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<p>Do you arrange for your own delivery or do they deliver?</p>
<p>I absolutely LOVE Costco…I love walking in and see what’s new. I LOVE, LOVE, LOVE visiting Costco’s in other regions of the country…just to see if they have some different stuff (which they often do).</p>
<p>However, I also love the consistency as well at both Costco and Sams Club. My family and I can call/email each other and say, "hey, go to your local Costco (or Sams), they just got _____ in)…or, “they just marked ______ down in price.” LOL</p>
<p>When I was in Calif 2 weeks ago, I got a coffee maker for my mom (it was marked down). When I flew home, I went into my local store, and got one for myself…also marked down. :)</p>
<p>The only thing I’ve ever really noticed marked down at Costco is some clothing when it goes out of season or maybe some seasonal foods (like Christmas boxed cookies after Christmas) - how can you tell something else is a markdown??? (like the coffee maker)</p>
<p>Prices on the items that are marked down at Costco end in .97 (instead of .99/.79/.49/.00)
Also, if you see an asterisk (*) on the price sign, that means that it’s an item that will not be re-ordered once the stock has been depleted.</p>
<p>I love Costco :)</p>
<p>^^^ Thank you! Never knew that!</p>
<p>Today I walked out of our Costco with a box of 20 frozen ready-to-bake chcolate croissants. Made in France… Mmmmm… If they are even one tenth as good as the ones we had in Paris, I’m buying more!!!</p>
<p>Wow, have never seen that in our Costco. Is it a new product? That sounds YUMMY! Please let us know how they taste. YUM!</p>
<p>I have liked their lamb shanks, but haven’t bought it for a while. One shank feeds two in our household, so the box of two feeds our whole family of 4!</p>
<p>My experiences with markdowns is that they vary considerably, especially for clothing in HI. They may be marked down at one location and full-price at another for the SAME articles of clothing. I wish they would purchase more smaller sizes; can’t buy much for most of my family members because they are smaller than most of the sizes carried by Costco.</p>
<p>It looks like it is new - I was at Costco last weekend and did not see it in the frozen desserts case. I will let you know how they taste soon :)</p>
<p>It looks like it is new - I was at Costco last weekend and did not see it in the frozen desserts case. I will let you know how they taste soon :)</p>
<p>Chocolate croissants? Now THAT will be hard to resist…</p>
<p>My latest Costco versital product is the Mango/Peach Salsa. I use it with corn chips, add on top of steamed veggies for a kick, on top of scrambled eggs. Amazing, sweet & sour…</p>
<p>Costco is my favorite store. Sometime we stop there just for ice cream. Better than ice cream places - very berry with chocolate ice cream, yummmm! But we are buying lots and lots there, food items that are not available in any other store.</p>
<p>I’ve been a Costco shopper for years. My first card’s photo had my baby in a backpack peaking over my shoulder. He is now in college.</p>
<p>Anyway, during this week’s trip I discovered that they are now carrying Fage Greek Yogurt in my favorite 0% fat plain flavor. This is so expensive at Trader Joe’s that it’s a rare treat, but not too bad at Costco. I think that it was under $6 for a big container.</p>
<p>Thats funny about the photo, Indiana!</p>
<p>Just bought my DS a PErry Ellis mens topcoat- Italian wool and cashmere. He is slightly built, and they had a 38 short! Cost like $94. Looking forward to his trying it on today!</p>
<p>Love the large cases of assorted Chobani yogurts. The Fage Greek plain is too bitter for me.</p>
<p>Re the croissants – I’ve had the ones at Trader Joes which are great, but if you don’t cook make them fairly soon after purchasing, they don’t rise well. Make sure to make them well within the expiration date.</p>
<p>mimk6, thanks for the heads up. I do not think my Costco croissants will last until the expiration date (sometimes in 2011) - 
I followed the instructions to a T (20 min derfost/rising at RT, 17 min baking in 340-degree oven, and 15 min rest at RT), and the end product was delicious!</p>
<p>OK, did my Black Friday Costco run & bought all sorts of HI food items to send in care packages to special folks. OK, did spend a considerable amount of $$$, but it’s for relatives & close friends & has nearly eliminated the # of folks I need to shop for going forward. I also picked up flat rate boxes from post office & packed them & will have them shipped off tomorrow!</p>
<p>Still on the lookout for a few things for the kiddos, hubby & my two god daughters.</p>
<p>They still don’t have those yummy chocolate croissants in HI–maybe to preserve our trim figures?</p>
<p>HIMom, I plan on buyng some of your HI goodies at one of your Costcos (I think I will hit the one in Waipio) to give as Christmas gifts. Japanese cookies and Kona coffee were a huge hit last year, so I’m looking forward to getting more. I think Costco tries to keep a balance when it comes to fattening items - DH discovered Naan bread at that Costco last June. A serving of that bread has more calories than a chocolate croissant! Our Costco still does not have Naan.</p>
<p>The starch I like at Costco is like a thin hamburger bun–low in calories and enough to keep a sandwich together. I’ve switched to that instead of regular bread & it comes in whole wheat. No complaints so far & I’d rather spend my calories on things I LOVE. I’m surprised that Naan bread is high in calories–especially higher than the chocolate croissant. Will keep my eyes peeled to see if they bring in those tempting treats. They have great mochi ice cream, tho it can melt pretty quickly.</p>
<p>I bought Kona coffee, other coffee, mac nuts, dark chocolate mac nut clusters, caramel mac nut clusters, Hawaii tea, and those small triangular shapes with mac nuts. Also bought mac nut shortbread cookies. In all, I “saved” about >20% of the total cost of my purchases with the coupons that are good for the weekend. I’m glad I don’t do this too often–go broke “saving” money is not a good and sustainable strategy. </p>
<p>The Japanese cookies tend to be a seasonal item, as are several of the things I bought. Am always happier when I can buy things with coupon or on sale than “full price” tho. Makes it slightly less painful, but I do tend to buy more than I really need. Oh well, helping out the HI economy. It’s just so tempting and convenient to buy things when the prices are so low.</p>
<p>Have tried on the jeans that I got and thought were cute. Somehow, the cut doesn’t work well for my body–it really fits oddly, which is unusual for me (most things fit great off the rack). I guess I’ll return it, even tho it was such an amazing price ($11 for GV jeans). Don’t really need it to be tight at the waist and loose in the back–maybe that’s why they have them so cheap?</p>
<p>Also, am curious about the lamb shanks. They used to have 4 in a box, all individually wrapped. Now there are 2 in a box and the price is considerably higher than my fuzzy recollection on a per shank basis (tho the box is different and likely the brand). I may buy it anyway, when D comes home because we all LOVE lamb! Anyone with experience purchasing this new brand?</p>