Great ‘What to Buy at Costco & Makro’ Hunt

newleaf

Inkitc, it really depends entirely on the kind of things you would be buying.
I recommend you go to the membership desk and ask for a day pass to look round and see if it's worth your while joining. They will happily let you do so, but you cannot make a purchase until you have joined. Personally I don't think my membership saves me any money, but they have some great offers from time to time, and it gives me extra choices. I buy a lot of their own brand stuff ('Kirkland' is the brand name) because it is very good quality. The other thing to consider is whether you have much storage space - for instance, the bulk packs of toilet rolls can often be a good buy, and things like cans of beans are sold by the case, but you need somewhere to keep them! (Our garage is stuffed to the rafters with Costco purchases )

Mrs_Dizzy

lnkitc wrote: »

I was considering getting a Costco card but I'm unsure whether I will save enough to cover the £30 joining fee. Any advise on the type of savings would be great. Thanks all.

I always get my meat from costco. Especially chicken breast & mince. I seperate it into the portion sizes I want & then freeze it & find it much cheaper & better quality than supermarkets. I also buy the cheese & think that is an aboulute bargain (especially at the rate my kids get through it).
Their xmas & Birthday wrap is excellent quality & works out much cheaper. Their own brand tin foil 30cm x 200m cost approx £25ish maybe cheaper & it always last me over a year (& I'm not tight when I use tin foil), Bin liners good value & quality I also buy all my washing machine liquid in there. infact I tend to do a monthly/2 monthly shop in costco.
Kirkland batteries are good value & tend to last just as long as other leading brands.
Costco may not always be as cheap as other places but usually I find the quality to be far more superior unlike the cheap brands of some items which often turn out to be false economy.

Once you have paid out for your first big shop in there & have plenty of room to store things you can definatly get you membership fee back in savings over the year. Hth:)

sayahu

lnkitc wrote: »

I was considering getting a Costco card but I'm unsure whether I will save enough to cover the £30 joining fee. Any advise on the type of savings would be great. Thanks all.

Another way is to split with friends and family - makes your recoup quicker esp. if you don't have the space or are unlikely to use up all of what you get with in a year. I split the salt box with my mum, and the same for the sugar - they go through alot in a year as they entertain more while 5 packs last us a year. I open them up and put them into the rice jugs - which I bought a few of when the rice was on offer.
Again mum gets the big sack of rice and I take what I need.
Storage is a must even if it is a small amount - unless you live within walking distance then not a problem as they store it all for you, and you only buy when you all need to split what ever it is.

stormbreaker

lnkitc wrote: »

I was considering getting a Costco card but I'm unsure whether I will save enough to cover the £30 joining fee. Any advise on the type of savings would be great. Thanks all.

You could always take it out and after a few months you don't like it or are not getting your moneys worth then you can or used to be able to get a refund on the membership!

Like others say I get all my meat from there, I dont think it is cheaper but definately better quality. I get my replacement tyres to! Their own brand t-shirts, socks and Pjs are great quality. At Christmas there is always a good selection of gifts at reasonable prices.

You do have to check prices of named brands though as often supermarket deals on tea, coffee and cereals and the like can be considerably cheaper.

Kyresa

Another vote for the meat here -it's not filled with water like the supermarkets!

The chicken breasts are huge, and half the price what you'd pay in Tesco (bear in mind you'll be buying about 12 - 15 in a packet at a time for about £14 ish.. but as I say, that would be about 30 chicken breasts from Tesco!)

We won't buy our meat from anywhere else as it just isn't as good!

SaverSavvy123

Hi, Just come across this thread, I love Costco and so do the kids (all the product sampling). I agree with all the above, fantastic quality products - especially the meat. You just need to know what the supermarket prices are so you can judge whether you are getting a good deal. I go once a month and definately get back my membership fee. They may ask you to upgrade to gold membership, if you do and dont spend enough to warrant the enhanced membership they give you the money back. A couple of other things with Costco which are outstanding is their customer service, nothing is too much trouble for any of their staff, and their return policy - it does not matter how long you have had something if you do not think you have had value for money they will refund your money - no quibble. You dont need to keep your receipt as they have it on record. I'm due a visit this weekend

Raksha

I don't think you can evaluate many Costco products simply against their supermarket equivalent, especially the own brand products. The meat in particular is of a far higher quality than most supermarket produce.

lnkitc

Thanks for all the help, the meat being great value/quality doesn't make any difference to me as my family and I are veggies but on the whole the quality and customer service sounds very good, I think I may give it a try! Thanks again!

Skint_Catt

The fruit & veg are also very good quality but come in HUGE quantities (as do a lot of things!) - great if you like to bulk cook & freeze, but otherwise difficult to get through it all!

Kyresa

If no one has tried it yet, I can vouch for the Kirkland Marinara Sauce - 3 huge jars for about £6ish.