Costco
 

Do you need to be a membership to shop at places like Costco? They opened one in the UK not too long ago by the North Circular, Chingford and I heard that it was the same deal as with Makros, where you need to be self-employed or in certain employment to get a membership card. Is this the case in the US or can anyone shop there?

(p.s. What is Costco exactly? I know you can buy some bulk foods but what else is worth buying there?)

Yes u need to have a business card to get a membership there. On the whole in the US it is not that much cheaper than some shops & the quality is ok rather than good.

Re: Costco
 

Costco has all the food in big/bulk packaging, and some regular size. They also have hardware, electrical, Jewelry, computers, Gadgets!!!!!!etc...

It's a bit like macro but bigger.

We had membership for 4 years and thought it was great as we have 4 kids....

BUT....

It is very easy after a while to buy too much.... especially when I took the kids.... Oh and hubby was great in the electrical section LOL....

You can go in and look around before you get membership. At least this way you can see if it's worth paying the membership fee. (We payed $40 a year)

All in all I think it is a good store but best to go with a list and stick to it. very easy to spend $400 without thinking.....:D

I now cut coupons and shop for bargains..... God how boring I have become!! LOL

Re: Costco
 

Better one's around here anyway, are B/J's (honestly) and Sam's Club which is Walmarts wholesale division.

The only thing you need for places like Costco is the card. Currently at Costco (LA area) this costs around $45 for the basic package (per annum) which is the only package available to people who are not self employed.

Costco is cheap, there is no doubt, but its only cheap if you want to buy in bulk. Consumer electronics (the cheap/ lower quality ones) are cheaper there too.

Food/Clothes/Drinks (beer) ---- STUPIDLY Cheap

see CostCo Homepage for more info

enjoy

We have membership to Sams Club which is something similar to Costco but the membership fee is a little less. Some things you get get an excellent deal on others are only so so but on the whole it is worth it.

Ash:)

I just thought...

I go to Smart and final.... No membership fee...

I also just found a link....... It gives location of retail stores in your area. Just click on the state....

http://www.mwpolar.com/distribution.htm

We have membership at both Costco and Sams club and use them quite a bit for different things. You can get some really good deals in there, it just depends, the stock changes all the time. Sometimes you can get a really great bargain.

I do the majority of my shopping between the two places and just get the odds and ends from Target.

The meat is certainly cheaper than the usual stores around here at least and with four kids bulk buying is great for me.

I would definitely say our membership has paid for itself this year in savings.

Also, Costco do a very nice Very Berry Sundae :) Great motivator for the children to behave while shopping ;)

Costco is cool. :) We've gotten some random unplanned things there, like DVDs, a papercutter, a CO detector, etc. Usually we buy tissues and paper towels there, both in bulk, because it's WAY cheaper than the supermarkets around here and we tend to go through a lot of paper products! :)

Along with the normal stuff, they have all sorts of random things, from kayaks to diamonds to computers to a bulk box of 80 cream puffs which we took to a party once. :)

We just joined this month for $45 for two of us (total, not each).

wholesale shopping
 

The best things for these kinds of places, especially if there is just two of you are staples- paper towels, loo roll, garbage bags, soda/sparkling water, laundry detergent, light bulbs,etc...

You can really save money buying in bulk, and if you have a basement of garage, you just store the stuff till it needs to be restocked. It's great to only have to worry about buying staples every 4 months or so.

Also there's the occasional deal on consumer goods as well...

Costco is a great and I love the cheap gas...BUT, parking is a 'mare! And weekends there are crazy.

Between Trader Joes and Target I seem to find deals on food and household items outside of Costco.

I cannot tell you how much I love Tarjay!

Forgot to say that the annoying thing about Costco is (besides the parking!) that you can only use an American Express card if you want to use a credit card. We don't have an AE card, so we have to use our debit cards.

You just have to show a driver's license to join, but I'm not sure what they'd accept if someone didn't have one yet -- maybe a passport?

We use Costco all the time. The $45 we spent to join has more than paid for itself in overall savings compared to our local grocery stores like Fry's or Albertsons. Just for fresh meats alone, it is more cost effective to shop at Costco and then come home and vaccum pack it into the freezer. We did a huge $600+ shop back in february and we still have frozen meats in the freezer and canned goods in the cupboards from that trip, that should last us a little while longer. I was sick and tired of paying $9.99 for 5 frozen chicken breasts over at Fry's, when I could buy a bag of 15+ from Costco for $13 dollars. Also, 6 italian sausages were $5.99 at Fry's where as I can get 20 for $6.99 at Costco. Their tool and electrical sections are pretty good too. I wouldnt mind getting myself a cordless combo set from them.

I'm with you on that one POW, we get our groceries at Target, also birthday/xmas/easter presents. There on-line website is worth checking out, I managed to pick up a remote controlled Moto X bike for $15 reduced from $60.00, for my step-son (although I managed to flip it straight down the storm drain on my first try:D ).

The fruit and veg is alot fresher than Walmart, but things like razor blades and shower gel is a tad more than wally world.

