Costco - how far would you drive?

[Twoboos]

I keep reading about Costco. The closest one to us would be 45mins away w/no traffic, closer to an hour with.

Would it be worth it to join and make the drive maybe once a month? It wouldn't be for diapers or anything, just basics which you all make sound AWESOME!! (Organic cotton pjs $11.99, hello??)

[tiapam]

That would be far for me to drive. I think you can get the membership fee back if you are not happy. Also, I believe they still do returns anytime, so at least you would not have to rush back to return anything. Take a look at costco.com and see if that stuff interests you. If you might order a lot online, I think it might be worth a try.

[bubbaray]

Well, I go to Costco pretty much weekly -- I have one about 5 minutes away.

But my daily commute can be up to 45 min each way (usually 25), so a 45 - 60 minute drive monthly wouldn't faze me at all.

I :heartbeat: Costco

[DeeEast]

Ours is about an hour away and a drive like that is nothing around here. We love Costo too.

[BabyMine]

Our Costco is about 30 mintues a week and we go once a month. I just can't find any of their products at any other warehouses. Costco is my favorite out of the 3 and I have memberships to all of them.

[kijip]

Ours is 5-10 minutes away so I had never thought about this.

I think I would drive 30-60 minutes for a large list once a month, depending on my other nearby options.

[jgenie]

If I could plan to do other things in the area of the Costco on the day of my trip I would have no problems with that drive. I drive about 20 mins to a nicer Costco than the one closest to me. I cluster other errands the same day so I feel like it's worth the trip.

[WatchingThemGrow]

Ours is about 30 min away, but I returned my membership because with several small children, making my errands short and easy is better. Maybe when my people are a little older, I can try it again.

[baileygirl]

Well, I would get a day's pass (or go with a member) to see how YOU like it. We love Costco and if we moved, we would go even if it was an hour away. We go 1-2xs a week mainly for fruit, salad and because I like to look at their children's books. About once a month we do a big trip.

[Twoboos]

Well, I would get a day's pass (or go with a member) to see how YOU like it.

Ohhh do they have day passes? I didn't even think of that. We go to BJs (10min away) and they always have passes. DUH.

Anyone know if I could find one online? I googled but came up w/nothing.

[sansdieu]

The nearest Costco is about 30 min away (and that's without traffic), so I pretty much never go there on purpose. I do, however, as the other poster suggested, try to combine it with other errands. (There's a Costco about 15 min. from my dentist's, e.g., and it seems that I've been having lots of issues with my teeth this year...)

To me, the membership is worth it even if I only go 3-4 times a year (plus, shop online).

[MamaKath]

I would go 45 minutes for Costco. For years the closest we have lived to one was a minimum of an hour and we kept our membership. Went 1x a month, always utilized their coupons for tires to cover the membership cost. Now we have one about 20 miles from where we live and we go about 2x a month. We LOVE Costco!!! Had BJs membership until they built the new one close to us, then dropped BJs. The return policy at Costco has made it worthwhile over the others!

[brittone2]

At one time we drove about 40 mins as it was the cheapest place for our dog's meds (he takes human Prozac by vet RX).

We now drive about 20-25 mins without any issues. DH and I each grew up having to drive 30 mins to get anywhere so this isn't really a big deal to us.

I think it depends on what you'll buy-a lot of perishables vs. stuff you can freeze or things w/ longer expiration dates (which would allow less frequent shopping...like every 2-4 weeks).

[alexsmommy]

I'd do 45 minutes, though only a couple times per year. I could do that now that I know what we use from there. For example I stock up on meat for grilling at the beginning of summer. At back to school it's lots of vanilla/chocolate milk boxes, fruit cups, etc. and this time, several pairs of organic pj's for the boys. For Christmas lots and lots of butter and baking items (only time I go through large packages fairly quickly), items for holiday parties and meals and I do usually get one or two Christmas toys there. Love their baby wipes, Gheradelli (sp? I know that's wrong) brownies and a few other things that will last for very long periods of time.
Because ours is closer I do go more frequently, though no more than 1x month. I do think a day pass is a great idea, but in all honesty, it took me a little bit to get the hang of shopping there for our family. I overbought/impulse bought some items in the beginning that went to waste. Now I know how to work the store for us and not waste money in my effort to save lol. I do like having the membership as an option for the occasional larger household item - I compare the prices there to other places keeping in mind their amazing customer service and return policy.

[lmwbasye]

We used to live 5 minutes from one and now live about 35 - 45 minutes and decided to keep our membership. We try to just make the drive once or twice a month. It takes more planning than we needed to do before when it was so close, but we decided it was worth it since there are so many products we can get there (and at great savings) that we can't elsewhere.

[lchang25000]

I love Costco so I'm very fortunate to have one 5 min. away. I would drive 45 min. to it if I had to.

[HIU8]

We have a Costco 15 minutes away and one that is 30 miles away (takes 30 minutes on the highway). The one 15 minutes away is always very very crowded. I hate going there. We go to the further one about once a month. It is much much less crowded. (I only go to the closer one if I only need a couple of items and can get there when it opens).

[twindad]

We used to live in Columbus, Ohio and would drive approx 2 hours to the Cincinnati area to go to Costco. We would do this about every other month to stock up. My wife loathes Sam's Club.

FYI - There is a Costco in Columbus now.

[MMMommy]

We LOVE Costco. I go almost every week, and sometimes I go for nothing in particular. Just to see what is new even. I would make the 45 minute drive probably several times a month if that were the case.

[miki]

I would do it. We drive 30 minutes to ours and go every other week if not every week. It's not just shopping; it's a fun outing with the kids. They enjoy the food samples and looking at the kids' books. Sometimes we grab lunch at the food court also.

[s7714]

Growing up our closest was about an hour away. We went there about once every two months or so and really stocked up.

I now live about 5 minutes from one and go there 1-2 times a month. It took me a long time to get out of that "gotta stock up" frame of mind when I was suddenly so close to one though.

So to answer your question, yes, I personally would travel 45 to 1 hour to go to Costco. But I think a lot of its worth depends on your shopping habits. If they don't carry a lot of things you use, it's probably not worth it. I'd as for a free one time use visitor pass (or whatever they're called) to check it out and see it'd really be worth the membership fee or drive.

[justincase]

I drive about 45 minutes to Costco once every six weeks or so to stock up. I don't love the situation, but we live at least 30 minutes from *everything* so I'm used to it. IMHO the membership is more than worth it, for things like deals on furniture on costco.com as well as all the normal stocking up I do in the store. I'd say go for it.

[jent]

I'd as for a free one time use visitor pass (or whatever they're called) to check it out and see it'd really be worth the membership fee or drive.

How do you do that? Ask at the customer service desk?

I've never been to the Costco either. The closest one is somewhat far/ out of my way, so having to pay a fee means I just haven't bothered to check it out.