What are the Pros and Cons of a Costco Membership?

Bonnie, I would say quite honestly it is probably not worth your while & we have a Costco membership.

We only got our membership as my DH saw a deal on a camera through costco & he could only get it if he was a member. He would still save a bunch on the camera even figuring in the membership cost so we joined up for the year.

I believe it is around $30 for the year for regular membership (which has everything you need). There is another level up for people that buy things for businesses I think.

But the lines are long! Especially if you go on the weekends.

Also most stuff is in big sized bottles or cans, or they are in multipacks.

The only thing we buy from there is their baby wipes, sometimes diapers, & bottled water. But it works out much cheaper for us to shop at our local supermarket using coupons.

I mayb be wrong, but I am pretty sure you also cannot use credit cards there, only cash!

Oh & the other thing we buy there is the hot dog & soda as that is a meal in itself, but you don't have to really be a member to go to the cafe area! lol

So I would say you are better off using coupons at your supermarket or Target. ;)

I don't have time to really respond at the moment, but wanted to say that you can use either a Costco AMEX or a debit card in addition to cash.

I agree that it may be worth your while; we have an Executive Membership (you do not need to be a business) and for us, the savings on things like diapers, wipes and entertainment items (eg, gifts for others) is worth the fee.

I'll hopefully BBL with more...

My husband and I are members to Sam's Club, which is basically the same thing as Costco, B.J.'s, etc. In some ways the savings are there, and in some ways they are not. If you use large quantitys of certain items, then it is definitely worth it. If you just use small quantitys, then it is probably not worth the membership fee.

We buy all our bottled water there, and right now they have great, cheap strawberries (at least the one by me). We also get laundry soap, spaghetti sauces, etc. I got some adorable glasses for MUCH less than Shopper's Optical and Lenscrafters.

But my husband is always wooed by the giant packages of bacon and sausages. Every.time. So he comes home with 10,000 strips of bacon that we can't possibly eat.

So there are many things that are a good deal, but if you just just let yourself be dazzled by all the other stuff, you can end up spending a lot on the wrong things. Like POUNDS of bacon for two people.

I used to belong to Sam's Club but since there's just the two of us now and we no longer live where there is a convenient location, we've let our membership lapse.

However, when my house was filled with five people, three cats and a dog it was worth it. I bought cat food, cat litter, dog food, toilet paper, ground turkey, ground beef, potato chips, etc. there. I believe Costco is probably the same way.

I don't know if the little I know will be of any use. My son is really into electronics. He knows more about them than anyone else I know. He has bought several TVs there. I believe you can go on line and maybe get some prices there. This might help.

We swear by Costco. Its $50 for a year for a regular membership and $100 for exectuive, which gives you cash back at the end of the year.

We buy our milk, cheese, toliet paper, paper towels, fruit & veggies...and ton of other stuff. Oh books...books are usually about 4.50 for new paperbacks. Very good deals IMO.

Most things are bulk or in a big bottle, but some aren't. To me, we get our moneys worth out of it every year.

I have both a Costco and a Sam's Club membership. Right now we go to Sam's more often simply because it is closer. I definitely think that is worth it. The memberships are $35-40 and they do offer an "executive club" membership. This has never been "worth it" for me.

Costco will not take regular coupons that come out of the Sunday paper, but they come out with their own coupon books every few months and offer some very good deals. They often have coupons for things like deodorant, toothpaste, and shampoo, and when you combine the coupons with the wholesale prices, it ends up being a really good deal.

Some of the things that we buy consistently there include: meat (all kinds - ground beef, roast, pork chops, chicken, etc), hot dogs, lunchmeat, canned cream soups, canned chicken broth, canned veggies, pasta noodles (all kinds - spaghetti, angel hair, egg noodles, etc.), Ragu/Prego spaghetti sauce, milk, eggs, bread (they come in 2-packs so we use one and freeze one), bottled water, energy drinks (my husband loves these), dog food, fruit, garbage bags, cleaning supplies, etc.

We do not have a large family (my husband, myself, and one child) and we also don't have tons of storage space. I will make one trip to "stock up" on items like the ones I mentioned above. I do portion out the meat and then freeze it. I can stretch the items for 4-6 weeks and then I just have to buy "staples" (milk, bread, etc.) ever two weeks or so. By making fewer trips to the grocery store, I save time and money. If you use coupons and are willing to travel and match coupons and sale ads, then you can probably save more that way, but for me between the time I save (and the gas money I save), it's easier to just buy in bulk and stretch. I hope that makes sense!

