Is a Costco membership worth it for a single guy?
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alien
I never bothered to renew when my membership expired but when I used to go I'd always see a bargain of some sort. If I were to renew I wouldn't bother with more than the basic membership, don't think the premium ever paid off.
A few times a year I'd get a hotdog which alone made the membership pay off by not going somewhere more expensive to eat.
Id go there for socks, razer blades, gps, sunglasses, batteries, patio furniture... All cheaper than anywhere else.
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A few times a year I'd get a hotdog which alone made the membership pay off by not going somewhere more expensive to eat.
Id go there for socks, razer blades, gps, sunglasses, batteries, patio furniture... All cheaper than anywhere else.
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dravnx
Well-known member
The real answer is it depends. Depends on how much stuff you'll buy and how much room you have to store said stuff. Booze, meat, cleaning supplies, dry goods are all great deals. Do you need a gallon of Simple green or 2 dozen eggs at a time? Do you eat a lot of prepared food and do you have a freezer to store mega boxes of pizza rolls? If you use a good amount of gas, it's also cheaper. The pump price and the 4% back are significant.
CABilly
Splitter
I’ve got so many off-color jokes pent up but this is a polite thread.
Honestly most of my daily outfits came from Costco. It’s good for saving on the stuff you know you’ll buy regularly. Expensive consumables like booze, dog treats, prime beef are pretty solid deals. Instacart helps because you don’t have all the temptations if you have poor impulse control.
Honestly most of my daily outfits came from Costco. It’s good for saving on the stuff you know you’ll buy regularly. Expensive consumables like booze, dog treats, prime beef are pretty solid deals. Instacart helps because you don’t have all the temptations if you have poor impulse control.
NorCalAthlete
O_o
Do you have an office that doesn't have any snacks or vending machines? One thing I used to do when I was a mechanic was I bought a small fridge and kept it stocked with gatorade and some candy bars and ice cream. If you bought bulk gatorade at costco it came out to something like $0.50 / bottle, but most vending machines will run you $2-$3 for a gatorade. So I set up a collection box with the fridge and sold cold gatorade for $1 each to anyone coming through the motor pool. Similarly with the ice cream and candy, though even cheaper for the candy of course. $1 for 2x snickers bars, stuff like that.
More than paid for the cost of the fridge, the gatorade, and my gas spent to make costco runs. Not a huge profit but that alone made it worth it - let alone if I were to have done my normal shopping there at the same time.
More than paid for the cost of the fridge, the gatorade, and my gas spent to make costco runs. Not a huge profit but that alone made it worth it - let alone if I were to have done my normal shopping there at the same time.
Kornholio
:wave
This.
I've bought way more than $60 a year in stuff from Costco. I've used it for literally all my meat purchases as well as general staples for the home, but also just to stop in and pick up a chicken for dinner on the way home or perhaps some fresh soup or a pot pie to bake. Shit, the pizza's are stupid cheap too and they have one of the best cheese pizzas around. I rarely buy gas at any Costco anywhere just because the lines are generally too long. However, I've bought two trucks through Costco (yes, you really can do that) as well as a few vacations through them too and the discounts are very much worth it.
I just dropped $299 on a 55" LG flat screen as well. :cool
Climber
Well-known member
I used to be a Costco member, but their prices went up every year to the point where you can get just about everything (food wise) at the grocery store for as good or better prices if you mind the sales.
I haven't been able to justify it for years and their prices keep going up (go with a friend who has a card about once a year).
I haven't been able to justify it for years and their prices keep going up (go with a friend who has a card about once a year).
Eldritch
is insensitive
Kestrel
Well-known member
If you buy electronics, Costco will double the manufacturer warranty. It was cheaper for me to buy a membership from Costco last XMas and get the laptop deal I wanted, plus double the warranty. Everything else has just been extra.
Right now though, shopping at Costco is a little ridiculous. People still hoarding shit and lining up around the block... I've been avoiding it.
Right now though, shopping at Costco is a little ridiculous. People still hoarding shit and lining up around the block... I've been avoiding it.
This is just silly. Costco caps their markup and because of the volume they deal in they negotiate lower prices on everything. The average in the store is around 11%.
Nobody else does that with quality products.
Remember about 10 years ago when they told Coca-Cola that their new price wasn't acceptable. They stopped stocking Coke products for a little while and Coke renegotiated to something acceptable. Coke caved because Costco was too big an account to mess with. Not the other way around. Costco makes the rules for their vendor's.
You spend more because you buy more than you want to in most instances but the per unit cost is not touched by standard retailers. As a few of us mentioned just look at the meat. Most places don't carry prime beef. Costco sells prime beef cheaper than most places sell choice beef.
NorCalAthlete
O_o
Also a good suggestion. They'll let you add names as authorized users to your card. I could be wrong here but I seem to recall that at one point they also were offering multiple cards for the same account if you authorized users, so that you didn't have to go together all the time. At least for the "Executive" package which is like $120 / year.
