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We have (kah)6 kids and a neighbor suggested we join Costco. We were wondering if it is cost effective. Without doing a formal study to me it doesn’t seem worth the bother. Also, we do stock up on some items like breakfast cereal and water bottles but we don’t buy cleaning items like clorax by the case.
Any opinion?
if you are going to buy by the case then it may be worth it.
It is worth it because not only are the items cheaper per item, the items at costco are larger than what you buy in a regular store so you are getting more for the buck.
On some items they are worth it. It’s really depends item by item. I know my family gets: cleaning supplies, paper towels, toilet paper, tissues, diapers and wipes (for my nephews) sometimes food (they have Kosher food) it really depends on the item, you have to be aware of prices or you can over-pay.
For me, it’s been worth it. It might depend on how much storage space you have. Why not give it a shot? Within a year, membership is refundable!
Mint.com (a personal finance website) had an excellent article on buying at warehouse clubs, titled “Buying in Bulk: When Do You Really Save at the Warehouse Club?”
http://www.mint.com/blog/how-to/warehouse-clubs-06282010/
Short answer: Maybe… but you have to be careful.
The Wolf
If you live in Brooklyn, their fruits and vegetables are amazing compared to the local fare. The only thing to be careful of is that sometimes their peppers come from Israel.
overall it’s worth it, as long as you aware what prices are elsewhere. Then you have to shop with a calculator, to be able to convert prices to standard sizes, to make sure you’re not overpaying on individual items.
I can’t vouch for the pricing, but the quality of the food is top rate. We buy strawberries (gasp!) and they are the best.
Chalav yisroel tab stack of cheese 9.99 and cheap paper towels. You just need self control. Also often they carry only the best quality of an item for a good price for example barilla pasta but a cheaper brand will also suffice. The eggs are also a steal.
for us it sure is. You go once in a while, and buy up a bunch of stuff all in bulk so although your spending a lot in one shot, in the long run, for us its worth it. Daas yachid brought up a valid point though, because if you don’t have that much storage space (just cabinet space) for all that bulk than it may be worth it to buy less at a time.
Heshy: Have you ever shopped at Costco? If not, I suggest that you ask a friend with a membership to take you. You can browse around and then decide if it is right for you. If you live in a large centre with a large Jewish population, then generally Costco carries a lot of kosher food. My daughter buys most of her meat at Costco and says that she saves a lot of money – often paying the same price for kosher chicken as treif costs. She also gets a lot of Shick bakery products in large containers at small prices. Where I live, the Jewish population is small and Costco does not carry meat. In fact, the only time they carry specifically kosher food is at Pesach when have Kedem grape juice, large boxes of matzo and macaroons in big jars. But, of course, a lot of what they carry happens to be kosher – nowhere can you get pickled herring for such a low price and here, they do have the lowest prescription prices in town.
Basically, you have to weigh all the options and decide.
Yes. Join Costco. You wont regret.
Like others said, the quality of what they sell, including notably their store brand “Kirkland Signature” (unlike most other places store brands), is generally absolutely top notch.
The return policy is unbelievable
salmon fresh and kirkland canned is also amazing.
Great prices!
while you are on the topic of costco… Does anyone know how Costco prices compares to the prices at BJ’s? Also does Costco have coupons and accept manufacturer coupons like BJ’s?
momof4 – costco does have coupons (they used to send them in the mail, now you have to go the customer service desk to get them) however you can’t use other coupons there. only costcos. thats one of the chisronos, although for us its still worth it.
Get a one-day guest pass and try it, but research and write down prices that you normally pay for what you think you’ll be buying!
The only complaint that I have about Costco (at least in Canada) is that the only credit card they will accept is American Express. Of course you can always use cash or a debit card.
You can get great value at Costco.
My own personal secret, which I learned from my mother, is to combine coupons, coupon doubling, sales and rebates to get the best price on the food items we use most commonly. Now, with resources like eBay, I have improved upon my dear mother’s methods.
