Costco??

[kneifl]

Anybody have a membership here?? Got one last week and wife insists it's a great deal. Let her go do some bulk shopping and the "deals" just did not seem all that spectacular. Maybe it's just I don't get out too often to do the shopping anymore. What do you guys think, it's just me and her in a household - worth the $45 I spent or not. She says she'll plan on using it a lot.

kneifl

 

[dawgball]

I had a membership in Atlanta and found it handy especially on beer and wine.

Here in Nashville, I have a Sam's Club membership since it is just a few miles from the house. They can't sell wine in grocery stores here, so that hurts the membership a little.

Overall, if you use the membership properly to your advantage it can be worth it. that doesn't mean that everything is cheaper, though. Some things are still better to get at the grocery store.

You should also take advantage of some of the other items they sell, i.e. grills, electronics, etc. I bought a travel DVD player for trips in the car for the kid a few weeks back. I got a much better deal there than I found online.

 

[Nosigar]

Worth it on booze alone. :drinky:

 

[dawgball]

on that note: Costco is the largest distributor of wine in the world.

 

[IntenseOperator]

I do all of my bulk oriented shopping at Costco. I just by most of my perishable stuff locally because I don't need the quantity they sell those items in.

Staple items I get from there include...
gum, any snack type product or candy, any juice, any type of "everyday" casual apparel, liquor, and they have the best deals on top shelf tires installed in an hour and with all the warranty stuff included.

Get the higher end membership if it helps you. They will average out all the numbers at store level and tell you if it's worth the extra couple bucks to get the higher end membership and get the % check on what you spend.

 

[IntenseOperator]

also have seen online that Costco has the best prices for prescriptions

I have no need for that yet or the cigarettes they sell

 

[Mjolnir]

it's worth it. be careful though, every time i go there to buy a couple of things i end up spending at least 200-300 on stuff i just cant seem to live without.

 

[vyrus858]

been a member their for 10+ years and cannot say one bad word about it....Great place to go when/if you and ms Kneifl have some kids as well because you will be saving BUNDLES...great for anybody though, you can buy anything you want that they have at the market, in a bundle, for much much cheaper most of the time...great pizza their too if you ever stop by for a snack lol

 

[hogman14]

I work in the supermarket business, and generally the front page "hot prices" in regular supermarket fliers are better than price clubs. That being said, you have to shop around, do your homework, and maybe wait for certain things, but you certainly can find deals at the local supermarket on bulk things like 12pk paper towels, etc.

That being said, the prices at Costco are generally more consistent, and somewhat better, in certain areas especially. For example, the whole pork loins are always 1.99/lb, where you can wait for the supermkt. for the same sale price. Costco wont go lower though either, where you can search around for a 1.77/lb. Arbirtrary perhaps...

I do not buy a ton of stuff in bulk, but will go up there once in a while for bbqs, and stuff like that. Their b-day cake prices blow supermarkets away. Literally half the price.

 

[S-Love]

I'm sure you'll be able to stock up nicely on the bulk "I'm with Stupid" t-shirts.

Oh, and dog leashes, too.

 

[kneifl]

Thanks for the replies guys!! I appreciate it!!

BTW Small fry...
This message is hidden because S-Love is on your ignore list.


kneifl

 

[TJBELL]

I may be biased. I work for Costco!!

Best return policy in the Business!!!!!!!

 

[IntenseOperator]

Their b-day cake prices blow supermarkets away. Literally half the price.

TJBell makes all the bakery items from scratch

none of that "par-bake" stuff they have at the other big chains

 

[JT]

I work in the supermarket business, and generally the front page "hot prices" in regular supermarket fliers are better than price clubs. That being said, you have to shop around, do your homework, and maybe wait for certain things, but you certainly can find deals at the local supermarket on bulk things like 12pk paper towels, etc.

That being said, the prices at Costco are generally more consistent, and somewhat better, in certain areas especially. For example, the whole pork loins are always 1.99/lb, where you can wait for the supermkt. for the same sale price. Costco wont go lower though either, where you can search around for a 1.77/lb. Arbirtrary perhaps...

I do not buy a ton of stuff in bulk, but will go up there once in a while for bbqs, and stuff like that. Their b-day cake prices blow supermarkets away. Literally half the price.

What company hogman14? Been in the biz for almost 20 years now. Albertsons currently. Just gets better and better.

 

[hogman14]

Shaws Supermarkets/Star Markets. Just was bought by Albertsons, in fact. Which also just bought Bristol Farms out there. The 3000 store supermonster that is...

 

[IntenseOperator]

Albertson's is lucky to have worthless competition in these parts.

They do a sh*t job running a monster like Jewel here.

But other competition is appearing. Seems this market is ripe for a chain that's going to take care of business.

Cub Foods blows
Dominick's (Safeway) is stealing
Costco is cranking in the mid to upper level income areas

 

[fatdaddycool]

apparently one of the few things that I didn't lose custody of during divorce was the Costco and Sams club memberships. Unfortunately, I have used the membership a few times to purchase beer and such, the drawback is that I am normally drunk when I run short on beer and apparently money.
This leaves me in somewhat of a quandary as Costco is fairly close and the Warsteiner is rather cheap. Problem is I am usually in a snacking mood by this point, which leaves me in my present state of about 32 lbs of what seems to be government Nacho Cheese, 18 boxes of bugles with about 3 each eaten out of them and a rather large supply of powdered donuts that even the dog won't eat. Oh yeah and a vacuum...........but I have hardwood floors now.

 

[hogman14]

IO, I agree...

before Shaws/star went up for sale they really were pushing the profit line, and ended up making 1/3 of the profit that the 2700 albertsons owned stores made. insane.. i didn't believe it, but then saw some of the #'s. They are starting to implement systems, some good, some bad, only nice part is that their budgets are well within reach which means bonuses = higher.

 

[JT]

hogman, that is interesting about bonuses. Are you are Department Head? Out here in SoCal, the bonuses are sh*t compared to a couple of years ago due to unreasonable projections. Sales still down about 8% overall since that damn strike.

 

[hogman14]

hogman, that is interesting about bonuses. Are you are Department Head? Out here in SoCal, the bonuses are sh*t compared to a couple of years ago due to unreasonable projections. Sales still down about 8% overall since that damn strike.

I am a dept hd. With Shaws, the bonuses were broken down 40% sales, 40% gross margin, 20% cust. service. Sales were never hit, as the budgets were so high, mainly due to the fact that the sale of the company was imminent (inflate all the #'s, and make it look like the company needed help). Our mkt. area was one of the few to beat our gm% $'s. It's tough w/competition, but the competition round here sucks...and the major one (stop/shop) is in trouble cooking the books. Ergo, we should be able to push them out, yet they are not very aggressive w/sales yet...they have been better, but could improve even more...Just got transferred to a goldmine of a store, sales up 29% off LY, shattering the numbers...Just along for the ride.