Why don’t we shop at Costco, even though everyone I know at our “environmental friendly town” shop at “our Costco” next town over?
We don’t shop at Costco, or other warehouse/whole sale stores, even before I embarked on my couponing journey. Here’s why, separated by product categories:
Meat – We got most of our meat at the ethic, mom-and-pop stores in Sacramento. Ground pork, which we used most often, is only $1.79/lb there. Yes they’re not the cleanest or nicest place to shop, but we’ve never had any problems with their meat. And you should trust the authorities for doing their inspection job I think. Also we like bones in our meat, and we save the bones for making broth – as far as I know only the ethic stores sell meat with a lot of bones in them.
Produce - This is an easy one – we got ours at the farmers market, or local “produce stands”. We’ve been totally spoiled, living in California where fresh fruit and vegetables abound. I especially like the idea of supporting local farmers directly 
. Also produce from the farmers market are vine-ripened, which means they are more nutritious, and tastier. The ethic grocery stores (mostly Korean, Chinese, Japanese) sells their “asian” type produce (think bok choy or daikon) the cheapest, and they have an amazing variety there. Also we’ve heard many horror stories of produce brought from Costco being thrown out,because one family can’t finish it!
Toiletries – One word – drugstores. We’ve accumulated so many toiletries and paper products at our home now, it felt like we’ve shopped at Costco, but we only spent a fraction combined with rebates, coupons, etc at Rite Aid and CVS.
Snacks/convenience food – Not in our usual ream of purchases, but if we needed any, it better not be in bulk packaging to encourage consumption 
Other comments – Costco is too big for us – you could easily spend 2 hours in there, and might ended up getting things you don’t need. Also, people tend to assume buying in bulk is cheaper. That’s not always true. Next time you go to any grocery store where they have different sized products, try to calculate at the prices per ml/oz/g/toilet rolls. You’ll be surprised. The most important point – Costco only take their own coupons, which have varieties, but still, you can’t use all the other wonderful coupons.
Why do you shop, or don’t shop at Costco? What do you like or don’t like about it? Leave me a comment!
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i have a costco membership that i split with my sister in southern cali. i agree that most of the products at costco are not that affordable, except for the bread and the bag of chips. we like our bread and chips. =)
The main produce I get is organic lettuce and bananas I find them way cheaper than other stores. Other produce I get at the FM. I think the salsa and chips and cheese are a good price, too. Oh yeah and the huge pizzas for 9.99$ if you are having a party. I don’t cut coupons so I think without coupons costco is generally cheaper than the grocery store. I find the best deal of all at costco is the whole, cooked, rotisary chicken for 4.99$
Here are some reasons I do shop at Costco:
Milk less then $2 a gallon
Lettuce 5heads less then $3
Organic Celery 4bunches less then $3
Organic Carrots 10lbs less then $4 (I make a batch of carrot soup and we get through them)
3lb cheese less then $5
Milk less then $2/gallon
Organic eggs about $5 for 18
Whole wheat bread less then $2 loaf
Frozen Strawberries a huge bag for $6ish (for smoothies)
I agree about the pizza and chicken! For a large family Costco is a great option for saving money on quality food. While I agree that the Farmers Market food is much better (tasting, quality, socially) it is usually much more expensive then what I can get at Costco (and sometimes Safeway) If you shop there for staples, then you just don’t buy all the junk food.
Also, the coupons Costco does give are very good ones, usually $2 or $3 off. If you shop there enough you can get the executive membership that gives you a percentage of your money back, for us that pays for the membership (plus we get a little extra back)
I think the main thing is that each family finds the best prices for their need, a family with four big kids is going to have different needs then a family that has two younger children.
Thanks for the comments. Especially to Lisa for the details! Now, you guys really got me thinking here about giving Costco a chance. We don’t have a large family ourselves, so the main thing is probably getting another family to split the produce.
