Differences in state taxes certainly contributes, but that does not explain the full magnitude of the difference. I recently took a trip where I drove across the CA-AZ border by Needles, which had the most extreme change in gas prices over a <2 mile span I have ever seen. On the CA side in Needles, gas prices are currently approximately $6/gallon. On the AZ side side in Mojave, gas prices are currently approximately $3/gallon.
The Needles stations had significant traffic, in spite of the high $6/gallon prices. I suspect it largely relates to uninformed travelers. I expect a lot of people are running on empty after the 150 mile drive from Barstow to Needles without much of anything in between, and stop for gas at the first opportunity. After filling up in Needles, they are probably disappointed to see the $3/gallon drop in prices when they cross state lines.
A warning - they are checking pretty thoroughly to ensure that itās the member using the membership and purchasing. If they catch you using your daughterās membership and sheās not with you (and paying!) her membership may be revoked.
D and I share the membership. We spend just enough to justify the executive membership-barely. I take my rebate check to the desk and ask them to check, but have figured it myself out for the most part.
Being single, there are few food items I buy from there. Produce is cheaper and more local at an area chain. But I have discovered a few meat products, salmon burgers, and gyro meat being two, that are worth keepingin the freezer for last minute salad additions. Olive oil I buy for the long term as theirs is reportedly the best.
Meds, vitamins, glasses, gas and clothing are my main purchases. When my mom was alive, car rental prices were the best as Iād fly to visit her more than once a year.Those days have sadly ended.
I think the Costco membership is worth itās price. There are many items I buy that I know Iām saving over the regular grocery store. What I bought last time that I know I saved on. Eggs, Seven Sundays cereal, once upon a Farm cold pouches for the grandkids, siete almond flour tortillas, blueberries, strawberries, bananas and olive oil from both Italy and Ca. I also by my avocado oil there.
I recently had to furnished a house from top to bottom and bought a lot of things from Costco.
No gas station at my Costco. My local Costco is never super crowded but when I visit my daughter in another area her stores are busy. I also feel they treat their employees well as my store had little turnover of the cashiers.
No Costco gas for me either. In Seattle thereās always lines, at least when I go. I get it at Safeway. Theyāre everywhere, theyāre cheap and we get .20 to .60 cent discounts on top of cheaper prices than retail gas stations. Not every time; it depends on how much weāre spending at Safeway. But when gas is at $4 something at Chevron itās $3.80 to $3.99 at SW. Then thereās the periodic discount on top of that. Itās just easier than looking for a Costco and waiting in line.
Chick Filet was a nightmare when they opened here. They still have cones and multiple lanes for the busy hours. What a zoo. Itās calmed down but man when it opened it was like the Beatles were getting back to together.
Chik-fil-a openings arenāt that big a deal here except for the 100+ people who camp out the week before to get a year of free meals. Maybe itās because we have plenty of them around here.
The chain that stops traffic is In-N-Out. Opening day lines were 12-15 hours. They parked people in the mall lots and then brought over parking lots of cars based on their arrival time. I could have flown to Orange County CA, driven to an In-N-Out, waited in that line for 15-20 minutes, flown back, and still not have spent 10 hours waiting for my burger. It can still take 30 min to get a burger.
The Costco I use most often is packed on F-Sat-Sun. There are a lot of small business owners who shop there ahead of the weekend. There was a mega-church just blocks away (now closed) and when it dismissed on Sunday morningsā¦nightmare!
My BIL works near a new Costco location and heās in heaven. Goes several times a week for just a few things and of course a hotdog meal. Iāve heard my sister say āBring home gumā and off he goes to buy gum. And eye drops.
My 16-year-old refrigerator broke recently, so Iāve been looking at replacements over the past few days. I havenāt used Costco for appliances before, but there are some potential benefits. For refrigerators the pattern seems to be Costco prices are lower than the price listed on the manufacturerās website, but not necessarily as low as other sellers sale prices. Costco also includes better warranty and return policy that most other sellers, free delivery, free installation, and free haul away of old appliance. Costco also has far superior selection to Samās Club.
