Whats Costco like?

midlandsfairy

Reading the thread about stockpiling things has made me think about the money saving possibilities of 'bulk' buying. I tend to 'over'buy things I use a lot when they are on offer but until now have had limited storage space. I batch cook a lot, cook every meal from scratch and meal plan each week so have a fairly good idea of the ingredients that I frequently use.

I have heard lots of people mentioning costco and wondered if anyone could help answer my questions. I've looked at their website and due to my employment, I would qualify for an individual membership. However, before spending the £25 I wondered if anyone could help with a small query. Since you can have an individual membership I'm guessing not everything comes in vast quantities for trade.

But are most packs too large for personal use? (i.e. I have nowhere to store 1000 loo rolls, no matter how good value they might be! :rolleyes: ) Is it good value? Is there is decent selection of items?

I would be mainly hoping to stock up on things I use a lot (like spices, lentils and tins of chopped tomatoes etc)

If anyone could help I would be very grateful!!

Lucy

Hadley

Hello I shop at costco one thing I would say is that you need to know your prices before you go because sometimes things can be cheaper in the supermarket.Spices come in 400g tubs and are Schwartz chef brand they are also really cheap.Tin toms come in packs of 12 I think I paid £2.99 for them last time.Most tinned stuff comes in packs of 12 although tinned tuna and salmon tends to come in smaller packs.We go alot and tend to take family and friends with us (each card holder can take 2 guests in with them).When we take my mil she always buys their freeze salmon and packs of bacon to fresh she says the are much cheaper than Asda for those two things
I think they let you have a look around before you join.
Hope that helps

midlandsfairy

thanks ever so much for your reply. that gives me a better idea of the quantities sold/what might be worth it

Thanks again

LJD1_2

Hiya
We tend use costco for our meat and fish. The quality is always really good and if you batch cook anyway then it could work for you. You can buy less than 1000 loo rolls too, lol, they tend to come in 5 x 9 packs. Watch out for the bakery section too....very tempting xx

dannahaz

Do you know someone else who would shop with you?

Some of the stuff comes in large (but not too large) packs, and if you are buying lots of different things you can easily spend a lot. If you went with someone else you could split the packs with them.

As has already been said, it's worthwhile finding out the prices of stuff before you go - but as you probably don't know what they stock, you might need to do a recce visit first IYSWIM.

Lucie_2

There are only 2 of us, and I use Costco a lot for non perishable things, or things that I can split & freeze. I have a set of shelves in the garage for storage. I buy:
Tinned chopped tomatoes (12 pack)
coconut milk (6 pack)
bottled still water
Pellegrino fizzy water (12 pack)
Dishwasher tablets (last time I bought 300 on special offer - will last more than a year!)
Washing powder
parmesan cheese - lasts forever
tabasco
mince - portion up at home & freeze
Chicken breasts - ditto

We've also saved quite a bit on electrical items that we would have bought elsewhere, and clothes. it's also quite good for unusual presents.

Pandora123_2

They will let you have a look round the store before you join. Just tell them you are thinking of joining and want to see what they have first.

We joined because of a great deal on tyres, but we also buy the giant jars of marinated artichoke hearts at just over £4, they are a great deal vs. what you buy at the supermarket. The jar will last weeks after opening, just make sure you use a clean fork each time so no bits go in the jar that will make it go off.

:A

Uniscots97

Washing powder (Bold 15Kg box, but I keep this in garage and decant small amount to keep in kitchen) and dishwasher tablets are really cheap in costco (normal boxes of finish but multipacks)

catznine

I save £12.50 a week so that every 4 months I have £200 to spend. We buy the loo rolls (keep them in the loft) bold washing tablets, comfort, cat litter, cheese, salmon fillets, chicken breasts, sausages, spices and herbs (these last for ever even sharing them around the family), danish pastries, olive oil, tom sauce, basmati rice, huge bags of frozen fruit (use them in smoothies) Prawns, smoked haddock, coffee and if we need a birthday cake you can get a huge iced sponge for £10 they will add a greeting if you request it a week in advance.

Also great around Christmas time for some quality gifts.

Nix143

Tampons!!!! Seriously, I went round Costco doing sums and a lot of it I couldn't see that great a saving - but tampons worked out at just over 70p a box!! Unless my sums were wrong, which is highly likely, I thought this was an incredible bargain, and you always know you're going to use them and there is no likelihood of just using them because they are there LOL, unlike buying cakes or something. Tampons are my Costco recommendation :T