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Does Costco membership worth it?

40K views 136 replies 46 participants last post by  nobleea 
#1 ·
Never shopped in Costco and was curious if Costco membership worth it? What is the difference between Costco and other supermarkets like RCSS or Highland farm? Is Costco cheaper or has better selection?
I checked Costco online and looks like game meat or seafood you can order only online (and you don't even need membership for it).Is it true?
 
#2 ·
Like i said in my MC thread, 95% of our groceries and nearly all our fuel come from Costco. We have a pretty fixed meal plan to optimize our fitness and help manage our budget, so we're able to buy in the larger quantities without it going to waste. We eat a ton of fruits and veggies, nuts, chicken and lean meat. Here in Grande Prairie, their produce is just about the best in town. Their meats are second in quality only to the pricey independent butcher shop. Their bakery is excellent as well. For two people eating 4 - 5 times a day, our food budget is under $400 per month.

We've found their Kirkland Signature brand items to be cheaper and generally of better quality than the name brand stuff. For example, we buy the Kirkland Colombian ground coffee in the big tins. It's significantly cheaper than Starbucks or other name brand stuff and it's very good.

The Costco return policy is fantastic. No questions asked. We had an appliance crap out 2 years after buying it. Just on the off chance they'd warranty it, we asked. Nope, but they'll return it and give us a brand new one. Deal. They extend electronics warranty by a year as well iirc.

Propane for BBQ tanks is the best price I've found anywhere. $8 to fill a 25lb tank. No need to bother with those exchange a tank scams.

Fuel is about 10 cents per liter on average less than anywhere else in town. Driving a 2005 Tundra with a 4.7L V8, I fill up about twice a month. I save $8 - $10 per tank of fuel each time. That alone pays for the Executive Membership we have, which offers cash back (which comes as a Costco gift certificate thing so you need to spend it there).

Using the Executive Membership we got $70 cash back rewards, so we'll us that on our next trip. They also offer passport photos, inkjet cartridge refills, a pharmacy, tire shop and how can you not love $1.99 for a huge, high quality delicious hot dog and drink at their concession stand???

So yeah, I'm a Costco fanboy. LOL. I have yet to buy online from them but I've heard nothing but good things about it. If you want to try it out, I've heard you can buy a gift card which will let you shop in the store without a membership. The trick to Costco is to figure out what you need and stick to a list. It's real easy to go in needing a box of chicken breast, tin of coffee and some produce but come out with a $500 bill because you found other things you "need".
 
#3 ·
Whether it is "worth it" depends on what you are buying and how much.

Some things Costco offers are priced better than a lot of other places, but not everything, always. So you have to know prices and compare. Also, probably not worth it if you go there only a few times a year and don't buy much.

When I lived in California years ago, someone gave me a Costco membership for 2 years, so I used it because it was free. I noticed there, in those days, that Costco would sometimes, apparently, get a great deal on a container load of a certain item and they would sell it at a good price. Even some oddball items. For eg., I recall they had a whole load of 9.9 hp. Mercury outboard motors at a very good price. I even considered buying one and told myself, "next time". I learned with that kind of thing, there is no "next time". That item won't be sold there again. So grab it while it's there or forget about it.

I had no membership for many years after returning to Canada. What prompted me to sign up again was their price for propane, which we use for our on-demand hot water system here at our off-grid location. We also use propane for a small stove, although we generally cook on a wood cookstove. We pay at Costco about 1/3 of the price anywhere else. It's cheaper still compared to buying from the fuel boat that goes by us once a month.