Here’s how it works:
Say your family uses a lot of ketchup.
Go on ebay and search for heinz ketchup coupons.
Buy 20 of them for about $6.00.
Wait til Heinz Ketchup goes on sale at your local supermarket. This week, at mine, they are 2 big bottles for $5.
Buy about 20 bottles of Ketchup. $2.50 per bottle – $1.50 off per doubled coupon – – net cost $1.35 per bottle, about 1/3 of regular price.
I do this on shampoo, eggs, cereal, yogurt, spaghetti, salsa and many other items. I recently got brand name baby shampoo for $0.75 per bottle. I have enough to last me several years in the basement.
Of course, you need a lot of storage space if you buy this way, but the prices end up being way lower than Costco.
I would like to brag briefly: Once, I went shopping and got a large bag of groceries, and they PAID ME $8. This was the perfect storm combo of coupons, doubled coupons, sale and a manufacturer’s mail-in rebate. It doesn’t happen that often, so it’s sort of the hole-in-one of guerilla shopping.
i luv costco-i just hate going lol I dont have patience to do the shopping but they have good stuff. Its a pity they dont have chalav yisrael and pas yisrael in the costco here.
I’m not such a fan of buying in bulk although it does come out cheaper, beacuse the metzias is it just gets used up quicker. Thats the facts! Did you ever realize when you are a the begining of a toothpaste for example, When the tube is full you use beravchus… All of the sudden when its at the end, you squeeze out of it mamish until its totaly empty. Same thing with everything big. So even though they might be cheaper in the long run its equal (maybe even more expensive) But I am defintly a fan of costcos gas its about .25 cents cheaper than the regular pump price! You do not have to be a member to buy gas from them.
You do not have to be a member to buy gas from them.
That’s only true in NJ, due to state law there.
bentorah – Thats not just in new jersey, even in new york (for sure nanuet, ny) you dont have to be a member to buy gas
You have to be a member of Costco in Canada to buy gas from them. It is quite a bit less expensive, but I refuse to pump my own gas. Call me a princess if you must, but when it is 40 below zero, I would rather let somebody else pump it. I also use gas coupons from another chain that pumps for you and I save at least 2.00 a tank – often more. The secret to Costco is knowing your prices and deciding what you want to purchase in bulk. Sometimes it isn’t worth tying up so much money in items you won’t need for another year. I also find that when items are on special at places like WalMart, it is less costly than shopping at Costco.
Sof Davar
We get coupons mailed to us…
sacr – i know, here we also used to get them mailed. for some reason they stopped. (i think its because of the recession, they want it to be more difficult to get good buys…just my opinion)
We still do… Used em last week 😀
In Canada prices don’t matter, because merchants accept Canadian money for some reason. Hasbro sells Canadian Money very cheaply so it’s really not worth the effort to save a few percent
😉
I love the Kirkland baby wipes, don’t know about price, but the quality is super!
Are there benefits choosing Costco over Sam’s Club or BJ’s — or vice versa?
Poster, yeah the wipes are better than any other brand!
Helpful, I think sams is supposedly cheaper, never heard of bjs though.
Personally, I enjoy shopping at Costco because I can take care of a lot of things at one time. There are certain items that BJ’s is better on (for example, they don’t carry Poland Springs sparkling water in Costco – so once in awhile I go to BJ’s for that). The men in my family all like the Kirkland men’s white shirts (no iron), and at $16.99, it’s a steal.
Although the frozen salmon steaks have gone up a lot, they’re excellent.
This month there are coupons for a lot of items I can stock up on and probably not need to buy again for months – Vanity Fair Dinner napkins, Snap & Save, Craisins, etc. Plus, you don’t have to clip them, the sale price automatically comes off at the register.
Regarding kosher – the Cholev Yisroel cheese (Fresh & Natural brand I believe) is very competitively priced. However, for the most part the poultry and beef are not cheaper then what I get in my local neighborhood stores, but the quality of the beef is excellent.
All in all, it’s a good deal.
Costco is a secular holy site
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