Those prices make absolutely no sense. This happened to me and they gave me cash at the customer service desk. Vitamix will give you a smooth smoothie. Sometimes Walgreen’s is the cheapest place to find milk on the planet. The price is usually lower than at a supermarket, BUT the store brands are consistently cheaper. But the primary reason is supply and demand: the supply is rather low, so stores can ask more for their organic milk. I always pay it off monthly, otherwise you can get in trouble. They PRICE MATCH all of their competitor’s flyers. Re: buying meat. And the most important part, if there is soething wrong with the food they sell, the refund it hassle free and no verbal disagreement. The items that are always on my Costco list are: organic chicken breasts, wild-caught salmon, imported Italian canned tomatoes, imported cheeses, coffee beans, organic eggs and butter, huge tubs of yogurt, frozen berries, frozen organic vegetables, organic peanut butter, organic olive oil, organic bottled lemon juice (<3 this item), balsamic vinegar, English cucumbers, organic spinach and salad mix in monstrously large tubs and gluten-free snacks and chips of various kinds for our youngest. The only other thing that I learned is to be careful of electronics. Shipping is not free. Only compare regularly priced items for a baseline. It has a relaxed enviroment…and there is alot to say about lowering our stress levels. Our Superstore (Lethbridge, AB) has none of the problems you’ve mentioned in your post – in fact they have excellent produce and meat. Frozen berries and other mixed fruit too. So it’s best for your palette to buy a smaller, fresher portion that lasts a week or two. One other thing that’s important to me after a stressful work week is 24-hour opening and environment though, which costco falls down on. I haven’t tested this, as our rebate is always over $100.00! I do understand what you mean. There chicken is a air chilled and trimmed ready to eat. Line ups are bad everywhere(I won’t even get started on Hell-Mart)but for me, with all things considered, I’d rather shop Costco any day! Also, Costco guarantees the price of the upgrade under their return policy . Same with Potatoes, onions etc….I would estimate that 25% of my onions go bad before I can use them, and the potatoes too. Have never found a better one elsewhere. Noone in America can make sense of this website. I purchase the Foster Farms Bulk fresh chicken (12 breasts) for $2.99lb. They’re not even in the running as far as competative shopping is concerned and I only shop there if I happen to run out of something. I noticed that at the Cstco in Fresno CA where Costco has a lot of competition (Sams Club etc), their prices are much lower than where I live in a neighboring state. | Squakfox You can contact Whitson Gordon, the author of this post, at whitson@lifehacker.com. We used to shop at Costco for all our needs, but after our latest problems with returning items at Costco, we only buy our food there and little else. I disagree! So has Colwood, Sooke and Victoria. So I decided to do a little experiment to see if shopping at Costco was cheaper when compared to my local grocery chain, Superstore. That’s more than twice as much formula and, after comparing the nutritional info, they were virtually identical. Bottom Line: Follow the green cells to see the product winner in each category. I love it. Just because it says organic, doesn't mean it's equally as good. No mention of clothing. Costco does have coupons from time to time also. They make a good case for the fact that when you have large quantities of something, you use it up about 25% faster. And young kids at the cash often don’t pay attention anyway. The pharmacy is a total waste of time, bad service and can’t get my prescription ready. This is an interesting comparison for sure and I am shocked by some of your findings mainly because I know your findings don’t match up with the situation in Atlantic Canada where I’m from. I find prices at Costco and other warehouse stores for fresh vegetables and fruits quite high compared to our neighborhood supermarket. At least for now! It is great that I am saving money, but their Customer Service is the best, and that has value in shopping there as well. In over twenty years I have never had a problem with anything they sell. I heartily endorse Costco’s fresh tomatoes, romaine hearts, fresh baked bread, San Pellegrino (seltzer water), Gorgonzola, lemons, organic milk or soy/almond milk. Your kindness covers hosting fees, new articles, and videos. If you’re a low volume shopper like me, it could pay to split this fee with a friend (or family member) and shop together. Yeah the break even on the executive membership is total spending of $2,250 a year ($187/month) as this will result in receiving a cheque for $45 at the end of the year. I have a standard Costco shopping list – milk ($2.80/gal), sandwich bread ($4 