I think that they sometimes offer free trial memberships for a day, so you could try that or see if you have any friends or family members who have a membership and who would let you go to check it out. Also, regarding the lines....it probably depends on your location and when you go. If you go on a Saturday afternoon (any time between 12 and 4), expect long lines pretty much no matter where you are. But..if you go during the week (and even in the evenings), it usually isn't that bad (and I have been to several different locations in different states).

The current yearly membership (for a regular membership) is $55. Yup. They raised it again. (And for business membership it's still $100 - but you don't need that.)

We have several warehouse club stores in the area: CostCo, BJ's, SAM's, etc. But CostCo is by far the BEST. They have much better quality/features of electronics at almost the same cost as what BJ's and others offer. Also the eye glasses deal is unbeatable (with fashionable designs).

Most of the grocery type of items are bulky, but they do have smaller packages for "luxury" items. That I mean things like chocolates, snacks, juices, etc.

They also have much cheaper gasoline (at certain locations), great tire and auto batteries, etc.

They take their own coupons (mailed to the members about quarterly), but not outside coupons (i.e., they do not take manufactures coupons).

The parking lot is always busy, and the check-out lanes are always long.... unless you can go during normal business hours when most people are at work.

I absolutely love this store.... but you know what? I would recommend that you do NOT get your own membership. But DO find out who has it, and then ask them to take you to a shopping trip.

I don't shop there for grocery items (because I am a one-person family, and I can usually find better deals in the local grocery stores with their sale prices and manufacturers coupons). But I do shop CostCo for big ticket items, such as tires, auto batteries (not expensive, but you really want a good quality and good warranty), electronics, and eye glasses. They also do passport photos for something like $6 or so (I cannot remember exactly) while regular stores charge up to $24.

I probably only go there a few times a year, so the membership fee is not worthwhile to me.

In the old days, you could have "shared" a membership with a friend or a neighbor (because one annual fee gets you two membership cards, and for each membership card, you can bring up to 3 family members, as I recall. So you could keep a card and your friend/neighbor keeps the other card). But now they figured people are "cheating", so both cards must be issued to people living in the same household (and they require a proof of address).

This is a great store for big ticket items. But just ask someone to take you there.....

see if you can go with your neighbor, just to check it out. Bring a pad and paper and jot down the prices and sizes of things you might buy- toilet paper, tuna, whatever and then go to the stores you normally shop at and see how much money you will save. If you are diligent at shopping the loss-leader sales at target, walmart, etc and using coupons, most likely you will not be able to recoup your membership costs.

Thanks for the feedback. It sounds like maybe okay for bottled water, microwaved bacon, string cheese and cat food - all items I could use large quantities of.

I will ask the neighbor to go along on her next trip. She does not have a car and usually asks her son in law, so it could work one morning after taking kids to school.

I think they open at 10 am though, very late for me as my kids go to school by 8 am, one of the reasons I dont like that shopping center since all stores open at 10 am. Too late for me when target is at 8 am.

We go sometimes as we have one in our town and the commissary (base grocery store) is about 20 minutes away and I hate going there. The DVDs and books are A LOT cheaper than the "outside"! They do offer good deals, and would probably do all my shopping there if I didn't have an active duty marine as a husband. Southern California grocery stores are crazy expensive! They are on par with Hawaii ones! I was shocked! Though the $45.00 membership fee kind of makes me sad. You know when you buy $150.00 worth then they tack on that $45.00 (only once a year) I always choke a lil inside! haha. For once I didn't re new it this year, I may next month though as I love their Christmas things. Their wrapping paper and cloth ribbon are super cheap! Also, if you have a beer drinker in the house, you won't find it any cheaper else where. Each state differs in what they offer as they try to incorporate local merchants as much as possible. You can go in and look around without paying, they let you do that so you can see if it's for you! Also some stores have gas stations which are at least .10-.20 cents cheaper per gallon which helps! Good luck!