So we signed up for the $110/yr. membership, instead of the basic $55 membership. I can't recall the exact details, but the $110 membership gives back a percentage of purchases and we took out a Costco/Capital One credit card which gives some cash back. We do not spend a whole lot at Costco (mainly because there is not one close to us), but the rebates pretty much pay for the membership each year. But even without that, for us, the saving on propane alone makes it worth it. We use about 300 lb./yr. At Costco, we can fill up 3 100-pounders for about $120 total. The price at a gas station in town would be 3 times that. I just looked at my records and I see that we last bought from the fuel boat in May 2013 and paid $209 for 200 lb. At the same time, we bought 797 litres of gasoline at $1.4326/l. + 5% HST. Costco offers discount gas. But priced no better that gas at the Superstore using a PC Mastercard, which gives a credit of 7 cents/litre to use in the store. So now we buy all our gas there. Not as convenient as the fuel boat delivery to the house, but much cheaper. Now, if they would just sell diesel as well.
 
#4 ·
OutofBounds got in there while I was typing and confirmed what I said about propane. I agree with the comments on Kirkland products. We buy their big tins of coffee and it's pretty decent.

I have not really bothered to do a close comparison to say, Superstore, but my impression is that things like meat, produce and bakery products are well-priced. And they do offer some things you do not see elsewhere, like whole beef tenderloins. They cost about $100 or so, but cut up and put on the BBQ, hard to beat.

I was also going to mention the hotdogs. We usually arrive at our Courtenay store around noon and that is usually lunch. But unless they raised the price, we pay $1.50. I read somewhere not long ago that the price was set in 1983 and had never changed. Maybe now it has. As of early December 2016, it was still $1.50 at Courtenay. That includes soda, but I pass on that and drink water.
 
#5 ·
Whether it is "worth it" depends on what you are buying and how much.
We spend on groceries about $1,200 - 1,500 per months, more before holidays, much more before New Year :) ... Buying a lot of meat, fresh/live fish, salads, veggies, fruits, mushrooms ....
For example I like RCSS because they have live trouts , sometimes fresh and cheap salmon...
In Highland farm, I like to buy meat, it always fresh and good quality and veggies/fruits.
And about once per quarter I drive to Yummy Market in Vaughan as they have the best cheeses, kolbasa, salami, smoked salmon ,sturgeon and tons of yummy Russian food :).
I've heard good review about Costco, but never visited .... so just curious if it's worth start going there....
I've seen online pretty interesting things, but not sure if I can buy it in store, and I hate buying food online (want to see and smell before i buy) :).
The problem with Costco that the closest one is 15+ min driving, and RCSS is 2 min driving... Costco with gas is more than 30+ min driving 1 way.... so not feasible
 
#8 ·
Thanks for that bit of info! Courtenay just sells gas, same as RCSS. So if the Costco starts selling diesel, we'll take it. I am sure it will be less than the gas stations that sell diesel. We use mostly gas, but perhaps go through about 15 gallons of diesel per month. Probably not economic to drive to Grande Prairie just for 15 gallons of diesel.
 
#7 ·
I hear ya' on the driving, gibor.

For us, to go to RCSS involves a half hour in our boat and 15 minutes of driving. Costco adds another 30 minutes of driving (one way), so we go there, on average, every 2 months. We get to RCSS almost every week. There, we probably average about $400 per trip, not including gasoline. Let's just say we always get the freebie. You know, where they say "spend $250 in store today and get a free turkey, or 25,000 points (or whatever)".

RCSS used to just give one freebie no matter how much you spent. Sometimes I would ask the cashier to cut it off when we reached $250, allow me to pay, and start again. I would do that when I knew we'd spend over $500 and I wanted the freebie times 2. Now they'll spare you doing that. We spent about $1,100 one day before Christmas and came home with 4 free turkeys (well, to the extent they can be characterized as "free" when you just shelled out over a grand.

I have family living in Ontario, 3 hours north of Toronto. The nearest Costco in in Barrie, 2 hours south. They still have a membership and think it worth it, even though they do not go every week.
 
#9 ·
We use the $110 card...usually get back a bit more than that each year with cash back.

Card is really useful in the USA if you like decent wine/spirits.

They get any tire in for you if they don't carry the correct ones with a road hazard warranty that is actually honored.

Their receiptess return policy blows everyone else away...

We've used their car rental deal many times...much cheaper w/o any bs.

