Is Costco worth it?

[crl]

I can't make up my mind so I thought I'd ask you all for your opinions. I live in San Francisco. Target is not convenient (none in city limits). We're hoping to adopt a newborn this spring. So I'm going to need diapers and formula. As far as I know the only close places to get them are Walgreens and Safeway. Costco is a hike (I'm guessing 30 minutes one way in annoying traffic), but closer than Target. I would have to go with the baby (older DS would be in school). I'm guessing I would go once a month or so and stock up on diapers, wipes, forumula and while I was there I would do soda, paper towels, tp and a few other things. Alternatively, I could do diapers, wipes and formula online, which would be very convenient. . . .

Would I really save that much money going the Costco route? It seems doable, but rather inconvenient to me, especially in the first few months when I don't expect to get much sleep.

(Cloth diapers are a no-go with DH. I've decided that's not my hill to die on and I'm not going to argue with him about it anymore.)

Thanks for any thoughts!
Catherine

[sariana]

Well....Costco.com sells diapers and formula. So you really just need a friend who is willing to let you use his/her membership number (or purchase things on your behalf). They even have Bill Me Later now, which might make it easier to arrange payment with said friend.

It's difficult to say whether you would save money once you account for the $50 membership fee. We have the $100 executive membership, which gives us cash back on our purchases. We get back the $50 difference because we buy so much there. We also have the Costco American Express, which gives us cash back on ALL purchase anywhere. That has been great, as DH is in consulting and has high hotel and airline bills that go on that card.

Does your Costco have a gas station? I save quite a bit buying gas at Costco. We have 3 warehouses that all are about the same distance from us--about 20-30 minutes, depending on traffic. I usually go every other week, and it is well worth it, IMO. But I buy tons of stuff there--books, clothes, DVDs, garden stuff, toys, as well as food items. And milk. They always have the best deal on milk.

[larig]

oh on formula alone you can pay for that membership. costco's brand formula was $19 for 2 cans. the similac and other brands cost almost twice as much by my calculation (I didn't have lots of time to bargain shop, so I just needed to be able to buy cheaply consistently without lots of thinking about it). DS was using at least 2 or so of the cans a week at one point, so in a month I could save about $80 in the cost of formula alone. I go every 2-3 weeks, get gas, pick up baby stuff, get soda, maybe pick up a movie or a book, buy my bread there... (would get tires and batteries for my car if I needed it). They have a great selection of organic stuff, and depending on what your states laws are they probably sell beer, wine, etc. I love costco.

[blisstwins]

They also have great prices on Carter's baby clothes (sleepers and stuff for $5.99-6.99). I also LOVE Costco!!! I have not, however, saved a dime by shopping there. They have good prices, but I have no discipline in there. Something to think about.

[crl]

The Costco south of the city has a gas station, I'd probably go to that one because traffic would be easier for me--timewise it's probably about the same as to the one in the city.

We belonged a couple of years ago for a year. At the time I thought it was worthwhile, but I didn't have to take a kid with me and we lived closer then. At the time I bought soda, paper towels, toilet paper and quite a bit of food. Since then we've found DS has a milk allergy so I don't buy much processed food anymore and our choices for cereals and such are more limited. I imagine I would buy some meat and potentially some other food things. . . . I did reasonably well there not buying unnecessary things.

I think I would save money in the end. I'm just feeling unsure how much money and whether it would be worth the hassle.

Thanks for your thoughts everyone!
Catherine

[Nooknookmom]

It's never been a real help to us (although the diap's & wipes are a good deal). We were a family of 3 for 11 years and even now, w/ 4 of us, I just don't need 12 cans of corn and 32 oz of Preggo at a time.

My MIL drives me nuts w/ this as every Christmas she sends us a Costco renewal. I end up using it 1-2 times a year. Mainly when we used to have business related parties at our house.

For us this is what works:

Household goods (detergent, tp, pt, soap, soda, pain relievers, medicine, baby needs): Walmart or Target

Most food: Trader Joes for main dishes, snacks, breakfast & lunches. Reg. grocery store for balance of brands that TJ's doesn't sell.

With this system, I can stock up on EXACTLY what we need and pick and choose what those things are.

When shop at Costco, I find that buying 5 items=spending at least $50!!! Load up your cart and it's 300-AND I would still need to go to the grocery store for items that I needed to get to make dinners out of the stuff I did get at Costco.

