COSTCO - Do you think it's cheap?

Shinds

Hi all,

For all of you that have been to Costco....

Do you think it's cheap?

Thanks.

culpepper

Yes and no!
If you are buying food ,it can be cheap but you need to do your homework first.
Herbs and spices are very cheap.
Cat food is good value in the large bags.
My biggest saving at Costco is laundry powder as I buy one of those massive buckets of powder which lastes about 18 months.
We also buy the scots beef mince as it is excellent and very lean,we started buying it when the BSE scare was around.
Toiletries are a good price.
Printer cartridges are a good price(for lexmark anyway).
Things like branded soups,rice,flour etc are more expensive than the supermarkets own brands and so not worth it for us.
The best way of shopping there is to write a price book of your ordinary shopping per kilo/LB and then compare them, remember anything with VAT has a seperate price written below the non VAT price and you need to reckon for that.

Shinds

I know what u mean - Somethings are cheap, but because they sell only in bulk or in HUGE sizes, it works out that you have to pay out more.... if ya get me!

For example - There was 2 x 750ml bottles of Head & Shoulders Shampoo for £11.37... Now is that cheap? I think spending £11 on Shampoo is crazy! I'd rather just go out and buy a normal bottle for £3 or £4 as and when I needed it....

jockettuk

if you have a big family or do a large shop then they great. they also do electrical goods but you have to have the means of getting them home.. a fridge freezer and a corsa dont go together lol... if they local to you then you can pop in on a regular basis but if its a fair bit away like it was to us then you have to wonder if the membership on top of everything is is worth it.... found what we got got was value for money.. oh and dont forget its not an hours shop it can take the best part of a morning or longer depending of the queues at the tills

Ticklemouse

Now I've moved, my nearest Costco is over 30 miles away, so I know it'll be a big shopwhen I go.

I always buy their meat. I often find it cheaper than decent cuts elsewhere and I have always rated its quality. I have a large freezer so it's worth it for me to bulk buy meat.

I find odd things are cheap - if you go at the right time of the year. Their wrapping paper sets are cheap for what you get - 6 large rolls of decent stuff along with all the ribbons and bows - sure it came to well under a tenner. So long since I bought the stuff, I can't remember

Generally, if you are able to keep popping in, you can find electrical items/kitchen items cheap. My best buys were years ago when I bought a Brita water filter and it came with a freebie (can't remember what, but was useful and worth a bit too) At the time, the filter was about £12-13 cheaper than the shops, plus freebie. Bought 3 in the end so it more than paid for the membership. ;D

Always have to buy my friend some of those large tins of instant cappucino (£5.49) - about £11 in shops I'm told.

lofty_2

It all depends on what your after. We Used to have costco membership but the price put us off. The only thing we bought on a regular basis was tyres for the car and although it was a good deal it seemed pointless having a membership just for that. We have relatives with a card so we just go with them these days. Makro is somewhere we go more often, Free membership to businesses. Most of the prices are cheaper and their very good for clothes and shoes. Costco is closer (45mins or so) but Makro (1hr) is cheaper.

Hope this helps

thechubbyone

It is cheap if you are wanting to save money but don't have time to go around all the supermarkets picking up special offers. It also helps if you have plenty of storage because you end up buying 8 bottles of coke at once and things so that is worth considering.

For electrical goods you can generally get them cheaper on the web, but they are excellent at returns so that is worth considering.

finally all I'd say is that their own brand (kirkland) stuff is excellent, especially the meat and bakery stuff. Mmmmmmmm muffins and sirloin steak............

sce37

I wanted a cheap digital camcorder.  I saw one in Costco priced at around £260.  I got the same model on the internet for £210.  So it pays to shop around.

Having said that I bought a massive black pudding for only £1.83 far cheaper than the pathetic little ones in the supermarket. Now chopped up and in the freezer whenever I want. It really depends on what you are after and being aware of other prices

System

You need to be careful on items such as electronic goods that have fast moving prices. They are usualy cheaper when it first hits the shelf, but don't revise their prices downwards as the high street pric falls.

oxter

Agreed they're good for tyres, and some wines in 6 x cases (but check out http://www.quaffersoffers.co.uk/ first - cos supermarket deals take a bit of beating). I bought a Panasonic DAB digital radio there a couple of days ago as their price was better than anyone on-line. All that said, I don't really rate them against on-line prices and careful s/market shopping

mm66

They are great for;

1- Good dependable high quality everyday food, washing powders etc shopping especially if you are not the sort of person to go checking supermarket deals etc.

2- Need great service on electronics etc. For example they have a no quibble return guarantee for three years on their TV's and even if after 2 years and 11 months you take it back and say it is not working they just give you your money back. However, if you dont care about this their electronics would be more expansive than any deals or promotions or internet pricing.

3- Tyres best price mostly

4- Hotdog and pizza probably the biggest and cheapest.

So the point is shop intelligently. IF there is a huge difference go for internet sellers and if the difference is less than 5-10% go with Costco as you have peace of mind.

P.S reduce the cost of the membership by sharing it with some body.