Looking at outfitting a house. Also family of 5. Is the membership worth it? Been decades since I have been in a Costco.

Yes. I am a fan

Always crowded so if you can work with that a great value.

yes...bob

Depends on how far the drive or boat ride is but yes!

Keep an eye on the tools, propane tanks etc.

Costco has the best deals on hearing aids.

Definitely worth it, for the food if nothing else. Good meat and seafood is very hard to come by in regular stores here. Costco has loads. Some of their clothing has been excellent as well. I have a fleece shirt and poly filled vest that are at least 25 years old and just soldier on. Picked up a beautiful leather jacket for maybe $100 years ago. Comparable ones I’ve seen were $300-$400. Mostly these days I just order coffee and other edibles online and get free shipping.

Just go there and get a guest pass and see for yourself.

PS Definitely the best deal around on eyeglasses.

If you're furniture shopping, COSTCO has high quality stuff at good prices. But if you're after cheaper stuff, then buy local.

GF had a membership for 5 years. Total trips made to Costco, cumulatively in those 5 years is less than 10.

Hard to say I guess.

Good I wanted to hear that.

Once I close on it, I will have an empty house I need to fill up. I am sooo far out of the loop on down south stores.

Hoping for one stop shopping.

Utah

Go Sunday morning & everyone's in church.....(:

Although its a 2 hr drive.......have to do multi task trip

Just peruse costco.com and you will see the pricing. Wayfair is cheaper, but the quality is not near what Costso sells.

Most furniture is available from online sellers so you can shop without leaving home.

We have one and use it for a family of 8. Costco is a great place to buy bulk'ish and they meat they have it typically better than you get in the grocery store. Especially the pork.

Just the rotisserie chicken make it worth the trip.

Every time i put a truck on the ferry to Kodiak i have to stop at COSTCO in ANC and get booze for people. I feel like a bootlegger. It's half what booze costs in Kodiak. Things like olive oil and spices are much cheaper too

Member of Sam’s and Costco, if you buy in bulk at all, both are better than regular store, Costco is better, better products, better, cleaner people, think what you save on food alone.

Hearing Aids.

did you buy in the valley?...bob

W side

Took us a few trips to figure that out!

Always get 2 at least ..

They sell some stuff at a loss to bring in customers. A few items that I know about are the rotiss chicken, holiday pumpkin pies, and the entire food court. There are others.
They always have the cheapest gas in town. The local one doesn't sell diesel. I wish they did.
I've bought a lot of clothes there. They have a very limited selection at very low prices. If you find something you like, buy several because when they're out, most likely they'll never carry it again. A few years ago they had 100% merino long sleeved t-shirts for $20. I bought 8 which was all they had in my size. They're great but never to been again.

Definitely worth it.

Costco CitiCard.

The wool socks rock.

Each trip save about $.20 a gallon on gas, almost always get the $1.50 hot dog before shopping, saved a bunch on phone deal that will pay for membership for several years. $200 off on set of tires for 1 day. I am a low end purchaser but it still pencils out in my favor.

There’s a Costco 1.5 hrs from me.
Sams club is closer.

Prefer Costco.

As others have said, either what they have is better quality for same price. Or same quality for cheaper VS Sams Club.

You can find deals on clothing there.
Recently started buying vitmanins. Better deals than Sams.


$1.50 drink and hotdog is a must…

Didn’t care for the new $10 roast beef sammich. Some kinda funky sauce on it.

Meh.....

Costco is the best

Don't go on Saturday and you'll be fine. If you do go on Saturday, just be full up on patients. It's sample day, it will be wall to wall "blue hairs" and their old man will be impatiently waiting with the cart, hoggin up the isle, mumbling to himself. It will be a lot like bristoe wandering around his yard.

Sam's Club is walmart in bulk.




This is reason enough to go. Lunch for you family for $15 Or the pizza...

I actually don't think it's that good.

It's handy I guess.


You can beat their prices easy if you shop around a little. Kind of like Amazon.

You don't have to be a member to use their pharmacy. Apparently a federal law says all pharmacies have to sell to anyone, memberships not allowed. You do have to be a member for hearing aids and glasses.

If you have a store close by, it’s worth it.

