What is making Costco so expensive?

[Anonymous]

They increased the prices on almost everything just 2 years ago and again 1 year ago when there were excuses around gas price hikes. Gas seems normal now. Then why the heck is everything so expensive? What's the excuse for selling California grown pistachios for $21 when it used to be $11-12 a year ago? Not everything is cursed by tariffs and there are goods made in America, yet freaking expensive. What has made their bakery section inflate so much? Agree eggs are expensive but that shouldn't make the price of the finished product from $5 to $8!

I am worried that maxing out on 401K and putting money in 529s isn't going to be enough 10 years from now. What is everyone else doing to keep up with the inflation? Where are you shopping and how are you managing expenses?

[Anonymous]

I still find Aldo to be super reasonable — I won’t get everything there but definitely milk/eggs/pistachios.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I still find Aldo to be super reasonable — I won’t get everything there but definitely milk/eggs/pistachios.

Meant to say Aldi!

[Anonymous]

Maybe all the workers got deported so labor costs went way up. Plus the equipment used is probably from China.

[Anonymous]

You need to learn how the federal reserve works.

[Anonymous]

As you go through Costco, simultaneously check unit prices on your grocery ordering app (instacart, Walmart, etc). Or write down into prices for the top 20 things you buy, in your notes app.

Go at an unbusy time.

I do this with my Walmart app, shop slower when I do this, and I *do not* pick up the time if it’s a better unit price at Walmart.

Then whatever I do put in my cart, at home, I add my receipt items to a permanent “Costco Main Items” list, so i know I don’t need to compare those things again for a year.

[Anonymous]

Almost every industry is affected by tariffs. Even if something is manufactured or grown in the U.S., the industry still needs machinery, fertilizer, and supplies that are often imported. Also, since there are tariffs on imported pistachios, guess what? Prices for American pistachios increase. Especially when American exports are tariffed. This is what happens in a trade war. Consumers pay more.

[Anonymous]

We save more than 50 percent of our income. We shop at Moms, Lidl and Trader Joe’s. We menu plan. We rarely go out to eat but love to cook at home

Costco always struck me as a huge waste of time and money. I know ppl love it. Art to say there are alternatives abd if you are disciplined you truly can save.

[Anonymous]

Pistachios prices have gone up because of increased demand due to the Dubai chocolate craze and a bad crop year.

[Anonymous]

We’re in CA. I haven’t seen recent price increases. Costco is far far better than Safeway, Lucky, Nob Hill etc

[Anonymous]

They have fair wages

[Anonymous]

I don’t stress out about the unit cost of any groceries because I think those savings get wiped out by waste if I try to buy in too big quantities, and because it takes so much time.

I think you might come out ahead if you just did Instacart delivery and spent your Costco/walmary/etc etc time driving for uber.

[Anonymous]

I think your thread isn’t really about Costco, it’s about the state of everything.

We love Costco and it’s part of the group where we get groceries. We get much from TJ and some from Walmart. For Costco, we like them because they have quality products at good prices. Wine, coffee, TP, paper towels, eye glasses/contacts, tires, appliances, gas, car rentals, tvs, furniture, towels, bedding…things that we either use quickly or have a longer shelf life. Costco also has an excellent return policy and great customer service.

[Anonymous]

The key is to buy the right quantities there and have a shopping list - don’t deviate from it.
Costco is still better than all named stores for the long lasting items: juices, organic frozen fish, coffee, olive oil, toilet paper, laundry detergent etc.

The packages of pistachio are huge relative TJ

I buy only organic and organic at Costco is same quality as WF and still cheaper

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:The key is to buy the right quantities there and have a shopping list - don’t deviate from it.
Costco is still better than all named stores for the long lasting items: juices, organic frozen fish, coffee, olive oil, toilet paper, laundry detergent etc.

The packages of pistachio are huge relative TJ

I buy only organic and organic at Costco is same quality as WF and still cheaper

Same. We use Costco for nonperishables or perishables that we use frequently. Still better than a grocery store for these items esp as we have kids - so smart pop snack bags or crackers for lunches, excellent extra virgin olive oil (I am picky about my olive oils!) ketchup, maple syrup, pasta, paper towels, large packs of strawberries, blueberries (we go through so much fruit we use them!), flavored seltzers, multipacks of chicken breasts), multipacks of bread (we freeze the extra till ready for use), etc. They sell large parmesan cheese wedges that are far tastier than pre-shredded stuff and last a long time - we shred as needed.

Also occasional kid clothes - like a multipack of Nike shorts or joggers for my son, cheaper than online.

Costco still beats the grocery store for many items.