Is costco worth it?

aberdeen

i totally agree with scotgirl the aberdeen branch is very friendly and the bargains at this time of year are great.
Some of the christmas decorations are reduced already now i am waiting for the mass clear out of toys that happens every christmas ( i think it will be next week though).
costco rules :T :T :T :T

MickKnipfler

Do they have Christmas trees in at the mo?

tripleh_2

Lara wrote: »

Sorry only just seen this. As sharnad said, you get a card and pay for it and your spouse gets one free. You can then add additional members on to your membership - but they have to pay a yearly membership and it runs from the same month as your one. Each additional member is around £14 not sure if this does included VAT or not.

What myself and four other people do is to split the renewal membership equally each year so we all pay the same amount. Otherwise the primary card holder pays the more expensive amount.

September & October are the best times to go for Christmas goods especially paper and the beautiful gift tags this year.

When we joined we put my wife as main card holder and they let MY mother have the spouse card.

angelaa310774

christineperseus wrote: »

Might be worth pointing out they don't take credit cards, and if you take a guest in you have to pay with the registered cardholders switchcard - or cash.

I have taken my mum in before (different surname) and they will quite happily accept her card!

Also, it may be worth considering splitting the membership fee.

My husband and I always go together so we split the cost with his mum and she has our second card. That way it only costs us £15 each a year.

They do discount 'passports' a few times a year (coffee, minced steak - lovely,washng powder etc) so I always stock up when these offers on. We well get our moneys worth

blue_monkey_2

I recently joined Costco after being told how great it was. We have been using Makro for years so what the hell, I joined and thought I would have a look. I came out feeling as though i had wasted £25 on the membership as I doubt I will ever go again - we came out and went straight up to makro - which has no membership fees!!

It is the same as anywhere though, I don't buy washing powder there as it is cheaper in Tesco, same as mot of the food really except the huge bulk packs of stuff that are on BOGOF in the supermarket but you can get some good offers on toilet rolls. The pet food is generally the same price or more expensive than tesco as well.

My advice would be to sign up for Makro and use them instead, I was really disappointed by the lack of electricals, Costco had one toaster, one coffee machine, one washing machine.... When you go to Markro you get a choice of 10 or so and I've never had a problem with stock. Maybe it was the one we went to (Edmonton) but I was so disappointed because everyone had hyoed it up. I am going to give Watford a try when I can be bothered!!

zippedup

blue monkey

costco guarantee a full refund on ur membership if u are disatisfied at any time. uve just got to go to the service desk. i personally prefer costco to makro as the turn over is quicker and when they reduce stuff it really is a reduction! if i were u id ask for ur refund.

z.

tripleh_2

Anyone know what bargains or offers there are at Birmingham at present?

Thrifty_John

The best thing about Costco is that the customer service and replacement policy is second to none, esp on electricals. There is no argueing or automatic assumption you are pulling a fast one, you just get your money back without question. But the queues at customer service around Christmas are staggering.
Of course it can be pot luck if they have any more you can buy.
As for the tyres I've usually found discopunt sellers e.g. Etyres are cheaper The Costco tyre bay also has horrendous queues!

blue_monkey_2

zippedup wrote: »

blue monkey

costco guarantee a full refund on ur membership if u are disatisfied at any time. uve just got to go to the service desk. i personally prefer costco to makro as the turn over is quicker and when they reduce stuff it really is a reduction! if i were u id ask for ur refund.

z.

Thanks z, I did read that on the board up there but it's a faff to get up there tbh (about 45-60 minutes each way depnding on the traffic) and my husband only goes if it is a neccessity and I don't want to drive up there on my own. it's not local to us and I really thought I would give it a go, my friend is always raving about it but I guess it is each totheir own. They even gave my a discount booklet but half the vouchers weren't valid and the stuff I picked up the vouchers had not started so I didn't even save the money there.

What did you mean that the turnover is quicker? did you mean with the stuff that they sell changes? We don't go to the C&C that often tbh which is why Makro is easier and they seen to have the stuff on offer even if it is not in the book they send out.

blue_monkey_2

Thrifty_John wrote: »

The best thing about Costco is that the customer service and replacement policy is second to none, esp on electricals. There is no argueing or automatic assumption you are pulling a fast one, you just get your money back without question. But the queues at customer service around Christmas are staggering.
Of course it can be pot luck if they have any more you can buy.
As for the tyres I've usually found discopunt sellers e.g. Etyres are cheaper The Costco tyre bay also has horrendous queues!

TBH I've found that Makro is the same, if you get overcharged they refund you and if there is a problem they'll just refund the money no arguments. We bought a photo printer, it was the last one left and we got home and the printer cartridge inside was missing and so hubby took it back and they refunded him straightaway as they did not have any more.

I also bought an Epson laser printer when they first came out. the box was damaged I think we paid £60 for it and it was worth about £200. It lasted about 3 years until we decided to upgrade and sold it on eBay for £50 as it was still worth about £150. nice!! Yes, the queues can be bad at peak times - the best time is first thing on a Saturday morning. Everyone else seems to have much better things to be doing than walking around the C&C!!