If you want to outfit a new house, you may not find everything but they carry a lot of stuff. It just changes and not always available.

I will say the quality has slipped. Their T-shirt’s used to be awesome. They are a bit thinner now. They used to carry a good merino poly blend base layer. They are now cheaper, mostly poly. Same with a lot of stuff there now.

Still beats the pants of Sams.

Some great bottles of wine under $10 too!

We joined for the wool....and were quite disappointed.


We are super ballin members now....with access to "online"?

Going to see if that works out as they could ship to us.

Thumbs up.....love the place.

big Costco fan

they shut our favorite one down so we started going to a closer one that is always packed.

At the same time that happened, my job offered Sam's memberships for $14, so I grabbed one.

I was surprised at how close it is. The premade foods are better at Costco and higher end Kirkland Brand stuff is still better

but Sams is 10 minutes from the house, its never crowded and they have some items we prefer over Costco

so we're still going to go to both but there is nothing convenient about going to our local Costco.

for everyday bulk items we'll be going to Sams, for things like Olive Oil, premade meals, tires, etc it will be Costco.

Sams has the $5 chicken (although they are a bit smaller), $1.50 hotdogs and $8 carryout pizzas.


YMMV

They built the one here about 30 years ago. They didn't plan for today and their parking lot is way too small. You have a choice of driving around and around looking for someone to leave or walking a long way. When I have my crew cab long bed pickup, I prefer to park in the next county and walk.

Not here...........

I've had Sam's and Costco. Make mine Costco, especially their hearing aids.

Costco quality (Kirkland vs Makers Mark) is much better IMO.

Not in Utah...

150 miles to Costco from here. We hit it every time we are in Anchorage for other reasons, if they are open. My wife likes the redeye flights tho....

Hardly ever drop less than $300 there. More often in the $600 and up range.

When we lived in Kotzebue (8 years) , I'd make a trip home here every few weeks to check the place. On the way back, I'd hit Costco and fill up my 3 free cooler "bags". 50# each. Got pretty good at it too. On the airport scales they never went under 48, sometimes I'd have to take a pound or two out and "coat carry" it. Always planned on a couple small items on top for that. Plus my carry ons, and coat (big pockets!). I could get 200 # of groceries to Kotz for free (even more so when I was an Alaska air employee, flying free standby.). Pack the coolers up in the Costco parking lot before going to the airport.

Groceries were a third cheaper, at least, at Costco, than in Kotz, and stuff available there not available in Kotz.

The best example I remember was a box of Milkbone. $30 in Kotz, $11 at Costco.

We are members, indeed!

There was a meme on here a while back, about buying a beach towel at Costco.

It was about 20 x 40 feet in size.

Their credit card works well for me and I just got a check for $700 cash back........gas is $.60 cheaper than Delta.....I recently got a nice leather recliner for $500.

Costco is pretty good. Better than Sams. Their refrigerated Breaded Chicken Nuggets are great.

They have good employees. Its a breath of fresh air going to a store and have a damn employee actually be helpful and knowledgeable. Despite the lines and crowds the checkout is fast and friendly.

Here's another small example: I decided to try that Relaxium sleep supplement. On TV, it's a required subscription, and they charge $60 for 60 capsules. Was shopping in Costco and spotted Relaxium on the shelf. Exact same product. 80 capsules for $18, and on sale for $15.

It's good stuff, btw. I do in fact sleep better with it. YMMV

Costco is made for large families or group functions because everything comes in extra large size and mostly multi-packs. If you need 64 ounces of chili powder, it's great.

I like Costco a lot.

Their eyeglasses are great too.

you don't have to be a member to buy alcohol at a Costco liquor store but not all stores have one

Don't even have to try that in AK. I doubt you could beat their prices anywhere in AK.

OTOH even in TX they are convenient place to get bulk stuff and we do a few times a year. Pretty simple really. And the pricing, well time invested, driving to multiple stores probably, probably a wash.

good info. Just like I figured. Nothing that bothers me and will keep going with them when we have the chance.

Like it ! Unbelievable price on batteries, aaa and such .

Costco… the cheese isle is my kryptonite.

Lots of bedding type products — depending on which store you go to. Mattress prices are fantastic. Great prices on freezers, refrigerators, appliances IF YOU PAY ATTENTION.

