Costco

riznick said:
I don't know why I continue to shop at Costco.  Lately I wonder why I shop there anymore.

Prices used to be better.  Now, most things I buy are cheaper elsewhere.

I get better pricing at the Vons/Albertsons/Ralphs for a lot of the grocery items.  I went to Costco a few months ago at the District, and then to Target at the District.  There was a lot of the same toys.  Target was about 20% cheaper than Costco.  Amazon was cheaper than Costco for diapers when my kids were babies.  The Acura car dealership was a lot cheaper for tires than Costco the last time I needed my tires replaced.

There are things I still do get at Costco, but I do question if it's worth the hassle.  Parking is more difficult at Costco.  Navigating through the store is more difficult than other stores.  Forget gas.  The lines for gas at Costco are usually too long to save $1.  My last few experiences buying gas at Costco, I noticed it was cheaper at the Shell station. 

I realize it's not all about price, but I wonder if the shopping experience is worth whatever extra value I get from Costco.  There are still deals to be had at Costco, but I question how much value I get out of my membership.  I'll drop my executive membership this year for sure.  I might drop it altogether when they get rid of the Amex cards.
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I don't think Costco advertises that they are the cheapest out there. They make their money from membership income, and gross margin of the products they sell.

Do I think there is value with a Costco membership? Yes
 
aquabliss said:
It's all about the Hot Dog and Soda for $1.62 after tax.
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And you can swipe your CC now at the food court, no more 38 cents in change annoying me in my pocket :)
 
riznick said:
I don't know why I continue to shop at Costco.  Lately I wonder why I shop there anymore.

Prices used to be better.  Now, most things I buy are cheaper elsewhere.

I get better pricing at the Vons/Albertsons/Ralphs for a lot of the grocery items.  I went to Costco a few months ago at the District, and then to Target at the District.  There was a lot of the same toys.  Target was about 20% cheaper than Costco.  Amazon was cheaper than Costco for diapers when my kids were babies.  The Acura car dealership was a lot cheaper for tires than Costco the last time I needed my tires replaced.

There are things I still do get at Costco, but I do question if it's worth the hassle.  Parking is more difficult at Costco.  Navigating through the store is more difficult than other stores.  Forget gas.  The lines for gas at Costco are usually too long to save $1.  My last few experiences buying gas at Costco, I noticed it was cheaper at the Shell station. 

I realize it's not all about price, but I wonder if the shopping experience is worth whatever extra value I get from Costco.  There are still deals to be had at Costco, but I question how much value I get out of my membership.  I'll drop my executive membership this year for sure.  I might drop it altogether when they get rid of the Amex cards.
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100% agree. I dropped my executive membership last year and just canceled my regular membership.  I realized I hate/dread going there and the savings (if any) aren't that great.  Has anyone tried Jet or Boxed?
 
riznick said:
I don't know why I continue to shop at Costco.  Lately I wonder why I shop there anymore.

Prices used to be better.  Now, most things I buy are cheaper elsewhere.

I get better pricing at the Vons/Albertsons/Ralphs for a lot of the grocery items.  I went to Costco a few months ago at the District, and then to Target at the District.  There was a lot of the same toys.  Target was about 20% cheaper than Costco.  Amazon was cheaper than Costco for diapers when my kids were babies.  The Acura car dealership was a lot cheaper for tires than Costco the last time I needed my tires replaced.

There are things I still do get at Costco, but I do question if it's worth the hassle.  Parking is more difficult at Costco.  Navigating through the store is more difficult than other stores.  Forget gas.  The lines for gas at Costco are usually too long to save $1.  My last few experiences buying gas at Costco, I noticed it was cheaper at the Shell station. 

I realize it's not all about price, but I wonder if the shopping experience is worth whatever extra value I get from Costco.  There are still deals to be had at Costco, but I question how much value I get out of my membership.  I'll drop my executive membership this year for sure.  I might drop it altogether when they get rid of the Amex cards.
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Visit the Alhambra Costco for the ultimate experience. A kid could get run over inside the store and no one would stop to help. Must be all the FCBs.
 
WillJoy said:
What about the free food. I feel less guilty about indulgence when I'm only 'tasting' here and there.
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Worth the money to me.  Always make sure you do the rounds first so you know if you want a pizza slice AND a hot dog or just a pizza slice.

I purchase their gas so I feel that the 3% cash back plus their already low prices gives me a nice little return.

I buy enough frozen blueberries there to warrant the membership prices.
 
Whiskey is a good enough deal to keep my membership. Save like $10 a bottle.

I was at the Alhambra Costco one time and saw a man get punched in the face.
 
Speaking of Costco, once we stopped by a Costco on our way to a ski resort in Utah to buy alcoholic drinks for the whole gang. I walked round and round in circles and eventually had to asked a staff member.  Before he could finish whatever he was saying I covered my face with my hands and rushed out. And then I bumped into this soda machine by the exit.

