Costco worth it?

Bacman

Used Costco for a while. Petrol is only a tiny bit cheaper than the likes of Asda and there are no manned pumps which means paying my card at the pump, which I don't like to do as cloning devices can be applied to such machines. Good quality and range of meats but you're not getting great prices, only ok prices, and have to buy in large trays. Good frozen sections. Fruit and veg expensive. For me, not worth it, if they didn't charge membership fees i'd go on rare occasions but the high membership fee is a disincentive. No longer, thanks; why charge such a high membership (it was about half that price a few years back too)?

Enterprise_1701C

You can now pay a membership fee just for the website, I assume this means you can get the member prices on the website.  Is it worth it?  I don't know, I believe the difference is 5%.
We have trade membership which means we can get in early, useful if there is a really good offer on.

jon81uk

Enterprise_1701C said:

You can now pay a membership fee just for the website, I assume this means you can get the member prices on the website.  Is it worth it?  I don't know, I believe the difference is 5%.
We have trade membership which means we can get in early, useful if there is a really good offer on.

If you are not a warehouse member then you now need to pay £15 for online membership. They stopped the 5% surchage option.

Prices are all more expensive online (I assume to cover the cost of staff picking and packing for you) but on many items they are listed with shipping inclusive.

jon81uk

Bacman said:

Used Costco for a while. Petrol is only a tiny bit cheaper than the likes of Asda and there are no manned pumps which means paying my card at the pump, which I don't like to do as cloning devices can be applied to such machines. Good quality and range of meats but you're not getting great prices, only ok prices, and have to buy in large trays. Good frozen sections. Fruit and veg expensive. For me, not worth it, if they didn't charge membership fees i'd go on rare occasions but the high membership fee is a disincentive. No longer, thanks; why charge such a high membership (it was about half that price a few years back too)?

My local Asda only has self-service pumps too so makes no difference to me. But the Costco station seems to be staffed most of the time, whereas Asda only has a phone to call the main store. So at least it feels like someone is watching. Also the design of the card slot should prevent devices being added now.

I've been a Costco member about five years and don't think the membership cost has changed more about £5 in that period. Its always been £30-40 for standard membership.

I agree the fruit and veg is generally too expensive, even if the quality is good, its a lot more costly than Tesco. The meet is generally a similar price to Tesco though but the quality seems better in general. We buy large packs of mince and chicken to split up and freeze.

Personally I think Costco is just about worth it, but its not as good as it was. Some things like cat litter and coffee beans we save a decent amount on, but when you add back on the membership cost then overall it is hard to say whether we are saving a significant amount.

Shopping at Aldi would definitely be cheaper, as Costco mainly sells branded goods and Aldi own brands will always be cheaper. But if you prefer the good quality own-branded stuff or named brands it is possible to save some money at Costco.

ps124

Thanks all. My wife had a look at some of their prices for goods like toilet rolls, washing powder, kitchen rolls etc. We were both expecting this to be available in bulky packs but at a cheaper price to supermarkets. She says Aldi/Lidl's own brands were significantly cheaper and the quality isn't bad. That was a shame to hear...debating now.

jon81uk

ps124 said:

Thanks all. My wife had a look at some of their prices for goods like toilet rolls, washing powder, kitchen rolls etc. We were both expecting this to be available in bulky packs but at a cheaper price to supermarkets. She says Aldi/Lidl's own brands were significantly cheaper and the quality isn't bad. That was a shame to hear...debating now.

Did you look at the online price or the in-warehouse price? They are completely different. Costco charge a premium for online shopping, picking it yourself on store is cheaper. 

To get a better idea of the warehouse pricing take a look at the offers https://www.costco.co.uk/offers

but if you prefer Aldi own then Costco likely won’t work out better for you for groceries.

JezR

The food and grocery side for me at Costco is not that much of a money saver unless the items are on a coupon offer (which at Costco doesn't mean cutting paper out but just what is in their book that fortnight) or on clearance (usually shown by the price ending in a 7 or 0). Somethings look like a good saving but you need to be able to consume the bulk quantity in the time that it remains fresh to make it so. Having said all that they were the only place I could get eggs at the end of March. 

I agree with others that the meat and fruit is not a price bargain but is usually of a good quality. The signature loss-leader items are the sheet cakes, catering platters, pizzas, rotisserie chickens, and the food court, the prices of which have barely changed in years.

A big annoyance: nearly everything moves round the shop on a regular basis, often within the same aisle for food especially but even so it takes up time finding things.

A big attraction: the no quibble guarantee on products really is no quibble. Even after over a year of using some items that have broken they have been replaced or refunded easily. Everything you have bought can be traced through your card, no need for receipts.

Bacman

It is a real pity they charge membership for the "privilege" of giving them business and keeping them in business. Pretty arrogant too IMO. Same as Macro and Macalan. Why? They take individuals not purely businesses (like Macro certainly was), so just profiteering.

jon81uk

Bacman said:

It is a real pity they charge membership for the "privilege" of giving them business and keeping them in business. Pretty arrogant too IMO. Same as Macro and Macalan. Why? They take individuals not purely businesses (like Macro certainly was), so just profiteering.

Costco's business model is that they make their real profit on the membership fee, that is why they can then offer the goods at lower prices. Apparently they don't mark anything up 14% over cost. Without the membership fee the prices would be higher. It rewards those who shop regularly effectively getting their membership costs back quicker.
I think in the USA the savings are possibly greater. But in the UK I don't think Costco has the buying power of Tesco and of course Aldi/Lidl have lower priced own-brand items. 
I like shopping at Costco and definitly save money on some items even considering the membership cost, but it isn't automatically the cheapest option, but it can be the best quality at that price point. I can go to Tesco and get value mince cheaper, but the aberdeen angus steak mince (minced and packed in-store by butchers) at Costco is cheaper than the equivalent quality product at Tesco.

JezR

American supermarkets are by and large more expensive and less competitive than in the UK and Costco there will occupy some of the market space that in the UK is with the discounters such as Aldi/Lidl. One benefit I forgot to mention above is that Costco has American products that are expensive or hard to get elsewhere, but these seem if anything to be on the decline in numbers.