Is the gentleman in this YouTube short wrong?
My mileage differs (so to speak).
Gas prics here are 40 to 80 cents different between Costco Gas and other nearby stations. So at 20 gallon fillups every 2 weeks or so, $200 to $300 savings in gas per year. Then there is the rebate check of perhaps $300.
I buy lactose milk, the 3 half gallons at $13.49. I freeze two and use one. The local price for lactose free milk is very expensive at other stores.
The Kings Hawaiian sweet rolls are half the price at Costco compared to Walmart.
Costco heavily discounts the cost of LED bulbs because the utility offers them a large rebate. Other stores here do not advertise that lower cost and I assume keep the profit.
Yes, the food court is a good bargain but even better is the unlimited soda refills. If I could, I would get a waterbed and fill it full from the soda machine, lay it on the ground and put my mouth over a slow leak. Unlimited soda!
Of course there are some items that are not a great deal and I don’t buy those. I am not against buying online and often check prices and reviews on alternate sites and Costco prices.
The ability to take products back has been used sparingly by me however knowing I can is a great membership option. When Verizon had a kiosk in the store (Cellphone Partners), I got a lot better deal and better service than the local Verizon store.
Recently we had a major wind storm and I had to buy heavy-duty tarps. The size and price at Costco was the best deal and in stock.
A drawback to Costco is the size of some products, like the apple pies. It is difficult for a single guy to eat a whole apple pie by himself. Note that I said difficult but not impossible!
As an aside, when I was working at the condos here, visitors checked in Saturday afternoons for a week. People staying a week in Hawaii tend to buy lots of alcohol, food, boogie boards and so on that they end up leaving. Much of the unopened items was used by staff, so Thank Goodness for Costco’s Warehouse-sized items.
All in all, because we are limited to specific stores and franchises here, Costco is well liked and attended by both locals and our visitors. Also keep in mind that a Costco over on Oahu (our nearby island) is the busiest in the world! There is a reason for that.
… Yes …
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Yes, in my opinion and based on personal experiences.
Get the Costco VISA Card… if you spend $150 per visit, your cash back will easily cover your membership ( or most of it ).
yeah, he’s wrong, but… what I have found that Costco has great beef (but the prices are beyond my reach now). That said, it’s hard for any of the local grocery stores to touch the quality. I also like the large quantity of vegetables - when I need them. I have the Visa card, and my reward is usually between 175-250/year.
Where I have found costco to be outstanding is quality, propane prices, and fuel. Sometimes they have killer deals in the warehouse, but they never advertise those :). That’s their trick.
Speaking of Killer Deals, it is the “priced to sell” that I look for.
Here is a cart full of LED lights. Although made to be installed in ‘cans’ between rafters, it is also possible to mount them in ceiling tiles and sheetrock. I have 10 cases in the cart and there are two lights per case. Each case was priced at 99 cents so 45 cents a light. If I remember correctly I went back the next day and found a few more.
They also had (priced to sell) cases of Baylis and Harding soap in pump containers. I bought all they had at a couple dollars a case of 4. That was what 4 or 5 years ago and I still have soap left over even after giving a couple cases away. I could probably make a lot of money selling these things at a popup market. I know that there are some ‘farmers markets’ here selling pineapples that are from Costco. Not all visitors know we have a Costco or may not be members. Also, unless you are a pineapple farmer with a lot of space, you are not growing and selling pineapples at a farmers market because of the labor and work over the two years to grow one.
Our Costco does not really have ways to stockpile items or bring them in from neighboring areas, so if they have to make room for new stuff, the old stuff HAS to go.
I agree I will never get another Costco membership I always just use a Costco Cash Card and get it refilled by a friend who has a membership.
I’ll follow up with one other comment:
Return policy. Do I need to elaborate? I just bought a router from best buy because I needed it. Work got delayed, now I want another one. Found out the hard way that they have a 15 day return window. Admittedly, I don’t shop them much. I can get the same router from Walmart for the same price with dang near infinte return time.
Costco acts like they want my money. I appreciate that.
Tip: take a hard look at Walmart for staple items. On many items (olive oil, hot sauce, etc) they are way below Costco, and Walmart will bring it to your car.