Costco

I think so. I buy stuff like cliff bars by the case and big packages of almonds. Toothpaste six tubes at a time. Stuff that has a shelf live and will get used eventually. But its really valuable when you buy the bigger stuff, like televisions, tires, or patio furniture.

We didn't join until we bought a house and had the space to store 16 rolls of toilet paper and such. But its a good value, and unlike Sams (IMO) they only buy stuff that is of decent quality. We go Costco probably monthly, and still have to do weekly grocery trips. But I think it does save us money.
 
I think it is. Their quality of meat is light years better than HEB. Also, if you are a big tailgater, it makes alot of sense to get a memebership (paper towels, plates, food, etc).
 
I'd say yes. You get great discounts on beer, wine, electronics, clothing, and other stuff that you don't necessarily need to buy in bulk.
 
No.

Unless you have a large family or a small business, it is not worth it. You just end up buying things in bulk that either 1) you don't need or 2) you don't need to buy in bulk.

They sell other random items like car tires and mattresses... but honestly, how often do you need to buy these things... and if you look hard enough you'll find the same great deals elsewhere.
 
It is absolutely worth it.

Sierra Nevada for $4.75 per six pack.

I calculated that I saved enough money on coffee beans (a little less than $4.00 per pound, and they are great quality and roasted right there in the stores) alone to pay for my annual membership.

And don't you live with at least two women, MrMyke? It seems like the savings on the industrial sized toilet paper would make up the annual cost of membership.
 
It's definitely worth it for most people. As an example, savings on one set of tires will more than cover the annual fee for a couple of years. And check into their AmEx cards which allow you to save even more.
 
You can always split the membership with a friend. You get at least 2 membership cards, its just that any rewards go to the primary account holder.
 
OK, I'm sold.
2 items that I spend a LOT of money on are beer, coffee, and wine.
3....no, 3 items that I spend a lot of money on are ...
I'll come in again.
 
It is so damned irritating to pay a fee to shop at a store. I went in there to join, but got mad and left. I might have to force myself to join. I think it was $75 or something. Every year.
 
Shopping at Costco.com is awesome too. Much better selection than the stores. They must have a warehouse in Texas because ground UPS has come the NEXT DAY twice.
 
Definitely worth it - I go there to stock up on baby formula, protein bars and wine. Lots of other good stuff there, too.
 
I despise shopping but enjoy going there.

Its just my wife, a dog, two cats and myself in our house.
Definitely worth it.
 
Just to pile on I also enjoy going to Costco. We have the executive membership ($100 per year). We use the Costco American Express card and buy our gasoline there. On the America Express card for last year we charged $29,000 and got a $370 rebate check from Costco/Amex. The gas is generally about 10 cents a gallon cheaper.

Plus for some reason I like the Costco store we go to. It is lighter and brighter and clean and plenty of room to make it down the isles.
 
We are members too. Just me and my wife. It made sense after we got the house b/c we had more room to store stuff. I do find that they have alot of stuff I have no interest in that people seem to fawn over. Whatever. I was looking at a printer/fax combo and some lady walked over saw it and put it in her cart. Total impulse buy. But a nice $250 impulse buy. I ended up buying a Lexmark at Circuit City and shopped around; this lady buys the 1st thing she saw. But you see that quite a bit with Costco shoppers. It's like if Costco has it, it must be good.

But that said, I got 1 time every 2-3 weeks. We buy bottled water there. I drink filtered water when at home from the fridge but I take 1 every day on my way to work (finish it before I get there) and we take them on trips, when working around the house, outside. We go through the waters quickly. It is $4.80 for a 35 pack, CONSIDERABLY cheaper than HEB. We probably get our membership back on just water alone. Their beer prices and wine prices are stellar also. Their regular Shiner price (and Miller Lite, I know some don't like it but I drink both) is the same as HEB on sale. And it is the same price always.

I also bought 4 Michelin SUV tires. Got the best ones they had for an SUV. I compared it to Discount Tire and it was $5 per tire cheaper, had roadside hazard free AND there was no line. Discount Tire is like a 2 hour wait. Costco, I'm the only one there for tires. And their hours are great for tires. I got home one Friday evening and my wife came inside and said "I think you have a flat". I went out there and I could hear hissing from one of my tires. It wasn't flat yet and it was like 7pm. I drove to Costco and they fixed it in 15 minutes. I was back home by 8pm. Had this been Discount Tire, they would have been closed already. I would have had to change my tire in the morning and wait in line forever at Discount Tire. Instead, I was home by 8pm and watching tv drinking a beer.
 
I find that you can't go there looking specifically for something. Examples:

I wanted a specific bottle of wine. They had it, but it was a HUGE bottle.

I wanted to buy diapers, but Pampers fit our kids better. Costco only sells Huggies.

If you are particular about your shopping, you will probably be disappointed. If you don't have a large house, or alot of store space or an extra freezer to store things, you will be disappointed.

that said, i find the cuts of meat there outstanding and inexpensive; have probably recouped my $50 membership fee from that alone.
 
i like it because it means less **** i have to carry home from the grocery store. if i buy the double large packets of cheese, i don't have to buy cheese at the store for a month or two. same with water, dr. pepper, etc.
 
My family consists of 5 people (two adults and 3 kids) and 90% of our shopping is at Costco. I have the executive membership ($100) and I get more than that in payback. So, membership is free.

The deal with Costco is that it is good quality at cheap price with two conditions; in bulk and fewer choices. For example, WalMart carries more than 100,000 items, whereas Costco carries about 10,000 items. Pretty much everything has only 2-3 choices, whereas WalMart may have dozens.

I don't mind having fewer choices because what they have is what I like anyway. I can't imagine paying more for cereal, rice, fruits, paper, electronics, cosmetics, etc. So what if I have to buy two huge bottles of shampoo? It'll get used eventually.

I take care of size by buying one item at a time. For example, instead of buying oranges and watermelons, I buy only oranges (about 20 lb) and we eat oranges for a week. Next week, we buy and eat watermelons and the next, pears.
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Shopping at Costco is one way to afford living with family in Silicon valley.
 
---The deal with Costco is that it is good quality at cheap price with two conditions; in bulk and fewer choices---

AeroHorn Pretty much summed it up. I am pretty particular; I don't think i could eat 20 lbs. of Oranges all week. Kudos!
 
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