Trader Joe vs Costco

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I get staples at costco. Trader Joes is mostly processed crap with really good marketing

Yeah, but some of the processed crap is soo yummy!

TJs is easy intstant meals and snacks for young/single people, Costco is for families that mostly cook from scratch.

Disagree. Costco is for gluttons who want a giant pre-made pot pie, pallet of disgusting croissants, or a gallon of mayo

Seems like you don't know how to cook and cut meat into portions and then freeze it. Pretty sad and pathetic.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Meat, nuts, beans, rice, fruits, vegetables, eggs, yogurt, hummus…yeah sounds like all processed food at Trader Joe’s to me.

Whereas grocery stores have lucky charms, kool aid, jello, donuts….but you don’t call those stores horrible and filled with processed foods?

The Trader Joe’s haters are weird. What’s your real beef with it? You don’t HAVE to buy the frozen apps and cakes. Just like you don’t have to buy those at Safeway or…gasp, Whole Foods.

My real beef with it is that I like to cook from scratch, and their produce and meat are overpriced. They do not have a good selection of veggies, meats, and fruit, nor do they sell good flour, spices, or oil. When I go to the grocery store, I want to buy potatoes, carrots, meat for roasts stir fries, and ingredients for soups and stews. I can buy all of that at a regular grocery store, and it's much cheaper than at TJ. TJ is not a proper grocery store; it is nothing but frozen meals. I don't eat frozen meals. I do not eat premade salads; I make my salads.
Regarding specialty ingredients, TJ is still a no-go; I can get vegan sour cream that is great at Wegmans. Why would I ever go to TJ? Please convince and show me what am I missing.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I dislike Trader Joe's. It doesn't count as a grocery store at all. Nothing but frozen food and crap. I love Aldi and Costco. I buy fruits, meats and veggies, I have no idea what to buy at TJ other than the huge chocolate bar.

Wait, you prefer Aldi to Trader Joe’s? It’s the same to me; but more dreary. I don’t understand. It literally has the same food.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Trader Joes is amazing for people who don't like to cook. 80 percent of it is basically tv dinners in a variety of packaging. They do have some plain protein and produce, but the quality of those items isn't great. It is a lifesaver for bad cooks though!

+1, plus unique and yummy snacks (unhealthy and processed food)

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I dislike Trader Joe's. It doesn't count as a grocery store at all. Nothing but frozen food and crap. I love Aldi and Costco. I buy fruits, meats and veggies, I have no idea what to buy at TJ other than the huge chocolate bar.

Wait, you prefer Aldi to Trader Joe’s? It’s the same to me; but more dreary. I don’t understand. It literally has the same food.

Not in my opinion. Aldi has a lot of produce, but you must pay attention to get it when it is fresh. Trader Joe's produce is always bad and more expensive. Aldi doesn't have that many ready-frozen meals. I never buy frozen meals anywhere. I buy flour, spices, veggies, and meats at Aldi. Plus, nothing beats the Aldi Isle of Shame—nothing like that at TJ's. If I need to save money, which I do, Aldi saves me money. TJs is all frozen tiny meals that I will never eat.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Meat, nuts, beans, rice, fruits, vegetables, eggs, yogurt, hummus…yeah sounds like all processed food at Trader Joe’s to me.

Whereas grocery stores have lucky charms, kool aid, jello, donuts….but you don’t call those stores horrible and filled with processed foods?

The Trader Joe’s haters are weird. What’s your real beef with it? You don’t HAVE to buy the frozen apps and cakes. Just like you don’t have to buy those at Safeway or…gasp, Whole Foods.

My real beef with it is that I like to cook from scratch, and their produce and meat are overpriced. They do not have a good selection of veggies, meats, and fruit, nor do they sell good flour, spices, or oil. When I go to the grocery store, I want to buy potatoes, carrots, meat for roasts stir fries, and ingredients for soups and stews. I can buy all of that at a regular grocery store, and it's much cheaper than at TJ. TJ is not a proper grocery store; it is nothing but frozen meals. I don't eat frozen meals. I do not eat premade salads; I make my salads.
Regarding specialty ingredients, TJ is still a no-go; I can get vegan sour cream that is great at Wegmans. Why would I ever go to TJ? Please convince and show me what am I missing.

It sounds like your dietary choices are a better match for other stores. I also cook from scratch as much as possible. I have kids and work more than full time. I do not buy roasts or potatoes or flour. Premade salads aren’t my first choice, but they work for lunch for my DH on a busy day. Bagged cruciferous crunch and stir fry veggies save us time on crazy nights.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I get staples at costco. Trader Joes is mostly processed crap with really good marketing

Yeah, but some of the processed crap is soo yummy!

TJs is easy intstant meals and snacks for young/single people, Costco is for families that mostly cook from scratch.

Disagree. Costco is for gluttons who want a giant pre-made pot pie, pallet of disgusting croissants, or a gallon of mayo

Seems like you don't know how to cook and cut meat into portions and then freeze it. Pretty sad and pathetic.

Frozen, thawed meat is gross. Next.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I get staples at costco. Trader Joes is mostly processed crap with really good marketing

False.

