Costco - worth it?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I'd also rather support a business that stands behind its products and pays people a fair wage and trains them to promote from whinin.

Huh? Costco is one of the good guys in terms of wages. It's not Walmart/Sam's busted for hiring illigals

Good wages, great benefits and people love working there.
A friend works there PT and she gets subsidized retirement there and she really appreciates that.

I have some cousins who have worked at Costco, and they were great to work for they thought. I had an Aunt who needed to supplement her Social Security and she has actually enjoyed working there (she's a food taster person). Another cousin was a contractor and during the housing crash (they're in the Midwest) he worked there and they pay very fairly and have good benefits. He's still there part time even though the contracting market has picked back up. Check the tags of people who work there - you'll see lots of them have been there surprisingly long times because they treat there employees fairly.

+1. I rather shop at Costco, is possible, than buying them elsewhere. I know a lot of people working for Costco.

I spent $30k/year last year just on grocery at Costco for a family of six.

Holy crap, you spent $2500/month on groceries at Costco? I love Costco but that is a lot.

[Anonymous]

We use it for diapers and wipes, and the savings and convenience of free 2 day shipping without having to wait for an Amazon subscribe & save day is 100% worth the annual fee.

We also love and find great deals on their maple syrup, muffins (so cheap and freeze well), pizza, birthday cakes, milk, wine/alcohol (the Kirkland brand is usually overstock from a good brand -- we've had Fonseca port, Macallan scotch, and others), tires, and appreciate the huge packs we can buy of toilet paper/paper towels/cleaning supplies/etc.

Their peanut butter is awful.

[Anonymous]

The shampoo and conditioner alone are worth the money. $9 for a bottle that lasts me 6 months.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:The shampoo and conditioner alone are worth the money. $9 for a bottle that lasts me 6 months.

The Kirkland stuff? I guess big bottles are good if it works out but otherwise you end up with two big bottles you can’t finish. It was ok for the first wash but then totally weighed my hair down and made it all greasy. Conditioner works well as a shaving cream though.

[Anonymous]

I find that the multi-item packaging and the perception most shoppers have that everything there is a bargain promote a lot of waste and unnecessary spending. I guess if you run in and just grab a few staples and leave, it’s worth it. But if you throw in a few extras that just happened to catch your eye (and there’s always something that seems too good to pass up but that you weren’t planning on getting in the first place), it can get expensive very quickly. So I personally try to minimize my visits because the whole psychology of the place make me spend more than I was planning to. My SILs who are both single shop there almost exclusively because they are big bargain hunters but they end up throwing away a lot of of uneaten food due to the large sizes of everything.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:DC costco is worth it for alcohol and gas alone.

Waiting a half-hour in line to save 5 cents per a gallon on gas is not worth it.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:DC costco is worth it for alcohol and gas alone.

Waiting a half-hour in line to save 5 cents per a gallon on gas is not worth it.

If you go at the right time you can avoid huge lines. We went Sunday night in MD and didn’t have to wait.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:DC costco is worth it for alcohol and gas alone.

Waiting a half-hour in line to save 5 cents per a gallon on gas is not worth it.

If you go at the right time you can avoid huge lines. We went Sunday night in MD and didn’t have to wait.

No wait on Monday mornings at 10.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I spent $30k/year last year just on grocery at Costco for a family of six.

Holy crap, you spent $2500/month on groceries at Costco? I love Costco but that is a lot.

It depends on what you buy there. I spend about the same amount for a family of six, shop there 4 times a week, according to the wife:

$100 of avocado, 2 avocados/person a day = 84 avocados
$80 of strawberries, bananas, blueberries, apple, oranges, mangos, brocolli, cauliflower, green beans, asparagus
$150 of salmon
$80 of shrimp
$120 of lobsters or crab legs, depend on the week
$100 of chicken
$40 of milk
$60 of oats, sunflower seeds, chia seeds, pumpkin seeds
$80 of organic coconut water

yes, they add up.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The shampoo and conditioner alone are worth the money. $9 for a bottle that lasts me 6 months.

The Kirkland stuff? I guess big bottles are good if it works out but otherwise you end up with two big bottles you can’t finish. It was ok for the first wash but then totally weighed my hair down and made it all greasy. Conditioner works well as a shaving cream though.

Costco has a very good return policy.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:We use it for diapers and wipes, and the savings and convenience of free 2 day shipping without having to wait for an Amazon subscribe & save day is 100% worth the annual fee.

We also love and find great deals on their maple syrup, muffins (so cheap and freeze well), pizza, birthday cakes, milk, wine/alcohol (the Kirkland brand is usually overstock from a good brand -- we've had Fonseca port, Macallan scotch, and others), tires, and appreciate the huge packs we can buy of toilet paper/paper towels/cleaning supplies/etc.

Their peanut butter is awful.

We love the peanut butter!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I spent $30k/year last year just on grocery at Costco for a family of six.

Holy crap, you spent $2500/month on groceries at Costco? I love Costco but that is a lot.

It depends on what you buy there. I spend about the same amount for a family of six, shop there 4 times a week, according to the wife:

$100 of avocado, 2 avocados/person a day = 84 avocados
$80 of strawberries, bananas, blueberries, apple, oranges, mangos, brocolli, cauliflower, green beans, asparagus
$150 of salmon
$80 of shrimp
$120 of lobsters or crab legs, depend on the week
$100 of chicken
$40 of milk
$60 of oats, sunflower seeds, chia seeds, pumpkin seeds
$80 of organic coconut water

yes, they add up.


2 avocados a day/per person is a lot!

[Anonymous]

Just saved $150 on a GE stove - over and above the lowest price I found elsewhere that was already below MSRP. Great delivery, haul away, warranty. Paid for two years of membership. Also bought cheap bike helmet and organic face serum. Only shop online.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I spent $30k/year last year just on grocery at Costco for a family of six.

Holy crap, you spent $2500/month on groceries at Costco? I love Costco but that is a lot.

It depends on what you buy there. I spend about the same amount for a family of six, shop there 4 times a week, according to the wife:

$100 of avocado, 2 avocados/person a day = 84 avocados
$80 of strawberries, bananas, blueberries, apple, oranges, mangos, brocolli, cauliflower, green beans, asparagus
$150 of salmon
$80 of shrimp
$120 of lobsters or crab legs, depend on the week
$100 of chicken
$40 of milk
$60 of oats, sunflower seeds, chia seeds, pumpkin seeds
$80 of organic coconut water

yes, they add up.

2 avocados a day/per person is a lot!

yes, living an active and healthy lifestyle is not cheap

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:We use it for diapers and wipes, and the savings and convenience of free 2 day shipping without having to wait for an Amazon subscribe & save day is 100% worth the annual fee.

We also love and find great deals on their maple syrup, muffins (so cheap and freeze well), pizza, birthday cakes, milk, wine/alcohol (the Kirkland brand is usually overstock from a good brand -- we've had Fonseca port, Macallan scotch, and others), tires, and appreciate the huge packs we can buy of toilet paper/paper towels/cleaning supplies/etc.

Their peanut butter is awful.

We love the peanut butter!

Their organic peanut butter made from Valencia peanuts is great. I suspect it may be made by the same private label supplier who makes the comparable product for Trader Joe's.