This Atlanta family is happy!
Walmart’s cheaper and they put it in my trunk. I didn’t renew my Costco card in October…had only taken it out for a vacation we took through their travel group. It was ver much worth it and the rebate I got back from the trip more than paid for the executive card. And yes, my Quick Trip is typically 1 cent more per gallon than driving 5 miles to Costco. I always compare small and large quantities of Bounty paper towels, Cottonelle toilet paper, Tide laundry pods, Cascade dishwashing, and cat foods/litter, etc between Amazon, Walmart, and Costco - Walmart wins almost every time. I have subscriptions set up that I monitor for price changes for these items and will cancel a delivery if someplace else has it less expensive. So this is a “neither” for the large warehouse stores.
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That’s not good news for my family’s health! My spouse and kid love Coke products, so it’s been pretty easy to resist the carbonated beverages there. Guess I’ll see how many stops they make at Costco on the way home (it’s less than 2 miles from our house).
As posted earlier in car thread, it sounds like Costco member get a discount ($600?) for Lexus.
If we narrow it down to Lexus models and this holds true, we definitely will re-join Costo. (A few months ago we let it lapse sinnce Sam’s since it is so much handier for us, especially for gas.)
It depends on what products you buy, what is on sale, and a number of other factors, but in general Costco is lower priced than Walmart for equivalent quality and size. It’s certainly not every item, but it’s enough things I buy to want to keep my membership to Costco. My experience is the downside to Costco more relate to limited selection and often require purchasing in bulk. Some example products that I’ve purchased recently at Costco are below. However, where Costco prices really shines over others is not on these types of products. It is on services that typically have an extremely high markup, like hearing aids or eyeglasses, which don’t have a good Walmart equivalent.
- Rotisserie Chicken – $5 for oversize at Costco vs $7 for normal size + lower quality at Walmart vs $9 for normal size at Amazon
- Quaker Oatmeal – $1.00 per lb at Costco vs $1.93 per lb at Walmart vs $2.20 per lb at Amazon
- Gallon Bottled Water – $0.90 per gal at Costco vs $1.43 per gal at Walmart vs $1.49 at Amazon
- Dixie 20oz Bowl – $9.26 per 100 at Costco vs $12.56 per 100 at Walmart vs $12.66 at Amazon
- Weatherproof Ultratech Winter Coat – $24 at Costco vs ~$50 at Walmart vs $60 at Amazon
I also shop at Walmart for certain items. When I choose Walmart over Costco, it usually relates to wanting to buy a brand or size that is not available at Costco, wanting to save time, or Walmart having a special sale and/or loss leader product. Examples are below.
- 65" TV – $218 at Walmart during Black Friday, Costco only sold higher end TVs (at time) and did not have as good BF discounts as Walmart
- 2lb Frozen Pink Salmon – $10.48 at Walmart, Costco does not sell equivalent (only higher end frozen salmon products)
- Frozen Vegetables – Varies at Walmart, Costco does not sell equivalent (only more expensive organic in bulk)
- Milk – $3.47 per gal at Walmart, Costco only sells in 2 gallon packages which I cannot finish before spoiling
- Oat Cereal – $1.74 for 12 oz Walmart Brand Toasted O’s. Costco charges more per oz for name brand Cheerios. I prefer the taste of Toasted O’s and consider Toasted O’s healthier (no added sugar).
Edit – It occurred to me that you may be using delivery. Sameday.costco.com via Instacart is usually ~20% higher than in-store sticker, but you can regain that 20% by paying for it with the Instacart gift cards, which have a 20% discount at Costco online ($80 for $100 in digital gift cards). You can also stack the 20% gift card discount with other sales. Last weekend it was $30 off a $100 order on Costco delivery. This week they have a $20 off $125 order deal (check email).
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Nope, not using sticker but the brands and products I listed on the day I would look were always lower at Walmart.
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I suspect you are referring to the Costco Auto Buying program. It’s not just for Lexus. Costco also has auto buying for most well known brands. Costco has prenegotiated prices on specific models, with specific dealerships. If you buy through that dealership, you get the Costco price, which is significantly below sticker price (often far more than $600, sometimes several thousand). There is no haggling.