We use to have a membership; however, don't any longer as can save more doubling coupons at the local grocery store. I would suggest using one of the free day coupons and writing down the prices, as its not a good deal, if you spend more than the grocery stores.
I know Von's doesn't double anymore and Ralph's doubles only 1 of a kind, which can be bad when you want to make only 1 trip.
I agree with D.Q. about shopping the loss-leaders at Target. Your area has a lot of stores, so I believe spending a large amount for a membership is not a good deal.

If you know of another single parent or friend that would like a membership, get one together and split the yearly fee. It doesn't have to be a spouse that is on the card with you. I know of several widowed people in our area that do this and it works our great for them.

If you live close to Costco, or you routinely shop near one, I would recommend it. I did the membership-share with a friend, too- I paid for it the first year, he paid the second year.

I got my membership because I needed two new tires, and they have the best tire prices. And the best gas prices. And the best prescription glasses prices (I hear). They also make the BEST birthday cakes for dirt cheap (just sheet cakes- but you can special order and it's the same price and they taste soooo good).

They're also great for soda, water, milk, fruits & veggies, detergent, etc. The membership pays for itself pretty quickly (especially if you end up having to buy two new tires). And the ones here take personal checks and debit cards as well as AmEx and cash.

I don't have costco. I have a few friends who have BJ's and they love it because you can buy packages of diapers (like four in the package) and can a coupon for each normal package in the bulk thingy. lol. I know that doesnt make any sense. lol.

I don't have a membership as there's only the two of us and storage space, well... we don't have much. I do use manufacturers coupons all the time though on the things that we use. So, being that we have two grocery stores about 10 minutes from us and very close to each other, I doubt the membership would be worth it to me. But it would be fun to go with a friend just to see what it's like.
If you do go, let us know what you think, from a non-members perception! :)

Okay so since I saw varying membership prices...I had to go look cause we just got our renewal for the year. And it is the $50 I thought it was, it was $45. It isn't varying yearly membership cost is it?

I find costco to be expensive, you really have to know your prices, some stuff I know I can get cheeper in a regular supermarket even without a sale. I wouldn't go out of my way to go to costco.

Used to belong to Sam's but at 85 miles, it wasn't worth it. At 185, Cosco Sure wouldn't be. Maybe if I move, or they open one near me.

We got a membership to Costco, used it twice in a year. Prices on food at wuper WalMart are better than the prices at Costco for the most part. I buy in bulk all the time, so it's got nothing to do with the fact that you have to do that. I only shop once every 3 months, for the most part. Other than things like bread, and milk. We found Costco membership to not be something we needed and did not renew ours.
when ic comes to meats we have a butcher shop that is close to the Costco we go to, and thier prices are just UNBEATABLE! I can walk into the meat place and get boneless, skinless chicken breast for 1.29 a pound and Costco wants 3.49 a pound. NO WAY am I buying meat at costco!

Personally I would rather shop at Sam's Club.

Umm... Maybe the membership cost is different by region? Or maybe they "just" raised it to $55? I just went with my boss a couple of weeks ago to get an auto battery. At check-out, he found out his membership had expired. So he renewed it right there. He was charged $55.

Our household of two has lots of storage space. There are items that are too large for us to consider, but many are multiples (I don't know how many rolls of toilet paper, for instance; but we need to restock!).

We have made some really big-ticket purchases (enough to pay for Executive membership with its 2% payback), including carpeting an apartment and a garage door.

What you need and having space to store are important considerations.

Years back, to be a member of Price Club, one had to work for some branch of some government, but this requirement was eliminated when Costco swallowed up Price Club.

On the Costco.com website, the membership is listed as being $50 for a "new signup." It doesn't list the prices for renewal, so maybe it varies? My husband and I have been paying $35 for years now for our renewal. We have the card through my father in law's corporate account and he just lets us know each year when the renewal is due and we send him a check.

It must vary or something...cause like I said...I know cause we just got in in the mail for our new renewal. This is strange, cause I really thought it was all the same yearly price for membership by level. lol Funny what you find out.

Bonnie, although Costco's prices are good on a lot of things, I have found that if I buy a box of something at the grocery store and there are 12 servings in a box, it seems to last the same amount of time as the case I bought at Costco with 48 servings. i don't know why, but for some reason, if we have a large amount of something in the house, everybody seems to think it is their duty to consume it as quickly as possible. Because of this, Costco does not save me ANY money on groceries.