Wife does an easy 80% or our shopping at costco. Works well with having their credit card that pays cash back once a year. We pay it off each month so no down side there.

Forgot about customer and society changes in recent couple years, a friend found a loaded .45 in parking lot then offered it to me. Would love to have it but no thanks.
Seems like last week heard of shooting at store on westside of state.
Now when I go, must be on guard with questionable characters in parking lot or in store.

Cheese aisle (not correct spelling ) kryptonite to a Dutchman?

Who'd a thunk it.

I have to stock up on the Jarlsberg and Peccorino Romano when I'm in the brick and mortar places.

Here, I just shop online, 3 hr or more drive to the nearest one, and they're all overcrowded, unlike the one in Clarkston WA.

Don't need them for gas here. We have Injuns selling that here.

Jim, If they ship to this remote outpost I can't see it being a problem for you. Bear in mind somethings on the website will notify you that item is not available from the store that services your area. Which is an overall drawback to them. I could find things in winter when I was off for the season wherever my wife happened to be working at the time that I couldn't find in Clarkston. And vice versa.

The membership is definitely worth the price.

CNET.com has a bunch of articles pertaining to "is a Costco membership worth it?" They say it is worth it. Also, CNBC.com states that if you intend to spend under $3000 dollars per year at Costco then go with the Gold Membership. If you're spending over $3000 annually then go with the Executive Membership. But wait, there's more! Get the Costco anywhere Visa credit card (2%) and get back 4% on your Costco purchases when combined with your Executive Membership (2%).

Btw, Costco (COST) stock closed over $709 today. They are a quality company (High Return on Equity; Stable year-over-year earnings growth; Low financial leverage).

BTW, as I tap this, my big butt is sitting on a power-recliner leather sofa Costco sold me and delivered and setup. When I’m done drinking and watching tv, I’ll move said butt to a mattress I bought from them as well. Good prices on good stuff.

Part of the allure of Costco is the "treasure hunt" aspect of shopping their. I take the 80 mile round trip to ours about once a month. Buy some things on sale and others that we can only find there. Also cruise a couple of aisles (auto, hardware/tool, etc) just to see what they may have. Not too long ago, they had quick fit Mechanixs glove 3 for $18. I bought 3 packs (9 total) and really liked them. Planned to buy more, but on my next trip they were gone and have never reappeared. They have recently had some Heavy Duty black nitrile gloves that we like to wear salmon fishing. Thick and a good fit. I bought 10 boxes.

If making big purchases I’d definitely get the Executive membership since it gives you 2% back. We switched to the Executive membership when the kids were young and diapers, wipes, formula, etc all added up. In the 20 years that we’ve had the Executive membership we’ve essentially gotten our membership for free. Our year end check from them now has averaged about $150 a year so we get a free membership and $50 or so. I like Costco, I like the quality of their products and they have a good return policy. Walmart is the place that I absolutely cannot stand…

I bought a house today. I suppose I'll be checking out their appliances.
But... Nearest costco is 90 miles away at Iowa City

Good to know. Thanks

Oh, forgot the tires. I’ve not been able to beat their tire deals. Only problem is they are persnickety about putting “other than recommended” sizes on vehicles.

It sure is nice to shop at a place where the employees are happy to be there, happy you are there, and hustle to get you taken care of.

I hate shopping. Costco too crowded with friggin" shoppers , kids , ugly women, cripples.

Good place to but bird food . We buy 5-6 bags at a time. They quit the bird feed ...adios.

Their tires are all price point . Bought a couple sets of Michelins for my 3/4 Ton Duramaxses.

Wore out in about a month.

Stumbled on a random podcast..

It was about Costco.

Long story short..

Costco is the most profitable per square foot of retail space of any business.
They turn over product in weeks..

Most items are sold before the invoice is due ( net 30 ).

nothing I hate worse than buying a set of tires for my truck and then having to buy another set in a month...bob

I read good things about their hearing aids.

What???

Pure comedy.

I don't know about Costco, but Walmart can beat the entire world on prices for tires...because they can get the exact same tire made at a lower level of quality.


They are even marked the same apparently. Or maybe marked so minutely different that no one could tell the difference.