Currently, we go for the pizza, DD1 loves it, lol.

[citymama]

crl, I was thinking just the same thing! Hmm, maybe we should split a membership. I'd probably go to the SOMA Costco though, not the one south of the city. We were Pampers folks; Kirkland dipes irritated my DD, and there was no Costco near us so we didn't do it the first time. But I think we will this time, because the savings can be considerable. Plus I like Costco's progressive politics much better than Target or other BB stores...

[codex57]

I think it's totally worth it.

There are 3 Costcos in the area. My inlaws all have their favorites. Weird. They all live in the Sunset District yet all 3 locations have their fans. Personally, I like the Daly City one (where you exit Hickey) cuz of the gas station and how there's a TJ's right next door. Very convenient shopping. Plus it has a gas station.

[larig]

oh yeah, can't forget the recent See Kai Run shoes for $25 and last summer's organic cotton sleepers for cheap.

[kozachka]

It is totally worth it to us but we live withing less than 2 miles from the nearest Costco. Unfortunately, our Cosctco does not have a gas station. Still we save more than enough to justify the cost of membership. We have recently upgraded to Executive Membership, we'd get more in rebates than what we paid for the upgrade based on what we spend there per year. I did not get membership for DH, so that's a small saving.

[wellyes]

Costco does not carry Pampers, which are IMO the best diapers for LOs - the swaddlers for young infants especially. Instead they carry their own line and Huggies. I hate Huggies. I'm not a diaper snob, I like Luvs for goodness sake, but I hate Huggies.

The other thing that annoys me about Costco is that they only take AmEx or cash. They say it saves their customers money - but other similar warehouse clubs don't have that restriction and aren't more expensive.

Amazon Subscribe & Save is a GREAT cheap way to get diapers (and, I assume, formula) without leaving the house. I belong to BJs, which does carry Pampers, but Amazon is cheaper.

[ellies mom]

The other thing that annoys me about Costco is that they only take AmEx or cash. They say it saves their customers money - but other similar warehouse clubs don't have that restriction and aren't more expensive.

We use our Visa/Mastercard debit cards at Costco all the time. I can't remember the last time I used cash at Costco.

I do admit to being really bummed when they stopped carrying Pampers and started the Kirkland brand. Neither Huggies nor the Kirkland brand worked for the oldest. But with the youngest I got a few boxes of really bad Pampers so we gave the Kirklands a try and they work great for her.

We love Costco though. We don't buy all of our food there because we don't need a 4000oz bottle of ketchup but we get quite a bit of other stuff there.

[vejemom]

As you can see from my siggie, we have 5 children with us a lot of the time. The older 3 are all entering their teen years, and are beginning to eat us out of house and home. So take this with a grain of salt, but I do love me some Costco! I buy meat and freeze it in individual portions. I bought all my formula there. I still buy their wipes. Besides that, I like to buy produce, paper products, canned veggies, soap, laundry detergent, etc. I get the 6 pound industrial cans of green beans for our giant dog there, too. Soda and water. Kirkland water is a great deal - like $2.99 for 24 bottles.

I do buy the occasional impulse item, but I try to make sure that it is something that we actually need. (E.g. - we needed some runners for the entrance by the garage. Costco had a huge rug shipment at the beginning of January. Picked up a couple runners for $9.99 apiece.) The bill tends to be large just because of the size of the packages, but it divides out over several weeks. The savings over the grocery store tend to be substantial.

[calv]

We use our Visa/Mastercard debit cards at Costco all the time. I can't remember the last time I used cash at Costco.

I do admit to being really bummed when they stopped carrying Pampers and started the Kirkland brand. Neither Huggies nor the Kirkland brand worked for the oldest. But with the youngest I got a few boxes of really bad Pampers so we gave the Kirklands a try and they work great for her.

We love Costco though. We don't buy all of our food there because we don't need a 4000oz bottle of ketchup but we get quite a bit of other stuff there.


that's exactly why i haven't joined. like using the CC to track our expenses. easy/simple. Wonder if i call the CC company and I"m sure I can just use a pin. always been a BJ's member but would like to try Costco. The debit/amex issue is why we haven't joined. I dont want to be writing a check all the time. besides we just accumulate the points and then get cash/rewards from our CC company

[khalloc]

I am a Costco member and honestly I dont think its that great. If it were not close to me, I probably wouldnt join. Its kind of a habit now. And DH pays for the membership. I'd just buy online. I dont use Costco diapers so that never helped me.

