Is costco worth it?

gakochan

An advert in my Employer's newsletter offers Costco membership to employees for £29.37 per year.

Our family comprises myself and my wife, no kids.

Does anyone have any experience with Costco, and could comment on whether shelling out the £30 py would be worth it?

Many thanks!
gakochan

cheap_plastic_spoon

Best go and have a look first as someones guest as depends on what u shop for.Got a good deal on tyres last year,paid for fees + cheaper than local fitters too.Saw a Phillips lcd tv about £60 cheaper than John Lewis a few weeks back.Birthday cakes made to order good value,also have good offers on toilet rolls ,kitchen towels but u need the storage space.
hope this helps.

galthop

You don't have to go as a guest. You can just go and ask for a look around if you are considering joining. They will let you browse the warehouse but not buy anything.

Lizalu

I think it's good for food. I always buy the huge packs of meat to freeze and eat later. We also bulk buy wine there as it works out cheaper than the supermarket in some cases. As mentioned above the birthday cakes are brilliant but probably the best thing is their returns policy. They will happily refund almost anything. My Father in Law once took back a vacuum cleaner he had bought 5 years before - full refund no questions asked.

Spikeybabe

Yes there returns is excellent, I took back a 5 year old tell no question asked, just gave my money back.. Someone that I know at Costco told me once someone took a bottles of mostly drunk bottle of wine back.

The returns policy on computer are different.

Lizalu wrote: »

I think it's good for food. I always buy the huge packs of meat to freeze and eat later. We also bulk buy wine there as it works out cheaper than the supermarket in some cases. As mentioned above the birthday cakes are brilliant but probably the best thing is their returns policy. They will happily refund almost anything. My Father in Law once took back a vacuum cleaner he had bought 5 years before - full refund no questions asked.

ckerrd

You get a card each (you and spouse that is) which is good, and they do have some very good bargains, but it is always worth checking the prices.

I would expect you would save the joining fee no problem, but then buy loads of other stuff as well.

You can use your card worldwide in other Costcos if that is of any interest.

boglin

If you wear daily disposable contact lenses they are a great rpice and you can recoup the cost of the card in one purchase. The tyres are also a good price.

You do need to view it as a cash and carry and not as a place to do a weekly shop - items are generally packaged in big quantities - but you can split them into smaller size portions and if it is meat, then freeze it. The meat is great quality (although not necessarily cheap). The wine and beer can be a good deal if you look at the special offers - really as with all shopping it helps to know your prices beforehand. You need to check the price per 100g to compare with the larger packs.

Doing a recce first is a good idea as it is easy to kiss a load of money goodbye with impulse purchases!!! There are so many things that you didn't realise that you needed before you got in there!

on't forget to read the prices carefully as VAT is not shown on the main price - although it is shown below it - so remember to look for what you are REALLY paying!

The cafe is great value with free refills on fizzy drinks and very cheap pizza, hot dogs, baked potatoes. You can also buy a whole cooked pizza to take out - or they sell similar tray pizzas on the deli for you to cook at home. Those and the birthday cakes are superb value for parties!

If you are lucky wth your timing you can graze around all the demo stands - trying all the food and drink being promoted! :beer:

wolvesinwales

I had a similar offer from work, i went to have a look round and decided that it was not worth joining. Like Boglin mentioned though i was lucky with lots of food and drink samples !

Viking_Karen

Worth every penny!! I buy all my meat and also household stuff there and save a fortune!!

Recently bought a washing machine for £200 off the RRP !

Love it and highly recommend!

mk-donald

Topic has been addressed in past so do do a search for others experiences/bestbuys.

Have a friend who's been a member for c10 years and I 'guest' with her so bought a new car battery for just £35 etc etc.

Their T&C's say:
Costco's Double Guarantee
On Merchandise: We guarantee your satisfaction on every product we sell with a full refund.Costco is first quality and guaranteed by a full refund from Costco and where available, is covered by the manufacturer's warranty. We will refund your annual membership fee at any time if you are not fully satisfied.
(Effective 6th January 2003, Costco Wholesale's desktop and notebook computer return policy is six months from the date of purchase. After six months from the date of purchase, all services and technical support will be subject to the applicable remaining manufacturer's warranty).

So probably able to get a refund of your £29 anyway.

judderman62

Was a member for a year after my sis raving about it.

I went about four times and was so underwhelmed I never went again nor renewed membership.

They're allegedly meant to be a wholesaler ... well any retailer buying from there then adding a mark up isn't going to make many sales.

I found a lot of stuff I compared was cheaper in Sainsbury - in some cases significantly so