petitefrancaise

It's only taken me 7 years .
You really can set up costco online accounts in other countries. You need a UK address for the UK one but not for the Canada one. I think the only one you can't do this for is costco france which doesn't surprised me one little bit.

I ordered some emergency cadbury's fingers for littlest in strict quarantine in Canada and GF cakes for middle one in self isolation in Edinburgh. Both arrived in 24 hours.

scrubbedexpat091

There are some Costco stores near the US/Canada border such as Bellingham that likely have more Canadian customers than American customers, well during normal times anyhow, US stores tend to have better selection and prices compared to Canadian locations....

steveq

I used mine in Seoul, South Korea a few times, as well as Oldham, Manchester and all over the USA....

BEVS

Awaiting Costco here in NZ.

tom169

Do you find costco (and other warehouse style stores) saving you money? I gave one of them a go with a free trial and it seemed about the same price as other grocery stores (once you take the bigger volumes into account).

petitefrancaise

convenience was definitely a factor for - a family of 4/5 including a teenage boy meant that buying in bulk meant fewer trips to the grocery store or running out of things.
You can also buy better quality stuff at MUCH lower prices :
I just paid $12 for a tiny bottle of good quality vanilla essence at the grocery store and for a tiny bit more, I would have got a huge bottle at costco
Coffee is an absolute bargain at costco - they have a lovely organic costa rican one for about $14.
Italian ham/"coastal" cheddar cheese/eggs/protein bars
not to mention that the pharmacy sells my dog's medications more cheaply as well And then there's the petrol. I buy tires when they are on special offer.

Finally- costco guarantees. They have repaired my laptop 18 months after I bought it, taken back a 5 year old printer and refunded me in full, coffee machines/blenders that stopped working properly or broke 12 months or so after purchase,

scrubbedexpat091

We never did, sure everything was bigger in size but once you broke the price down it was really basically the same price per unit, and sometimes more, I never did find toilet paper at Costco for example cheaper and usually actually more expensive per roll.

It's not a good place to shop if you have a budget either, you will end up eating the same 3 or 4 things for a month.....

scrubbedexpat099

Costco have their own brand Kirkland which you can only buy there.

Lots of things I buy there maybe in bigger sizing but much cheaper, I also have a Restaurant Depot card and there the sizes are very large.

Petrol is much cheaper.

And the one I usually go to has an excellent booze section, the Kirkland Baileys for example is very good value.

S Folinsky

Don’t forget gasoline.

Hearing aids are good.

Hot dog and a drink for $1.50. Gourmet delight.

Tires.

Car rental via website.

scrubbedexpat099

Second tires, very generous with their warranty.

And their frozen yogurt, dogs favourite. Vanilla of course.

Owen778

In Texas, we had a membership for a while, but could see no reason to go there instead of HEB, even if a few things were significantly cheaper. In Alaska, we go every few weeks, mostly because of the smaller "Alaska tax" (the uplift for bringing goods here) than the grocery store chains, Fred Meyer (Kroger) and Carrs (Safeway). We have a standard list of things we buy there - Coastal cheddar, bell peppers, chips, pesto, granola bars, tins of (kidney) beans etc.

Their business model is very much about keeping costs low and maximising profits by keeping sales volume high instead of trying to maximise profit margin per unit. It's not just buying in bulk, but the sizes of what you're buying, too. I can't buy 1/4lb burgers there, only 1/3lb, for example.

scrubbedexpat099

Well I was in Costco and as usual came out $200 the lighter, only went in for a few things. But saved a lot on gas.

S Folinsky

Also eyeglasses.

sid nv

One of the best things about Costco used to be the free food samples. You could avoid the cost of lunch by touring the Costco food sample trays. I used to get slightly embarrassed when picking up the 6th consecutive pineapple-flavor sausage or whatever sample, but the vendors did not seem a bit bothered. And then when full up, wash it all down with a bottle of Kirkland Vodka, excellent value.
This all stopped a while ago, I suppose due to Covid.

Jerseygirl

I have used Costco in several counties. Their returns policy is second to none IMO. Especially useful for electronics and their extended warranty. If I can buy it from Costco, I will.