foods and things like the chicken pot pie. Also, some prices just weren’t there at all. For example, Brawny paper towels. We looked and looked and couldn’t find the price. It must have fallen off. And it wasn’t worth the hassle of tracking down someone to find out for us.
Pricing things out, it’s definitely a savings on most things over my area’s grocery stores and even Walmart for things like TP. Given the distance for me personally and the hassle of warehouse shopping (gas and time costs), I can see myself going 3-4 times per year to stock up but not on a regular grocery shopping basis. I can definitely see where it would be great for when you are entertaining with cookouts, events and such.
To make my pilgrimage a true Costco outing, I bought the rotisserie chicken for dinner tonight but it is going to have to wait until tomorrow because we also indulged in that other Costco experience - the jumbo hot dog and soda from $1.50 - and even though it has been 3-4 hours, between that and samples, I’m so stuffed I won’t be eating anything else today! The chicken is good sized but not much different than my preferred local grocery chain.
So here is what I bought today besides picking up my new eyeglasses: Kirkland plastic wrap (it better be good because it will likely last me for years ), Cascade Platinum pacs, Kirkland olive oil (very good price), raspberries, Carr’s Ginger Lemon Creme Cookies (a bargain at a 3rd of the price of the grocery store and will be used for stocking stuffers), boneless leg of lamb, spinach/cheese ravioli, pesto (I usually make my own but I thought I’d try theirs), Montreal Steak seasoning, Asian salad kit - cabbage type (I didn’t see the one with the cherries in it), Better Than Bouillon, Tate’s Chocolate Chip Cookies (impulse buy - I definitely do NOT need these!), Medley tomatoes, Aveeno lotion at almost half the price, a 5+ year supply of tissues which actually weren’t that great of a deal, some stuff I’ll use for holiday entertaining like a trio of salame, some aged cheddar (Cabot) and gruyere - very good price, tons of smoked salmon, a big thing of Stroopwafels for someone I know who loves them.
I checked out vacuums but figured I need to do more research before parting with $300-400 and I could always order online and have it shipped. If anyone has bought a Shark or Dyson and has a recommendation on models, please let me know. No pets so no pet hair to worry about, combo of carpet/tile/hardwood floors, something that can get underneath beds easily.
Thanks for everyone’s advice and suggestions on this thread.
I wanted a canister vacuum and they didn’t have much in the warehouse but I ordered a Sonic Care one from the website. Love it! (they don’t carry that one any more - but it looks like the Miele canister vacs). Got a Shark upright for one D and it’s good but she thinks it’s a bit cumbersome.
Of course the canister vac gets under the beds easily. Long ago we had a rechargeable Dyson for D2 who was in a tiny apartment. It was good but Dyson’s back then never had HEPA filters. Now, they might. I think I got that one at BB&B. It was small and great for tight spaces and going under things.
Oh, a few more comments/observations:
Husband was a bit overwhelmed.
As a personal goal is to use less packaging, I definite downside to Costco is shopping there can lead to more packaging, not less. Example: those items that include multiples packaged in another cardboard box. Like the cookies which are 4 regular sized packages inside an outer container. Just more packaging waste created.
Also, I’m not sure if I could do the bulk of my grocery shopping there even if it was closer. They have a lot, for sure, but if you tend to cook from scratch and not eat much processed foods, there is a lot less variety in the fresh stuff than a normal grocery store. I couldn’t find couscous, for example. Less variety of veggies, fruit, fresh seafood. I love salmon but I prefer to buy at my local store because a) I know exactly where it comes from, b) the prices weren’t really any cheaper, c) I can buy precisely the amount I want from the seafood counter and have it wrapped in paper instead of placed on a styrofoam tray and wrapped in plastic.
I have a phrase - “when men shop at Costco alone…”.
My H once came back with a mini fridge that can both heat and cool, AND it plugs into a car’s power outlet. So strange to strap that thing into a seat and travel with it but we ended up loving it.
A friend’s H came back with an entire hock(?) of prosciutto. It came on a wooden rack with a special knife. It was his birthday and he saw it in the refrigerator there and couldn’t resist.
@greenwitch Do you use the heat function on the mini fridge? Like to keep a dish hot when traveling to someone’s house?
@doschicos , I loved reading your report. I say that’s a fair report for a first experience. I think you’ll get used to the signage and what things are per pound vs. per item.
The Aveeno is a regular sale item - at least 3 or 4 times a year - it’s my staple lotion and I’ve been buying it there for years.
Tate’s - WORTH it. With cold milk.
Definitely could not be an “only” shopping spot. That’s why I said I figured about 50% Costco, 25% produce or farmer’s market (supporting local and especially when it’s growing season) and 25% regular grocery - for the things like couscous, other canned goods, staples in smaller quantities.
I don’t eat salmon but people seem to swear by that Costco salmon.
@doschicos - we never used the heat function. H had bought the fridge in the early 90’s. It didn’t die, but the end of the cord broke and we couldn’t get a replacement. That was about 7 years ago.
We are empty nesters as well so love when our store has the Seafood Roadshow and I can get 4 scallops and 4 shrimp…Maybe a small cluster of crab legs.
We could do Costco visit reports instead of college visit reports.
To think in college terms, we probably spend a small annual tuition at Costco - every year. My dinner today (Mr. is at the co’s holiday shebang): an antipasto of cucumber slices, pickled cauliflower, cheese, and salami from Costco. A splash of Sixth Sense Syrah to taste before we make mulled wine out of it. Also from Costco.
In terms of selection, Costco stores definitely vary a lot. The Kirkland one has more gadgetry and often has chichi stuff like Gucci bags… the one we like the most always has a good selection of produce. It does not carry things like herbs and random veggies such as rutabagas, but all the staples are there: potatoes, cucumbers, tomatoes, zucchini and squashes, avocados, spinach, cauliflower, lettuce, Brussel sprouts, broccoli, sweet potatoes, garlic, yellow and purple onions, mushrooms, eggplant… And seasonal fruit from around the world.
Okay, what is this Seafood Roadshow thing?
I forgot to mention that husband bought a 24 pack of Harpoon beer at a good price. They had a seasonal variety pack he passed on because one of the beers in the variety pack is a Dunkin Donuts flavored porter. He hates DD with a passion.
I did not see the pickled cauliflower. Bummer.
My Costco is definitely NOT chichi in the slightest.
There is a dude surrounded by ice boxes with seafood, and you point and tell him how many of which kind you want… he puts it on the scale and hands you a baggie. Just like seafood department in a grocery store. It is a regular thing in our western WA Costcos. They call it a roadshow because it is not a permanent setup in the store. If 4 scallops is not your thing, he also has 10-lb boxes of frozen ones.
“We could do Costco visit reports instead of college visit reports.”
It gives new meaning to CC: Costco Confidential. B-)