Thanks for the feedback everyone. I will try to go with neighbor or visit the store and walk around on my own to take notes.

The Costco Membership was just raised from $45 to $50. It does not vary from store to store. That was the first membership raise in six years. There are some items that you can get cheaper in a grocery store, like soda, but for the most part, you will get the absolute best price from Costco simply because their company policy is that they do not charge more than 14% over their cost for items they sell and usually the cost is much less. They NEVER charge more than that. Grocery stores may have lower prices on some items, particularly if you use coupons only because they are lowering prices on an item like Pepsi as a draw to get you into the store.

Yes! You can still even get the Hot Dog and soda deal at the snackbar for $1.50, just like when they first started!

Costco has EXCELLENT meat for affordable prices. But if you commonly buy cheap meat at the grocery store, you might be able to get it cheaper. I like to buy quality meat so the prices at Costco are great. As someone else mentioned, you cannot buy a better birthday cake... they are the BOMB!

The electronics at Costco ARE top quality and again, will never cost you more than 14% over Costco's cost. The money that is made on the products they sell cover the overhead for the company to run and they treat their employees very well - that requires money to coer insurance, etc. The only profit they make is in the membership fees, so the fact that they didn't raise those fees for 6 years shows that they do what they can to keep the costs to the members down as much as they can, but they are in business to turn a profit, so I guess they'll have to raise those fees every once in a while to keep up with inflation. Plus, with Costco's return policy mentioned above, if you have a problem with an item you purchased there, you can replace it without hassle unlike the treatment you get from other electronic companies like Best Buy or Fry's.

It's true that many of the items come in large quantities, but for me, it's nice to go in and purchase 8 cans of tuna, 6 cans of chicken broth, 6 cans of olives, etc... and then I don't have to buy those things again for a few months. The produce is AMAZING there. I was really surprised at how excellent the vegetables are. the tomatoes are flavorful, the corn is sweet and you can get a salad in a bag that last several days for half the price of the regular size in a grocery store. I LOVE the produce section at Costco. Same with the dairy products - a few weeks ago, I bought a 2 pound brick of cheddar for $3.50!

I guess what I'm trying to say is that you can get some amazing deals at Costco, but keep in mind that Costco is selling quality items. If you want to buy cheap stuff, sure go to Sam's Club or WalMart, but if you like quality, you won't get a better deal than what you find at Costco.

Someone else didn't like the clothes there and I don't buy much there, but they do carry name brand quality clothing and shoes for really reasonable prices. I got 2 Speedo bathing suits there this year for $20 each, anywhere else they would probably be $40-50! And, you can't find a better deal on CDs, DVDs and Books... not even at Target which is my second choice for these items.

And, yes, there is a $100 executive membership available. You get 2% back on purchases at the end of each year. It usually pays for itself at the end of the year if you use your membership. I think a lot of people forget to use the membership and then they get frustrated and think it isn't valuable, but just like coupons - you have to remember use them! If you plan your purchases, you can stock up at Costco and just hit the grocery store for specialty items you have good coupons for and produce and dairy and bakery as needed in between your big trips. There are only two of us and I don't have a lot of storage, but I definitely use my Costco membership and am HAPPY not to have to buy groceries EVERY week!

Oh and don't forget that you can upload digital photos to the website and pick them up in an hour! That is one of my favorite services and the pictures you get back are high quality!

Of course, everyone is different and likes doing things differently. Enjoy your visit there with your neighbor and I'd love to hear how your experience goes. I personally am a Costco junkie and would be very sad to not have my membership.

Keep one thing in mind. Costco and Sams Club are NOT the same. LIke Walmart, the parent company of Sam's Club, the quality is quite different although Sams is finally trying to catch up with Costco.

Agree, CostCo has much better quality items than Sam's Club or Walmart. The CostCo price is usually good on most items, but not all. I get better deals on electronics online or going to a store I want to purchase from with a competitors ads and asking them to meet the price in the ad. I haven't tried that w CostCo.

CostCo has a very liberal return policy, which I love as I can return things without my receipt. They've got a great price on Salmon which we grill all the time and their roasted chicken and ribs are to die for. They have great prices on mini-DV tapes & on dog & cat food, and on Starbucks whole bean coffee, raisens, wheat thins... if you don't mind buying a year's supply. I shop there about every 10-14 days... when we need food for the animals is when I go.

