Costco. You may love it, you may dread it, but a large number of us have the membership. They recently raised membership fees, leaving a $123 charge on my Costco Amex.
So is Costco worth it? I have a baby, so diapers and formula are definitely a few bucks cheaper there. But are they $123 cheaper? I adore all their special buys, and whose wardrobe is complete without a pair of Tuff Athletics yoga pants? But as I look for ways to downsize my bills I have to ask… do they not sell giant containers of almonds elsewhere? I use the True Rewards American Express card but I found my $252 reward somewhat lacking, considering that my Shoppers MasterCard can generate at least triple that (I buy a LOT of diapers!).
Where do you stand with Costco? Do you have a membership because you know that you are saving money? Do you just love the giant bags of broccoli? Or do you not have a Costco Membership?
Weigh in on the comments!
I’ll be giving away a SaveAround coupon book with lots of local coupons to a random commenter! Contest closes midnight February 10, 2012.
I have a membership, but I rarely use it. I stil love it for some non-perishable items but I’m always drawn in to the other stuff (pretty sure I don’t need new dish cloths with every trip) and when that big bag of broccoli starts rotting in my fridge, I quickly question all that savings.
What the heck… I just checked their website and the membership cost is still the same! I would look into that $123 membership charge…
http://www.costco.ca/service/featurepage.aspx?productno=10324109
We use Costco for meats and non perishables. For fresh produce we shop at the farmers market on 168th. Eggs, cheese and milk we buy in the US when we get gas.
I just bought a set of knives at Costco for $19.00 that was priced elsewhere for $75.00 American. Overall, I think it depends on how much you spend. My mom still has all my adult sibs at home which means she feeds 6 people daily. She spends on average $1600 a month at Costco and probably saves at least $400 a month compared to shopping at the local grocery store.
We have the “executive ” member card which gives us 1% back in the form of a cheque ever year. Of course the cheque is only good toward Costco purchases, but it covers the member fee for us.
I love Costco because of their return policy. Truly no hassle.
Not true. They will let you redeem it for cash as well.
Also, if you have the executive membership, they will top up your rebate if it does not at least pay for the membership.
Hm, I thought that was only for the first year. I think Jude is talking about the True Rewards Costco rebate from the Amex, and not the regular executive rebate, but I just got mine and you can bet I’m going to check if I can redeem it for cash! That would be fantastic!
I should clarify, that’s 1% of our total purchases.
We do Costco weekly. We buy prime rib roast, bread,cereal, some veggies and big containers of things like a flat of canned tomatoes or the big size of peanut utter. We shop at Costco mnt Vernon once or twice a month to buy cheese. The big block that costs 25 here is 15 there. Chicken is 2 whole chickens for 8-9 dollars. Here whole chickens cost 24 for 3 so that’s like 2 for one. We also get butter and milk there too. I love Costco.
Chicken here tastes better, though. To me.
Costco, truly a love hate relationship.
On the one hand I love the fact you can buy huge quantities of stuff like jumbo jar of Epsom salts and enough toilet paper for a awesome night on the town….But about that Broccoli, too bad you can’t add it to your smoothie.
Plus they sometimes have cool stuff like the pop up tent ‘sunshade’ for like $20, or even 333 colored pencils for like $11. But I still have regrets when I leave with my huge buggy of loot and that feeling of over consumption. Perhaps I need to pay a visit to “Mary’s Market” for some veggies and keep Costco for the dishwasher soap. Oh and don’t forget arrive when the doors open and exit asap for the least mental fatigue/
Hi Patrick! You won a SaveAround book. Thanks for your comment and I will e-mail you!
I don’t really love Costco.. my kids don’t eat that much really.. so everyone is sick of many of the Bulk items we would buy there. I’m sure that will change in the future.. but I would rather support local farms and stores as much as I can for now. It’s just so big and ugly inside. I do go from time to time for toilet paper, some small business supplied and such but definitely not every week. I only justify the membership cost beacause at least with my home business I can write it off.
Costco……. hmmm other than the no-go my wife releases me on, it is a store like all the others, so why do I over-shop there (hence the no-go)? The prices are cheaper the quantities are huge, but if you see it, buy it because it won’t be there in a week or two. They train everyone this way, when you go back because the colour was right or the price was right the item is out or something similar in it’s place, so overshopping is common.
And then we discovered Costco-Bellingham… oh no!