@GnocchiB It’s just my daughter and I so the Costco size products are too much for us. When two households split the bulk items then it is a cost savings without wastage.
Costco overwhelms me with the size of the store and the crowds. The other thing is that it’s quite a distance from us which doesn’t really make it convenient.
Forgot an item I don’t think has been mentioned: plastic wrap. Not sure what it is about the variety at Costco but it’s better than saran wrap and cling wrap. Inexpensive and seems to last forever.
Not sure why but we’ve never gotten tires at Costco. Based on all the positive comments, we’ll check it out next time we’re in need.
We went to the newly remodeled local IKEA today. Oh wow. Gimme Costco with its weekend crowds any day of the week!!!
16 oz jar of Pesto sauce, usually an aisle or so around the cheeses – better than any I’ve ever made, and it freezes… Cheeses are good – Vermont sharp cheddar and blue cheese are caloric indulgences and worth it. In season, fresh berries are a good deal. Wine and alcohol can be good prices, though can be unpredictable availability – I got hooked on Kim Crawford Sauvingnon Blanc this summer, I think Costco was carrying it for $8.99 or $9.99 a bottle when other stores were selling it for $5-6 more a bottle. Often good prices on San Pellegrino. When my mostly-out-of-the-house kids are home, I will stock up on frozen pizza since they still go through a lot more food in one sitting than we do. Some houseware items can be bargains – there is a $50. portable charger which will charge a dead car battery, much more convenient than calling AAA – as well as plastic food storage containers etc.
Happy shopping!
We got our son his own Costco membership and their Visa card (lives OOS, going to grad school) just so he could get new tires at Costco. They had a great Michelin deal where you got $70 off of 4 tires plus an addition $60 off with their Visa card for a total of $130 off. We shopped around, and the closest quote was still $100 higher, so it was worth it.
He takes his roommates, and they split paper goods and food items. He recently found some nice travel shorts (zipper pockets and quick dry material) on clearance for something like $6.97!
My spouse ordered this sweater in blue and gray (https://www.costco.com/Kirkland-Signature-Men%E2%80%99s-Extra-Fine-Merino-Wool-%C2%BC-Zip-Sweater.product.100412097.html) and they are so nice we ordered more for our kids.
An oldie but goodie:
My D and S share a Costco membership. They buy tires for their cars, electronics, and some selected food items and appliances. They’re both pretty happy with their membership.
“We went to the newly remodeled local IKEA today.“ My daughter stayed with a family in France after high school. Her host mom told her they would go to their local Ikea to watch marriages break up!
They take reservations for tire rotations on weekdays. I usually hang out at the Barnes and Noble for coffee and book browsing at the local mall next door while getting my tire rotations.
The cherry pie that makes an appearance once seasonally is to die for. I also quite enjoy their pecan pies.
I forgot about the plastic wrap. It’s far superior to the other wraps and the roll lasts a long time.
if you are into high-quality cheeses you will be hard-pressed to find a place that has a better selection at an amazing price point.
Organic Meats are very good. The fruit prices are good and the prices on nuts is bar none.
What I like most are the surprise products that they have - like certain clothing and just things that you aren’t expecting and probably didn’t think you needed but are really happy buying.
"We got our son his own Costco membership and their Visa card (lives OOS, going to grad school) just so he could get new tires at Costco. "
Costco hack here - if your son/friend/other random person mainly needs one or two things from Costco you can get them access to that without buying a membership. Just give them Costco gift cards.
Any holder of a Costco gift card can shop at Costco to use the card without having to have their own membership. There are limits on how many times a year the gift card holder can shop at Costco - think it’s something like 2 or 4 - so they’ll have to group their purchases. So if my son - who’s in college 1800 miles away - needs tires, I’d just send him a Costco gift card so he could buy the tires without paying the extra membership fee.
I got my daughter a card on my account when she was in college and her official address was still mine. As long as she doesn’t lose the card, she can use it!
Not sure if anyone mentioned this year, but if you get the executive membership the 2% cash back is now good on travel purchases too! We rent cars a few times a year and I always find the best deals by far on Costco. Because we need the biggest SUV and rent for 2 weeks in the summer and 10-12 days at Christmas (plus any other shorter trips( we easily spend over $3,000 a year so the executive membership will pay for itself for sure.