Of course we buy larger sizes at times than we require...we give extra away to friends.

Here in Mexico I can buy Choice USDA steaks, where if you've ever tasted Mexican beef its a good thing. Mexican beef is unaged...no feed lot, only grass fed etc so even though USDA is garbage compared to real Albertan beef its better than nothing.
 
#10 ·
We have the executive membership which is $110/yr and where we were living when we joined was almost 3 hrs each way. We also use the mastercard part for just about everything. Really like produce, meat, bakery etc. I have a big assortment of coffee pods but my favourite is their Kirkland keurig pods and its a good price too. Big savings but easy to pick up extras in there. Just cashed a $700 rebate too. Probably use it more now as I'm only 20 mins away since moving.
 
#11 ·
Costco is not going to be a one-stop shopping experience for you Gibor. They do have a lot of good quality and well-priced items, but they won't sell a lot of the specialty items you describe. You also have to be okay with buying a lot of it at once. Meat it usually sold in 6 or 7 pound containers (like 9 chicken breasts, 9 large sausages), which for me means individually packaging and freezing. Their sausages are great, but not obviously not kosher if that is important.

I find buying giant condiment containers (like ketchup, mustard, etc.) to be a waste of fridge space.

Given your food budget, it sounds like you will get value out of a membership.
 
#12 ·
If your Costco has a liquor store, you can't beat the prices but some bottles are BIGGG. Silver tequila is 1.75 litres ;-)

Pharmacy items and things like eyeglasses or photo reprints are cheap relative to other stores.
Also Costco has a fair amount of organic stuff, far cheaper than any other store, but you have to find it.

The items they sell on line are not always available in store, but you can return them to the store.

Note that you used to be able to go to any Costco and get a tour or a temporary card or something like that that lets you go into the store to look around before you join. Not sure if this is still available but the basic membership of 55.00 is fully refundable if you try it for a few months.
I have had a friend go to the Costco, tell the guy at the door his wife had the card, and she had come in ahead of him while he parked. He got to walk around the store and check prices and selection. Of course he couldn't buy anything without a card.


Note also that the prices are coded
Prices ending in
.97 are markdowns
.79,. 49, . 89 are special deals
.88 or. 00 are manager markdowns on items not selling well at that store
An asterisk in the top right of the price sign means no reorder.

There are a couple of othrs I can't think of just now.
 
#19 ·
That depends on the store. All the ones in Alberta that I have been to insist on seeing a membership card. Even when I walk in with Costco bags. They will even check for cards with some people going to the returns or membership area.

Of course in their liquor store you don't need a membership.
 
#14 ·
I also recently was happy to discover their oil change prices are far and away an amazing deal compared to dealerships and most anyone else around. An oil change for my Odyssey was only $49 + tax (synthetic). Walmart is $69, the franchise oil change companies $89 and Honda $150-400 depending which 'service' they were trying to force me to get each time. I stuck with Honda until the warranty recently ended and will stick with Costco now.

Overall great for buying higher quality items in bulk for decent prices. Not the cheapest you'll find, but good value most of the time.
 
#16 ·
If your Costco has a liquor store, you can't beat the prices but some bottles are BIGGG. Silver tequila is 1.75 litres ;-)
AFAIK, Costco is not allowed to sell alcohol in Ontario... Only LCBO (except beers and wines, Beer Store and some supermarkets can sell it). I actually usually buy hard liquor in 1,75l bottles, as it cheaper and lasting longer
 
#20 ·
That depends on the store. All the ones in Alberta that I have been to insist on seeing a membership card. Even when I walk in with Costco bags. They will even check for cards with some people going to the returns or membership area.
From what I heard, going to Costco pharmacy ,you don't need to be a member. Didn't try it yet, but want to try...


