Why is Costco so expensive?!

I agree about the cakes.

But there's a lot more than just upf stuff.

We buy fresh meat, fish, dairy, fruit and veg, pasta, rice, flour, tinned toms, chickpeas, lentils, toiletries etc.

Plus other random things like potting compost, batteries, A4 paper.

Being able to buy in bulk in one place is very convenient.

Some things are so much cheaper than the standard supermarket. Cod loin for example in a third off Tesco price. The meat and fruit are far better quality.

What are you buying in the Chinese import tut shop B&M that you actually eat? They are an awful company. Terrible employment practices, ripped off the country during Covid taking millions in relief then issuing dividends to its owners, currently being sued for ripping off other companies. I’d starve before I set foot in there. They thought they could come to my pretty little town and compete with Tesco and Waitrose. They are currently laying off staff. Hopefully it won’t be too long before they retreat to where they came from.

We choose it for the quality of the products. Off the top of my head, bin bags both the black ones and the white bin liners. Cling film and tin foil. We also buy meat, chicken, fish, eggs, milk, cheddar cheese and tinned stuff from them.

We have been members for about 20 years, have default items we get every time and I price check every couple of years but think some things are just better from there the same way I feel about some Aldi or Asda products. It is personal taste and choice.

We also have our fuel from there. We are on a 2% cashback so never pay for membership so it doesn't actually cost us anything. Their 5 year guarantee on a TV we bought came in handy when the on/off button died at 2 1/2 years in. Fixed it then rang me to ask how good the company they used was.

I have a pantry and a larder freezer in that pantry (also a fridge freezer in the kitchen) so buying in bulk is not an issue for me. We divide up the huge packs of chicken breasts, vacuum pack and freeze them. Plus we have storage for things like toilet roll and tissues.

Cheap supermarkets and offers/bogofs in normal supermarkets are generally cheaper than cash n carry’s these days. I’ve got clients who have shops, cafes, takeaways, guest houses etc who shop at Aldi, B&M, Tesco, etc rather than proper wholesalers like Booker and Costco for lots of the stuff they need. Booker is really only good for alcohol and cigarettes these days or stuff that supermarkets don’t sell such as cheap/unpopular brands/flavours of crisps, soft drinks or catering size packs of stuff, etc. Anything mainstream is cheaper for businesses to buy in supermarkets. One of my clients has a convenience store and spends hundreds of pounds at Home Bargains, Tesco, Aldi, B&M every week buying stuff that’s cheaper than wholesalers. Of course he sells it higher price in the shop, but if he bought at Bookers he’d have to sell it even higher! If you go to any supermarket first thing in a morning you’ll see traders with full trolleys, typically bread rolls, crates of soft drinks, etc who are stocking up for catering vans. Wholesalers are typically too expensive for lots of small business types and these days rely more on domestic customers especially with the drastic reduction in small businesses like shops and guest houses over the past few decades.

I don't know why people rave about Costco cakes - they are vile, over sweet and probably a danger to health as so big you get given a huge portion.
I had a card used it once but not impressed

Which one is your favourite? I like Still Creek or downtown.

I think that it's very good quality, meat, fish, fruit and veg in particular. I also think it's cheaper than like for like, although probably not cheaper than the real cheap stuff.

It's also about convenience, we go once every 4 to 6 weeks and then only have to do small top up shops in-between at our local butchers and greengrocer.

And every April we get money back, sometimes into the hundreds of pounds.

It's not that it's cheaper, but about quality.

I always think of it as Waitrose quality at Tesco prices. (Obviously, this isn't exact, but it's representative.)

I just like being able to buy bin bags that don't rip and kitchen roll that you can soak in water and it doesn't desintigrate.

To save money you need to shop when things are on offer, which doesn't always work as people don't always have the space for it.

We're a big family and we save a fortune on toilet rolls, breakfast cereals, diluting juice, fizzy juice, liquid soap, chopped tomatoes, beans, ketchup/mayonnaise, fruit cheese and yoghurt.

For everything bar the last three we only buy when they're on offer though.

I'm happier bulk buying their toilet roll, kitchen roll, bin bags, washing powder etc a few times a year than regularly having to remember it in the regular food shopping.

As my username suggests

Some things are cheaper , some are not but the quality is generally excellent . We have the room for bulk buying loo rolls , kitchen rolls etc .

We have the higher price membership that pays for itself because we shop there often enough. We also look out for deals on furniture/home stuff. Works out cheaper for us in total. We get very specific things from there. All of it is great quality lasts a long time so the supplementary supermarket shop is cheaper and less frequent. Once in 4-6 weeks. Fruit/milk as and when it's required. We have the space to store stuff. We go at the start of every month. We don't buy the fruit and veg from there as there's so much in their packs they go off before we get a chance to finish it off.

I'm in Vancouver, Canada and do most of my shopping at Costco. On average you get about 1/3 more for the price. If you don't waste then you are saving.

The petrol is worth the membership. We swing by the shop every month or so andhave a regular list of things we buy, it includes toilet roll, maple syrup, cat litter, the rotisserie chicken, cans of tuna, frozen fish. Occasionally we will buy something in the middle bit - like a pair of Levi's. All of this is really good value, but lots in there isn't.

I’ve always known it’s not cheaper, I just like going because they have stuff you can’t get elsewhere easily

Yes, the foil is also really good! We’ve been members for years and have learned what to buy and what not to buy. I wouldn’t give up my membership for the bin bags alone!

Foil and cling film, last years.
Foil about £14 for 200m, compared to Tesco own brand £4 for 30m. Costco foil is fantastic quality.
I agree you need to know supermarket prices as bulk doesn't mean cheap on food items.

Went this week and got a Crew Clothing mens shirt for £8.40, original price on CC website £60

I go for coffee beans and petrol and also usually end up feeling sick after tasting the mixture of samples.

Yes and this. It used to be worth it for us just on fuel savings (have an electric car now).

You don’t actually go for the savings. You go to think you are saving money but also the unexpected joy of finding yourself with a life size Santa model or a slip and slide too long for your garden

Their petrol is insanely cheap.

I gave up my membership as I found it expensive.

I do miss the cafe, the hot dogs, the pizza, chilli baked potato, the ice cream.

We find even the cash and carry / wholesalers are more expensive than places like homebargains for some of the items we stock and sell let alone Costco.