<p>I spend close to $10K/year at Costco primarily buying groceries, drug store/personal care items, and cleaning supplies for my family of four. Many of the produce items are organic, the frozen seafood is excellent, wonderful selection of breads…I use it as almost as a grocery store as it is only ten minutes from home. I find their prices to be excellent and the turnover ensures fresh produce. They do not always offer the best price on an dry goods compared to the grocery store’s weekly sale price, but food prices are almost always competitive.</p>
<p>Other things we purchase there: ontact lenses & glasses, car tires, flat screen TV (with excellent return policy if needed), local restaurant gift cards at 20% discount, and some random kitchen items. Even used Costco to find a great price on a new car. (It’s a referral service…) </p>
<p>I avoid browsing the middle aisles of the store and purchase almost exclusively from the back and drug store/cleaning section. Huge fan of the store!</p>
<p>I love Costco on so many levels. I covered the retail sector in the investment industry and their business model is very transparent. They price all products for a 12-14% gross margin and try to keep operating expenses low (used to be 7% of sales). They value the member, employee and shareholder equally. It was always my favorite retail investment.</p>
<p>Went there this week and picked up:</p>
<p>Avocados (5/$5.49)
Milk ($2.49/gal)
Feta Cheese
Baby bells
Rudi’s Gluten Free bread (2/$7.49) - got 2 packs, as one closest to me doesn’t carry this.
Sausages
Pecans
Almonds</p>
<p>I didn’t get going to Costco for quite a while, even though most of my friends and acquaintances went. Last year, DD got me a membership for Mother’s Day so she could have a card for supplies for her apartment when she went away to grad school. Since H and I now have a small household and we have had to travel 25+ minutes, we’ve only been going every couple of months for:</p>
<p>batteries
big containers of nuts
coffee/coffee filters
compari tomatoes in the winter </p>
<p>and one or two other things (i.e., we were there when they had samples of a brand of pierogi on the last day of carrying it, and they were great). We just recently bought a new TV; after research, we were glad Costco had the one we wanted, and at the best price. </p>
<p>A new Costco, about 10 minutes away, is opening in 3 weeks. I’m sure we will go there more regularly. Not sure if they’ll have gas, though.</p>
<p>We love Costco! We buy all the organic foods that they sell, I think! Eggs and milk every week. Also we buy TV’s, computers, cameras, office supplies, school supplies (just bought awesome backpack for oldes - $18.99! They will be gone in a week), books, movies, gifts, food baskets, gift cards, stamps etc. We once bought a back yard swingset/climbing thing when our kids were little.</p>
<p>With Executive membership, you get a check back of 2% of everything you spend there. So we usually get a good-sized check. They also have a very nice return policy, not that I return things often.</p>
<p>Dadx3, the Costco in Edison sells gas and alcohol. </p>
<p>I live close to a Costco so it 's easy for me to stop in with a short list. I like their milk because it’s hormone free but still don’t like the square container. And their milk is cheaper than at the grocery store. I used to buy enough milk for my crew that the lower price covered the cost of my membership there. </p>
<p>I appreciate that they are increasing their selection of organic foods.</p>
<p>After reading these posts, I just learned that some Costco locations sell gas & wine. And, I forgot about the stamps and giant container of cashews.</p>
<p>I have not bought my cameras there as they package the bodies with lenses I do not want. The executive membership pays for itself after $2500 annual spending. (Well, that used to be the break even point when the regular was $50 and exec was $100. I am not sure what either costs now but we are well beyond break even.)</p>
<p>The only complaint I have is the parking but I live in a densely-populated area so parking is never plentiful.</p>
<p>We are lucky to have the choice of two Costco’s each @15 min away in opposite directions.</p>
<p>Like others, we have bought so many useful things at Costco, love it there!</p>
<p>*Yes, you can buy contact lenses and eyeglasses there using other Doctor’s prescriptions
*Even as a family of four, we still buy plenty in bulk as others have mentioned
*We do tend to buy foods there, produce is fantastic. Just bought a case of 10 giant peaches there yesterday and it will be gone in a few days. Fabulous meats, raviolis, breads, we’ve been quite happy with our purchases.
*A heater for our basement
*Canned organic diced tomatoes
*Peanuts, cashews, peanut butter crackers, cheeses, vegetables & fresh tomatoes, strawberries, etc.