I used to buy the Starbucks Frappuccino bottles there. Saves $.62 a bottle over retail. Make back that $60 in about half a year drinking one per work day. It's pretty easy to make back the $60 if they carry anything you actually like. I buy my undershirts there. When they can be found online they cost about $5 per shirt more. Used to buy a lot of almonds, cashews and pistachios. Also jerky and various bottled drinks. Occasionally the meat, some produce, cheese etc. If I spend $1000 a year there I have saved at least $400.
Not saying people should or shouldn't shop there. I don't care but to pretend somehow they aren't better priced than regular grocery stores is ridiculous. There is a lot of stuff I can't use there because it will go bad before I can use it all. Some stuff like mixed salads it's still priced better even if I throw most of it away. I don't like to waste like that but I don't like wasting money either so I buy it sometimes. And if I need more I have it.
Not saying people should or shouldn't shop there. I don't care but to pretend somehow they aren't better priced than regular grocery stores is ridiculous. There is a lot of stuff I can't use there because it will go bad before I can use it all. Some stuff like mixed salads it's still priced better even if I throw most of it away. I don't like to waste like that but I don't like wasting money either so I buy it sometimes. And if I need more I have it.
Firstly, do you understand the types of products Costco sells at its warehouses and via its online store? It is not a direct Amazon competitor. Amazon has a near endless varied selection, vs Costco's more limited choices.
If you can accept Costco's limited products, this is how I look at things...
$60 regular membership. You have to decide if the convenience of a warehouse right next door and potential cost savings are worth the $60 upfront fee. As said earlier, you probably will come close to saving this much, more or less... the difference would likely not be a deal breaker as far as outright cash goes.
$120 Executive membership. This gives you 2% back (not 1% as was stated earlier) on warehouse purchases (gasoline/diesel excluded). Alcohol and prescriptions in CA do qualify for the 2%. The extra $60 is paid back with a yearly spend of $3,000 ($250 monthly). Any spending beyond that is money in your pocket, compared to the $60 regular membership.
If you buy one big ticket item per year, you get into the payback pretty quickly (over the years; flooring, TV, computer/printer, etc).
Plus for us, monthly pet prescriptions at $100 per month = $1200.
One large shopping spree for a summer BBQ = $300-$500.
Then on top of that, you can apply for the Costco Visa card that gives even more back on Costco and non-Costco purchases.
- 4% on fuel purchases, purchased at Costco or not.
- 3% on restaurants and travel.
- 2% on Costco purchases.
- 1% on the remainder of purchases.
It makes sense for our family of two.
wannabe
"Insignificant Other"
This is all awesome feedback, people. Thanks!
So, I got my membership card today. I was kinda bummed that they didn't let me wear my surgical mask in my picture. :teeth
I actually went there to just pick up a prescription. I thought I'd walk around to see if I could get the lay of the land, so to speak. I was not in the mood to disinfect a cart, so I thought I could maybe buy just a couple things. Didn't happen. Without a cart, I ended up buying nothing. (not complaining.) I couldn't find anything small enough to just carry to the register. Planning to go back in a couple days after taking the time to make a list of stuff I need. I'm thinking that without a list, it is gonna be way too easy to completely load up. But, yeah, I can see that I'm definitely going to be eating a huge stack of those $4.99 rotisserie chickens this year. :thumbup
As for the crowd complaint, there was nobody in line at the pharmacy, and the checkout line was only two people deep (at the most) at each register. So, no issue with crowds down here. The one by my mom's house is a complete zoo. This one hasn't reached that level yet.
And, my local Costco does something that my local Lucky's does not. They actually have a couple people outside handing out disinfecting wipes to people as they grab their carts.
So far, I'm not unhappy with the decision that I made.
So, I got my membership card today. I was kinda bummed that they didn't let me wear my surgical mask in my picture. :teeth
I actually went there to just pick up a prescription. I thought I'd walk around to see if I could get the lay of the land, so to speak. I was not in the mood to disinfect a cart, so I thought I could maybe buy just a couple things. Didn't happen. Without a cart, I ended up buying nothing. (not complaining.) I couldn't find anything small enough to just carry to the register. Planning to go back in a couple days after taking the time to make a list of stuff I need. I'm thinking that without a list, it is gonna be way too easy to completely load up. But, yeah, I can see that I'm definitely going to be eating a huge stack of those $4.99 rotisserie chickens this year. :thumbup
As for the crowd complaint, there was nobody in line at the pharmacy, and the checkout line was only two people deep (at the most) at each register. So, no issue with crowds down here. The one by my mom's house is a complete zoo. This one hasn't reached that level yet.
And, my local Costco does something that my local Lucky's does not. They actually have a couple people outside handing out disinfecting wipes to people as they grab their carts.
So far, I'm not unhappy with the decision that I made.