I am a Costco member and bought a car a few weeks ago. I did not use the Costco auto buying service. I found that I could get a better deal by negotiating price myself, and not being limited to just the Costco dealerships. Not being limited to just Costco dealerships also expanded the range of available cars. I ended up choosing a car in a rare color shade, with the trim I wanted. I haven’t seen that combination offered since in the region.
I still think the Costco program can be useful to get a starting point of how much below sticker is possible, as well as for use as a negotiating tool. Many dealerships will match or beat the Costco price, if you show it to them. The program can also be useful for persons who don’t want to deal with the hassle and just want to buy a good car at a fair price.
This is a similar theme for Costco in general. If you buy it at Costco, you can be confident you are getting a good product, with a low dealer markup. As I recall maximum margin on in store is 11% above Costco buyer’s price, which is often lower than standard due to special deals with manufacturer in exchange for Costco’s high volume. Costco will not always be the best possible deal across all alternatives on every product , but you can safely buy almost anything at Costco with confidence of getting a good value.
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I have a 10 year old Subaru and needed a bunch of stuff done - it’s at like 120K miles and so while it wasn’t “maintenance” it wasn’t stuff gone wrong…more like stuff worn out. Anyway the bill was going to be around $2k. The service guy was doing all he could to try and reduce the price for me. At one point he asked if we belonged to Costco - I showed him my card and he was able to take an additional $ off the service bill.
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We considered about 5 years ago to purchase a car through Costco. We did not purchase at the time (for other reasons), but found the Costco ‘experience’ better than the typical car-buying experience. However, it was not the lowest price. There was at least one other dealer who promised to beat that price. Whether or not true, we’ll never know, since we didn’t buy.
We’re back in the car market. We completed the online form to determine which local dealer was the “Costco” dealer, outlining our preferred model, and shared contact information. We later received a call from that dealership, saying that their price will likely be less than the Costco price. He said the main reason they are a Costco dealer is primarily to make the connection with buyers. A little surprised at that honesty (or maybe yet another sales tactic?)
Our “best” car buying experience was by email (12 years ago). At that time, there were printed books outlining dealer costs and mark-ups. So armed with that knowledge, we wrote the local dealerships, outlined our preferred car and color, and asked for the bottom line out the door. No sitting & haggling. No waiting for anyone to talk to their manager. Maybe it wasn’t the lowest price possible, but it was quick, and easy. I think that’s information for a different thread though.
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Sam’s Club hot dogs and pizza are better than Costco. There I said it. It’s true 
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As a member of both Sam’s and Costco, I disagree. Also, Costco’s roasted chickens are definitely better.
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Well that’s good to know. Had our $3 hot dog lunch today after shopping at Sam’s, which has a convenient location for us. (We let Costco lapse. Will restart it if we find advantage for car shopping.)
The rotisserie chicken is a moot point for us. I like them, but hubby does not.
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I’m my experience, costco rotisserie chicken is salty and the Sam’s Club is sweet. I don’t like sweet.
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We don’t have a Sam’s Club here anymore. I prefer them, but Costco is only 5 min from our house.
Just to comment on the Costco rotisserie chicken…they are so much smaller than they used to be. Not sure what happened.
In my opinion, Costco rotisserie chicken is a great value – a giant, oversize chicken for $5… often double the weight of supermarket chickens (not smaller than they used to be at my Costco). Costco chicken is also better quality than Sam’s Club and Walmart rotisserie chicken. However, this is not a high bar. While a much higher price per lb, I prefer the taste of most traditional supermarket rotisserie chickens to Costco – less salt added, less seasoning, leaner, less likely to be abnormal/deformed, longer shelf life before taste changes, generally tastes better…
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Yeah, I second that. The local HEB down here has a wide variety of rotisserie chickens, including a “natural” version, with no artificial chemicals. I’ll gladly pay $8 for that instead of a $5 chicken with additives.
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I bought a rotisserie chicken at Publix the other day. It was about the size of a pigeon and cost nearly $9. Never again.
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I don’t know how I feel about this…Coke instead of Pepsi? At Costco?
How can’t you feel good about it? Having Pepsi products was greatest flaw in the eyes of the masses!
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Coke all the way! 
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