[DebbieJ]

I did not get membership for DH, so that's a small saving.

You're allowed two adults per membership with no additional cost, so how is that saving you money?

[crl]

Sorry it took me so long to get back to this--busy day. Thanks so much for everyone's thoughts!

Catherine

[wellyes]

that's exactly why i haven't joined. like using the CC to track our expenses. easy/simple. Wonder if i call the CC company and I"m sure I can just use a pin. always been a BJ's member but would like to try Costco. The debit/amex issue is why we haven't joined. I dont want to be writing a check all the time. besides we just accumulate the points and then get cash/rewards from our CC company

I don't have a debit card and don't want one - you aren't protected like a CC.

There is a good reward Amex though.......... put everything on the AmEx, pay it off every month, and 2% cash back goes straight into DD's 529.

[tylersmama]

We're a family of 2 and I think the Costco membership is totally worth it. I needed new tires a couple of months ago, and spent the same amount I would have at the dealership, but got far better tires and free tire rotation. I have plenty of storage space, so I stock up on toilet paper, paper towels, laundry detergent, etc. I don't buy a ton of fresh/frozen/refrigerated foods, as much as I would like to, just because I don't have freezer space and we wouldn't get through them fast enough. The Carters sleepers are my favorite, and a couple bucks cheaper apiece than the Carters outlet. They have 7 for all mankind jeans from time to time, and you more than make up for the cost of the membership if you buy one pair of those alone! I also buy gas there regularly, and I always time our trips so that we hit all the really good samples and then go have lunch at the food court for less than $5 for the two of us. :)

[jenfromnj]

Costco is worthwhile to us as a family of 3--we don't do a lot of normal grocery shopping there, but the savings we get from getting our contact lenses, tires and various gifts there (they have discounted gift cards from places like Godiva, SpaFinder, various movie theaters, etc) makes it worthwhile for us. It's also good for when we have parties, which is only a couple/few times per year, but it's still great to buy whole filets, bulk containers of spring mix, various frozen appetizers, that kind of thing--we've found that the quality of their meat and produce is generally very good.

[tylersmama]

Ooh, forgot to mention...prescriptions (which you don't actually have to be a member for). I'm getting my prescription for one-third of the price that my regular pharmacy (grocery store) wants to charge me. And, now that I don't have vision coverage in my health insurance, I'll be going there for eye exams and contacts. Conveniently enough, my eye doctor actually works at Costco, too, so I don't even have to change doctors!

[crl]

Well, I thought I'd update. AmEx sent me a free Costco membership offer (expires today--had to "enroll," buy the membership and buy something at Costco on my AmEx card by today). So I did all that.

I had sort of forgotten how annoyed I get shopping at Costco. All those people with the huge carts blocking the aisles while they stop for samples or contemplate their navels. And half the stuff I'm looking for they don't have or I can't find. They didn'at have newborn diapers. At all. The smallest size Huggies were size 2 and the Costco brand was 1-2. The produce comes in quantities we would never eat before it went bad. No chocolate soy milk. And so on. And the lines. Oh, the lines. First the check-out line, then the line to get your receipt checked so you can leave the store.

Then I went and sat in the gas line. For 10 minutes. Gas was 30 cents a gallon cheaper, which sounds good. Except I drive a Prius. I only need 4 gallons. Saved $1.20.

Anyway, since I have the membership now, I suppose I'll use a few more times for diapers, paper towels, etc. But if it hadn't been free, well, not worth it for me.

So, there you go.

Thanks!
Catherine

[codex57]

You adjust. You quickly learn what Costco carries or tends to carry. Then, you just go for those items. We go to Costco a lot, but it's certainly not the only place we go to shop. We're just very aware of what types and quantities of things Costco carries, and we'll pop in randomly sometimes just to see what new thing they have. We're amazed at some of the stuff that will show up at Costco.

[DebbieJ]

Well, I thought I'd update. AmEx sent me a free Costco membership offer (expires today--had to "enroll," buy the membership and buy something at Costco on my AmEx card by today). So I did all that.

