• coupon match-ups
  • coupon database

  • Is Costco Worth It? (Ask the Readers)

  • Is Costco Worth It? (Ask the Readers)

    A reader, Frances, sent in this question:

    I was just wondering if you thought it was worth it to get a Costco membership? Do they take coupons there? Are the deals worth the membership price?

    Do you have a Costco membership? Can you answer these questions for Frances? Please share in the comments!

    Have a question you’d like to ask the readers of MrsJanuary.com? Send an email.

    GD Star Rating
    loading...
    Posted By: on April 10, 2012 Filed Under: Frugal Living  Tagged With: Costco Canada

    Subscribe to our email list to receive a FREE video outlining my top 5 tips for saving money on groceries.
    • Your Email Address

    70 Responses to »
    Is Costco Worth It? (Ask the Readers)

    « Older Comments
    Newer Comments »
    1. Sara says:
      April 10, 2012 at 11:54 AM

      I would say you need to know your prices (Whate ver you consider your ideal price for a product) and how much you need (There is no point in buying something in bulk if it is just going to go bad).. If you have little kids and go through lots of juice, snack foods, cereal, etc… It an be a great place for you, also for condiments (sugar, mustard, ketchup, lemon juice) is often great to buy in bulk…. They also usually have GREAT deals on books, and seasonal products so its good for holiday shopping… but again, know what your ideal price is for the products you buy and what yoyur family needs.

      Reply
    2. Susan says:
      April 10, 2012 at 11:50 AM

      Costco does not accept coupons and you can only pay by cash, debit or Amex (and costco gift card i suppose). Is it worth it? Lots of good advice already posted here, and as you can probably surmise, it really depends on your specific needs. Some things are definitely worth it and other things, not so much. The one thing that drives me nuts about Costco is often you will find an item you just love and buy constantly and then one day, poof!, it’s gone.

      Reply
    3. Sue says:
      April 10, 2012 at 11:47 AM

      Like everywhere, it’s good and bad. We have four kids and really appreciate the giant Kirkland unscented laundry detergent. Just bought a huge pack of 30 Gillette razors for $25. The kind we use with three blades and swivel head. I could go on. 300 kitchen garbage bags for $10.You will not find a better deal on batteries… anywhere. However, we live one hour from it, so we just let our membership expire March 31st, after a big stock-up. I find the bakery and meat expensive. But the dry goods, if you need them in bulk, are amazing – like granola bars, juice boxes, etc.. Short answer is that with just a few products, you make your money back. It’s the “other stuff” that gets you. I saw a playhouse, pool toys, trampoline, and they have very tempting books, cds, toys and tons of household furniture things. You won’t find them anywhere else and they are unique. There is the problem. If you need a neat gift for your niece, great, but half the time you end up buying something that you do not, did not and will never need. Cheaper than retail or not, it sucks up your hard-earned money. We can’t get out of there without AT LEAST spending $400 and that is not usual for us. It would make me blush elsewhere and put stuff back, but in that bulk atmosphere, you just hand over your debit card and smile. I can’t afford a membership anymore because I do not WANT to be exposed to all the fancy, schmancy gadget things that make me worry about bouncing the mortgage payment / power / heating bill.

      Reply
    4. Marianne says:
      April 10, 2012 at 11:37 AM

      I love costco (for certain things). Over the counter meds are super cheap. My DH has a medical condition and yeah — it’s $8 for 8 pills at shoppers, or he can buy 72 pills for $12. That alone is worth the membership cost.

      We don’t always spent $200 per visit. I often leave spending $27-30 (bread, milk, bananas, lunch meat).

      Reply
    5. Lisa says:
      April 10, 2012 at 11:31 AM

      OH and I LOVE the restaurant – really cheap! And on a good day, you could get full on the store samples alone!

      Reply
    6. teachermum says:
      April 10, 2012 at 11:30 AM

      The nearest Costco is almost an hour drive from me so a $20 trip just in gas each trip. The one in the States may be a bit closer but add in bridge tolls and it’s about the same. I save .04/litre on gas at Superstore using my PC Mastercard.

      I have always been a sale shopper and I can’t imagine how I could save on food prices since we eat what is on sale. Frankly, most things I buy when on sale and stock up! Produce under a buck a pound. I don’t buy beef in the store as we order from a farmer. I only buy fresh b/s chicken when it is $3 or $3.50 a pound or bone in for $1.99/lb and freeze a ton of it. I don’t like the frozen chicken breasts as they have additional ingredients. We don’t buy a lot of other “stuff”.

      My brother and father have memberships so I do have the option of tagging along with them if I wanted. The one time I did we didn’t have much time to look around but I passed nothing that was a good deal according to the prices I would pay except for maple syrup. Mind you, when I asked bro to pick up some more another time the price was then more than I have found it here so he didn’t get it.

      I am quite certain though that I would come out with many things I did not need were I to go with any regularity!!!

      Reply
    7. Lisa says:
      April 10, 2012 at 11:29 AM

      I don’t have a membership because I know like one person said “its the black hole of spending!” (LOL) I go occasionally as a “guest” with my mother in law. Like all the others mentioned, some items are a good deal and some are not. You have to know your prices. They have unique products you can’t get other places. I love their bakery section and their meat always seems nice. I buy quite a bit of clothes there as well. Good names and good prices. Especially kids and baby clothes. They have great gifts especially around Christmas. I will consider a membership when all 3 of my kids are teenagers and eating me out of house and home. Then I can buy in bulk.