One downside that appears to be a common theme from reviews on Costco is they subcontract out installers who may do a poor job, more so than with typical other sellers. For example, one review mentions the installer tried to put in the refrigerator without turning off water main, causing water to spill all over the floor. The installer left without cleaning up, saying to call customer service. There were communication problems because the installer didnāt speak English.
The refrigerator I was looking at was a 25cf side-by-side GE. I favor GE because CR reports a far lower repair rate than other manufacturers, this model has some specific features that I prefer that most manufacturers do not, and I like the shelf positioning + balance between fridge/freezer. For this model, the prices were as follows. Unless otherwise stated, color is Fingerprint Resistant Stainless Steel
Home Depot / Lowes ā $1099 + $50 deliver/haul + $20 install (available May 1)
Best Buy ā $1099 + $60 deliver/haul + $30 install (available May 1)
Amazon (via 3rd party) $1098 ā $1297 + ???
Costco ā $1649 White or Black, $1849 Stainless Steel (not finger print resistant version?, available May 8)
GE Website ā $1899 White or Black, $1999 Stainless Steel + $99 delivery, Install not available
Samās Club ā Only sells Samsung and LG
Costco is certainly better than GE website, and I like the Costco Warranty. However, the warranty is not worth paying nearly $700 more than Home Depot or Best Buy, in addition to having to go an extra week without having a fridge. In this example, I would have chosen Home Depot. The discrepancy may relate to this being a relatively older model that is usually on sale at 3rd party sellers, but not on manufacturer website.
Costco is more competitive with other most other manufacturers, particularly among newer models. For example, if had planned to get the new 27CF LG instead, prices would have been as follows. In this case, I probably would have chosen Costco.
Costco ā $1149 (available May 2)
LG Website ā $1199 + $25 install - $50 trade in = $1174 (available May 1)
Home Depot --$1199 + $50 deliver/haul + $20 install (available May 2)
Best Buy ā $1199 + $60 deliver/haul + $30 install (available May 2)
Amazon ā $1199 + ??? (available May 12)
Samās Club ā Doesnāt sell this model
I ended up getting my refrigerator fixed rather than buying a new one. The repair person was confident he found the problem, showing me the specific component that had blown. I wonāt know for sure until tomorrow morning, as he recommended letting the freezer portion air out for 24 hours before turning on to clear out the extreme frost that had accumulated while broken.
Iāve done the math. Costco/Samās saves us on certain items, but overall doesnāt have any real affect on our bottom line. This is because the selection is very limited. For us, itās more preference than anything else. Weāve been shopping at Costco less and buying at regular grocery stores more because of the wide selection of organic food.
I switched from Costco to Warby Parker a few years ago for my glasses- big mistake. They never fit properly and I went back several times to have the frames adjusted. My new prescription- back to Costco, got an el-cheapo pair of prescription sunglasses (also progressives) and in one fell swoop I saved enough to cover the membership. Their eye doctor (a subcontractor, not a Costco employee) is also fantastic and cheaper than anywhere else (not an MD, but for an optometrist, pretty savvy and thorough).
We own two old cars (8 and 10 years) and are not planning on replacing anytime soon. The tires, batteries, wipers, etc.- big savings over what else is available locally. That was last year- a bunch of auto stuff.
Our standalone freezer died (probably 25 years old, owed us nothing) and we replaced it with the top rated Costco freezer. Very energy efficient, MUCH better all around compared to what we have. Should have bought it years ago. And you can convert it to a fridge (itās sized for caterer type trays) if you need. Iāve made a few engagement parties- would have been handy for that. I had stuff stashed at my neighbors but owning a freezer which can become a fridge is super convenient. The model we bought is about $80 less than it sells for at a regular appliance place.
Etc. I donāt find the savings on daily stuff that compelling- who needs three gallons of shampoo, I canāt even lift the bottle let alone fit it on the shower shelf. But whether itās my home office desk chair or the other stuff listed above- for this type of stuff Costco is amazing.
I love Costco for glasses but my last insurance company didnāt allow it. Took my costco frames to the store they did allow and the lenses alone were $500 (they broke the frames, I had to have the lenses shaved down and pay $40 to a tech to fix the glasses, but I love the frames from costco).
Batteries. Costco is about 1/3 the prices (for AA and AAA).