I had sort of forgotten how annoyed I get shopping at Costco. All those people with the huge carts blocking the aisles while they stop for samples or contemplate their navels. And half the stuff I'm looking for they don't have or I can't find. They didn'at have newborn diapers. At all. The smallest size Huggies were size 2 and the Costco brand was 1-2. The produce comes in quantities we would never eat before it went bad. No chocolate soy milk. And so on. And the lines. Oh, the lines. First the check-out line, then the line to get your receipt checked so you can leave the store.

Then I went and sat in the gas line. For 10 minutes. Gas was 30 cents a gallon cheaper, which sounds good. Except I drive a Prius. I only need 4 gallons. Saved $1.20.

Anyway, since I have the membership now, I suppose I'll use a few more times for diapers, paper towels, etc. But if it hadn't been free, well, not worth it for me.

So, there you go.

Thanks!
Catherine

This was my experience at Costco when I lived in Los Angeles. Here in suburban Chicago it's not that way AT ALL, except for maybe the check out lines from time to time. I can drive right up and get gas anytime, but I remember waiting in lines 6 deep when I would get gas at Costco in Van Nuys.

[SASM]

Yes!! We really miss this store. Loved the little "restaurant"...good food and prices. The only problem that we had with Costco is that they'd get us hooked on an item and then discontinue it. :( Of course, we wouldn't be able to find it anywhere else. Ohhh...and unlike BJ's, Costco doesn't accept manufacturer's coupons...bummer. IMO, the membership is totally worth it. Good prices on the kid's clothing as well. Costco is sooo much better than Sam's, which is our only warehouse store option.

[AnnieW625]

The other thing that annoys me about Costco is that they only take AmEx or cash. They say it saves their customers money - but other similar warehouse clubs don't have that restriction and aren't more expensive.

Amazon Subscribe & Save is a GREAT cheap way to get diapers (and, I assume, formula) without leaving the house. I belong to BJs, which does carry Pampers, but Amazon is cheaper.

FWIW, Costco does accept checks, and ATM card, just no Visa or Master Card.

I too love Amazon's Subscribe & Save program. We had to use 7th Gen. diapers for Elisa once she grew out of Pampers Swaddlers because she got horrible diaper rash from Cruisers and Amazon had the best price on them, $36 a case!!!

Now back to Costco I go through phases where I really like it and then I go through phases where it's just a nice convenience to have. It's 2 miles from our house and our staples from there are soy milk for DD, baby wipes (although we just had to try Huggies since I don't like the new Costco brand ones), Toscano house brand olive oil, Foster Farms chicken breasts (the only store that carries them near me), parmesan cheese wedges, Laughing Cow or mini bel cheeses, ground beef chubs, and sometimes some nice fish. I also find their prices on pictures, electronics, and mixed nuts to be good (these are a staple in our home because DD doesn't eat much meat so if I make her vegetarian meal, which is usually 5 out of 7 nights a week she gets a large handful of mixed nuts as her protein source). Their prices on dishwasher detergent, Splenda(with coupon), Ziploc bags, and sometimes paper towels, and TP are good too. I also like to buy one of their large pizzas and cut it in quarters to leave in the freezer for when I have a meeting, it's an easy dinner for DD and DH who both LOVE pizza.

Both DH and I have been long time fans of Amex (is it possible to be a fan of a credit card company....he he? WONDERFUL customer service; we wonder why we have other cards!) so if we didn't have the Costco Amex card we'd have to pay a $50 a year to have one and that's the price of Costco for a year.

[sariana]

Make sure you check out Costco.com. It has a LOT more stuff than what is available at the warehouse. If something doesn't work out, you can take it back to the warehouse for a full refund, including shipping.

Also make sure they have your email address so that you can get the email updates. They will let you know about specials and limited time items.

And I agree that the issue with lines depends on the location. The time of day makes a difference also. And remember, the gas station is open much longer than the warehouse. So you can try going there early in the morning or later at night to see if the lines are any better.

[crl]

Umm, early morning or late night, a hour round trip, nope. I am not taking my kid to Costco with me. No way, no how. Not to mention he goes to school and I have to get him on the bus in the morning and in the evening cook dinner and put him to bed.

Eh, I think they just don't carry enough of what I routinely buy to work as even an occasional substitute for the grocery store. So, it's an additional store to go to, an extra trip, and not a convenient one for me.

Oh well, the membership was free so I'm not out anything!
Catherine