Those who belong to Costco/BJ's: Is it worth it?

[jess]

Since I have grown dependent on the Horizon single serve milk boxes, I was looking for a place to by them other than Amazon--I was thinking of joining Costco or BJ's--but would love feedback as to whether those of you who are current members believe it is worth it? I would be buying stuff other than just the milk, but am wondering if it's going to be worth the membership price. Thanks! :)

[BillK]

No Horizon milk at my Costco. I do love Costco though and think it's worth it - LOVE their paper products.

[Fairy]

Big huge Costco fan. I think it's very worth it, tho I'm not sure if mine carries Horizon, either. They do, however, have organic milk, tho I don't get mine there. They also carry Stoneyfield Farms smoothies. Anyway, for the paper products alone, the place is worth it.

[tny915]

My Costco has Horizon single serve boxes, but only chocolate milk.

It's definitely worth it. We buy 2 gallons of milk there every week or so for maybe $3.xx. Savings on milk alone is worth it in our household.

If you do a search, you'll find posts from many Costco devotees.

[candybomiller]

Love, love, love Costco.

[sidmand]

Also, if it's possible, you can share the membership with other family members, maybe other friends as well? I know my Dad put me on his membership (and we live in different states). I wouldn't have joined Costco because we have a BJ's in our town (that I never go to!) and the closest Costco is about 30-40 minutes away, but heck, for free I'll go.

Plus, they have the best price on Polly-O string cheese I've ever seen and it's actually worth it for me to just go buy a bunch of cheese and freeze it!

Debbie
http://b3.lilypie.com/WT7Im4/.png[/img] (][img)


http://tickers.baby-gaga.com/p/dev110pr___.png[/img] (][img)

[maestramommy]

We joined Costco pre-kids because of the meat. We would buy the max packs and put enough for one dinner in ziploc bags and freeze them. It was very efficient when I was working, and now it makes meal planning pretty easy. We also buy Dora's diapers there (Kirkland brand), canned chicken, Halloween candy, king crab legs when they go on sale, and occasionally their ready made salad or dinners. Oh, Dh also buys stamps and we get our film photos developed there. We also do our Christmas cards at Costco.

[babystuffbuff]

The Costco nearest to us is still 40 minutes away (impractical for me), so we have a BJs membership. I've heard great things about Costco and if it were closer I would join in a heartbeat. I like BJs pretty well. I think it saves us money and since we're pretty boring, um, I mean, consistent with what we eat (DH especially, and he eats a lot!) I can stock up, and assuming I buy enough milk, I won't have to go to the store for two weeks. Both of us end up stuck at work late quite often, and it is great not to have to stop at the store on the way home because we're out of something we need for dinner. Also, it does stop the impulse buying. I might want some chocolate covered pretzels, but I don't want to spend $20 to buy 10 pounds of them. :)

The one thing that annoys me sometimes is if we're out of toilet paper I don't necessarily want to buy the 30-roll package since we don't really have room to store that much of it! So off to Target I go, and the impulse buying begins. ;)


Sarah

Auntie to my seven (soon to be eight!) munchkins, and TTC in October!!!

[npace19147]

We belong to BJ's and if you have the storage space IMO it is totally worth it even just for the diapers and paper products. We buy huge things of TP, tissues and paper towels that are a great savings. We also buy diapers, wipes, laundry detergent, dishwashing detergent, and cereal, snack bars, huge things of individual serving applesauce. We go about once a month and stock up.

[miki]

We've had both Costco and BJs memberships. Both worthwhile but I prefer Costco because their produce and prepared foods are better. If you find it's not saving you enough, I've been told at both clubs that you can cancel your membership and get a full refund.

But our Costco only has single-serve Horizon in chocolate, no other flavors. If I recall correctly, BJs also only had chocolate milk. But BJs did have single serve soymilk in vanilla and chocolate.

[Marisa6826]

LOVE me my Costco. Was just there, in fact. I usually go there twice a month (otherwise I get myself in trouble). My local on has both chocolate and vanilla Horizon single box milks at the moment (just because they have them now and have for a while, doesn't mean it's a permanent thing).

I think it's absolutely worth it. We get all our paper products there, along with water, cleaning stuff, a lot of toiletries, cereal, juice, sundries, etc. Their meat and produce is beautiful, and their frozen stuff is great.

We also tend to get most of our books and kid DVDs there, too.

The rotisserie chickens can't be beat for $5 (that's why I was there today).

I think, however, the best part about Costco is their customer service. NO matter what. Receipt or not, you can return whatever it is that you bought whenever, regardless of whether it's been opened, partially used, etc. That applies to food, clothing, dipes, formula, electronics, housewares. You can't get anyplace else to match that policy.

Oh, and their optical shop prices are positively awesome.

-m

[SnuggleBuggles]

I just went with a friend to Costco today. I had never been there before. I wasn't impressed, to be honest. I don't plan to join. I didn't think the prices were amazing. I thought most things were on par with Target. I saw a few deals.

