Costco Membership

Worth it? I’m thinking about it.

Yes. But only if you can live with 3 gallon jugs of shampoo, 3 pound boxes of nuts and 400 AA batteries.

Also, it is not cheap per unit but it is good quality.

Costco makes all its money via membership dues and have a maximum 15% cap on profit margin on items.

Hells yes. You get to play bumper carts with Mexicans and middle America. It’s pretty fun

If you have 14 kids in your household, yes.

it’s decent, you’ll probably do better then breakeven on the savings, especially on fruits/veggies and food.

I’m in the same boat. There are only two of us in the house so I doubt I will break even on the cost. Their meat quality is decent though.

If you use the gas station, that alone can make back your annual fee. I used to be a costco member when I basically lived with my GF and we pooled shopping and all that. It’s too much IMO for one person so I dropped it. Pretty good quality stuff. I still go there for alcohol though sometimes.

If you live in suburbia or more than 2 people in the household yes.

I love Costco. Well worth it.

You don’t have to be a member to buy alcohol or use the pharmacy, IIRC.

I’m married with two kids and I have a Sam’s membership. Granted, Costco > Sam’s, but there’s no Costco in my area.

I’m probably going to let my membership go after this year. It’s been good to buy diapers and formula, but outside of that, there’s not much benefit.

  1. The quantity of items you have to buy is usually so big that you don’t have to buy it again for a long, long time. Plus you have to have a place to put it. For example, if I buy 48 rolls of toilet paper, not only do I have to store 47 rolls of toilet paper, but I won’t need toilet paper again for two years.

  2. There’s not much selection. For example, I like Apple Jacks. It’s one of my favorite cereals. But they don’t sell Apple Jack’s–at least not individually. You have to buy a three-pack, which includes one Apple Jack’s, one Corn Pops, and one Cocoa Puffs. And they don’t sell Frankenberry or Boo Berry at all. But if you like Cinnamon Toast Crunch, you’re in the right place, because they sell a 2-pack of that.

  3. What kind of car do you drive? My wife drives a Ford Explorer, and one trip to Sam’s will completely fill up her car. If you drive a Honda Civic, you might not even be able to fit all the stuff in your car.

  4. If you compare prices on the stuff you’ll probably be buying, you might find that the prices aren’t much better (if any) than at your local superstore.

Exactly… in Texas (and maybe other states) you don’t need a membership to buy alcohol. I just tell them I’m only buying alcohol and they don’t have any problem. I’ve never tried the pharmacy though since I have no need to.

I like Costco. They sell quality products for reasonable prices. Occasionally, they have a promotion and offer good deals on certain items.

However, my household is far smaller than the breakeven size needed to have a net benefit from the bulk discount. Also, people tend to consume more when they have more of something. So, you might not end up saving money, since you just buy and use more of the things you get at Costco.

I heard that Costco is good for buying tires, but I have never confirmed this.

Up here the alcohol is in a separate store (same building but isolated before the main entrance). No need for a membership to buy the booze here either. That said, their meat is actually pretty decent and its good value of you’re holding a large BBQ, which we do often. Things like batteries and other household consumables are much cheaper. If you’re a downtown condo dweller it may be a stretch to find value, but anyone with a house is probably making it worth while.

God bless my heart (literally) but I do enjoy their fries and gravy, and hotdogs on occasion. Sometimes I will pop by just for cheap eats. Of course you dont’ need a membership to eat there.

Agreed on the point about meat and household wares. Typically I make one costco run a month, and that’s enough meat and veggies for 2-3 weeks.

We have the executive membership and we pay the annual dues with the annual cash back that we recieve from costco. Afterthat, everything is saving !!!

The membership fee is fully refundable if you’re not 100% satisfied, so sign up and give it a couple of months to see if you like it or not.

This is true. Great prices and they provide free repairs for the life of the tire. I’ve had two flats fixed for free on my Costco tires.

I was pleasantly surprised by how decent their hot dogs were.

I love the pizza, and when I feel the need to hurt my heart, the chicken bake is a solid choice.

Quite decent, and you can’t get anything better for a buck fifty. Even comes with pop.

The chicken fingers with fries is also a solid choice.

What the heck is a chicken bake? We dont’ have that up here??!