Calvin;
Top of the morning sir, I hope that this finds you and your fine family well.

My cyber friend Aces' experience mirrors our own with regards to the executive membership. Even though there's only my wife and I now, I want to say we still only paid about $50 for the membership when we got the cash back total last year.

Clothes are often really inexpensive there and honestly decent quality. The downside is no fitting room so it's a bit of a crap shoot for some people perhaps.

From mid September until March here I live in their True North Merino wool base layer shirts which are made in Canada and still only run $22 CDN. I want to say MEC was north of $100 CDN for a similar long sleeve Merino shirt.

Being married to someone who has an accountant's brain doesn't hurt, as my better half has a memory for numbers and prices that I don't, but I compensate by being a world class "list writer", which is good until I forget the list of course.

But sometimes Costco is more money than our local Super Store on stuff like white vinegar or even smaller bags of flour or sugar.

Where Costco shines to us is they'll have the bulk packaging, whether entire pork loins or huge bags of rice, that are a bargain but do require the purchaser to have the space to store and the know how to deal with breaking down the item if it's a loin for instance.

Our local one had whole frozen lambs a couple times and we picked up one for our daughter and her husband - he being a wonderful chef and she being a lamb meat eater of epic proportion. Couldn't have begun to buy that much cut up and packaged lamb for whatever it was, but yes we had to break it down and repackage.

Ours is never not a complete packed house or nearly so, but we always come away amazed at how efficient the staff are at processing folks so fast.

As a final thought, I'm guessing that the increased security and checks in and out there radically reduce theft and thus allow some of the savings to be passed on to the consumer.

Hope that helped.

All the best to you all.

Dwayne

What did you say?

I don't doubt you and would not be surprised......but in a month?.....I don't buy my tires based on a price point, but I am sure some tightwads do.....bob

Best place for hearing aids and eyeglasses. Really good seafood this time of year.

Buy the $120 membership you get money back hard to go in there at all you'll still get enough back to beat out the $65 Regular Joe membership and if you spend some more you'll get it pretty damn nice check then go buy more furniture

What?

Been to Sam’s but not Costco

The store here has appliances on display but they don't sell them. You have to get them online from their website. They aren't cheap stuff, either. They're well above median level.

Several years ago, I bought an I-pad from their website. I needed one with cellular capability which is considerably more money. I saved about $200. I screwed up the 1st time and didn't get the cellular one. It didn't take long to figure that out so I took it to customer service and asked how to handle it with their 100% return policy. He said all I had to do was to return it to the factory settings. That was built in so I pushed the buttons and it reset itself. Money back immediately and I ordered the one I'd intended to get.

If they wore out in a month I assume you took them back since virtually all new tires have at least a 20,000 mile warranty? 2 sets of tires wearing out in a month, assuming you didn’t travel more than 20,000 miles in that month on both sets of tires are under warranty and Costco would absolutely make good on the warranty. Any reasonable person could conclude that wearing out 8 tires in a month is not normal and they’d be replaced either by Costco or the manufacturer.

I saw little in Cosco I though was cheap but the Aids.

Yes wabi uve told us umteenfuckintimes

You got aids at Costco?…..that’s worse than buying 8 truck tires and wearing them out in a month.

Costco has a good return policy so just go back and tell them that you don’t want aids and they’ll take it back. 😉😂

I don’t believe anything is cheap at the membership warehouse type stores. It may have been at one time. Mostly folks can’t do math and just think it’s cheaper per unit buying a 4 or 8 pack of something . Then if you don’t actually consume everything in that bulk pack, you haven’t saved anything .

I’m not a Costco shopper ,but used to frequent Sams Club. Their meat and deli area was nice and seemed like good value for what you got. We bought a lot of diapers and wipes back in the day from the Waltons.

👍🏼

Everybody knows about the rotis chicken. But let me tell you, if you have a family gathering, just get Costco's Chicken Pot Pie. It's enormous and delicious.

Went to Sams and grabbed some groceries and sundries to include some wine.

Their wine sucks azz. Paper goods are comparable to Costco. Dogs like the food just fine. Produce is schit.

YMMV.

Yeah, I bet those cripples and ugly women swoon over him. I call bullshit on wearing out Michelins in a month...

