Great ‘What to Buy at Costco & Makro’ Hunt

suemo_2

Been a member for years, always buy far more than is on my shopping list:
Noticed a few price hikes tho' recently, Fresh pesto now £5.69 was £3.59 !!
Tear and share brioche £2.35 (was £1.85)

Water softener salt
Birkenstocks
contact lens
Pork tenderloin
skippy peanut butter 750gm £3.99
Nutella 750gm £2.29
Chicken tikka masala 900gm £5.99
part baked bread
bagels
croissants
Lurpack 500gm £2.09
Whole crispy aromatic duck £7.49
Tear and share brioche £2.35 (was £1.85)
HNZ ketchup 2x 1.35km £4.39
Tarte aux pommes
Free range eggs
Colgate toothpaste
Printer ink
Photo printing

Find fruit n veg expensive
Their returns policy is excellent, have bought TV's, trampoline, all excellent quality

suemo_2

Already done the friends Trade cheaper membership loophole, Watford gets so packed after 12 when they let the millions in!

I understand they make all their profits from membership and keep their pricing margins low.

suemo_2

Oh forgot pistachios and pinenuts, huge bags

jilly278

I have been a member/fan of Costco for years. I always buy Fairy washing powder, fabric conditioner, 4-pack of weetabix, 2-pack of Cheerios, Anchor butter, tins of organic tomatoes, passata, pasta, loo paper, tissues and kitchen roll. The chocolate croissants are delicious.

I always check out the books which are cheap and the clothes which are also good value - eg in the past I have bought Nike gymwear, designer jeans, Jasper Conran t-shirts etc. Can't try on but I've had no problems exchanging or getting refunds. Also look at DVDs and computer games.

Do your homework first when buying electrical goods to check they are cheaper.

stemjoly

Costco apparently operates on the basis that it's profit on any item will not be more than 15%. This means that shoppers can generally feel comfortable that they have not paid way over the odds. It also means that you'll find some of the products cheaper at various times when stores run promotions or have "loss leaders".

Buy: Meat (quality rather than price); cakes; washing powder, car tyres (quality, service and price). I've bought "one-offs" like a matress, computer desk, toilet/basis, mirror , sewing machine, printer and been pleased with quality and price.

Avoid: CDs, DVDs, books, Christmas "tat" and most day to day food items which are generally cheaper in the supermarket.

bagainsgalore

Can anyone join costco? or do you need to be a business customer?

amart_2

The meat at Costco is not necessarily cheaper, but is better than I have ever bought in the supermarket. Particularly recommend the lamb chops!

Also bought a Samsung TV for my son 'off display' with big discount, as they had none left in stock. Came with a full 5 year guarantee from Costco, and so far, absolutely no problems. Would not hesitate in doing this again.

Mr_Zippy

bagainsgalore wrote: »

Can anyone join costco? or do you need to be a business customer?

You have to be employed by one of their stated business.

Police, airline, doctor and so on...

They are listed on a large board above customer services, plus you need two forms of ID too...

The UK site seems to be missing the individual member section.

Mr_Zippy

newleaf wrote: »

The reason they don't do either of these things is to keep the costs down.

They manage a full website with online ordering in the US.

newleaf

Mr_Zippy wrote: »

They manage a full website with online ordering in the US.

Their US operation is considerably bigger - more membership fees to offset the cost.