I just bought a refrigerator through Costco and am about to buy a dishwasher as well. The dishwasher was actually about $60 more because other stores had the Cyber Monday sales but I decided to go through Costco anyway because of the great customer service and return policies.
I love buying wine there - there is always a man who helps me pick a few out after I tell him what I like. A few months ago I was so excited to see wine from a tiny winery we visited in Italy. They told us they only have one importer in the US so I was surprised to see it at Costco! Every time I went I would buy a few bottles to stock up. The week before Thanksgiving I went and noticed there were only 5 bottles left and they were sharing a bin with another wine. The man said if there is a star on the price tag it meant they would not be ordering it again - I bought all 5 bottles and now have to make them last. 
I’m still trying to Costco recruit the people who insist their household is too small to enjoy a Costco membership…
(if you just don’t want it, no problem!!)
Not everyone walks into Costco and loads up a cart to the brim each time they shop. We aren’t all buying 5 pound jars of pickles and Skinnypop in bags the size of your trunk!
You develop a pattern for what you ALWAYS buy - and can use - and sometimes that means going in and getting 5 things - or sometimes 25 things. If I buy 12 cans of chicken stock I’m not going to need to worry about having chicken stock for the next 4 months. If I buy my favorite Kirkland thick sliced bacon I know I’m going to take those 2 packages (how you buy it) and when I get home I’ll cut each package in half width wise and put 4 half packages into one gallon sized Ziploc bag for the freezer and not need to buy bacon for weeks.
As your family changes your buying overall changes. I don’t shop much in the snack sized aisles anymore (individual bags of chips, goldfish, bars, etc.) because no kids at home and we don’t eat it.
Another staple of mine: the frozen bag of triple variety cherries. AMAZING in yogurt or oatmeal!
And another often coupon item and overall good deal: batteries. What the other stores charge for 4 or 6 batteries is highway robbery!!!
However, in defense of singles or empty nesters, it might just not be worth the hassle of a trip to Costco - not too close to home, extra time getting in and out of a busy parking lot/crazy big store, lack of space to store 12 cans of chicken stock, not worth the hassle to make extra work out of dividing packages (plus more wasteful packaging). Just saying… \m/
True and I did mention above (WAY above) about space and such. However many references are to not being able to use the large quantities - which often are just bigger quantities (like cans) of regular sized stuff.
And true about dividing packages…but if the goals are saving $$$ and getting a quality product then it should be considered - not adopted, but not ruled out!
I have talked to people who imagine that everyone walks out of Costco with a flatbed full of stuff. Not true!
But yes, clearly access and desire are what make or break any store to appeal to someone.
empty nester here…and I would not give up my Costco card at this point. I’ll continue to keep until my year end check doesn’t cover the membership.
As many have mentioned above, Costco Travel has been a real benefit.
Opticals.
Printers & ink.
Pharmacy: Not only prescriptions, but immunizations are a real bargain.
Rotisserie chicken. Cheese.
Wine.
Floral (especially their poinsettias this time of year)
Furniture: got 6 chairs for my kitchen island 8 years ago…
Paper goods/ziplocks/garbage bags.
We have a Costco in an outlet mall just across an IKEA. (25 miles away) I had membership one year when my daughter was small. It was great for new tires, birthday cakes, gas, and for catering a party. Now on youtube I see videos on how to shop at Costco if you are on specific diets like Keto or Weightwatchers and I think that is helpful to know what healthy products are a really good buy.
I am just trying to change my diet to more clean eating. By watching those videos I am trying to come up with a list of staples that would be useful but I agree you have to go to the store with a plan. I think what makes it difficult is that the aisles aren’t labeled so you have to walk through each of them and that is where you find yourself putting cool things in your cart that were not on your purchase list. That’s what I am afraid of, that I’ll go overbudget each time. In my condo I have limited storage space.
I like the idea of buying a Costco cashcard so that I would limit myself. Costco keeps getting new products on their shelves so it is hard to keep track of what’s available there because some of it is seasonal. It’s like each time you go you don’t know what you’ll find.
I heard almond flour, kerrygold butter, evoo, cage free eggs, and avocado oil are good deals. It’s also a good place to fill your prescriptions and I heard from someone you can get your HP cartridges refilled for a reasonable price. Bobby Parrish has a youtube video that discusses 10 things to buy at Costco and 10 things to avoid.
Meanwhile I’m focused on cleaning out my closets so I start out the New Year more organized.