Bananas. 3 pounds for $1.50 . Other fruit? Sometimes (but not watermelon, itās never the cheapest)
I donāt use the pharmacy as the Costcos are both out of my way and it is just easier to have a doctor send the prescription to a Safeway or Kroger near my house. Co-pay is always the same under my insurance no matter where I pick up prescriptions.
And I love the $5 chicken. Just had a sandwich made with roasted chicken from Costco.
I donāt use the pharmacy for drugs either- but have been getting all immunizations at the Costco pharmacy which is fantastic. My local CVS seems to have the least qualified people on the planet walking around with hypodermic needles. I had one shot there which required refrigerationā¦ after waiting on line for 15 minutes it was my turn, and the tech grabbed the same vial that had been sitting on the counter for at LEAST 15 minutes and when I said āIsnāt this supposed to be refrigerated?ā she said 'Oh, the CDC just says that to scare people".
Our CVS has been great at vaccinations and often gives you a coupon after you get it for $5 off $20+ or something. Iāve never seen the vial out of refrigeration for any duration.
I agree with the $5 chicken. Itās the lowest price per lb of any rotisserie chicken. However, I donāt find that Costco is the best option for me for the rest.
Pharmacy
Prescription 1 (generic, 90 day supply) ā CVS = $5.27, Costco = $13.79, Supermarket = Higher than Costco
Prescription 2 ( Zolpidem Tartrate, 30 day supply) ā CVS = $0.56, Costco = $10.99, Supermarket = Higher than Costco
Eyeglasses ā My insurance negotiated a special carve out for Costco such that going through optometrists is less expensive for me than Costco, if I go through insurance. Luxotticaās near monopoly leads to ridiculous markups that are stacked throughout the process, in some cases as much as 1000% markup. This leads to other options like Zenni, which starts at $6.95 per frame + $3.95 per lens, without insurance.
Bananas ā Itās $0.67/lb at my Costco, which is a similar price to regular supermarkets and more expensive than discount grocers. However, the bigger issue is I donāt want to buy a 3lb bunch of bananas. I prefer choosing a smaller ~1 lb worth of individual bananas at varied degrees of greenness, so they become the ripeness I prefer on different days.
Batteries ā Itās been a few years since I last bought AA/AAA batteries. When I reviewed at that time, lowest price was buying bulk from Amazon, rather than Costco. A quick review shows this still appears to be the case.
However, I do prefer Costco for hearing aid batteries. Even more beneficial is the hearing aids themselves. Hearing aids are typically sold through audiologists at huge markups. Customers donāt have the option to buy a discounted version on Amazon or similar, as they need to be tuned to hearing loss by an audiologist. When I was comparing hearing aids, a pair of Costcoās KS9ās were less than half the price of any comparable quality/feature product I found, including if purchased through chains known for lower prices. It was less than 1/3 the price of comparable products sold through an independent audiologist. In addition to the low initial price, there are unlimited audiologist free calibration/customization appointments, unlimited free cleanings, unlimited free filters, ā¦ There is also a far superior warranty including things like replacing a hearing aid for reasons such as lost it, rather than broken. My Costco audiologist proactively suggested having all the internal parts replaced when near end of warranty to extend life. Choosing to buy hearing aids at Costco saved me thousands.
If I was getting a hearing aid, Iād absolutely choose to renew my membership, but I donāt plan on buying one this year.
Itās perfectly fine to stop having a membership and choose when and if you ever find it worth your while and $$$ to rejoin. I do that with my Samās Club membership. I just join when I have a hankering to go and they have an amazing membership deal that I canāt resist (like when itās free or at least 1/2 price off the regular membership. Itās out of the way for me and generally I prefer the merchandise and service I get at Costco, which is 5 minutes from my home.
I save a lot on nuts at Costco!
Big bags of Walnuts, pecans, peanuts, also raisins, are so much cheaper than Trader Joeās. In Texas, costco would carry big bags of the dried cherries, but I canāt find them at the Costco here in Mass.
Maybe youāre talking about something different but I buy dried cherries all the time at Costco. I use it in homemade granola, on salads, in oatmeal - or just eat them! By the other dried fruit like blueberries, apricots, datesā¦.
