Some stores are definitely better than others but I hate it too. My husband loves it so he does 99% of our Costco shopping since he works for himself and can go in the middle of a weekday.

I will say that their travel department does have good deals on rental cars and packages so I tend to use that service online. And I do take advantage of online ordering so its worth it for those two things. Costco does have some decent clothing/shoes for good prices--staples like socks and underwear and random things like snowsuits.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

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.

How much do you drive? I get gas (14 gallon tank) once every 3.5-4 weeks. One car family.

DP. I get gas once a week/every 10 days. We also live in an area where premium gas is about $4.50 right now. 3 car family so absolutely worth it for us.

I also sometimes go in for just a rotisserie chicken and come out with only that. I have no desire to wander the aisles.

We’ve had a membership for a few years now. Never go on the weekend, we usually go on a Monday, Tuesday or Wednesday evening.

Anonymous wrote:If you want a club store experience that’s not as in your face crazy and crowded, try BJ’s instead. They don’t have as many locations here but it’s worth a look if there’s one near you. BJ’s takes manufacturer’s coupons as well so you can save some money that way. I find Costco is better for food but BJ’s has more name brands and a better baby selection if you’re still in the diapers and formula years.

Over the years, we have variously (and sometimes simultaneously) been members of Costco, Sam’s, and/or BJs. Each has their pros and cons. BJs is our overall favorite but its location is less convenient in our current circumstances. Costco had the best “house brand” but the long lines and mostly huge quantities led us to finally drop our membership after 20+ years. We’re exclusively now at Sam’s, mostly for gas and paper products. Ours has plenty of name-brand items, is well-stocked, actually has friendly & helpful employees, lots of self serve checkouts and a parking lot that’s not a nightmare.

But I’d go back to BJs in a heartbeat.

(As an aside, my best friend first worked for Dick’s Sporting Goods, then BJs, now back at Dick’s. We always snicker at the naming irony of their employer.🤪 Hope this doesn’t get my post deleted.)

The Fairfax Costco is always busy. Pentagon City also.
I avoid those two anytime if possible. I think Costco is worth it bc you can easily save the membership cost in a few visits.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Totally depends on which one you go to and when you go.

But the Pentagon City one is the inner circle of hell no matter when you go, FWIW.

And this is the one closest for me. Sigh.

Go to the DC Costco, at least you can buy liquor there! The only one in the region unless you’re driving to Delaware.

It entirely depends on what you buy, but you can definitely save a lot of money. Last night I paid $5.99 for quart of half and half at Safeway. I know 1000% the same brand at Costco is $2.99. Huge savings.

Anonymous wrote:No it's not. A few years ago we got a feeling we weren't really saving any money. We created a spreadsheet of our receipts for 3 months. We wanted it to be more random than specifically shopping sales etc. There was no benefit or savings by going to Costco. Yes, you can buy giant quantities (400 chicken breasts in a bag or whatever) but that's not as important to us as convenience and ease and $$.

Very interesting. I definitely believe it. What were your typical Costco purchases?

I feel like the convenience of Costco is that the price overall matches the best price for what we buy specifically, and usually at a slightly higher quality.

Anonymous wrote:They should ban shopping groups of more than 2 people.. the biggest obstacle I face in there is when a whole family leisurely moves up and down the isles together- they cause traffic jams. Why do people bring their entire family with them to shop?...

Yes that and enforce a traffic pattern . At pentagon city there are a ton of people pushing their carts around as though they are from England or they are going at a snail’s pace and stopping their carts when they are in the middle of the aisle.

No it's not. A few years ago we got a feeling we weren't really saving any money. We created a spreadsheet of our receipts for 3 months. We wanted it to be more random than specifically shopping sales etc. There was no benefit or savings by going to Costco. Yes, you can buy giant quantities (400 chicken breasts in a bag or whatever) but that's not as important to us as convenience and ease and $$.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

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.

How much do you drive? I get gas (14 gallon tank) once every 3.5-4 weeks. One car family.

About 14 gallons every other week. WFH one day a week. If you save $0.25/gallon, that's $91/year. The Costco near me is currently $2.77 and the next best price is $3.01 at the 7/11.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:We go right when it opens

The #1 reason I have not joined Costco is their hours suck. They don’t open until 10am! 9:30 am on Saturdays (the day everyone says to avoid).

If I knew I could go at 7:30am and avoid a painful experience with parking and lines and a million people, I’d join for sure. But if it’s annoying to park and shop, it’s not worth it to me.

I suspect the employees like the hours.

Love going. It's like Disneyland for adults.

Anonymous wrote:I would never, ever go on a weekend if I could help it. 10:30 on like a Wednesday is the only time I’ll go.

+1
Every now and then I think, "Oh, it won't be that bad this Saturday. It might be fun!" And then I wind up wanting to die. Only on weekdays.

We are a family of four and save a lot of money at Costco, but we only go on weekday evenings.