to ask you about Costco?

[Persimmons123]

I live in London, there is one not too far but definitely not close by, I keep thinking that I should get a membership, but I do not want to if it's not worth it. I looked at the website and I have one of the professions mentioned, so the membership should not be a problem. I have other supermarkets and independent shops close by, I sometimes buy food on Amazon, so it's not like it's that or nothing. I also like buying organic food or food that I know come from countries where animal welfare is of a high standard and fruit/veggie might have some vitamins and minerals left in it. I have a standard-sized family, so it's not that I need to buy 15 bottles of washing up liquid at a time.

And yet I can't get it out of my head! Please help me choose by telling me what you buy there. Thank you!

The sushi is decent - itsu / wasabi level, not restaurant, but good enough for lunch

If you have a big family or a party coming up it’s great. Lots of decent fruit and veg that lasts. Or if you go with someone else and split the packs. The meat is decent, lots of things to bulk buy (I don’t use this as have subscriptions that deliver in bulk), but good for catering a big party. I think the alcohol is overpriced.

We have the executive membership and for some reason got out of the habit of going but we went last week to stock up a bit. Mainly on meat.

DH is a retired accountant so definitely keeps an eagle eye on the prices and this time he reckoned we made a lot of savings. But we have space to store multi packs of tins of coconut milk or tuna.

A couple of years ago I assumed it would be cheaper for champagne at Christmas but in fact Sainsbury’s would have been cheaper. So you do need to keep an eye on it.

We mainly use Ocado lately and DH had the Ocado app open in his phone and was checking prices as we went around.

It's definitely cheaper than supermarkets if you factor in the sizes of the products , especially things like toilet rolls are worth it alone.

Thank you all, this is very helpful. We have an electric car so petrol price does not work for us. I was also wondering how to take the children given that there would be only two cards - myself and my husband. I guess the best bet would be to get someone to take me, or phone them and see whether I can go once before choosing. Also, I didn't know about the YouTube videos, checking them now!!

Children don’t count as one of the 2 guests.

They also have member deals on pretty much anything you can think of - solar panels, garden rooms, cruises, cars etc - in case you fancy an infra red shower sauna or a paddle board or an ATV 😂

Currently on my Costco list; cheese, dates, milk, eggs, butter, toothbrushes, coffee, yeast. It’s 20 minutes away and where I start my weekly shop.
We’re a family of 2.
Your children don’t need an ID, just you and to let you know the person who pays must match their ID. You can’t borrow or lend out your card easily.

The problem is sticking to your list, you go in with the intent to buy XYZ and come home with the entire alphabet.

Our membership cost about £33 and I go about twice a year because it's almost an hour from us. If it were closer I'd go more often. I buy essentials like toilet roll, bin bags, laundry detergent, fairy liquid, their cakes and bakery section is great, they do good Christmas wrapping and chocolate gifts, they even do okay clothes, sunglasses. Last week I got a tv! They do a good selection of toys and books. It's definitely worth trying but I wouldnt go if you only want to save money. Everything is very good quality.

We get cat food, passata, nuts, water, falafels, regularly as well as all the other household things that people have mentioned. If you buy saver items from normal supermarkets it's not worth it but if you usually buy branded items then it works out cheaper. Good offers on tyres. DP had some really cheap Levis.
If you have the more expensive Executive membership it can pay for your card because you get money back. My mum has the second card and between us we spend enough so that the bonus voucher pays for the yearly membership (with some left over).

They also have interesting things you never knew you needed. My friend came with me as she needed falafels and batteries; we left with a canoe strapped to the roof! She used it a couple of times, sold it for £100 more than she paid and the buyer still thought he'd got a bargain.

So with the executive membership do you get points on all purchases or only during some events?

Everything except petrol. This is where friends come in handy. I've taken a few in to do Christmas shopping and if they spend a few hundred pounds it helps with the bonus.

I have the 26 pound membership (or roughly that) I only get down about once or twice a year, but there’s so much I love, I basically use it for bulk buying for the freezer and to meal prep stuff for the freezerThe cauliflower base pizzas are amazing.

I have one bnearish to me, I go past it 3 or 4 times a week, getting petrol once a week from Costco makes it worth it.

@Fgfgfg 😂 at the canoe! Brilliant!

The first time I went our neighbour took me. I went a bit mad and had a full trolley. Then got to the car and realised we had to get two full trolleys of stuff into her car!

The clothes can be good. I get great leggings there. My best gym leggings are from there.

I bought some nice crystal wine glasses a while ago and DH rolled his eyes. Then he looked them up and went back and bought 12 more!

I like a lot of the Kirkland products, but in general I find it very expensive so I don't go.

Even buying things in bulk, it's all branded, whereas I generally buy supermarket own brand for most stuff, so it works out a lot more expensive.

Last time I went I ended up with a small selection of stuff in the trolley....then put it all back as it was just so much more expensive than usual supermarket.

It’s not really worth it unless you like their brand as you can just wait for supermarket offers.

My DH has a membership but we have an 18 month old so it's fab for bulk buying nappies, laundry detergent and softener as we get through lots! Also I drink squash like it's going out of fashion so we bulk buy that, also toilet roll and the odd treat like massive pots of pistachios etc.

Means also that when I do the food shop on my own whilst DH is at work, I don't have to struggle up the stairs to our 1st floor flat with toddler and heavy bags with bottles of laundry stuff, drinks etc.

Saying that, we do have a large flag with a few big storage cupboards so we have space to put it.

Another shout out for Costco clothes. I have so much from there and the teens love the cheap Adidas and Levi’s and Underarmour basics. My best knickers and socks are Costco.
Their tuna steak is the best (pack of 12). Cakes and catering for big events. Wouldn’t be without it.

Current regular Costco buys:

Washing liquid, dishwasher tablets, bin bags, ziplock bags, cling film, baking paper, foil, paper towel, coffee beans, olive oil, vegetable oil, cat litter.

When the kids were younger we bought a lot of things that go in packed lunches like small juice cartons, peanut butter, cereal etc

We love Costco and probably go every 5-6 weeks.
Our faves: toilet paper, kitchen rolls, tissues, laundry liquid, dishwasher tablets, fabric softener, lurpak, chicken thighs, pork chops, salmon steaks, Weetabix, almonds, pistachios, Bonne Maman jam, eggs, dips, cheeses, Barolo wines, part baked ciabattas, bread to name a few
Lots of bargains in the clothes aisles too eg Levi’s, Underarmour, Nike. Slippers. Cheaper face creams eg L’Oréal and deodorants and shower gels. Whiskey and other spirits also cheaper
Electricals well priced too get our TVs from there and a laptop too.
Our sofas and garden furniture are also from Costco as are our window shutters.

Family of 5 here and I think it’s well worth it. We get the salmon, packs of bagels (which can be frozen!) 1.5kg bags of chicken tenders as well as the petrol which is cheaper than anywhere else. It’s handy for busier times in the year for us (Ramadan & Eid) but also large family get togethers.

We go to Costco every few weeks it’s definitely worth it for us and the mince pies are worth the membership on their own . We use the Kirkland ( own brand ) toilet rolls and kitchen rolls which are equal to any others on the market . I agree that not everything is cheaper but the quality of most stuff is excellent - the salmon and smoked haddock fillets are much nicer than usual supermarket . I’ve recently bought a mattress online through them and the same one was £400 more on the manufacturer’s website at the time .

It’s £31 (and some change) for a membership which entitles you to visit the warehouse. The online only membership is £15

@Persimmons123Children don’t count as guests so you can take both kids and your husband and only need one card unless your DH wants his own