Costco

[enzfan]

Never been in one, will be opening just down the road from me in about a month. Anyone shop there? Just wondering if it is worth the membership fee or not.

[Grunch]

I know several people at work that love it, but they say it really is more for families, unless you really want to buy in bulk. Most I've heard like it more than Sam's Club.

[Panorama]

I've been shopping at Costco for many years (since they were Price Club, back in 1992 or so) -- and we love it. They get a lot of my money each year, but I give it freely and get a lot of value for the money.

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[oldmotherhub]

The website is great too. Check it out...




http://www.costco.com/

[hexicon]

We let our membership expire because we found we were wasting too much food. If you shop wisely and avoid impulse purchases, you can save a lot of money, and for the most part the quality is excellent on produce, etc. My friends who enjoy wine say there are good bargains on many varieties (I stuck to the half-racks of Corona). Also, they have a very good return policy, which is nice for electronics and similar items.

All of that said, I really hated shopping there. The shelves stacked to the ceiling, the samples, the sheer overwhelming amount of merchandise seems to turn people into zombies, wandering the aisles, muttering "must consume . . . must consume." Customers are consistently rude under the influence of all this "stuff." And I don't like watching people whose ginormous SUVs hang over the lines of the parking space while their lardy asses hang over their pants load their trunks with cases of Cheetos and gallon jars of candy. Also, if you're not a disciplined shopper, you will find yourself with many things you don't need, just because you think "A ten gallon jar of mayonnaise for $4--how can I pass that up!" (said in Stimpy voice)

When I visited my sister in Amsterdam last year she had me tell all of her Dutch friends Costco big-butted zombie stories like we were kids telling ghost stories around the campfire . . . but she makes me take her there whenever she visits.

P.S. I bet we renew our membership before the end of the year.

[SomebodySomewhere]

Costco is for families and fatties. If you're a big guy who can put down enough food to feed a family, Costco is your place. That said, I stopped going there on account of they stopped carrying the underwear I like. 10 gallon jar of mayonnaise? 20 gallon bag of pork rinds? It's all good, just gimme my damn underwear and let me be on my way.

[WolverineSyr]

Supposedly we're getting one here too. I see that someone mentioned that it's like Sam's (and I assume BJ's). I have a membership to both of them - do you think Costco is cheaper or better?

[My Aural Stimulator]

[quote][i]Originally posted by hexicon[/i]
<br> P.S. I bet we renew our membership before the end of the year.
[/quote]

You crack me up!

I had a membership, but I let it expire, too, as it was not economical for me to drive nearly an hour to save what I'd just spent in gas. However, now that we live much closer to a Costco, we have gotten a new membership. Although there are just two of us, we ask our other friends if there's anything they need while we're making our list, then we split the cost and the goods. It really does save quite a bit when done that way.

[MARV]

I'm a long time CostCo shopper and think it's great. It's true though, you have to be disciplined and really remind yourself why you joined in the first place: to save money. Buying in bulk really does put you ahead and it does eliminate the need for too frequent shopping.

We stock up on products that are storable from tissues to cereal to canned goods and beverages. Incidentally, their house brand, Kirkland Signature which covers a wide range of product categories, is quite good and provides even further value. But I do buy certain produce that I know we go through fast including alot of the fruits and vegetables that I juice. Produce at CostCo is always excellent. If I buy meats or fish from there (also top quality), I separate them into smaller packages I make to make them more managable. Lately I've been buying their shrimp, clams, mussels, scallops.....top notch stuff and super fresh. But CostCo is good for toiletries and (if you have very small children) diapers as well. I've even gotten good deals on cigars. And then there's the liquor section which they keep in a seperate store right next door, again, always a good deal. What office supplies you can find there are usually a good deal also. They don't provide as wide a variety of electronics as say, a Best Buy or Circuit City and if you do find a particular product there, I would suggest comparison shopping to see if you can get the absolute best deal. But to me, electronics, cameras, computers, etc. are categories I can shop online for to save even more money. I know that is'nt for everybody though.

