Great ‘What to Buy at Costco & Makro’ Hunt

BlueMoo

Hi,

I have recently purchased a costco membership and was wondering what people recommend to buy and what not to buy.

Is it worth checking key prices in the supermarket before going: butter/eggs/chicken/washing powder etc. or is everything guaranteed to be cheaper? (I will be paying inc.vat as a private individual)

quoia

BlueMoo wrote: »

Hi,

I have recently purchased a costco membership and was wondering what people recommend to buy and what not to buy.

Is it worth checking key prices in the supermarket before going: butter/eggs/chicken/washing powder etc. or is everything guaranteed to be cheaper? (I will be paying inc.vat as a private individual)

Almost EVERYTHING is guaranteed to be MORE EXPENSIVE than what is on offer at supermarkets

Raksha

quoia wrote: »

Almost EVERYTHING is guaranteed to be MORE EXPENSIVE than what is on offer at supermarkets

Not necessarily, coffee beans, eggs, cream, bread, are all cheaper in Costco by buying in bulk. Meat while not cheaper, is almost always better quality. Toiket rolls and bin bags are also regular purchases in this house

dianasnan

Just adding blocks of cheese,bacon,rolls,enormous sheet celebration cakes,salt beef,really large pizzas,prawns,breaded fish,frozen sweet orn

fannyadams

this website is very good:
http://addictedtocostco.com/

she also uploads coupon books to her site so you can see in advance what's on offer before you go. but Make sure you look at the UK coupon book as she uploads the coupon books from nearly all around the world!
here's the most recent UK one

http://addictedtocostco.com/2014/01/12/costco-uk-coupon-book-january-13-february-2-2014/

there are also some good honest reviews on there for the different items for sale in Costco.

sayahu

Hi every one,

I have been using the own brand washing powder and want to know what other's have found when using it?

Never had a problem with their own brand before so unsure if it is my machine or not. Bought the tub back in November and did notice straight away that it was not cleaning to a higher finish as other brands but just added a little more then stated amount and this seems to have solved that problem.

However I have noticed that the clothes do seem to fade more and that my washing machine also has had soap build up inside.

Is it me? am I not doing some thing correctly (Kirkland is always top quality, so would not make sense to be let down by the soap powder)?

TIA

sayahu

quoia wrote: »

Almost EVERYTHING is guaranteed to be MORE EXPENSIVE than what is on offer at supermarkets

Some things can be expensive, you just have to be aware of other offers on around you at the time of your visit - so problem solved you just pick and choose what is cheaper at costco only.

Used to get the toilet tissue when on offer but due to kids getting older and thus eating more we have downsized from a 25p quality toilet roll to a cheaper bog roll. Still go back for the large tins of chopped tomatos, big jars of D.E. coffee jars when on offer, sugar, vegtable oil, olive oil, ketchup, mayo, cheese, cereals and the one thing we realy buy in bulk milk.

So still works out cheaper for my household to buy those items from costco.

BlueMoo

Thanks very much for your response everyone.

Do I need to print out the coupons? And take them in with me? Would they accept a black and white print out or would I need to take the brochure?

Ruth_honey

BlueMoo wrote: »

Thanks very much for your response everyone.

Do I need to print out the coupons? And take them in with me? Would they accept a black and white print out or would I need to take the brochure?

You won't need the brochure to get the discounts as they take them off automatically at the till. It might be handy to circle the items you're looking to buy, though. Quite often they have brochures just inside the entrance, so you can pick up one there if you forget.

Pleased with the Panasonic phones I bought, which are currently on offer (£15 off?). Very slightly dearer than Amazon (£1) but without the 1-2 MONTH waiting time that I would've had if I'd ordered them from there. Had three cold calls on Monday and because the phones have caller ID, I saw it was a 'private number'/something I didn't recognise, I didn't bother to answer. :T

scottishminnie

sayahu wrote: »

Hi every one,

I have been using the own brand washing powder and want to know what other's have found when using it?

Never had a problem with their own brand before so unsure if it is my machine or not. Bought the tub back in November and did notice straight away that it was not cleaning to a higher finish as other brands but just added a little more then stated amount and this seems to have solved that problem.

However I have noticed that the clothes do seem to fade more and that my washing machine also has had soap build up inside.

Is it me? am I not doing some thing correctly (Kirkland is always top quality, so would not make sense to be let down by the soap powder)?

TIA

I've been using the Kirkland Laundry powder for a while without any great problems. I agree that you need a bit more than it says and I do sometimes add in a scoop of Vanish for really grubby things. The empty buckets when it's finished are a bonus for me as I use them in the garden for all sorts of things!


Anyway, to your point about the soap build up. I did notice for a while that my dispenser drawer seemed a bit gunged up although I'm a bit careless when I put the powder in so it could be me. I've gotten into the habit of running boiling water into the dispenser drawer maybe once a week and running a 90 degree wash once a month or so with soda crystals in to clean the machine. I often have really dirty (farm and machinery type "dirt") clothes so I think it's best to give the machine a clean out. Now that I've started to do this it all seems ok so I'm happy to continue using the powder.


I did notice last time I was in Costco that they now have Kirkland laundry tablets - little gel things like the dishwasher pouches. I might give them a try sometime.