No one has mentioned gas at Costco which is the main reason we go these days. It is consistently 10-12 cents cheaper a gallon than at most other stations. We also love their pizza and hotdogs for a cheap meal (although you don’t have to be a member to have their cooked pizza and hotdogs). We are also obsessed with Micheala’s tortillas which are cheaper at Costco than any of the other stores that carry them. They also just started carrying Silk organic soymilk for cheaper than Walmart.
Does anyone factor in the cost of driving for all this deal-seeking enthusiasm?
If you assume the IRS reimbursement rate is somewhat accurate (currently $0.55 per mile), it adds significant costs to driving around, hunting down deals. And, of course, pollution is a result as well.
In this sense, Costco might be great or not, depending on how often you go, and where you live.
I’ve loving the comments! It helps that we live in a small, and bike friendly town doesn’t it?
Even more reason to combine sales with coupons at the drugstores, I think. I mostly hunt down deals in CVS, Rite Aid and Safeway. We’re very lucky. CVS is right next to Safeway in W. Davis (Rite Aid is just down the street, down in Anderson), and Rite Aid is next to Safeway in S. Davis. Driving to Costco in Woodland would cost more than biking around town. You saved much more than a few dollars just hitting one drugstore’s deal.
More comments from my dear friends:
Jennie said: I don’t shop at Costco neither, but my sister told me that she does cos with the “premium membership” (dunno what it’s called) the savings are worth the membership it payoff at the end….. I might consider that once we are over with our Sam’s membership this year…. what do you think about BJ’s? (you can use coupons at BJ’s)
Connie said: I am going to renew my membership in Oct and hoping to get a fat rebate check. love the dried mango pack from Philippines … love Costco. i never know how Costco look like (inside) except it’s a big warehouse (the one in Pentagon City didn’t attract me at all), but the Pentagon City mall caught my attention when I was living in Arlington.
. It’s called “executive membership” and you get 2% rebate from your purchase at the time or membership renewal. Regular membership is $50.00 and executive membership is $100.00 annually. HTH.
Liz said: I think the draw is the idea that you “think” you are getting a good deal. I have made some great purchases, and many others that I didn’t necessarily need. I think you also have to be the temperament that likes that kind of atmosphere. They have “seasonal items”- plants, furniture, etc. that are usually a good deal and usually seem to be decent … quality. I have three teenage boys, you can’t beat the price on ground turkey, spaghetti sauce, tortillas, big bags of cheese, milk, etc. I much prefer Nugget or Farmer’s Market for produce. We don’t eat a lot of other meat, but I go to Nugget for fish too.
Tabitha said: Hmmm…good discussion started, Lee. We shop at Costco because we have grandparents with us. Plus with 2 kids, we need things like diapers, milk, eggs, bread consistently regardless if there’s a coupon or not (haven’t done the stockpiling yet). Plus we also utilize their photo printing and gas
.
I also get my gas at costco and cannot find it cheaper anywhere else. I also find clothing to be cheaper, tires (with lifetime rotation for free), animal products are much cheaper and things like dry goods that don’t spoil real fast. I have to admit that it does take a lot of self-control to not get carried away and leave without a bill of a couple hundred dollars. It is also very convenient to get lots done at one place. I also have to admit that I have over bought many times at costco and I am really starting to look at what I buy, what gets thrown out and what we really need.
Thanks Lee, I love the web-site.
I have a Costco membership but I only go there every 6-8 weeks for certain items.
Tortillas
Tortillas chips
Spices & Seasonings(especially taco seasoning large jar for less $4)
Vegetable oil
Milk
Eggs
Bisquick
Log Cabin Syrup
Socks for my Dad…he only likes the Kirkland Brand
Peanut Butter w/coupon
Kirkland Contact Lense Solution
Lettuce
The stuff that I think is overpriced:
Fruit- Safeway, Raleys or Nugget have better sales. I go to farmers markets when they are about to close to get better prices.
Diapers- they are more expensive than Target & Walmart
I leave in West Sac, so all the stores(except for Costco) are very close to me. I don’t feel like I’m driving all over town for the deals. I do try to plan my trips to make it more efficient.
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