Talk to me about Costco?

[Mykittensmittens]

I can get a membership based on DHs work.

I'm weighing up if it’s worth it - the nearest store is 30 miles away but I do pass by it with work once a month or so, so not necessarily making a journey specifically.

we have a decent sized garage and lots of empty plastic storage tubs. I was specifically thinking of stocking up on items I repeat buy in Lidl/aldi and wondering if it’s genuinely better economy to do this via Costco?

ie pasta, tinned tomatoes, tinned fish, long life juices, squash, I think mostly ‘pantry’ type foods.

the store in question is Derby if that makes a difference (it doesn’t look huge)

thanks

I think it is expensive.
Good quality, but you won't save money by shopping there.
I have a trade membership, and pop in for things a few times of year for special occassions. I buy petrol there too which is the cheapest around.
I like their clothing too.

They also do crack in a jar (otherwise known as pistachio spread)

I need to talk to someone about this please.

I get it free with work and use it for petrol, birthday cakes, bakery type stuff for work, great for party food and decent prices for toys at Christmas

Outdoor clothes and shoes are great
cheap good quality underwear and socks too
good for gifts - children’s toys etc
soft drinks and cleaning equipment cheaper
fresh food is great, fruit, big sacks of spuds and onions
we mainly for the baby formula works out about 4 quid a tub cheaper

The pistachio spread is absolutely amazing. I can definitely confirm that is is 100% crack in a jar.

Amazing on toast, in cakes and just on a teaspoon!

If he has a Defence Discount Card there is an offer on at the moment to get £20 of vouchers back when you join for 30 odd quid fee, available until end November.

If he doesn't have a card, he can apply online and it comes through quite quickly. The card costs £5 for 5 years and is run by the same people as Blue Light Cards and has broadly similar offers.

Just realised that sounds confusing. With a £5 DDS card, you can join Costco for around £30 and get £20 of vouchers back.

They have a guarantee on the membership, so if you decide to cancel it you can get your money back. So you could just join and see if its useful for you. Their return policies are generally really good and everythint is decent quality. Also for forces card/blue light membership they have an offer where you get a £10 shopping voucher when you join.

Probably not what you're asking but I'd just like to add that I find all the staff incredibly friendly helpful and happy.

Brum branch is my local. It's great. Only downside is the queue to get to the cheap fuel - it's inevitable that there's a few nobbo queue jumpers generally audis which is infuriating.

One Costco is much the same as the other ime.

We buy: Chicken breasts, cook chickens, muffins, cheese, meatballs, butter, eggs, dog food, sausages, tinned Toms, sweet chilli sauce, vitamins, non food items such as books and socks, steaks, hummous, bin bags, baking paper, lovely Christmas chocolates, Weetabix minis.

All these things either work out cheaper or better quality for similar price.

Honestly, it’s like £30 for the year. Get the membership and next year if you haven’t used it then cancel it.

I have one and like it for tinned tomatoes and coffee beans mainly. Fuel is decent too. If you don’t have a lot of storage space it’s going to be frustrating as it’s only cheaper for a lot of things because it’s in bulk. Most of the fresh foods are not cheaper and tbh I don’t buy a lot of the other stuff because prepackaged American foods are just not nice IMO.

It is huge. It’s great, I love Costco. But bulk buying branded beans such as Heinz or Branston will never be as cheap as Aldi.

Costco is one of my favourite days out, but I’ve never gone and spent less than £200-£300.

I love Costco and I go there every 4-5 weeks and I’m very lucky to have one in my city and only 15 minutes drive from my house. It saves me a lot and also fuel is cheaper

But you get more from Costco

If it's a Costco with a petrol station you could probably save the cost of the membership by filling up once a month when you are driving past anyway. Everything over and above that either as a saving or access to things you wouldn't otherwise have access to would then be a bonus.

We have a Tim Hortons just opened opposite the Derby Costco. No idea if it's any good!

The poster on about the mash... was it the one in the blue packet?? Nooo, is that gone?? 😞

I agree about going in & not spending less than £150! It just happens!
The part baked baguettes are really good value 6 for £1.99 & they last for months. The fresh pesto (about £6) is really good & a good big sized pot, ignore the best before label, it's good for ages after that 😂
Tinned tomatoes another good buy as is lurpak, double cream & milk.
Also the DKNY underwear two bras for £11,
The sheepskin boots are an absolute steal too.
Costco is well worth it in my opinion but I also live very close to one.
The petrol is really good too.

One thing they are outstanding on is customer service. I bought sofas which collapsed after 16 months. They collected them & refunded me in full no messing. you know if you buy something from Costco you'll be fine if it goes tits up.
Their diamonds are gorgeous too!

I know you weren't asking me but is that the Idahoan potato mash? If so then yes it's gone and yes it was blimming delicious. I used it at Easter 2018 as we were having family round so took a chance on it. So many compliments on it for which I took full credit 🤣. We had a clear out last year of all the cupboards and found a lone sachet dated January 2019 which I used up for a fish pie and it was as good as ever. Must've been there 3 or 4 years. 😳
I still look for it but it's been ages since they last had it in. If they ever stop the baklava selection trays I will riot.

You can buy Idahoan Mashed potatoes on Amazon. I might try it!

options hot chocolate is definitely cheaper, as is fairy washing liquid ( like the smell)

there avocado are good quality

there fuel is 5 p cheaper if they sell petrol in derby, so worth topping up

br careful with bough as you could spend on stuff you don’t need very easily

The bamboo socks (8 pairs for under £11) and they sell a brand of PJs Caroline K(something) they've gone up this year to around (£17) but are so soft and wash perfectly.
I spend around £300 every couple of months. I always buy loo roll, kitchen roll and bottled water (Kirkland brand) is 40 bottles for around £3.
Be careful if VAT needs to be added (it's there in the smaller print.) The petrol is currently £1.53 so really cheap.
I feel like I'm losing the will to live after I've inevitably been in there two hours but yes it's worth it to me.

is the petrol the same price across the country?

It's the £100 shop. Last time I went, I accidentally spent £25 on cheese.
I have a card paid through work. Costco is invaluable at Christmas, the gifts and wrapping paper is really good.

We have a few staples that we stock up on; toilet roll, kitchen roll, coffee beans, chicken tenders. I really rate the quality of stuff there but lidl is better value.

I only came on to say this! We’ve already gone through one pack and have one in the freezer (they freeze very well).

We also buy toilet roll, big packs of washing powder, fabric softener, cleaning products, tea, coffee, Robinsons squash, sometimes alcohol and other soft drinks.

we’ve stopped buying ready made food from there as there is often a lot of wastage from the big packs as there’s only 3 of us and they often can’t be frozen although they are nice.

I don't know around the country, but the one nearer to me the Petrol/diesel is about 10p a litre cheaper then garages around it.

The best thing do is to know the prices by weight/size so you can compare whether it is cheaper. Although you also have to look at the quality as Costco items are often much better quality then other supermarket food.