To have buyer’s regret at Costco?!

[mynamechangemyrules]

I got a discounted (but still a little wedge) membership of Costco via work, joined and now slightly panicking… I am on quite a tight budget and am more used to buying little and often, I hoped I’d save money but it seems to be mostly big ticket items/ fancy foods which we would only get as a treat anyway (eg good value manchego cheese but not really a necessity and I would’ve just bought a little wedge instead as a treat…?!)

AIBU? If so please tell me good buys/ how to use it alongside my ‘normal’ shopping. (Eg is the car section a good discount as I have an old banger who often needs work done?)
AINBU- it’s a waste of membership money, return in in the cool off period (not sure they actually have this but will check!!)

I'm not even a mile away from ours, so I have it for the fuel mostly, but other things I semi regularly buy are meat (not cheaper but better quality), coffee beans, parmesan cheese in a huge hunk, toilet rolls.

Just got membership on Monday through DP's work scheme too. Only had a short 30 minutes look around though as we had to dash off somewhere else, but managed to pick myself up a lovely new pair of Sketchers for £25, which was a great price.

Noticed they had some Levi's for £35 and other branded jeans and sweatshirts too. Picked up a tray of Danish pastries (12 for £7.99) and they were massive and delicious, and the cakes looked amazing (really large ones for £15 and you can get them personalised). They had some great garden items and the wine looked like good value. We'll be heading back in a couple of weeks when we have more time to have a proper look around.

If you're already an Aldi shopper then I suspect that is cheaper than Costco who mostly sell brands for a bit cheaper than Sainsbury etc.

Take a list of items you buy regularly at Aldi then compare the unit cost at Costco and see if you can figure out (1) is it really cheaper and if yes (2) can you afford to buy in bulk and store

I'm in the US, so YMMV, but I get:
Protein shakes and bars
Collagen powder
Creatine powder
Vitamins/supplements
Flour
Sugar
Vanilla
Maple syrup
Bread
Coffee
Frozen fruit/vegetables
Frozen chicken chunks
Canned chicken
Cereal
Yogurt
Cottage cheese
Cat food
Cat litter
Cleaning supplies
Laundry detergent
Fabric softener
Fresh produce
Tofu
Toilet paper
Paper towels

I buy other things based on what's on sale, like snack foods, fresh foods, etc

Things that save me money at Costco are:
Toilet roll
Washing detergent & softener
Chicken breasts
Bacon
Cereal
Panda snacks
Bakery cookies (freeze them)

Getting a big pizza takeaway and take it home - cheaper than a dominoes

We also like but probably not cheaper:
Chicken pakora
Caesar salad kit
Rotisserie chicken wings
Protein drinks
Peanut butter
Nandos sauce
Honey
Nutella
Salmon

It’s no good for us, we have a teeny tiny cottage with only a very small fridge freezer and no storage space. It’s also a 2hr round trip and car is electric.

But my Dad loves it, he is local to one and has a petrol car. He also has many freezers and a family sized home (only him there now) to store things in.

I get him to get me a few things though! I love a visit with him now and again.

It's a cost of living crisis okay😅🤣

It’s nice but definitely not a money saver imo.
we used to call it the hundred pound shop rather than the pound shop. As every time we went in there we’d spend more than we planned on unnecessary crap. Only time I felt it was good was when I had to throw a party and got the food from there.

We only buy things that you don’t use/eat more of because you have loads. Very boring stuff. So not biscuits. 🍪

toilet paper
cleaning stuff
tea bags
pasta
tinned tomatoes

Definitely good for stuff in bulk that lasts. We bought a massive bottle of olive oil a few months ago, to decant. Electricals can be cheaper and it’s great at Christmas.

I’ve also ordered stuff online. Great for petrol too, it’s a decent reduction that I think covers the membership alone.

I'm going next week. On my list is
Washing up liquid
Bin bags
Tuna in brine
Washing pods
Toilet roll
Coffee bags
Part baked bread

Thanks so much everyone. I looked at basic prices of stuff I really welly through and it’s pretty good. I’m going to get the basics most of you mention, plus my kids fave yoghurts and chicken breasts which we get through at a rate as well.

I think because it’s near work I got in the mindset I’d buy on the way home/ use as a supermarket, but if I view it as a cupboard filling once a month thing that seems to work best.

Still wondering whether the garage service would be any good but I think I’ll just give it a go!

thanks all!

This always makes me chuckle if you've ever watched modern family....Mitch discovering Costco! (This a 2 min clip, not the whole episode)

We use it like a day out.
Cheap cafe , free food tasting, some bargains cheap petrol . Go and have a look Op.

Ive not shopped there for ages so this could have changed but just remember that they don’t accept credit cards. You need to pay with a debit card or cash.

We are a family of 6, my youngest is 14 so pretty much all adults. I buy the loo roll, the Kirkland kitchen roll is amazing, tinfoil, loads of meat as No3 is a protein obsessed gym bunny, clothes, cereal (v good value), fruit and veg as we always get through it all, tinned tomatoes, hummus and of course, petrol/diesel. I have the space to store it and the gannets to eat it. I go at least monthly

They do now

Fruit and veg is ridiculously cheap compared to the supermarkets.

If you have freezer storage space, chicken breast and beef mince which you can then portion out.

We buy big packs of toilet roll and kitchen towel. Also six pack of tissues

They do massive boxes of cereal which also work out cheaper. Also pesto and olive oil.

Ariel pods and big bottles of fabric softener

I'm a member but haven't been since last year. We quite like the cafe, well DC do. Bottles of pop would often work out cheaper and we found the ready meals good; the curries, cottage pie etc. Also the birthday cakes on pre-order you do get a lot of cake for your cash!

Difficult to go in and not splash out on things you don't really need, or want!

know the prices of stuff like detergent etc before you go
for me I’m happy with own brand Lidl etc so it’s expensive compared. I also don’t have much storage so that keeps me in check!
The broccoli salad is amazing though

Costco make 2/3 of their profits from the membership fees. Genius business model really.

I would hate shopping somewhere like that. Just the excesses and the cheap food. Sorry but not for me.

What excesses ? a it’s no different to our local butcher having a tray of chicken fillets / thighs , the salmon fillets come in packs of 5/7 etc , cakes are only the same as large cakes in supermarkets . Also as it’s been said the much of the food is not cheap but it is excellent quality .

It's only excess if you wouldn't use the stuff you buy. We only buy products we use anyway, just buy in bulk to save multiple trips to supermarket. It can save quite a bit that way with things like cleaning products, toilet rolls and branded snacks.

As this thread has shown many products like meat and fruit and veg are actually more expensive but far better quality.

It's not a b&M bargains style place, it's a wholesalers.

IMO, having shopped there for many years the products across the board definitely aren't cheap in terms of quality.

They also sell a good range of electrical goods, kitchen/dinner wear, garden goods, children's toys and so much more which also are of good quality.

It's not a buy it cheap stack it high type warehouse, chances are if you've got a local corner shop you use you're purchasing foods from there or a similar type of warehouse.

Their no quibble returns policy is also pretty good too.