      Reply
    8. lizzy mae says:
      April 10, 2012 at 11:27 AM

      Love and hate relationship as well. We use it for gift ideas such as the great prices on their books, toys, clothes. We also buy hearing aid batteries in the pharmacy – price cannot be beat. The Kirkland toilet paper and paper towel are worth every penny as well. Seems to last a lot longer!
      Don’t generally do product or meat there. Find it’s rather expensive. Our location just opened a gas bar so that’s been great as well but unfortunatey time is money and the line up sometimes! My family loves the tasters that go on…that’s how we end up with so much in our cart sometimes. Great way to find new products. Let’s not forget the ice cream sundaes they have at their food vendor at the front of the store. If you haven’t tried, maybe you shouldn’t. It may end up being the sole reason you go to Costco!

      Reply
    9. zud says:
      April 10, 2012 at 11:17 AM

      I couldn’t live without costco, we save 5$ each time we buy soymilk. and we buy a 3 pack every 10-14 days so the membership pays for itself in a few months. Yesterday we picked up 2 kg container of Kraft Peanut Butter for 3.50, on sale. Bread is really cheap, 3 loaves of whole wheat for 5.99 which is cheaper than our Superstore. One of the best deals I enjoy is the pre-roasted chickens that normally sell for 8-9$, at Costco they are large chickens for 6.99. they actually have great deals on yoga pants, socks, underwear, swimsuits and i even buy my eyeglasses there.

      Costco is not a good place for “cheap” produce, BUT all their produce is the highest quality you have ever seen if you’re one to avoid bruised, mishapen or picked over fruits/veggies.

      I’m not one to look for the rock bottom price on everything as there are other means of value for me, distance, ease of parking, clean store, fast lines

      Reply
    10. TallNFunny says:
      April 10, 2012 at 11:14 AM

      Could be that the responses are skewed. Anyone with a Costco membership is going to say that they love it and it’s the best. Not going to hear much from people who don’t. All they could say is that they don’t or can’t shop in bulk….

      Reply
    11. Virginia says:
      April 10, 2012 at 11:08 AM

      My family loves Costco! Many things are cheaper there. Kids clothes is a big one for us. I have 3 kids who grow like weeds and we buy most of their clothes from Costco. They carry a lot of Carters stuff for $1-2 less then other stores and a lot of Calvin Klien. I get my sons jeans for around $10. I just picked up a set of shorts and 2 t-shirts for $7. Thats cheaper then Value Village!! They also have nice dresses for $10-25 which my daughter loves.
      Meat is another biggie. Its really good quality and much cheaper then the grocery store. They also have Kosher. Produce and paper products are NOT cheaper and we rarely by that. Their brand of diapers is much cheaper ( and on top of that they go on sale ) and I prefer them to Huggies or Pampers so thats a bonus. Electronics are MUCH cheaper too. Like hundreds of dollars difference.
      They also have great seasonal products. I love shopping there at Christmas time. Another big thing is their return policy. You can return or exchange anything any time with no hastle.

      Reply
    12. Roxanne says:
      April 10, 2012 at 11:05 AM

      Costco is great, but you have to watch and know your prices. My kids only like the Minute Maid box juice, and Costco usually has it cheapest, especially when they go on sale. There are many things that are a great deal cheaper than regular stores. For example, we tend to get our bread, sidewalk salt, meat, etc from Costco as the prices are better. Recently, my husband bought a bike rack that holds 4 bikes. It was only $75 and the cheapest we saw it elsewhere was $150. They have many deals. but like I have said, you need to know your prices….and learn to control your spending.
      You may end up spending more in 1 shopping trip, but I would normally spend $100 in meats, but it lasts my family about 3 months (and we ar extensive meat eaters).
      Food aside, we save lots of money on their gas, and we also have the card where we get rebates.

      Reply
    13. Stephanie says:
      April 10, 2012 at 11:02 AM

      I used to have a membership but I live in a small apartment and it wasn’t worth it for me to buy much because I have no where to keep bulk anything. All of the typical toiletries, deodorants, mouthwash, etc. comes in double and triple packs and are still much cheaper to get by couponing. Diapers aren’t any cheaper either. I found I used my membership more for the services there like photos and glasses…and for the fries at the restaurant, love them lol. Batteries are a great item to buy there though, along with the bread and meats mentioned by others.

      Reply
    14. Nicole says:
      April 10, 2012 at 11:02 AM

      We have the executive membership too so we get 2% back and after all our purchases including tax it is usually enough to pay for the membership again the following year.
      You have to be very careful what you buy. We love their meat and usually only buy from Costco then split it up into meals and freeze it. Their Berries are the best price around when in season and sometimes when they are not too. Bananas are great price too. It just all depends on what you need I guess. I buy a lot of my baking supplies there because I can get them in bulk and pay WAY LESS.

      Reply
    15. Pamela @ FabulousSavings.ca says:
      April 10, 2012 at 10:58 AM

      I was wondering the same thing recently! We had one years ago, before I had my son, and I didn’t find that it was worth it, but maybe now that we buy more things in bulk, we’ll give it another try. I didn’t even realize they had gas until I read some of the other comments – good to know :)

      Reply
    « Older Comments
    Newer Comments »

    Leave a comment

    XHTML: You can use these tags: <a href="" title=""> <abbr title=""> <acronym title=""> <b> <blockquote cite=""> <cite> <code> <del datetime=""> <em> <i> <q cite=""> <strike> <strong>