I have both a Sam's Club and a Costco membership, though I will probably drop the Costco membership when it comes up for renewal, due to it being more expensive than the Sam's membership. (Costco is $50 yr and Sam's is $40 yr)

Pricing is similar at both stores for staples, like milk, but Costco seems to be higher priced on their store brand of items, though some of those are of a higher quality than Sam's Club's branded items---which is NOT to say that the Sam's stuff isn't good quality, 'cause it is! Very good! But I'd classify the Costco store brand of a lot of items as "Gourmet" or "Super-Premium"; at a higher price than Sam's.
Both of my membeships are "Business" memberships....allows me to get into Sam's REALLY early in the mornings, before it gets crowded, and is also a business deduction. Not sure if Costco has an earlier admittance time for Business members....

Costco does sell several different antional brands than Sam's Club does, but both places sell large/bulk size items. These sizes can really save you a lot of money, if you have room to store them (i.e. a sturdy shelf in the laundry room for the 3 gallon sized spigot jug of liquid laundry detergent), or if you really don't want to go shopping every 2-4 weeks for some things (i.e. trash bags...I buy kit. sized, and lawn/leaf size, and I buy them each ONCE A YEAR, due to the large sizes they come in. MAJOR savings there, and tiolet paper....I buy it by the case, once every 4-6 weeks.)

Neither place takes manufacturer's coupons, though Costco occasionally hands out their own coupons at the entrance that have some free/half price savings.

I've got some decent deals on electronics at Costco...
And some KILLER DEALS on electronics at Sam's. ;o)
They seem to have more clearance/display item markdowns/open box return markdowns than my local Costco does, which makes for HUNDREDS of DOLLARS off on things like large screen tv's and Computers. IN fact, I jsut bought a new pc that was $600 under aferage retail, due to the fact that some woman bought it, took it home, turned it on, registered it in her name, didn't like the look of WindowsXP/said it was more machine than she needed , and then returned it for a refund.
Her loss=my gain: it's a top of the line tv/pc with a tv tuner, DVR capability, and a huge flat panel monitor. :o)

Anway, this is fast turnign into a spiel for Sam's Club, isn't it? *lol*
Sorry! ;o)

But I hope I've given you some info you can use concerning Costco....

Bottom line is, if you don't need/enjoy buying in bulk (or unless you are regularly making major electronics/appliance purchases), you're way better off using coupons/double coupons at regular stores than you are to pay for a membership.
I've done both and enjoyed both, but once the family grew I needed the savings of bulk buying, and now that I've gotten used to less shopping trips I'm a warehouse club member for life. ;o)

I have a SAMS CLUB membership but honestly, unless it's something like dishwasher soap, granola bars or treats for a class party, I don't go there often. I clip coupons and it seems I get better bargains using them than visiting SAMS~

I live in New Jersey on the Jersey Shore. I have been a member since 1990 and I love it. There is only my wife and myself now we have 6 children and when they were home they could eat you out of house and home. Thank you Costco for being there with prices affordable for a large family...But wait we still shop there every week or so and there is just the two of us. What do we buy you ask? How about this....All of our prescriptions, appliances, meats and bread. Our water, fresh fruits, and milk. All of our christmas gifts for and extensive family. Gift wrap, & ribbons and wait now we are going to get a small freezer to store our Costco merchandise in. Seafood, pies,tvs and computers. Oh and Im having my eyes examined again next week. I just upgraded to Executive as we have passed 3500 in a year. When Im leaving I go right to the gas station today gas was 2.19 20 cents a gallon l ess then anywhere else. What would I do without my Costco.Cryyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyy..

There are some great "tricks of the trade" that you should know about Costco- for instance, anything ending in ".97" has been discounted (due to overstock), and may be an exceptionally good deal. Here's a great article that explains how to get the most out of a warehouse club membership (Sam's Club or Costco- I boycott Sam's Club, so I don't know much about it, personally)... there are some great tips in here.

Oh- and if you have any prescriptions that you pay for out of pocket, the prices at Costco are extraordinary. You can look up the prices at Costco.com, and they'll even mail your prescription to you.