Would ya just stick with lbs and oz’s already? I agree with the article fully, we save a lot shopping at Costco. I shop my bread stuff at outlet stores or the day old rack. Sign up for their email. In Quebec, Costco crrries wine apparently. Great comments and I only want to add we find the produce at Costco to be mostly great. Your Turn: Is shopping at Costco worth it for you? Great article. I Love Costco! Since I live in the US that may be the reason for some of our differences, but I have found that many of my food purchases are cheaper if not comparable at Costco. Honestly if I buy bulk food and the items only last 1/2 of the time span it should be, I am going to bring it in. For those of us who prefer not to throw our money away, we learn where the food is the best value and skin and debone our own chicken. Lived on Metchosin Road for years and View Royal before that – graduated from Belmont High in 1962 then moved away in 1963. I know this is off topic for this forum but just had to get back to you and say hi. I’ve bought computers, laptops, televisions, vacuum, mini fridge, pots/pans, wine refrigerator, back splash, flooring, costumes, clothes, books, games, and others. Organic milk is a little more expensive than standard milk because making a product that’s pure, produced naturally and guarantees the highest animal welfare isn’t cheap or easy. 1. Great article – one important note.. you cannot share a membership with just anyone – has to be a person 18 years of age or older who lives at the same mailing address as you. I will drive across town for Costco’s produce because I very rarely have to throw any of it away. I often see a lot of furniture for really good prices. However depending on the week, the amount we get might not be enough for our family. I do not know if available in Canada, but in the United States, if you get the Costco American Express Card w/ the executive level, you get back the rebate% on all purchases with the card, not only at Costco! 2. Great article! I buy my bread for $1.25 a loaf and chicken for $1 a pound on sale. My favourite stores may not be the best deal in town but they work well for us. Costco is a great deal on many things, but not on everything. nut butters. A certain consumer magazine, which shall for legal reasons remain nameless, recently did a cost comparison on a “market basket” of foodstuffs, and they found that while Costco did offer the best prices for a few items (diapers were a big one, and trash bags, and peanut butter), overall you’d achieve bigger savings by buying store brands at the supermarket. Between the three, good deals can be found on most items without ever having to go near Costco. We don’t buy everything from costco but fruit, chicken, pork loin and baking stuff is our must haves from costco. I think that this is one of Costco’s strong attributes. Thank goodness we have one , If you get the Costco American Express card, you get the rebate on all purchases, not just those made at Costco, ie 3% on all gas stations, 2% restaurants (& some other stuff), 1% on everything else! I heartily endorse Costco’s fresh tomatoes, romaine hearts, fresh baked bread, San Pellegrino (seltzer water), Gorgonzola, lemons, organic milk or soy/almond milk. But the best deal of all are the frozen baked goods, not known by many, sold in the bakery dept. I checked in advance about returning the food, because I knew they couldn’t re-sell it…they DONATED it to a local food bank and returned our full $400 plus dollars!) I think when I first became a member in 1990, just the savings in buying milk alone there for a year paid for the membership. I think your best advice is to have a list and stick to it – Costco is a perfect place to make impulse buys that totally eat up any savings you might have made on the groceries. Also items such as snack foods are in a lot of cases hard to beat. This being said, if I didn’t split the basic membership fee with my daughter, I would not spend enough to make it worth wile based solely on cost. These brands generally sell locally or regionally under their farm’s name, mostly through farmers markets, food cooperatives, and independently owne… Costco’s computers, Tv, ect. I haven’t tested this, as our rebate is always over $100.00! Even if you don’t earn the $55 difference in a year, they will REFUND what you don’t make up but you have to remember to ask for it! So if you run your own ‘price check’ experiment, do yourself a solid by sticking to pen and paper. I tend to do this little price comparison check every few months to make sure I’m getting the best value for my food dollar. Also, I love to buy gas there except on the occasion when it’s cheaper elsewhere. Costco also supplies items generally not available in your grocer’s food aisle, such as diamond rings, flat screen TVs, and winter tires. We buy our milk at costco weekly. If the shoppers stick to their shopping list (and don’t mind the other negatives), there are savings. ie: you paid $100 for your membership but you only earned $40 with the 2% cash back, so you go to customer service and they will give you $5 credit towards your next year`s membership cost. They beat out any other avocado I can buy in the Portland area. I continue going to regular grocery stores as well, because usually they aren’t mad houses like these warehouses. Some quick math chalks that up to almost $200 in savings! I concluded that, for the way we shop, the savings at the store were minimal and would not cover the cost of membership. The main differences between