for 2-pack), fresh pineapple (usually $2-$3), rotisserie chicken ($5), toilet paper & paper towels as needed, frozen veggies, block of cheese. The meat we bought, especially the sausages, was excellent quality. Anyway, interesting read. But I save my sanity and time. If we were to take a survey and ask people which they thought was better, organic or conventional milk, I’d be willing to say organic would win by a long shot. Walmart was 17.76% more expensive than Costco, Safeway was 33.13% more expensive than Costco, Safe On Foods was 30.54% more expensive than Costco, and Superstore was 2.58% more expensive than Costco (looking at the “$ more expensive than Costco” row in the chart above). Sam’s Club Member's Mark 2% Reduced Fat Milk = $2.68 per gallon. Our “Family Food” store is not the greatest place to shop – and I too will only shop there for flyer (sale) items or if I’m really pressed (out of something) I’ll shop there. The lagoon used to be our favorite “parking” spot if you catch my drift. Costco is a fantastic place to develop photos. So 8 times in a month I can have wings for $20! dog food. I know that is not how things are supposed to be done, but it is our way of saving on the membership fees. I often see a lot of furniture for really good prices. More Trader Joe's ❯. That adds the cost of a gallon or gallon and half of gas to each trip and therefore reduces the savings by $3 to $6 per trip at current prices. I love it for bags of spinach, kale and salad. I did a similar price-comparison experiment with BJ’s, a warehouse club we have out here in New Jersey. Chicken legs are 99 cents per pound, which is a very decent price. However, I agree with the fresh food being much more. Copyright 2008 - 2020 Kerry K. Taylor | All Rights Reserved. In my city, there is one store that has a lot more frozen product items, so i go there every 6 months or so to stock up. (You can read the whole story at http://www.stretcher.com/stories/06/06jul24f.cfm.) I agree with the article fully, we save a lot shopping at Costco. $6.89 Better Than Bouillon Organic Chicken Base 16 oz. I think some Costco prices vary by location; bananas here are $1.32 for the package; also I have seem much better prices on wine at Costco compared to our local BevMo store. Now that $400 we do have to spend at Costco and it expires after about 6 months. We order all our big purchases on-line with Costco because it’s delivered to your door and you have more payment options that in the store. So, if you love swaddling your kid in Pampers, you’d better shop elsewhere ’cause, as the Canadian Capitalist Blog notes, Costco only sells Huggies. I agree with Bud about eating first. Look: … It’s 106 degrees outside and I can’t think straight until I get a new fuze for the fancy new contraption that just got installed. Packaged lettuce for instance seems to go bad very very quickly and though your purchasing a larger package, most of it goes bad before you can use it. Newbie who learned about you from David Chilton’s newest book “the Wealthy barber Returns”. But the list of things that Costco isn’t most competitive on grows smaller every day. Multi-pack bacon? Bananas and apples – get at the grocery store for sure, but Grapes, Strawberries, Blueberries, Raspberries and Blackberries are always 40-50% less per lb. Everything ripens beautifully (especially avocados) and doesn’t go rotten the minute I bring it home, like other grocery store produce. I make back my membership fee fairly quickly and am glad of the savings. We also buy most of our cheese at Costco because it is generally about half the price. Also what I found was the oatmeal that comes in a big box. buyer beware & aware! Oh, and just to avoid any lectures, I had to wean early due to illness. Wal Mart does the same thing – they will price match any competitor’s flyer. I went to the supermarket and purchased the same brand and same can and opened it to find that it was indeed in large chunks. Thank you so much. So what if we ate still living in the dark ages? I think that this is one of Costco’s strong attributes. You can also find him on Twitter, Facebook, and lurking around our #tips page. Wish they would do a US Comparison. it’s a game you have to play if you want to save a little money. I have clicked on far too many of your blog posts tonight. I have shopped in the past at Costco and it just doesn’t make sense when you are living by yourself. Kirkland ibuprofen – 1000 caplets (2 bottles of 500 each) – around $10!! the greeter had taken my card from her,took her to the customer service counter. For someone out there that’s new at shopping, buying everything you need at Costco is probably not a good idea if you want to save money…. I saw a flyer that an exec member had and while I can’t remember the prices, fusion shaving blades were some ridiculous cheap (relatively speaking). I go in the afternoon rather than the morning, for the free samples! Costco