How do y'all deal with Costco??? Is it worth it?

[Anonymous]

I go mainly for gas and the rotisserie chicken. I’m not in the DC are and can park and be in and out in 5-10 min.

I refused to join when we lived in VA and Pentagon City was the closest.

[Anonymous]

Ugh Costco…you go in for toilet paper and come out with a giant TV (and a bunch of other stuff you don’t need!)

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Ugh Costco…you go in for toilet paper and come out with a giant TV (and a bunch of other stuff you don’t need!)

Just go in, get multiple rotisserie chickens, a crap-ton of produce, toilet paper, roast turkey deli meat, two giant things of pasta sauce, and like 7 pounds of almonds. And frozen dumplings. BOOM. Done.

[Anonymous]

How do people buy produce in bulk - doesn't it go bad? Or do you have a massive number of people to feed so it's used fast or do you come home and start stir frying up peppers, onions etc for later use?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Costco is for those who lack basic math skills.

I did the math. Unless the price of gas changes, the membership is worth it.

[Anonymous]

Also, you can't find a larger pizza for less.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Also, you can't find a larger pizza for less.

Is it good pizza though? Not being snarky - really have never had it.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Keys to Costco shopping:

Go early or late. I usually go after 7:00 PM on Mondays, and by the time I'm checking out, the place is emptying out. I usually pump gas around 7:00 AM, when there is practically nobody there, and their prices cannot be beat.

When you're in Costco, avoid the center lanes. That's where most of the traffic is. If you go around the perimeter, just going into aisles to pick up what you want and then going to the perimeter again, you'll have a much better experience.

I go to Costco because there are things I buy there routinely that are good quality and at a good price. I am not overwhelmed by the space or people, and know how to navigate. They often have VERY good deals on brand name clothing, although I haven't found any recently. Their house brand pretty much everything, is very good.

+1. Dog food, gas, medicine, pantry staples are enough to make the membership worthwhile. Sometimes I find really cute shoes or clothes even.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Also, you can't find a larger pizza for less.

Is it good pizza though? Not being snarky - really have never had it.

It's better than anything you could get cheaper. Pareto optimal.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Also, you can't find a larger pizza for less.

Is it good pizza though? Not being snarky - really have never had it.

IMHO, it's better than Papa John's or Domino's, but that is a pretty low bar. It's basic, but decent.

[Anonymous]

We go to BJs, but it’s basically the same. There are specific things we only buy at BJs. My kids like mini cucumbers. They are $2.50 for a tray of 10. At HT it’s $4 for 8.
Goat cheese logs, eggo waffles, big boxes of snacks for sports, bags of apples, lunch meat, big boxes of spring mix, 4 pack of bell peppers, 35 pack of Diet Coke, there are many things that are much much cheaper.

For other things, it helps to know the Giant and HT prices. My husband does the math occasionally to make sure it’s still true, but in general the BJs price is equivalent to the HT sale price - but you don’t have to wait for a sale.

[Anonymous]

My staples are bread, organic chicken breasts, frozen veggies, protein bars, coffee, San Marzano canned tomatoes, dried pasta, spices, olive oil, balsamic vinegar, Vital Proteins Collagen, Systane Eye drops, vitamins, Advil, bagged salads, frozen chicken for the air fryer. And of course gas. Totally worth it to us!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Costco is for those who lack basic math skills.

Wrong. You have to know the per item or per ounce price of your family’s staples and shop accordingly. I also have a large pantry and an extra upright freezer in my basement. I never buy anything in bulk unless we’ve had it before and I know it won’t go to waste.

People who ONLY shop at Costco are wrong, just like people who only shop at Trader Joe’s. I rotate stores weekly and purchase the items that make sense to buy at that store based on price.

[Anonymous]

I got a membership because it was the same price to buy my contact lenses at Costco including the membership price as it was to get just the contacts at 1-800 Contacts. Everywhere else I price checked was more.

[Anonymous]

I'm such a Costco enthusiast. We always get paper goods, cream cheese (my kids eat a lot of bagels), milk, this semi prepared salmon with pesto butter that is insanely yummy, cheeses, dino chicken nuggets, spinach, pasta and Rao's sauce, coffee, vanilla ice cream, vitamins, coca cola, that really good French jam, peanut butter. Other stuff as well. They curate so you can find really tasty things. Their chocolate chip cookies are extremely good but they come in such a huge quantity I get them only for groups.