*Socks for H & boys
*An occasional piece of clothing usually for the winter
*Paper towels, t.p., the list goes on and on.</p>
<p>We have to make a list and add things up as we go along. It’s very easy to overspend there…we try to keep it at $100 or less each trip…their stuffed peppers are yummy but now I make them myself at home to save $$</p>
<p>We do have the Am Ex card so that it pays you cash back at the end of the year. You can just take the check into Costco and apply it toward a new purchase without ever having to cash it at your bank!</p>
<p>Tires, batteries, light bulbs, cell phones, charcoal for the grill, potting soil, grass seed, pruners, large flower pots, perennials, annuals, cut flowers, vitamins, nuts, almond butter, milk, rotisserie chicken, organic beef and chicken and at the holidays, organic turkeys. At the food court, frozen yoghurt, a chicken salad whose name I can’t recall, but it’s Romaine, cherry tomatoes and roast chicken, very cheap and enough for two to share; sheets, towels, pillows. I love their house brand, Kirkland, and they have basic clothing now, too, - nice Merino sweaters, men’s dress shirts, basic tees. I’ve gotten an entire work wardrobe of pants and cotton blouses. They had fantastic short woolen socks last winter that everyone raved about on another thread and they carry inexpensive Ugg style boots and name brand running shoes. They treat their employees and customers well and have the best return policy around. Still, I get the negative image of massive consumption and if you want to see a funny spoof of Costco, watch the movie “Idiocracy” (spoiler alert - in the future, people get their law degrees from Costco.)</p>
<p>Costco is about 20 minutes away from us and a Sam’s Club is 5 minutes from the house. I looked at the Costco several times but didn’t think there was much of a difference between the two. I had let my Sam’s Club membership expire once the kidlings were out of the house but just renewed when there was a Groupon for $20 and you got a $20 gift card, a rotisserie chicken, a dozen of cookies and a large take home pizza! No brainer even though I haven’t been back since! We did use the Costco liquer store to buy wine for D2’s wedding reception but didn’t need to be a member. I wanted a specific New Zealand Sauvignon Blanc that was $17 a bottle that Costco sold for $10.99.</p>
<p>Oh yea, D likes the wines they have, especially the merlots. We also like the chicken, ready to go salads, lamb, and roasts (which we cut up for steaks to feed large numbers of folks). It is convenient if you’re feeding a group but not so much if there are just two folks and no one to share the purchases with.</p>
<p>Just joined Sam’s Club because it’s right next to where we are starting to have monthly meetings and will be useful to be able to get food right next to the conference room. Their prices and merchandise are similar to Costco, but don’t believe they pay their workers as well or give them as generous benefits (their affiliate WalMart certainly has the reputation for not treating workers well).</p>
<p>They have an unbelievably cheap price for pignoli nuts which i use to make pesto, along with their well priced olive oil and homegrown basil.I make enough to freeze and use for an entire year until the new crop is in.My local Costco sells the flats of "Mexican"cokes, which are made with cane sugar and come in those wonderful green glass bottles.Hard to find in NY. We buy paper goods,garbage bags.Some produce is a bargain, like the bag of mixed colored peppers.Recently i found bags of mixed colored fingerling potatoes…white,red and purple.Split them in half and put them on the grill…beautiful and company was very impressed.Son loves going there at the right time for sampling.We’ve found new products to love through the samples, like asain dumplings.Great place to get large sized desserts when entertaining.Mine does not sell gas or wine.Wish they did.and oh yes upon reccomendation of a newpaper article about smoked salmon, tried theirs.It comes in a two-pack but it freezes beautifully. Its delicious.Trust me, I was skeptical.Its the brand in the black see through window package.</p>
<p>I upgraded to the Executive Membership for which you earn 2% back on purchases. The upgrade is $110 per year vs $55 per year for basic. If the rebate check at the end of the year is not at least the difference between the two-$55- they will refund the difference. We buy some big money items there: all car tires (big savings), eye glasses, all pet food and beds. Over the counter meds, shampoo etc, a foam mattress, appliances, my mom’s hearing aid ( huge savings), baking goods at Xmas, olive oil, to name a few. I don’t go specifically for everyday food or gas but will will buy if I’m already there. Also get car washes there if I’m already there- best drive thru car wash around! I have also rented cars thru them at a big savings, and we bought all of my D’s
flowers for her wedding there on-line</p>
<p>Our Costco carries much higher quality items than the Sam’s Club. The wine is better, there is organic produce, better pharmacy items, and much better meat. In fact, the Sam’s Club seems to be like a Wal-Mart with fewer items and larger sizes. </p>
<p>We love the Costco for the quality of the food. I live in an area that is low on quality cheeses and wines. DH always buys his antacids there and we stock up on OTC medications. The windshield wipers are a good deal too. It is also the best place for vegan items that my DS needs. Our wine selection is not huge but it beats the quality in the local supermarket. I go weekly for the pretzel rolls and bagels.</p>
<p>We belong to both Sam’s & Costco (they are only about 1-2 miles apart on the same main street.) To me, there’s a big difference in quality between the two. The only reason we still belong to Sam’s is that there are a few products we use that they carry and Costco doesn’t. </p>
<p>Prescriptions, contacts, glasses, tires, car rentals pretty much all done through Costco. We usually buy all our meat there, plus cheeses. Fruit & veggies plus the Taziki dip and Wholy Guacamole. Books are often cheaper there than the eVersion. Clothing is a good deal as well. One thing that makes Costco appealing to me: I know that all their products are fully vetted, especially their Kirkland brand products. And they fully stand behind what they sell. I don’t think I’ve ever bought a dud there, and I’ve been a member since they were Price Club. So I can go in and buy at a good price and not worry about the quality.</p>
<p>cobrat, in addition to what’s mentioned above, go on Costco’s website and flip thru all the departments. Golf deals, gift baskets, caskets, watches, window blinds, floral arrangements, tourist attractions, Square Trade warranties, USB, tires…you’d be surprised of the many things that are not huge quantity items…</p>
<p>I complained when my wife bought a gallon jar of pickles. They were really good pickles but who needs a gallon? </p>
<p>Then I looked at the prices. The gallon at Costco was $3. I think that is about what the local grocery charged for a dinky pint jar. Between Costco and Walmart, the world of retail sales has changed. I don’t know about you but I cannot handle the huge markups of traditional retailing. I have been told I should have pity, or is it loyalty towards the local overpriced stores. Why? The whole retailing model needs to be scrapped.</p>