I also check out the end of the shopping isle for clearance baragins, you can pick up really cheap photo frames and nic nacs.

Tom Thumb has some great deals going everyweek, but its way to expensive to buy all the weeks groceries there!

We are members in th UK we have one on our doorstep so it's quite handy. It really depends what you want to buy we bought our washer from there and saved enough to pay our membership for 15 years! I like it you can get all sorts their admittedly it tends to be bulk buying but we are not talking 1/2 lorry loads and there are lots of single items to buy. I agree that you can spend a lot if you get carried away. Can't say for the US (YET) but the UK one is well worth it.

I believe you can also use your card at any Costco store around the world, regardless of where you joined.

It's true - my parents shop at the Costco here when they are over using their membership card from home. They stock a lot of the same things as they have at the one in Liverpool but some things are a lot cheaper.

My dad is currently kicking himself for not buying a toolkit last time he was over as it was a lot cheaper than at home. When I went back to get him one they had sold out.

The trouble with that though Snorky, he wouldn't been able to charge the batteries up on a cordless kit combo back in Blighty!

Everytime I go into Sams in Garland, there is a Taylor made 360 driver just begging with my name on, they used to be $400 just for a driver, at xmas they had some for $189....if I could just get down the isle, dash back to till point and hide it in the explorer, without Mrs Yosser seeing me, I would of had one by now;)

We are members. We call it the $100 store because we can never go in without spending at least this amount. I love the electronics section, yesterday I was trying to persuade the missus that we need the $900 Sharp projector...no go, will have to wait a while longer for my 25 foot cinema screen :(

They had a bitching 62" HDTV for $1500 dollars over xmas and the new year. It would have looked real nice in our living room, if it wasnt for the fact that we'd just shelled out on a rather nice TV cabinet that would have been too small for the 62". Awsome deal though.

No, it wasn't an electrical thingy. It was just your bog standard screwdrivers, spanners, and other assorted goodies that make men folk dribble. It was the appeal of the nice organised case it was in and the fact that it was a good deal cheaper than the one in Liverpool that really sucked him in.

ah yes, I know what you are talking about now! Just like Tony said I daren't go in there to often it puts a big dent in my wallet.

Everything is like a magnet too me, bloody camera film, batteries, PS2 games, tools, 250 alieve head ache pills for $13 (no problem overdosing at Sam's;) )....golf kit, I even bought my GE matching tumble dryer and washing machine there, all topped off with a free lunch courtsey of the free finger foods out on display.

Actually, their small restaurant/fast food joint has some pretty good deals if you're looking for a snack. Cheap pizza slices and pretzels.

Large Hot Dog and drink for $1.50 at our place, refills on the drink...bargain :p

YOSSER just reminded me of our lunch time visits to costco.

My 4 kids used to hound me to take them there at lunch time on a Saturday if I had mentioned we needed something.....

They would spend the whole time eating from the free samples tables.... They could spot a microwave that was about to 'ping' from about 50 yards off and would all dive over for the hot pizza, hot dogs, shrimp in teryaki or some other sauce..... The people giving out the samples used to crack up laughing when they saw all 4 of them heading for thier table... nicely getting in line and saying please and thank you as they were taught.. ( good english kids) being cute and polite got them big helpings..... hahahahahaha...

Oh and they got very good at working out their route so they got starters, main meal and then dessert..... :D

Saved me about $20 on kids lunch ;)

My kids are the same :D If I need to go up there I scedule a lunch time so they can eat. It's so cheap to get them all a hot dog, drink and sundae or ice cream on the way out as well. Plus they play with the consoles while I look at the books.

I love the Costco.

This made me laugh- my kids used to do exactly the same in SAMS- even got drinks, samples of fruit juice :D
I'd do it now and skip lunch but if hubby's with me he won't..killjoy!

Yeah, Costco!
 

As someone pointed out, standard annual membership to Costco is $45.

As with all these shopping clubs, it's best to check retail prices (Walmart, grocery stores, etc.) before heading with a shopping list to a place like Costco.

Having been a member of BJs, and having visited a SuperWalmart and Target, I think Costco has the best quality. This is especially true for food.

If you follow the suggestion above about pricing, I've found Costco to be cheaper for paper products and I think the fresh food prices along with the high quality of produce alone makes the membership worthwhile.

I thought BJs was the pits actually. The selection of brands is pretty poor, food quality looked poor (local grocery stores had better quality).

I've yet to succumb to Target even though I pretty muck work oppposite a brand new store. Previous purchases from Target have been hit and miss. A large rug I bought was pretty crappy. The colors in the design are not consistent (it is a symmetrical design so I know the colors are "off" on one side). As for their own brand bath towels, we bought the second highest quality and I've never known towels to shed fluff constantly, each time they're washed (we don't even dry them in a dryer. I shudder to think how much more fluff would be lost during drying).

Never been to a Sam's Club yet but interestingly, there's a Sam's Club opening in the same shopping center as the new Target. It's going to be a battle of the stores come autumn.