Any Costco members - is it worth it?

I am wondering if a membership and the saving are worth a membership. Our nearest Costco is 40 miles away and we probably go to that that city once a month now for shopping and entertainment. I don't need tires, batteries or big items all that often so I imagine we would just stock up on groceries and fill with gas while there.

 

40 miles away maybe not. With the recent surges in gas prices, Costco hasn’t been that much cheaper. It’s usually only .20 cents cheaper than the chevron half a mile from my house. That saves me $4 per tank compared to filling up nearby. And considering it takes me a gallon of gas round trip just to go to Costco that eats up the savings.

Buying bulk items for my household is usually only done every other month at the most so we don’t frequent Costco that much and we’re only like 11 miles from ours.

 

There is only one reason I have a Costco card, my hearing aids.
They cost $1300 instead of the $3000 or $4000 from an audiologist.
Also nice to be able to get adjustments on the weekends if need be.

They also have an optical department, but I've never used it

We've bought a TV and a few large items there over the years.
If I'm in the area I'll get gas, but I'm not going out of my way to go there.

As far as weekly shopping, it's just the wife and me.
Almost everything they sell is in huge qualities we can't use.
Besides, the shelf life of food would expire before we used it.
Maybe if we had a big freezer and a bigger pantry we would shop there more, but we don't.

Personally, I wouldn't buy tires or car batteries there, but that's just me..

 

I am a die hard Costco fan so yea it’s worth it. Do it do it do it

 

BTW, it is just my wife and I in our household. I just read a few articles and it may not be worth it unless you buy big ticket items or a lot of bulk items.

 

I've got two 'nearby', about 40 miles also, but if I ever need more than Hickville can provide they're as close as everything else.
Wife got membership for us just over a year ago. Not sure on the overall value vs membership situation for most people but I have just restocked my annual contact lens supply for about half the price of anywhere else, same brand. My wife saved a shit ton on eyeglasses. Just our eyewear savings pays for the membership, everything else is a bonus. I did look at tires but my Michelin Defenders were pricier there than using online and a back street fitter.
Otherwise, it's not somewhere we visit too often, we tend to hit them up for salmon, cheese and apricots and not much else... but presumably if we decide to stuff our pad with tv's in every room then we'll be quids in.

 

i buy my hearing aid batteries there but never looked at their hearing aids. How are they? I like mine completely in canal for discretion but I had only ever seen the behind the ear on display.

 

Mine are BTE, I'm not sure if they have the in the canal.
I was told the canal aids wouldn't work for me.
My hearing loss it very high frequencies, plus 5K tinnitus..
I need an open canal.

My latest aids are rechargeable, no more batteries...

 

40 miles is a bit far to justify savings. For me Costco is .4 miles away and I drive right by as the gas station opens at 5:30am on my way to work. No brainer even for me

 

For gas only: No
For all other items + gas: Yes, you would make your membership fee back in the first trip.

 

I have been on & off with Costco for decades, in '21 we needed a new not inexpensive TV so I rejoined (partially for the price, partially for the 2% back) We got a 3k 85" inch Sony that failed last month, Sony support sucked and eventually Costco agreed to refund the money & take the set, That is worth the membership on it's own to me.

 

https://youtu.be/Kjl3WFWCsm0
Do you purchase 7 pies throughout a year?

 

If you a really big shop for groceries at least once a month, I’d say it’ll be worth it. Plus you’ll get printed books each 4-6 weeks with all the pending sales. Expensive “necessities” like Zyrtec daily allergy meds, skin care and cosmetic stuff, laundry detergent, whatever, will go on sale, I think, twice a year, but you can buy multiples of each, so, if you get good at planning, you can make stuff you can justify buying in bulk, really “cheap”.

Being able to buy members-only merchandise at Costco.com will be worthwhile the first time you do it.

As for gas, I don’t know if you’ll also get a Costco Visa— if you do, you’ll get 4% back on purchases at any station, so while you’ll want to fill your tank every time you visit Costco (so you can get that 4% + accumulate towards your annual rebate), you’ll still do well if you get in the habit of always buying gas using.