Nope. PP is actually correct their stuff is mostly novelty items. There have also been a lot of articles about the lack of quality control with Target's suppliers. Haven't you notice that they seem to recall more items than the average store?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I get staples at costco. Trader Joes is mostly processed crap with really good marketing

False.

Nope. PP is actually correct their stuff is mostly novelty items. There have also been a lot of articles about the lack of quality control with Target's suppliers. Haven't you notice that they seem to recall more items than the average store?

Gah, I wrote Target, but I should have said Trader Joe's:

https://www.vox.com/23815696/trader-joes-recalls-falafel-cookies-soup-food-safety-fda-broccoli-cheddar-rocks-insects
https://www.axios.com/2023/08/31/trader-joes-recall-2023-increase

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I think they’re totally different and aren’t comparable. I’ve never understood the love for Trader Joe’s though. It carries fewer items, is smaller than the other grocery stores and more crowded. I can’t get our week’s worth of groceries there and always end up at Whole Foods or Wegmans anyway.

Trader Joe's is where I go when I want unhealthy snacks and frozen foods. It really delivers in that area. The regular groceries are also pretty cheap, but you won't be able to clear your list there.

What produce can you not find at Trader Joe's? I cook healthy meals at least five days a week and find almost everything I need there. I rarely buy their processed foods except for some chips and the garlic spread.

I've never been able to buy quality produce at Trader Joe's. I hate that it's all prepackaged and spoils so quickly.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Meat, nuts, beans, rice, fruits, vegetables, eggs, yogurt, hummus…yeah sounds like all processed food at Trader Joe’s to me.

Whereas grocery stores have lucky charms, kool aid, jello, donuts….but you don’t call those stores horrible and filled with processed foods?

The Trader Joe’s haters are weird. What’s your real beef with it? You don’t HAVE to buy the frozen apps and cakes. Just like you don’t have to buy those at Safeway or…gasp, Whole Foods.

My real beef with it is that I like to cook from scratch, and their produce and meat are overpriced. They do not have a good selection of veggies, meats, and fruit, nor do they sell good flour, spices, or oil. When I go to the grocery store, I want to buy potatoes, carrots, meat for roasts stir fries, and ingredients for soups and stews. I can buy all of that at a regular grocery store, and it's much cheaper than at TJ. TJ is not a proper grocery store; it is nothing but frozen meals. I don't eat frozen meals. I do not eat premade salads; I make my salads.
Regarding specialty ingredients, TJ is still a no-go; I can get vegan sour cream that is great at Wegmans. Why would I ever go to TJ? Please convince and show me what am I missing.

It sounds like your dietary choices are a better match for other stores. I also cook from scratch as much as possible. I have kids and work more than full time. I do not buy roasts or potatoes or flour. Premade salads aren’t my first choice, but they work for lunch for my DH on a busy day. Bagged cruciferous crunch and stir fry veggies save us time on crazy nights.

Exactly. Everyone has their preference; I used to like Safeway, but now I go more often to Giant. I have no issue with people liking different stores. I am not overly accepting when we have statements in the OP that this or that is the best, and if you don't have the same opinion, then it is BCS you are dumb, or whatever.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I get staples at costco. Trader Joes is mostly processed crap with really good marketing

Yeah, but some of the processed crap is soo yummy!

TJs is easy intstant meals and snacks for young/single people, Costco is for families that mostly cook from scratch.

This. I do 95% of my shopping at Costco, Aldi, and Trader Joe’s. At Trader Joe’s, I just buy frozen meals for when I am too lazy or busy to cook. But I have a large house and kitchen so plenty of room to store bulk Costco items.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Trader Joes is amazing for people who don't like to cook. 80 percent of it is basically tv dinners in a variety of packaging. They do have some plain protein and produce, but the quality of those items isn't great. It is a lifesaver for bad cooks though!

Interesting. Not my experience at all. Our closest TJ (Centreville) has good protein and produce. Haven’t bought a single tv dinner. We do most grocery shopping there and then go to Walmart for items TJ doesn’t carry.

We used to shop at Wegmans but their iffy produce quality and stupidly high prices made us go elsewhere.

"TV Dinner" LOL

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:It seems like Trader Joe's and Costco have converged in price per unit of food, The Trader Joe's lets you buy fewer units well, Costco requires you buy in bulk.

Really curious what are examples of things you’re comparing? Chicken? Bread? Produce? Costco big bag of power greens, for example, is cheaper than anything comparable you’d buy at TJ or anywhere else.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I get staples at costco. Trader Joes is mostly processed crap with really good marketing

Yeah, but some of the processed crap is soo yummy!

TJs is easy intstant meals and snacks for young/single people, Costco is for families that mostly cook from scratch.

Disagree. Costco is for gluttons who want a giant pre-made pot pie, pallet of disgusting croissants, or a gallon of mayo

Seems like you don't know how to cook and cut meat into portions and then freeze it. Pretty sad and pathetic.

Frozen, thawed meat is gross. Next.

Yes, you know how to cook so well. Bravo for the narc.