I just want to see what they sell in store...esp i'm interested in Bison, Lamb & Game Meat and Seafood sections
 
#23 ·
I believe the ' no membership for pharmacy' is an American thing based on their legislation.
The selection varies somewhat from store to store and province to province. I have seen lamb in the stores in Alberta but never any venison or game.( other than bison burgers one time). Some fresh salmon, steelhead trout etc and some frozen fish. Decent prices but selection varies week to week. So if you see it this week it may not be there next week.
The store I frequent has organic chickens, organic ground beef, organic produce, quinoi etc. Expensive compared to non organic but far cheaper than planet organix or the like.
Remember Costco buys in volume and sells with low mark up so likely difficult to source game in the quantities they need.
You will find most stuff is high quality.

They make little profit on each item. In fact it is rumoured that something like 70% of profits are from membership fees.
 
#27 ·
We shop ALOT at costco. We did take an 18 month break to see if it was worth it, and ended up going back for us.

Costco is not always the cheapest if you compare to loss leaders in flyers, but as for an average price their prices are really good. They quality is MUCH. higher than RCSS for meats and produce. There are some things that are consistently cheaper, compared to non sale items at rcss.
Can't speak about that highland farms which we don't have here.

You can order online without a membership except there are a few items for member pricing only and you cannot even f d out the price unless you enter you card number.

We spend on groceries about $1,200 - 1,500 per months, more before holidays, much more before New Year :) ... Buying a lot of meat, fresh/live fish, salads, veggies, fruits, mushrooms ....
For example I like RCSS because they have live trouts , sometimes fresh and cheap salmon...
In Highland farm, I like to buy meat, it always fresh and good quality and veggies/fruits.
And about once per quarter I drive to Yummy Market in Vaughan as they have the best cheeses, kolbasa, salami, smoked salmon ,sturgeon and tons of yummy Russian food :).
I've heard good review about Costco, but never visited .... so just curious if it's worth start going there....
I've seen online pretty interesting things, but not sure if I can buy it in store, and I hate buying food online (want to see and smell before i buy) :).
The problem with Costco that the closest one is 15+ min driving, and RCSS is 2 min driving... Costco with gas is more than 30+ min driving 1 way.... so not feasible
The meat is great at Costco. The only time I don't buy from them is when I decide to put a special order at our a local farm/butcher, but then we are buying $1000 of beef. Seafood is great too, we buy a lot of salmon, tuna, trout, halibut, live mussels. No other live fish froma tank though.

We have found gourmet chanteril mushrooms amount other things, but they are of course seasonal. We get our fruits and veggies between rcss, Costco, farmers market, and my garden .

If your Costco has a liquor store, you can't beat the prices but some bottles are BIGGG. Silver tequila is 1.75 litres ;-)

Pharmacy items and things like eyeglasses or photo reprints are cheap relative to other stores.
Also Costco has a fair amount of organic stuff, far cheaper than any other store, but you have to find it.

The items they sell on line are not always available in store, but you can return them to the store.

Note that

Note also that the prices are coded
Prices ending in
.97 are markdowns
.79,. 49, . 89 are special deals
.88 or. 00 are manager markdowns on items not selling well at that store
An asterisk in the top right of the price sign means no reorder.

There are a couple of othrs I can't think of just now.
.77 means final clear out.

if y
From what I heard, going to Costco pharmacy ,you don't need to be a member. Didn't try it yet, but want to try...


I just want to see what they sell in store...esp i'm interested in Bison, Lamb & Game Meat and Seafood sections
You can go directly to Costco pharmacy. Our friend is a pharmacist there and told is. They have the cheapest prescriptions around. I use them for our reoccurring prescriptions but not the ones I need right away.

The have lambs, but not game meat. The closest they had to bison were the frozen burgers and smokies. The seafood is good, and the have seafood shows a few times a year. Their live muscles are great and cheap.

...Curious about this.... our store seems to be hit or miss on walking in without a card..
But WALKING IN & looking around is one thing.... can you then actually shop & buy something without a card? Don't you have to show your card at the checkouts?
You must have a card to buy through the checkout. You can get someone to get your u a gift card, and then go in to buy stuff. We did this for the months I didn't have my membership. I have heard some locations now have it ipthat you must go to the service desk to get a temporary day card and register.


