Costco benefits

welf_man

Hi - this is sounding interesting, but my closest branch is 30 miles away so I want to make sure the journey is worth it!

A few questions: does anyone know if "education" includes universities? And if so, would the Students' Union count?

Do they do computer hardware as well as consumables?

And finally, if anyone uses the Leeds branch, are they likely to let me in for a look first, or are they one of the hardline ones?

TIA,

Mel.

chaffordred

I have been a trade member at Costco for 9 years. This is why I like shopping there:

-Chav free, no nonsense shopping.

- Costco whilst not the cheapest on everthing, will only sell quality goods. Yes, you can get chaeper products at Aldi or Tesco's, but I doubt they will be anywhere near as good. Even their own brand "Lakeland signature" beats most branded goods for quality. Most of their own brand goods are also American.

- Their double guarantee on EVERYTHING can't be beat elsewhere- If you are not SATISFIED (there doesn't have to be anything wrong with it) , they will refund the product. All TV's have a 3 year refund policy. I purchased a Sony Camcorder a few years back, took it back after 13 months (no questions asked), they checked the box, refunded me approx £1200 in cash. I then went into the store, where I purchased the same camcorder (Sony IP7) for £850, then had £350 to spend on other goods. They will even refund your membership at any stage of the year.

- The car parking spaces are huge. They have the same store format as the American stores and we all know what type of truck's the yanks like to drive. Infact everything is huge at Costco!

- The Michelen Tyre discount's are great, as are the photo's and many other things.

- They check your receipt and the items in your trolley before you leave the Warehouse. Initially I thought they did this to check if you have anything in your trolley that you haven't payed for, but a couple of times they picked up on things I had been overcharged on.

- No credit cards to keep the prices down further. Only Cash, company cheque, Switch, Solo, Visa delta and Maestro.

-All prices show excluding and including VAT.

-Trade only shopping mornings.

What I dislike about Costco:

- I always spend more than I plan. Spending £200 in Costco is so easily done. You can get carried away and buy items you don't really need!

chaffordred

welf_man wrote:

Hi - this is sounding interesting, but my closest branch is 30 miles away so I want to make sure the journey is worth it!

A few questions: does anyone know if "education" includes universities? And if so, would the Students' Union count?

Do they do computer hardware as well as consumables?

And finally, if anyone uses the Leeds branch, are they likely to let me in for a look first, or are they one of the hardline ones?

TIA,

Mel.

1. email memberservices@costco.co.uk to see if you qualify for membership.

2. Yes, they sell a range of computer hardware.

3. There are no "hardline" branches. You are allowed into all of the Costco warehouse's to browse their products.

roses

buglawton wrote:

Calm down everyone, you are not missing much! The specials in Aldi or Tesco will trump Costco unless you are buying in quantity.

I agree, I signed up for Costco more out of curiosity as they came to my workplace. A lot of the things can be bought cheaper elsewhere eg Fairy washing up liquid is the same price when supermarkets have 3 for £2, buy one get one free chicken breast £5/kg. If you spend most of your shopping in the supermarket by buying what is on offer then you get a better deal there.

The thing I like about Costco is they sell things that are difficult to find elsewhere such as a huge range of French & smoked cheeses, salamis & jalapeno peppers stuffed with cream cheese. But they are in such huge quantities that is not worthwhile for me on my own.

I found their computer hardware, digital cameras, dvds are much cheaper on the internet.

But anyway I think the cost of £30 for you plus 1 other member (they told me I could give my 2nd membership to anyone), I think it was worth it just to satisfy my curiosity.

koru

roses wrote:

I found their computer hardware, digital cameras, dvds are much cheaper on the internet.

I would say "much cheaper" is overstating it, particularly taking into account postage, but you can probably save an extra 5-10% on most things. On the other hand, with Costco you get a no-quibble warranty that lasts for ever (except PCs). I don't pay for warranties, but I might be willing to pay a touch more at Costco to get their warranty.

roses wrote:

But anyway I think the cost of £30 for you plus 1 other member (they told me I could give my 2nd membership to anyone), I think it was worth it just to satisfy my curiosity.

And it is refundable, anyway, so no risk.