Anyone a member of Costco?

[Ava Rose]

There is one opening a few minutes from my house. Sam's Club is kinda far for me. Anyway...the Costco membership is $50. I think that is a bit high. Can anyone tell me if it is worth it?

[KrisRV]

AvaRose, we don't have one by us but we have a Sam's club and they have member fee too. At first I thought it was alittle high but it is worth it for a family.. you can buy in bulk and save. but you also have to watch the prices because sometime it's not worth it... I like Sam's for the meats and cereals.. they are a good deal for my family..

[CrystalCA]

I have been a member for over 2 years and I think it is worth it...on some items.
Paper towels , toliet paper are good deals compared to Wal-Mart/Target ( especially with Costco coupons, they send you some every month) it lasts our family 2 months.
Laundry soap ( 28 lbs at I think $18) lasted me 6 months (family of 4).
Kitty Litter (scoopable) lasted 4+ months at $10 for 30lbs.
Frozen foods can be expensive so I usually bypass those items , BUT cheese 2lb block at $4.99 , soymilk 3 -1/2 gallons at $6.99 , 2 dozen eggs @ $2.19.
Bakery/Breads are bar-none the cheapest around ( unless you have a Webers discount place ,which I do but it is in the scary part of town so I will pay 50 cent more for bread thank you very much!), $2.99 for 2 loaves of 100% whole wheat bread.
Canned foods are a great deal as well as Folgers coffee and huge Sunny D bottles.
Meat prices can be high so I don't buy my meat there but my dh loves their sliced deli meat and I buy it there and it is cheaper per lb then at the grocery stores.
Clothes are high priced so I don't even look at them anymore.
Toys, books, movies and CD's can be high but sometimes they are below what WalMart would be.
I buy alot of school books there and special Christmas presents that I wouldn't be able to find at other places.
Housewares/Automotive are very cheap!! We had to buy a battery for my car and it was only $60 at Costco compared to $69-$81 dollars at other auto places ( depended on the brand, we got a name brand for that price and the same brand was $81 at AutoZone).

So ya...somethings GREAT DEALS..others not so great.
I will keep shopping there forever though!!

[Marylyn_TX]

I have friends who have memberships at Costco and they like it. They have good party trays and ready-made foods for parties or company. Their produce is pretty good (in bulk), and they have lots of fun salads/entrees for days when you don't feel like cooking. One friend has memberships at both Sam's and Costco because they have slightly different things. She does a lot of entertaining and school stuff (food for her sons' swim/soccer/baseball teams, etc), though, so she is buying in bulk fairly often. She has the Sam's credit card that gives money back for making purchases. They use it for everything and then they pay it off every month so they don't carry a balance. She said that not only does it pay for the membership fee, she made over $200 last year from it. Not a bad deal! :)

[KrisRV]

Wow Crystal they give you coupons too. Sam's never have coupons. that sounds like a wonderful place.

[KrisRV]

wow Maryln, did now that about Sam's better check in on that one;. thanks

[timkelmom]

We are member at 3 wholesale clubs. $50 is a little high, but Costco has much better baked goods imo.

I think it depends on how often you go to make it worth it.

When it opens, see if they will give you a guest pass and then check it out before you sign up.

[ABall]

I love costco. I just went with my mom last saturday.
We have a membership too. It pays off if you go enough. (see if your husband's work offers employees memberships)

I love the muffinins! but my mom got a chicken pot pie that only needed to be baked and it looked really good!
(as do a lot of their pre-made stuff) we have also bought their pizza for a quick dinner. Their meats are a little more expensive but very good. I think the produce is a good deal on most things. I like to get spices there too. And how fun is it to get to sample some of their products (on the weekends you can always find about a dozen sample spots).

[Ava Rose]

Well..I think I wil head there today and check it out. THanks!

[Actressdancer]

We don't have a Costco here, but my mom has a membership at both Sam's and Costco. According to her, Costco has the better deals.

[TeacherMom]

Ava, I think its worth it, but we are joined through our church, most the time we don't even pay a fee because we do so much for the church they pay it for us as a thank you.
We get our bulk items there, pantry stuff. Most of it is at such a low price and you first think its too much for one family to consume and many things last you all year!
we do a bi monthly trip now most the time with occasionally once a month for frozen goods. they have a lot of good coupons that come out in the mail to you too. Also they have bibles and school books as well as videos and clothing, and now furniture items, you coudl outfit your whole home there if y ou had the $$ .
They have Shampoos, even pharmacies and Eye doctor and lens peoples!
they have a meat market, and a bakery too.. Yes Sams club is great too! I live closer to costco here though.
IF they ever get a sams near us we will probably trade to them, so if you had a choice id choose sams, but Costco is very helpful in a lot of our needs, OH we get paper goods there too! Paper towels and tp stuff, laundry soap in sizes and prices that fit our budget perfectly!
Check them out see if you can do a trial day, I think they still do that when they are new?

[Actressdancer]

If you really want to compare, go to Sam's (they have a $35 a year membership, btw) and ask for a guest pass. You'll be able to walk around and look at everything. Write down the prices for those items that you think you'd buy most often. [You could buy them on a guest pass, but you have to pay a 20% fee which makes it entirely not worth it.]

Then do the same thing at Costco. Then decide is Sam's is worth the drive or if Costco is worth the higher fee.

