I think it’s worth it but I never go when I’m
Rushed for time either.
The rotisserie chicken is a great deal and I get our dog food there too.
OTC meds are cheaper, Advil etc…. Like a 1/4 of the price anywhere else.

I just go and stay chill.

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.

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

facts!

Depends on your shopping preferences. I joined this year and liked some of the stuff but won't be joining again because:
1) In general, the savings aren't that big for the purchases I make. For most basics, Aldi is cheaper and faster. For other things, Giant/Safeway aren't that much more.
2) Because the store is so large, it takes a lot of time for me to find things. This might improve if I went more.
3) The hours are relatively limited, compared to most other stores.
4) It takes me a while to get in and out.
5) Many of the package sizes are larger than I need or want, and we don't have that much storage space.

Again, this is totally a matter of preferences. Obviously, many people have different needs and preferences and enjoy it. They run periodic specials; I got a membership for $15 rather than $60. If you see a membership discount like that, try it for a year and see if you like it.

I go to Costco for the gasoline. The gas savings pays for my membership and then some. I
love the optical department - a real bargain, and the staff are helpful and kind. You can also get good deals on laptops at Costco, and the pharmacy section sells pseudoephedrine at $1.89 for 36 tablets. I love their Manchego cheese, you can get the large jars of Better than Bouillon there, and Dh Likes the Premier Protein. Everything else I can take or leave. I am fortunate to have flexible work hours so I can go there at a relatively quiet time and breeze through self checkout.

In other words, it depends on what you like and need.

Prices at Costco vary.

Not everything is cheaper.

Yes the crowds are a pain.

DH and I sometimes one of us goes like at 7pm til 8pm rarely crowded.

I won't use the pharmacy or eyeglasses too much of a pain.

I hate Costco. I loathe Costco. So overwhelming.

My husband loves Costco. He will only buy gas from Costco. (I hate their gas lines and how you have to just about parallel park to get to the center pump.) He has a Costco card that gives him back a percentage and this makes him happy. We get good deals on some things so it's worth it, like coffee, cheese, artichoke hearts, olives, cereal he eats, toilet paper, paper towels. But now that our kids are grown, I don't feel we need it but he goes
there and I don't have to.

I think their prepared food is gross, and find the whole experience kind of degrading. They have a lot of food that you probably shouldn't even eat, and in large portions.

It's okay if you have a lot of people to feed and you need things like a lot of granola bars for kids' teams, but I find it's easy to buy too much of things too, that go to waste.

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

Can't afford the membership,huh? Happens sometimes.

Costco quality is better for the price. As are some other thibgs like certain fish, smoked salmon, meats. Gas is much cheaper. Dh goes during the week and during the day and has no issues. We go once a month i think.

Costco is for those who lack basic math skills.

It can be crowded, but I go, keep my head down and get my shopping done. It’s really not a big deal. For my family the savings are worth it. Check out lines move quickly and I probably spend less time standing in a Costco shopping line than I do when I go to Safeway or Giant.

+1 I just have to focus on my shopping and not get overwhelmed by the people and vastness of the store. I also put my AirPods in, without music, to dull the sound.

I can't go during the workday, but I have found that Wednesday late afternoons are the best time for me. I also make sure to use the Leesburg one whenever an errand takes me out that way, because it's way less crazy than any of the others.

The gas savings alone is worth it to us, but we're in CA where gas is $5 a gallon at Chevron and at Costco is $4.49.

Anonymous wrote:For us it's worth it, because we've got teens and they eat gigantic quantities of food. Costco means I can go shopping once a week for staples rather than multiple times a week.

Or you could just...buy more at the other grocery store? If you want to shop at Costco to save money because your kids eat a ton, that makes sense. But to go once a week so you can buy more food one time than having to go multiple times. Can you not buy six boxes of pasta at Harris Teeter?

I don’t go. Pentagon city is closest to me and trying to deal with that parking situation has made me cry on more than one occasion. My husband goes though. You’d have to pay me a lot of money to do it again. My husband shops there though. They have really high quality produce and great deals on cheese. I also like their toilet paper, olive oil, and a few other things.