I can see how the sight of some of their clientele can be a bit off-putting but I'm not there to people watch. You see those lard ass / heart disease-in-the-works people all over anyway. My advice? Go there with a list of things you need and stick to it. Think about the shelf life of the products you want to buy, how much room you have to store it all and keep in mind a reasonable rate of consumption this stuff will have when you bring it home. When you're throwing food out, you're throwing money out!

edit: Hey Hex, when my cousin was here from Holland over the summer, I had to take her to CostCo also [:D] What is your sister doing there? Do you all speak Dutch?

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[scramjet]

We live very close to one and shop there often. We only buy certain things. Costco doesn't have the best value on everything. I've made several electronics purchases there as well (camera, small stereo, watch, mp3 player) and been happy. I also bought the leather office chair from which I type this at Costco. My employer reimbursed me. My membership expires next month and I plan to renew.

[hexicon]

[quote][i]Originally posted by marvymarv[/i]
<br>And then there's the liquor section which they keep in a seperate store right next door, again, always a good deal.

I can see how the sight of some of their clientele can be a bit off-putting but I'm not there to people watch. You see those lard ass / heart disease-in-the-works people all over anyway.

edit: Hey Hex, when my cousin was here from Holland over the summer, I had to take her to CostCo also [:D] What is your sister doing there? Do you all speak Dutch?

[/quote]


Hey there Marv,

I WISH we had liquor at Costco. In WA we have a #$%&ing state-run communist liquor system. [}:)]

We don't have any Dutch connections at all. My sis went there for a romance 10 years ago--the relationship didn't last, but she stuck it out, got legal, and now speaks Dutch fluently.

One more Costco story:
I have a friend who has a pair of very sassy twin girls. When they were six, she took them on a Costco run and had to spend the whole trip telling them not to put junk in the cart and lecturing them on the importance of healthy eating. So they're in line and two-ton Tessie pulls in behind them with a load of Chips Ahoy, creme puffs, etc. One of the girls turns to her and says "Perhaps carrots would be a better choice." Needless to say, my friend just about died of embarrassment.

[i_like_lectric_motors]

[quote][i]Originally posted by hexicon[/i]
One more Costco story:
I have a friend who has a pair of very sassy twin girls. When they were six, she took them on a Costco run and had to spend the whole trip telling them not to put junk in the cart and lecturing them on the importance of healthy eating. So they're in line and two-ton Tessie pulls in behind them with a load of Chips Ahoy, creme puffs, etc. One of the girls turns to her and says "Perhaps carrots would be a better choice." Needless to say, my friend just about died of embarrassment.
[/quote]

LOL. Just when I'd given up hope for the younger generation. [8D]

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[MARV]

Hexy: HAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!!!!!!!! That must be the funniest thing I read all year! I agree with your friend. We don't even go near that massive candy aisle or buy cereals that are so heavily sugared. Soda barely enters the house too. We do keep some of it for company and my son does get it as a treat when we go out, are on vacation or special occasions. He often asks, "Is this healthy?" It's very cool - knowledge is everything [:)]

I was going to talk about bringing children to CostCo in my first post but refrained as I did'nt want to bring a little bit of a dire mood into the thread but you really need to be careful with kids there. I've heard of children (hell, adults even) being injured by product falling from those mile high shelves and the families getting nothing more than a letter of apology from CostCo with a little bit of a "well what do you expect in a warehouse" kind of tone. As a matter of practice, my wife and I never bring our kids with us there.

I love Holland. I have dual citizenship and plan on getting the same for my wife and kids.

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[manekineko]

[quote][i]Originally posted by WolverineSyr[/i]
<br>I see that someone mentioned that it's like Sam's (and I assume BJ's).[/quote]

I can never pass a BJ's without smiling. Do you suppose they also sell steak? [;)]

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[beatschool]

I do the CostCo thing about once every three months to stock up on toilet paper, paper towels, cleaning supplies, etc. If you have the storage space to buy in bulk, you definitely save some moolah.

Another reason I keep shopping there is because of how well they treat their employees. Here are a couple of articles about how they are basically the opposite of WalMart.

http://www.buyblue.org/node/75

http://www.reclaimdemocracy.org/article ... lmart.html

I appreciate any company that takes the time to train their employees properly and rewards them w/reasonable salaries and benefits.