My problem is that I am a food snob. I would much rather fill my fridge with things from Trader Joe's b/c the ingredients are more natural and there aren't such long ingredient lists. I usually shop at TJs, the natural food store or Whole Foods so keep that in mind when considering my opinions. :)

I expected it to be better than it was. If you have a friend w/ a membership I'd recommend tagging along and see what you think.

Beth

[dogmom]

I have found that if I join a warehouse club I buy things I wouldn't necessarily buy because they have limited options. I do just as well, if not better, knowing how much the things I generally buy are and keep an eye out for sales. There are a limited amount of things I buy that are prepared/packaged and I can get all of those just as cheap at the supermarket on sale or at Target. And honestly, the meat there scares me. It just screams factory farmed stuff with ecoli in the ground meat. I'd rather eat a lot less meat and buy stuff I feel better about. Also, how much produce can I buy in one shot without it going bad? What really ticks me off is none of the warehouse clubs sell post-consumer recycled paper towels. I buy the Marcel brand at the supermarket for cheap and it's 70% post consumer. The milk is much cheaper there, but I don't think it's worth the 30 minute drive. Plus I'd rather get the stuff from a local market that is from a local dairy.

I think a lot of it depends on what you buy. There is a list of about a dozen pre-packed stuff we buy that I could even find at a Costco/BJ's. For other people it might be a better deal and closer.


Jeanne
Mom to Harvey
1/16/03
& Eve 6/18/06

[Bens Momma]

BJ's member here. IMO it's totally worth it if you have kids (for diaper, wipes, even baby food.) Costco is too far away for us. The last time I was at BJs I noticed that they are carrying A LOT more organic and eco-friendly products. Good deals on paper products, cereals, some meats, health & beauty, etc. You just have to know prices and compare because everything isn't necessarily a better deal. And go with a list because you can talk yourself into buying a bunch of stuff and spending too much money just cause you think it's a great deal. BJs with often give you a trial membership for a month to see if you like it. Check and Costco may do the same.

HTH-
Momma to 2 DS

[anamika]

Love my Costco too. For us the diapers were the big draw (back when we were using them). Quite apart from the price,they were much, much better quality than Huggies and Pampers.

[randomkid]

We belong to Costco and totally think it's worth it. I don't go on a regular basis (mostly because I spend too much time there), but usually when they have coupons or I need something in particular. They send out these coupon books on occasion that save you quite a bit on their products, making the deals even better.

I usually buy DH's coffee there, sometimes laundry detergent, personal hygiene items, paper products and produce. I was just there this past weekend and bought tomatoes and raspberries for the same cost as the grocery store, but the amount of produce in the package was 2-3x more than the grocery store. I also get gas there and pay up to .10 less per gallon sometimes. I get gas there weekly since we drive right past it when I take DD to dance class.

Things that I haven't seen mentioned that have and do save us money are tires (have bought for 3 cars there - best price we could find) and prescriptions and OTC meds. I have to take a magnesium supplement and it's $4 less at Costco than in the drugstore. I also buy some of my medication by self pay as it is less than paying a co-pay. I do this with two medications and Costco is cheapest by far. Also, at this time of year, they have a lot stocked for the holidays. Every year, I find gifts there for a much better price than I do elsewhere. The item usually contains more than you would find at Target, etc. For example, I just bought DD the Fisher Price Digital Camera for Christmas. The one I got a Costco included a memory card - haven't seen that included anywhere else.

They also have awesome gift basket and candy gifts this time of year.

[brittone2]

nak-
the savings for me on contacts alone (I think about $4 a box cheaper for Acuvue 2 vs. Walmart's price) pays for my membership over the course of a year.

The key to any buying club is to know what products you like and use, and get a general idea of what you pay vs. the regular grocery store sale and nonsale prices (some people keep a price book for this reason).

We don't buy a ton of food there, because it isn't stuff I'd normally buy. They do have quite a few organics now, but I find for many things I can do better on my own, or the organics sold are processed stuff we don't buy anyway (like organic animal crackers, or organic breakfast cereal). We regularly buy their big tub of organic salad greens, especially in the summertime. Organic frozen blueberries to supplement our fresh picked local one. We buy organic chicken on occasion because the price is comparable to my co-op, and lately my co-op's organic chickens have been mighty skinny ;) They now have organic ground beef at our Costco, but I can buy local biodynamic beef for the same price, so I don't buy from Costco. Organic peanut butter is a decent price. We also buy big containers of baking soda and vinegar for cleaning. Oh, and Giovanni hair products, which are substantially cheaper than retail prices, and are one of the "safer" shampoo/conditioners if you are into that stuff. Our dog takes Prozac for anxiety issues and it is way cheaper at Costco for the generic compared to anywhere else.

I think the key is to know what is a good price and what isn't. Impulse buys do kill the savings though, and there is so much nice merchandise it can be hard to resist. That can be a problem for some people. They do have interesting merchandise and a fabulous return policy.

My parents just got glasses and paid about $100 less for frames/lenses for each of them over walmart optical, which they used last time around. Their optical for glasses/contacts is a big, big savings.