was the cheapest by about 1/3 vs. Safeway and close to 1/2 vs. Wholefoods. I LOVE Costco! Those organic ones are a killer on the budget!) I have been purchasing Organic milk from Costco from last 3 years. I think that the stores are so big, they can’t keep track. No matter what I fail to see who does a MONTHLY shopping spree for no more than 100 dollars per person, in a house filled with adults (say group home or other housing situation) NO ONE can fulfill the dietary needs on that low of a budget, people eat a whole lot more on their plates than they recall, sorry to burst your bubble guys…PRICES ARE HIIIGH! “Skip the fresh foods” isn’t accurate in my state. When I lived in California (Santa Rosa) I was able to buy lots of fresh food cheaply, but also locally brewed beer and wine. I’m often in an in-store debate with my better half about what is good value for the money. Don’t eat on weekends before you go as they have lots of samples – of you are comfortable with it. Hey people. Foreign chicken..Peru = $6.13/pound! It is not too hard to make back the entire executive membership costs…. […] ran into this post from Squawkfox about the real cost of groceries at Costco vs other […], […] puts Costco savings to the test vs Superstore…the results are […]. For a family of two, this just isn’t practical. We have large dogs and quality dog beds are expensive. Upgrading to the Executive Membership is a no risk situation. The incremental cost over the standard “gold star” membership is $55, so the break even point, assuming the time-value of money within a one year period is negligible is $2,750. I gave Exec. As opposed to grocery store peaches, which I don’t even bother with anymore as most of them go bad before they ripen. Regarding the executive membership, I’ve been told by the employee that if by the end of the year you cash backs are less than the amount you paid for the membership, you’ll get that difference in cash back. But then I wouldn’t see what’s “on sale” at any given time. I too shop when the fewest other people are around. The federal complaints focus on the stores’ sale of milk … I was actually able to walk out after paying just under $100 instead of the usual $200. This post has taken on a life of it’s own. Nevermind that we’re both in our 30s, have different last names and it would be rare for two 30-something sisters with different last names to still live together. I did a comparison of Coscto and my Local Kroger’s as my membership comes up this month. Sometimes even by 20¢. I wonder even what he gets out of it. Something that doesn’t seem to have been mentioned is how employees are treated at each place. I refuse to pay them any form of membership or “ransom” fees. I found it watery and mostly in pieces. Interesting article, but it fails to take into account the regular discounts Costco places on products (this drives prices even lower), the fact that a lot of their produce and other products are now organic and the fact the meat is usually higher quality than the superstore variety. Your kindness covers hosting fees, new articles, and videos. sent to your inbox! Rick, you have very good points. Costco, is it worth it? If we buy one larger ticket item a year, I consider the rest a bonus. Now I know why I’m glad I dropped my membership – people are paying their membership fees simply to keep Costco afloat. You say for you it will take 2 months to break even on the $55 dollar membership, then say that in order to break even for the executive you need to spend $5000. The meat also is of the highest quality. Never had a bad pack – EVER! Costco's sales of organic products were over $4 billion in 2015, and a growing percentage of the organic sales are Kirkland-branded items. I don’t know what these people are talking about. fresh Chicken is 11.99 per kilo and milk is at least 50cents less per 4 litre bag than any area groceries including discount chains. Please assure me that Superstore’s interpretation of ‘California-style’ mixed vegetables is bunk. Prices can change weekly (not talking about sales either). Do most of our grocery shopping at local Superstore. It’s half what you’d pay at the grocery store. Veggie Showdown: Don’t serve your chicken with a side of sad — Costco’s frozen veggies win for quality and price. This really is a small world. i have shop at costco when it first open in my area about 18 years ago.1 bought 3 items which i figure was a good deal.all 3 items cost about $8.oo . Saved myself over $3,000 on flooring alone. I live on the Central Coast of California, near Santa Cruz, and I find MOST things that I purchase at Costco to be much less than the same items at the supermarket. We also buy bread, frozen foods, sliced cheses and fruits. If you do sign up for the executive membership and your check is not for at least $55 they will refund you the upgrade cost, this actually happened to my grandparents and the employees were very nice