My Sam's card was worth it to me simply because of gas prices. I can usually gas up there for 3-5 cent less than other gas stations. BUT, our Sam's Club is only about 2 mi. from my house.

[bunnytracks]

Costo is closer to me but I pay for the sam's club membership. A good thing to do is to go to both (each will let you walk around) and write down the prices of the things you will buy there regularly. For us Sam's was cheaper.

[KrisRV]

Sam's has a wonderful pizza you get cooked or uncooked and it's 7.97 a pizza its a big one feeds us four with some left over.. and you can make it anyway you want too.

[chicamarun]

We have both - Sam's is far away and Costco's is closer but we use both, depends on what we are shopping for. I do know we have the Executive membership which is $100 per year, but with the Amex card we use and pay off, we get the $100 back. Sam's Club - $35, Discover Card/Membership card same deal. I don't know if you can get the % back if you are not an executive member at Costco.

We've been a member as long as I can remember! I got one of our computers there also. But mainly I get bread, cheese, milk (but hate the new containers so usually pay a little more at the reg grocery store), cereal, paper items (we use a lot of paper plates here), fruit and salad... etc. Oh - drinks and bottled water big time ($4.99 for 36 Deer Park waters last time).

Costco does send out coupons and we use those - sam's doesn't send coupons - but I do find better books there :) And my husband says their rolls are better.

Buy and freeze and save. Go with a list if you do it or you will probably overspend. We only go 2x per month MAXIMUM!!

[Actressdancer]

I love Sam's for office supplies, too. I go through paper like you wouldn't believe between my business and school.
I also see great deals on electronics. Our next printer will come from there for sure.

[JenniBear]

In Houston, there are about a bazillion Sam's Clubs, and only TWO Costcos! I absolutely LOVE LOVE LOVE Costco!! It is a bit of a drive for me (about 40 minutes) and the Sam's is about 30 minutes...but it is more convenient for me to get to Sams. The quality of their store brand is excellent at Costco, and I love their meats and produce and product selection. The furniture is higher end quality than Sam's. The last time I went to Costco was back in April. I would LOVE to go again sometime soon....but I have to fight highway construction on Interstate 10 through Houston to get there! :eek: :eek:
Think concrete guardrails, cones, and 18 wheelers!!

I miss having a Costco so close...when I lived in CA there was one the next town over 15 minutes!!

[SoonerMama]

Our Sam's also has great fresh fruit. I also get soap and deodorant there and other hba type stuff. My dad included us on his business card, so we don't pay anything.

[Deena]

We have a Costco and also have the executive membership. We get a lot of stuff to help at our church (but they don't pay for our membership! ;) ), I have two teenage boys that eat a LOT, and we have people over for lunch after church often times. Now that my oldest is at school, when he comes home for weekend leaves, he'll be bringing 1 or 2 other teenage boys with him, soooo....I LOVE COSTCO!

We go through a LOT of fresh fruit and veggies, and most of the time, the prices there are GREAT! WAY less than other grocery stores! That right there saves us the money we put out for the membership! But we also get a lot of other things that are way cheaper. One thing is cheeses: We use Feta cheese quite a bit, and it is less than half the price of other stores! I can get sliced cheeses--Like Jack or Provolone, for way cheaper also! The large boxes of cereals, and cases of canned green beans are cheaper too. Yeah, there's so much there that we can use, and we don't even get any meat, and rarely get the baked goods!

And like the others said, we use our Amex/Costco card for all that we can, and pay it off each month, and get a good amount back each year! For us it's a great deal!

[Actressdancer]

I have three boys so I'm sure, in about 8 more years I'll be VERY thankful for my wholesale club membership...lol.

[KrisRV]

you all are talking about getting money back, from Sam's and Costco do they send you a check or put it on your card to use like points or how does that work?

[Deena]

We get a check, but have to use it at Costco. That's okay, they have a lot of neat stuff there, and we don't have a hard time using it there!

[Ava Rose]

Well, I am not a member of Costco. I was not in a position to buy all my stuff on opening day though. I went on opening day because they gave you all kinds of free stuff, coupons and a $10 gift card. My kids had a great time sampling all the stuff! lol. I got a few free garbage bags, diapers, and two rolls of paper towels. Free candy, cashews, 4 pack of batteries, bottled water...and more coupons. It was fun! lol. I did buy this huge thing of play doh. I wanted to buy some for my little one for "school" and this was the best deal going. I also bought my other dd Barbie clothes. I used my $10 card. LOL...I know..I know..I bought junk but it was fun. When dh gets paid I will do real shopping.

Now...I had to wait in three lines to just get registered and become a member. Each line was longer than Rapunzal's hair but it went quickly. My kids were perfect angels. They were even complimented twice for thier wonderful behavior. The workers were all in great moods and very friendly for it being a stressful day. I personally hate shopping...and crowded shopping even more..lol. However, I will be going back. There were some great deals.

Oh..I did have to wait forever and day for my Costco card as one of the computer printers brokedown. The employee was very stressed and it showed..lol..she was the only one it seemed to effect though. lol. HOwever, she was also the only one customers complained to since she was handing out the cards. lol. I hated to add to the problem but I had to ask how much longer my card would take...everyone in line with me got cards but me. Of course my card was sent to the broken printer. lol. It was ok...I really didn't mind waiting as much as waiting with kids. Thankfully they did very well.