Costco - is it worth it for the average family?

gogsboy

No passport book at our store, only a single leaflet with some deals on Coke etc.

The woman on the door thought there should be one due in quite soon though

Dave_Brooker

Lucyeff wrote: »

Hi! My husband has just gone self employed and for the meantime, we're brassic... we have 2 kids, and the food bill is bound to get even higher when the youngest starts weaning in 7 weeks time!! I wondered about joining Costco, but we're so skint I daren't just join up in case we find it's cheaper in Lidls, Aldi, etc, for the stuff we tend to buy.

We have a breadmaker so bulk buying flour would be good, same with pasta and rice and tinned tomatoes, and cartons of pure orange, etc. Stationery stuff would be useful, and we need a shed (for child related paraphenalia and storing recycling stuff!), I understand they sell those cheap, lol!

Has anyone with the same sort of set up family wise (2 adults 2 kids kind of household!) found that joining has saved them money? All comments welcomed!

Thanks, Lucy

I've been a Costco member for about 10 years, it was great at first, but as everything got cheaper in the supermarkets I never seem to buy anything there anymore.

Lots of their stuff comes in huge packets, bogrolls for example, and unless you have plenty of storage space, or a huge appitite (big packets of danish pastries that only really last a day) you may not see any benefit.

The take away jackets spuds at £1.25 and the giant pizzas are great though....

They search you on the way out to make sure you've not been undercharged (theie excuse) which is a bit of a liberty.

BT

Just been to my local costco - At the front desk there was a notice saying you can now receive costco offers by registering your email at the costco website.

I've registered mine but not received any email back yet.

royalsteve

mclaren wrote: »

costco is a cash and carry - not for genral household shopping. If you buy in bulk (like 60 loo rolls, or 10ltrs of sauce or huge gallon drums of oil) then yes, but if not, then i wouldnt bother. Cost of £25 to join aswell.....

cheap for some items, but not for everything - tesco when you buy in moderation are prob cheaper

ah, but they do free stuff at breakfast.....free danish's and croisants....never been there at breakfast time but my wife uses it quite a bit

royalsteve

mclaren wrote: »

If you really want to - join Makro - just as cheap and costs nothing to join

Makro isnt that cheap....most electronic stuff is cheaper online......but when they have deals they are pretty good....like their samsung laser printer for 29.99 plus vat

royalsteve

phatbear wrote: »

Every year I wonder if its worth re-joining and every year I come up with the same answer which is yes, myself and my good lady both buy our tyres there for our cars and to date I havent been able to get anywhere near CostCo's prices on michellins, so the money saved on them pays for the membership, i also recently popped in there on the way to buy a new lcd from a local electrial shop and found the one i wanted £200 cheaper, of course this was a fluke cos it had a tiny scratch on the surround so therefore they knocked £200 off the price, of course this was unusual but i kinda see it as another £200 saved.


all the best

the bear

I didnt think Costco were that cheap for Michellins...i have a Peugeot 307xsi and 2 years ago they quoted £127 each, kwik fit were £145 each and Peugeot were an eye watering £229 each...however, a reputable local mobile fitter did them for £90 each

royalsteve

I like their croisants, better than M&S' and Waitrose dry and as hard as rock croisants and 1/5 price at £2.49 for 12 i think.

Their danish pastries are good value too

Its handy for me as we have costco and makro less than 2 miles away.....i sometimes shop at costco...some things like branded printer ink cartridges are cheaper than online sellers like ebuyer....costco's food is ok (frozen food, like most frozen food is grim) but makro has more non food choice than costco

costco also sells some grim packet food as well which you just heat up and serve.....ie. lamb in red wine - it keeps for a year if unopened - dont get it, i wouldnt feed it to a dog!

their canteen is cheap too, though never eaten there so no idea on quality

royalsteve

JasonLVC wrote: »

I found Costco no cheaper than Makro, Asda or Tesco for the majority of stuff.

Sure, if you want to buy 12 muffins for £5.00 (or 4 @ Asda for £1.49) then it's worth joining. As for tyres, unless they've got an offer on, the tyres are dearer than black circles and other internet tyre traders who come to your house and fit the tyre - 'twas why I joined as was told they did cheap tyres - only if they're 145/13's or for a van.

The meat is good quality but very expensive compared to a local butchers, Makro or Farmers Market - I recall seeing a tray of Scottish Rump Steak, about 4 large and think steaks for £19.00 - unless you eat 3" think steaks everyday then that is way overpriced for an average family of four.

There DVD's, CD's and electrical items are dearer than online retailers but cheaper than your Dixons & Currys.

Basically, I'd say join and have a look around for a few weeks. You can cancel your membership and get a full refund of your membership fee with no arguments (it's in their rules that you can cancel at any time for a full refund) - so join, see if it suits and if not, get money back and you're no worse off.

Their LCD/Plasma tv's are cheap though...cheaper than online in most cases