I had a flashback yesterday when I saw a very similar vending machine by the exit at Tustin Costco.
 

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riznick said:
Prices used to be better.  Now, most things I buy are cheaper elsewhere.
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I shop at Costco because there is above-average value in everything I buy, and I feel very confident about the quality of every product I put in the cart. Can't really say the same about Walmart or Target.

Weirdly, I actually like the fact that Costco will only stock limited choices of things, (i.e. one Kirkland choice and one name brand) because it simplifies shopping. I don't get much value at all from going to Ralphs and choosing between 60 different skus of ketchup.
 
Just bought a mattress at Costco... was going to buy it at Livings Spaces because that's where we bought the bed and we wouldn't have to worry about delivery but for less money we got a name brand (Sealy?) and better quality product.
 
irvinehomeowner said:
Just bought a mattress at Costco... was going to buy it at Livings Spaces because that's where we bought the bed and we wouldn't have to worry about delivery but for less money we got a name brand (Sealy?) and better quality product.
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can you take it back 10 years later?
 
sump3pe said:
Visit the Alhambra Costco for the ultimate experience. A kid could get run over inside the store and no one would stop to help. Must be all the FCBs.
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Fountain Valley is like that too. I can guess that Alhambra might be worse.  There are a lot of rude asian people with no etiquette in those areas.  There can be an obvious line of people, and yet these people will just cut in front of everyone. 

The Irvine and Tustin ones are much better.

eyephone said:
I don't think Costco advertises that they are the cheapest out there. They make their money from membership income, and gross margin of the products they sell.
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It advertises "Best Possible Prices". 

"We are a membership warehouse club, dedicated to bringing our members the best possible prices on quality brand-name merchandise."

Anyhow, the assumption is that you are getting warehouse prices, which should be less than department store prices.  Whatever the case, most items that I would typically buy are cheaper at typical stores.  I still shop there for some things, but like I said, I'm questioning myself whether or not it's worth the membership fees and hassle.
 
riznick said:
sump3pe said:
Visit the Alhambra Costco for the ultimate experience. A kid could get run over inside the store and no one would stop to help. Must be all the FCBs.
Click to expand...
Fountain Valley is like that too. I can guess that Alhambra might be worse.

eyephone said:
I don't think Costco advertises that they are the cheapest out there. They make their money from membership income, and gross margin of the products they sell.
Click to expand...
It advertises "Best Possible Prices". 

"We are a membership warehouse club, dedicated to bringing our members the best possible prices on quality brand-name merchandise."

Anyhow, the assumption is that you are getting warehouse prices, which should be less than department store prices.  Whatever the case, most items that I would typically buy are cheaper at typical stores.  I still shop there for some things, but like I said, I'm questioning myself whether or not it's worth the membership fees and hassle.
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I have seen prices for fruits and vegetables cheaper than costco. (For example - avocados)

Also, I do not need a case of fruits and vegetables. (But that's me, everybody is entitled to an opinion)
 
You can definitely find cheaper prices if you take the time to look, shop sales, or clip coupons. Maybe you can get $1/lb strawberries at Sprouts, a cheaper TV on Amazon, and find an email deal on 5000 sheets of copy paper from Office Depot. I think you have to weigh the hassle in shopping around different vendors/retailers/stores as well.
 
eyephone said:
riznick said:
sump3pe said:
Visit the Alhambra Costco for the ultimate experience. A kid could get run over inside the store and no one would stop to help. Must be all the FCBs.
Click to expand...
Fountain Valley is like that too. I can guess that Alhambra might be worse.

eyephone said:
I don't think Costco advertises that they are the cheapest out there. They make their money from membership income, and gross margin of the products they sell.
Click to expand...
It advertises "Best Possible Prices". 

"We are a membership warehouse club, dedicated to bringing our members the best possible prices on quality brand-name merchandise."

Anyhow, the assumption is that you are getting warehouse prices, which should be less than department store prices.  Whatever the case, most items that I would typically buy are cheaper at typical stores.  I still shop there for some things, but like I said, I'm questioning myself whether or not it's worth the membership fees and hassle.
Click to expand...

I have seen prices for fruits and vegetables cheaper than costco. (For example - avocados)

Also, I do not need a case of fruits and vegetables. (But that's me, everybody is entitled to an opinion)
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Their fruits and veggies are largely a rip. Their organic spring salads and stuff like that which are prepackaged are not. Not sure the disconnect but ocassionally I'll buy fruit their (sheer convenience) but otherwise, I can get much better deals at whichever grocer has the stuff on sale.  ]

Note: I suppose if I wanted 20 lb's of carrots, that is actually a good deal, but I'm not bugs bunny. 
 
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