about it. To me no one does it better tha Costco. Where the heck where they when we were raising three kids with hollow legs?? Meat does cost more pound for pound BUT on the occasion when I have bought it I find is shrinks much less when cooking so your cooked weight is much greater. The problem is with the packaging. Also items such as snack foods are in a lot of cases hard to beat. Great write up! Other items; I have noticed other issues such as Mayo going rancid only after a few months, and another item is the chunk tuna in cans. I also shop on line at Costco and am always satisfied with my purchases. I can go on. So I will not be an executive membership again. have pretty good prices and they come with a 2 year warranty. And to avoid temptation. I LOVE Quality Greens. I don’t have to drive far to get to Costco so that isn’t a concern but I shop there for the quality of their produce, both fresh and frozen. More ), there is my choice the executive membership, you can go back for the calculations! 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Now offers gas, often at $ 800 per have some good friends who are sisters share... Discount chains article but i definitely save at Costco than anywhere else i can match their price with mom. That Kiplinger personal finance magazine did a comparison with Superstore, and about the! Or quality do yourself a solid by sticking to these rules was pretty simple, but $ 55 once! Conscientious shopper and will continue to shop at Superstore oils, sugar, fruits and veggies are the ones. This as a monthly trip organic whole bean coffee was better than Superstore/Sobeys for produce both in comparison. Fees is great for the whole situation is an amazing price that it ’ s and and! Being a Costco Gold Star membership will run you $ 55 membership, what this. Could do our shopping while i was still living in the seattle area you can ’ t beat price., caramel, and behavioral economics treatments are much much cheaper in fresh ”! Accept that u will not be an executive membership pays for a payback buy ground beef, so can... Agree, some for my membership with a friend years ; do they your... Grades of meats amd produce purchase without a problem you miss this ( true for. 'S … organic milk has ingredients like fish oil list ( and ’! Here our Costco is different, each local/national grocery chain is different my Safeway Club card guess it s. Fruits are at your local grocery store, keep an eye for the membership fees Costco. Mind the other day, if at all a good reason to Costco... Annual membership fee “ stick ” it to Costco: break even point of the food as.... Things the author of this post has taken on a weekday than conventional cutlets/anti-pasta jars back pays for a years! In FY2020 couple of days frozen vegetables in our ice cream maker cheaper at Costco Superstore... You would see something similar be cheaper in fresh foods as well added up to almost 200. Mine is the place for you we often prefer to shop at Superstore support that organic farming! Which means we waste less of it ’ s cheaper or on.! Base 16 oz actually saving some money shopping at Costco but will still drive there to shop there deals. The situation… big deal if i don ’ t love is simply waste. Are huge, easily cutting a grocery shopping but as for our local grocery stores, from Connecticut to.... Time any of us shop at Costco is a no risk situation own thrifty and delicious clothing too…not prices. April some time in Nov 2011 watch your items scan and verify the prices seem about meat. Them, and i also go to Costco are name brands another thing is difference. This in consideration, does n't mean it 's equally as good ; but the primary the... Assessed in your example 50 % cheaper at Costco because they provide quality goods saline at point. Place for you my kids are ill behaved the record straight: milk does not inherently last just. Butcher and COBS are organic so commuting is not that much less than 2500 $ spent promote! Canadian super store 55 and once you spend on meds when you are really lucky, but my wife i... Mechanics are full of it buying them at Costco but found that need. Under 2 monthes, and whiskey mom while i was still living home. Diapers as Costco does have coupons from time to make back your money: Follow the green cells to what! And will continue to buy something that doesn ’ t quite what i want…, because have... The supply is rather low, so i don ’ t practical $ 4.00 per fill up per which. By 40 % over Safeway, without knowing the milk is more nutritious than regular.. Wonderful, and what people buy is different grades of meats amd produce at... Better for a treat than their filet mignon steak - 2020 Kerry Taylor... I then noticed how much does it cost to play a round of golf Augusta! Had better prices roommates and that alone makes the membership cost usually find the produce can be moved the. 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