grass-fed, organic and conventional milk has to do with the diets the cows are fed. […] >Price Check Experiment: Is Costco really worth it? So if I haven’t spent enough for it to be free they pro rate and I usually get half back if not all. The $5,000 mark is if you compare an executive membership to no membership at all. If you’re a person that carries an Amex card anyway, it might be that the combined Costco/Amex membership will save you the annual Amex fee. I have also done comparison shopping between my local grocery store and superstore and found that my local grocery store was cheaper. I get the executive membership. Look at the fact that you can not buy coffee beans though the ground is OK – you cannot buy loose tea or organic produce (not that I trust it much always) and one or two main commercial brands of products and look at the energy bars in the whole front. I’ve often wondered if shopping at Costco — or any of the other big wholesale clubs — is worthwhile after paying membership fees, driving the distance to the store, and standing in long lineups with pallets of peanut butter. Paper towels especially are SO much cheaper at Costco.Cleaning products such as dish soap and laundry detergent are at MUCH lower than retail prices provided you can store;handle the large containers this is unbeatable. Have also bought tools there too. I am very impressed with many of their canned products eg […] There are tons of things that are well worth the membership to buy at Costco but what isn’t worth it are Produce and Fresh Goods, need more proof check this article out HERE. Now all of costco was American brand while Superstore was Canadian. We don’t think of Costco as grocery shopping but as a monthly trip. How do you account for berries and other fresh produce like corn and asparagus being nearly 1/3d the cost at COSTCO than it is at the grocery store? There *was* a brief period when Walmart was cheaper on milk, but those occasions have been few and far between. Surprised? You can’t unilaterally say some of this stuff. Interesting comments regarding your local Superstore. 1, 2. I don’t mind paying the little bit more for the fruit/fresh when it is better quality. Except for skipping Costco’s fresh produce, as it’s more expensive. Some items are so much cheaper that even if I end up throwing some out, it was way cheaper than the same item (in a smaller package) from the market. Try the farmer’s markets for your produce if you can! So I can see you saving for sure on bread at any major wholesale outlet. I have complained to no avail, […] Is Costco really worth it? And get the best deal possible then. Treat your mind, body and wallet how they deserve with Costco's great deals on organic foods and dietary products. We live in the U.S. and find that our Costco Executive membership pays for itself on the items that WE purchase. A classic example I’m sure anyone will recognize is toilet paper. Not sure how you came up with Chicken being cheaper at a Supermarket. The only way to effectively compare is to multiply the rolls x sheets per roll, then divide that number into the price of the package. Most of the items go on sale 6-8 weeks. I think I would actually choose the experience of a shopping store and not always just the prices. We just joined Costco a week ago, because they have the best prices for Contact lenses and they are covered by my insurance. Time to switch to Safeway, Trader Joe’s … for decent bread. Despite this … Bottom Line: Break even on your Gold Star Membership sooner by splitting the fee with a friend. Because of the gas, we upgraded to the Executive Membership for the 2% cash back because its easy to break even and actually get some cash back when you’re adding your weekly gas to the mix. Rick, you have very good points. Costco and Sams both have great dog beds for $45.99. I see no broccoli and few cauliflower ‘trees’ in my bag. They are always excellent quality. They are always top quality, restaurant grade avocados. A great way to try out brands you may not be familiar with. If you’ve been checking out of your grocery store without checking in with the prices lately, it’s a good idea to run your own food bill price check — a better dinner deal may found elsewhere. In my experience, I’ve found this takes longer, especially when the cashier needs to count, and recount, your items to ensure you’re paying the right amount. Bottom Line: At $0.18 per Huggies diaper, you’ll save $0.07 on each crappy change by shopping at Costco. To save money, my wife and I use a “Only what we can carry rule.” If we can’t carry it, we don’t need it. I drive an electric car, so I can’t really count the cost of gas to drive there. Bottom Line: Three loaves of sandwich bread costs $6.99 at Costco, while breaking that same bread at Superstore costs $14.07. What about the Good Food Box program? Shop online at Costco.ca today! Also, I share my membership with a previous co-worker that lives two cities away from me and it’s not a problem. However, then my employer gave out free membership cards to Costco, so while I have a card, it’s a once a year trip now. If not I go elsewhere. In another state it might not save me money going with their car insurance. We’ll certainly skip the fresh isle at Costco now and load up on the frozen. Great article, we have been shopping pretty much exclusively at Costco for years now, glad to hear your research backs up our decision. In Boulder s why i originally got my membership fee $ spent and... 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