Finally, the biggest selling point, in my mind is, if you don’t earn enough rebate over the year to off-set the membership cost, Costco will refund that membership. It’s worth a try.

Also: good deals regularly on Rx glasses; lots of home upgrade services; soon I’ll replace my garage door, probably through Costco. I once booked a South Pacific vacation through Costco that was wonderful.

 

40 miles isn't bad. Used to be 50 for me before I moved. Now it's about 6 miles.

It really depends on what you want/need. Usually good deals on bulk non perishable items like TP, paper towels, ziplock bags, ECT. They can have good deals on meats and produce. I really like their milk, I prefer it over other brands.

I believe if you ask for a trial run, you can go in and view stuff to see if they have stuff you'd be buying or not. Think regular stuff for food and beverages, but also seasonal stuff like decorations, grilling, gardening, gifts for bdays/Christmas as well.

 

40 miles away doesn’t sound worth it unless there are items you specifically want from costco

 

nice, I just ordered new ones but like you said they’re $4k+ so might have to go see if they have some CIC ones

 

Or, @IowaGuy, you could buy a Costco gift card, which gets you in and let’s you check out possible savings.

 

Freezer quart bags
Foil
Cling wrap
Beer
TP
Paper towels
Dog food
Chicken
Steak
A 3 month supply of this list is enough savings to justify it.

 

I like Costco for the unique items, tv sales, warranty and price adjustment. Just this month alone I’ve received back $300 for items that have gone on sale

 

Rotisserie chicken, hot dogs, and Kirkland brand clothing WORTH IT

 

Looking in my garage, I forgot to mention:
Laundry detergent
Oxi-clean
Dryer sheets
Dog dental chews
Coffee
Last minute freezer meals
And this take and bake sourdough bread that's shelf stable for like 5 months and is honestly their best kept secret.

 

Son-of-B I am a Costco loyalist but missed this sourdough completely. Literally making a trip tomorrow to look for it. Pray it's not regional.

 

Meat department is real good. Get a vacuum sealer and separate the stuff. I’ve bought 3 Toyotas with their car buying program. We go about 1x a month.

 

Like Lemuel, I'm a diehard Costco fan. I like treasure hunting for the clearance/markdowns they have and usually most of their stuff are pretty good quality. If not, they will always take it back for returns. I signed up for their executive membership and have gotten back checks for more than I pay for the membership fee. I'm not a brand snob and do not mind the Kirkland brand, it is actually pretty good. I love their toilet paper and paper towels, some websites say to never buy their toilet paper but I think it's great. If you want to take advantage of the groceries, invest in a freezer. I have one in the garage and holds a lot of the ice cream and chicken that I buy. I also bought my tires in stock size from them just because it was low price compared to other places and they offer free lifetime balancing and rotations and I'm in a Costco like once a week.

 

It sits in the bread isle year round in the PNW. F-ing mint paired with some broccoli, steak, and wine.

 

Three miles away from us. Definitely worth it.

 

Costco toilet paper and paper towels make it worth the membership alone.

They are probably the best quality ones for the cost I have ever used.

 

We don't have a Costco anywhere within at least 100 miles of where I live, but we have a Sam's Club.

IMHO, yes, it's definitely worth it if you do any stocking up at all. We pay for the 'plus' membership, or whatever it is, and we easily make that back inside of 2 or 3 months at the worst.

 

Meh, unless I’m buying Michelin tires, TurboTax, or razor blades, no.

I think I’ve joined 3 times and cancelled my membership 3-6 months later. Actually, wish there was more to buy regularly but unless I’m buying food for a smoker to feed 10+ people I don’t think it’s worth it for me.

 

I mean...Its hard to even take this seriously.....I've done 90% of my shopping at costco for about 20 years. I don't even know how people who don't go to costco live, they most spend half their lives in stores buying tiny expensive products that they are out of in a couple weeks and then have to go buy again and again.

And its a 60 mile trip. The longer the trip is, the MORE worth it, it is. I only go shopping once every couple of months, never spend less than $500 at costco, usually 90% on food and the balance on things like batteries, engine oil, etc.