The game meat is only on line. Haven't bought those items but did buy real Kobe beef once. T arrived quickly and was good.


M recommendation is buy a membership, and in the first year yshe u can get a refund if you don't use it. To onl on the first year though.
 
#29 ·
I can't imagine not getting my money's worth out of Costco personally. You can't get every single item there so it can never be 100% of your grocery shop, but for the stuff you can get prices are typically cheaper than RCSS and way cheaper than the other alternatives. Like others have said, Kirkland products tend to be very high quality at very low prices. Gas is well worth it, although not to the point I would go far out of my way for it.

The cost of a yearly membership is no nominal compared to a normal weekly grocery trip, I just can't understand people who don't get their money's worth out of it.

And then you look at big ticket purchase items, like TVs, computers, tires, furniture, appliances which can often be huge savings at costco, one of those purchases a year will more than cover your membership card.

I don't know if this is still true. But you used to be able to shop at Costco with a costco gift card even if you didn't have a membership card. If that is still true, and you are really bothered by the annual fee, then you could get someone to buy those for you. But it seems like overkill.
 
#31 ·
Costco makes very little sense for singles, for whom buying giant packages of food means a lot of waste or eating the same few things all the time.

For big ticket items, I borrow a friend's membership, which works for them as it helps toward their rebate. I find for big ticket items costco is not necessarily cheaper, but it offers high quality options. Patio furniture is a good example. I don't find Costco all that competitive for electronics, if you are a savvy shopper you can find as good or better deals elsewhere.
 
#32 · (Edited)
I have an executive membership and buy a considerable amount at Costco. For certain items, they are simply unbeatable. For instance, their propane refills are about half of cost of the nearest gas station, saving $10 with each fill. I also like Costco for tires - they always have the lowest price and offer free tire repairs for life (which typically cost around $50). I've saved a few hundred in tire repairs as a result.

I once bought a $300 backyard playhouse for my daughter at Costco and the following week it was on for $100 less. I visited customer service and they refunded me $100.
 
#34 ·
Not worth it and the place is a nightmare of people and traffic. They do have some good stuff and items to buy but it is not worth the membership. It is also a pain that you are limited to their credit card or your bank card. Then there is the pain of getting a membership.

I remember one day going in there and there was so many people at the check out that I put everything back and left the store.

Stress and pain describes what it is like to go to Costco.
 
#36 ·
It appears so. For a long time they only accepted AMex or one of their affliate MC.
As already mentioned, for singles, it's hardly worth the cost of the $50 annual membership.

Their pharmacy is a bit cheaper on some things than most, but unless you're shopping for a big
grocery/meat order, it's not worth the hassles at the checkout counters.

While some of their grocery items may seem like a deal, buying 3-4 loaves of bread bundled together
to get that deal for a single doesn't make good frugal shopping. By the time you are down to 1 or 2 loaves, they are uusally stale.
Ok, at least the 2kg industrial size peanut butter containerkeeps for a long time and if you box a
case of 12 KD, there is a cost saving over individually priced KD at $1.79 at most stores.

I used to shop there when I shared the cost of membership with a friend, but I don't buy the type of
groceries that they offer in larger "family pacs".

So as a single from a frugality point of view (never mind the checkout lineups) a $50 membership really
amounts to about $1.00 of the cost of the membership per week..you can usually save more than that
at the big chain grocery stores buying their specials.
 
#38 ·
That is true, if you are literally a single person living alone, Costco doesn't always make sense. Although a lot of their products come in much more reasonable sizes than they did 15-20 years ago. I mean 3 jars of spaghetti sauce, 4 liters of milk, 1 liter of cream. A lot of their items come in sizes that are pretty normal even for a single person if you eat at home.

It also depends on if you drive, and if you have any extra storage space. If you are in a small apartment I probably wouldn't recommend Costco.
 
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