I have not had good luck with their eyeglasses; about my only complaint with their products. Went through 2 pairs in 18 months. Going on 3 years on one set from a standard retailer. Dealing with Costco during the plandemic was "special."

Calvin why did you move? Mb

snowbird

I've bought both & tried to compare, IMO Sams has better beef. Choice whole beef strip loin for instance. I buy one about every 8 weeks & have for several years. A bumb steer every now & then, but not often.

I go to Sams for beef, pork & chicken, little else. So after comparing, I've stayed with Sams.

Sheet, Art- I buy 3 packs of readers. Usually 2 packs at a time.

I'm good that way for a month or so.....

I was a partner in a Goodyear franchise a while back. Walmart and I got the same tires from the same Goodyear distribution center so at least that brand is same-same. The problem is they have such tremendous buying power that they got better prices from ol’ Miles than I did as a franchisee! Now, the monkeys they hire to R&I them are another story. . .

Costco online is a good option also. Don't have to rely on what your local might be stocking.

We have membership at both Sams and Costco. Have a card from Costco I purchase all my gas with. Get pretty decent cash back on it, often 4-figures.

You need one of those ball chains that the ol librarian lady used on her glasses.. 😂😂😂😂

A Costco card gets you 4% back on gas. That's 12¢ per gal at $3 gas.

The nearest Costco is about 35 miles away in Schitty Lake Salty. We rarely go but the BIL put us on his membership several years ago. Last time in, they wanted to verify my address at customer service. I told them it hasn’t changed and I didn’t have time for their BS. Sounds like they’re pulling a Nextflix to get rid of shared memberships. I hate Salt Lake and it’s never been cost effective to lose 1.5 hrs plus gas to get there and back simply to shop there. Oh well.

Now you are talking sex, not utility!

I wish readers were adequate... I am so blind I can only see Cystco bullshit from a half-mile...

Even at that I see every piece listed as "New" and shake my head...
never saw him list a stock blank that was not "Exhibition" but failed to see one, ever, that was.

We got suckered by that on a delivery truck. Bought Michelins from Walmart because they had the best price. Found out trying to back the trailer into our customer outside of Calgary, in January on a sheet of ice, that the Walmart version didn’t have the siping of the regular model.

One letter different in the model designation, in really, really, really fine print.

I’ve just assumed ever since that Walmart will try to screw their customers on everything else, as well, and that has worked out well for both of us.

The Costco Michelin Price point tires .... were about worn out when I got home ...with the bird seed.

Not sure if anyone said it, but I spend $500-$750 a month at Costco. I have their $120 executive membership, and I usually get a check from them for $125-$150 every year. So, they pay me $5-$30 to be a member. If you spend enough money there, the Executive Membership is well worth it. Btw, their travel agency is amazing as well. Did a trip to Tahiti for $3k less than everywhere else.

We have a Costco membership and spend way too much there. All the dog food comes from Costco as well as the chicken we eat. When we first moved to AK and got out membership, it was the only place I bought tires at, I can’t say that anymore. The last two sets I got came from the dealership for my son’s Nissan as they were the cheapest place for winter tires. Beat Costco by almost $200 a set. For my truck I ordered off Amazon and paid a local tire shop to put them on. I didn’t save as much doing that, but I got the tires I wanted.
Now my wife makes fun of me, as most of my jeans/pants come from Costco. The funny thing, she buys more clothes at Costco now than I do, but never will admit it.

For food products, I am buying less at Costco and more from ALDI. Quality is good and prices are better than Costco.

the only dog food we will buy is from Costco.

At Xmas I usually buy clothes at Costco for the kids, manage to always find something for me as well.

I've tried Kirkland brand jeans and they were too bulky for my taste. I buy all my jeans from Tractor supply now - $15 jeans and canvas pants

right now I'm around $400 a month at Costco and $200 a month at Sams, but I really don't spend much money at traditional grocery stores so I think it all balances out

I've got their credit card too. I get I think 4% on gas at Costco, 3% on travel and restaurants, and 2% on everything at Costco on top of the 2% I get for being an executive member. I just got the email for my annual credit card rewards and it's $500.50 for 2023. I like Costco. If you shop there very often at all the executive membership pays for itself.

Bb