[elephantmeg]

we do for the diapers (love Kirkland brand diapers!), phone cards (we don't have long distance plan, just have the card # programed into our phone), photo development, individual fruit cups, toys, laundry detergent.... and the cheapest lunch in town-huge hotdog and drink for 1.50! DH works right next door which means he eats there a ton!

[egoldber]

I love Costco but I try to only go once or twice a month to avoid impulse purchases. Mine has the Horizon milk boxes in chocolate and vanilla only. I recently picked up a case of the Organic Valley milk boxes in plain milk at Wegman's for a similar price to Costco. I was pretty happy to see that. My older DD takes one in her lunch to school pretty much every day.

Other than that my Costco staples are:

children's books
organic 1% milk
boneless chicken breasts
pork tenderloin
string cheese
turkey bacon
snap peas
produce in season can be crazy cheap (I freeze what I don't use right away for smoothies)
Kirkland diaper wipes
Huggies (they are the same price as the Kirkland brand at my Costco)
OTC meds
personal care products (but thankfully I haven't had to buy any in about 2 years LOL)
Brita filters

They have raincoats for kids (Whipette brand) that are nice and warm and only $12 or so.

Their seasonal toys are usually a good deal as long as you don't impulse buy something you wouldn't ordinarily buy.

I recently bought a memory foam mattress pad there that was a substantial saving over normal retail.

We gotten our holiday cards there for about 2 years now. There is limited selection but they are soooo inexpensive for flat photo cards. You can upload on-line and pick them up in the store.

And like others have said, their customer service is really phenomenal.

So like anything it depends on what you buy and you do have to be a savvy shopper.

[Lovingliv]

One gallon of milk weekly, pays for your membership!!!!

[bunnisa]

I love Costco -- dairy products cost half as much, and we get our dog food there as well (Diamond brand, Kirkland labeled).

HOWEVER:

There's no way it actually saves us money. I've never left that place without spending $300. And I still have to go to the regular grocery store (for produce not sold by the crate, for organic whole milk that's not ultra-pasturized, etc).

So in a nutshell, I avoid going more than once every 3 months. It's a dangerous place! ;)

DH & I joke about all the neat things they have for around $30. It's amazing how much you can rack up quickly with all of those $30 deals that you didn't know you *needed*. :)

...blessed wife and mama to three!

"We must remember that life begins at home and we must also remember that the future of humanity passes through the family"
-Mother Teresa

[jess]

I am really not good at holding back impulse buys--that is why I have been hesitant to join. Our Costco is about 45 minutes away, but our BJ's is about 20 minutes....I keep going over in my mind if it is worth it. Maybe I'll just order another box of the milk from Amazon for now...it's still way, way less expensive than our grocery store (who charges $2.70 for a single box (!)--talk about mark-up), and maybe visit one of the stores--can you do this, without a membership?

[kakohler]

I love Costco, but find I'm going to BJs more and more. BJs lets you use supermarket coupons in addition to the BJs coupons. So I save an additional $1 or so on products I would buy there anyway.

[MNmomtobe]

Took me a while to join Costo but finally caved. I love that place! They do have a good selection of toys and books. My local Costco has this School Bus Activity thing that I've been eyeing for $139. It is $279 at Target.com If I purchased that item, my membership would be more than paid for!
The 1/2 sheet birthday cake for $15.99 can't be beat. Their cakes are yummy.
We get our photos developed there. You can upload them online then pick them up in an hour. You can also bring in a picture card and do it there.
We buy their bananas. I don't know what it is, but I have found they don't get spotty quite as quickly as the ones from my local grocery store. I also love their 6 lb bag of frozen strawberries for (I think) 7.99.
The gas at our Costco tends to be a bit cheaper too. That alone may be worth the membership.

[Jen841]

BJ's is good. We have belonged, or belong, to Costco, BJ's and Sam's. Sam's is free (Mom's second card.) Costco is too far, so I let it lapse, and BJ's is close and convenient.

My normal list:
Diapers (love their brand)
Wipes
Papertowels
Ranch dressing powder - I am weird, I hate the bottled version
Bananas
Taco Seasoning - huge container of it
Lunchmeat
Bread
Cheese- but I will normally go to Sam's, like their's better
Greeting Cards - 50% off American Greetings
Clothing - find great things at BJ's and Sam's for the family
Dried cranberries
Books - great selection
Toys - First stop for gifts
Milk

Bought mattresses there, a name brand. Way less than the no name quotes I got at local store and much better quality.

Will to meats if I am not going to a grocery that is having a sale on meats. Their normal prices are less than the grocery, but not the grocery sale prices.

Costco and BJ's are great. My BJ's is by a grocery, so I can buy my "bulk" and "non-bulk" items in the same shopping center which I really appreciate. My Sam's is more standalone, but the kids love it (their Cookie Club for kids makes it a hot spot). We do all our photos at Sams, but previously did at Costco. I highly recommend joining the one easiest for you to get to. Ease is everything with kids!

fyi my co offers $10 off a Costco membership. DH's offers annual BJ's memberships for $20 or $25. We only have 1 BJ's card with his name and picture and I keep it and use it, never questioned.