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I quit Costco after I realized most items I needed from them were generally about the same or only pennies cheaper per unit, sometimes actually more expensive, and almost always cheaper when on sale at a normal supermarket. For example ground beef was usually about $3/lb, the same as my local supermarket has on sale every other week for the same quality/lean level.

Couple that with the inconvenience of having to go to a second location for normal shopping needs, and one that is usually a jam packed on parking and checkout lines... It just wasn't worth it for the small handful of things that were a good deal.

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I'm sure it varies from area to area but here in the Seattle area I've found that as compared to the standard supermarkets (meaning Safeway, QFC, Fred Meyer), Costco sells prime grade beef at the same price as supermarkets sell choice grade and organic chicken at the same price as supermarkets sell conventional. But what really gives Costco's meat department the edge is that their meat looks so much better/fresher than the supermarkets.

It's a similar story for organic produce, eggs, and so on. Items like cheese, dried fruit and nuts are about half the price of comparable quality elsewhere. And then there's items like olive oil where Costco sells at a great price with the added bonus that you get actual olive oil and not some blend of unknown origin.

But if you live near enough to a Costco and own a car, the real killer-app is their gasoline. In my area, it is 50-60 cents a gallon cheaper than gas stations. From this alone my membership would more than pay for itself even if I never stepped inside the store.

> But if you live near enough to a Costco and own a car, the real killer-app is their gasoline. From this alone my membership

Just clone the magstripe on a friend's Costco card for the gas ;)

What I don't understand is why no gas station other than Costco has hoses that can reach around a vehicle.

But then I'd miss out on the 4% back from my Costco Visa for that gasoline. And even _just that 4%_ pays for the membership in my case. :D

(My next-best card in terms of rebate on gas is 1.5%, so assuming an additional 2.5% from Costco, I need to buy $2400 in gas to have the full membership covered by just the gas rebate - not even counting the additional savings from the lower price of gas).

> What I don't understand is why no gas station other than Costco has hoses that can reach around a vehicle.

Regular gas stations rarely have a line of people waiting for a pump. Costco often does. Managing that queue becomes much easier if any car in line can take any open gas pump, without worrying about which side the tank door is on (or messing with the flow of traffic by trying to back into a spot).

> Regular gas stations rarely have a line of people waiting for a pump.

I can understand the rareness part, but some gas stations are known for being discounters, but I still haven't seen them use it, despite their traffic jams.

How do you write a magstripe card? I thought you needed an expensive writer to do that?

https://www.amazon.com/DEFTUN-MSR605X-Compatibility-MSR605-M...

I guess it's somewhat expensive if you're buying it for this purpose alone, I'm sure you could find a cheaper used one on ebay.

I'd say that's relatively cheap for a hobby, and much easier to find than I imagined. I thought they were $300-$600 since the last time I saw one it was fully mechanical, at a school, and as far as I could see it was the only one.

Sort of related: I recently found a way to clone Costco's digital membership card - http://blog.zorinaq.com/reverse-engineering-costco-digital-m...

I guess that doesn’t work for gas though...

No, it only works for everything else: in-store checkout, returns, pharmacies...

For the digital card to work for gas, Costco would have to install QR code scanners on gas pumps.

Maybe this is a New Jersey thing, but here you don't need to be a Costco member to buy gasoline at Costco stations. It's also not that good of a deal, at maybe 10-15 cents less than regular gas stations. Sometimes it's just not worth braving the gas queues just for $1.5 in savings.

I guess it depends a lot on the products you need to buy from them. As for gasoline, I live in an area where it's about the cheapest in the country, so Costco's prices don't improve much on that, maybe $1.50 per fill-up. I don't drive enough for that to matter, but I suppose that alone could still cover the cost of membership each year.

I shop at Costco for the quality, not the price. Supermarket goods can vary wildly, Costco is consistent.

Unfortunately they got rid of the Kirkland toothpaste. The Kirkland shampoo smells like shit; they stopped selling the large pump bottles of Dove shampoo. At least the contact lense solution is good.

Some of this stuff is variable and by region. E.g. Kirkland toothpaste in Canada is different than US. Toilet Paper differs by region.

That is true, and turnover on perishables is probably quick enough that things are always pretty fresh.

It could be that the convenience comes when you need scale: When I was single the idea of a gallon tub of mayonnaise was purposterous, but with a family with three children, the single tub from Costco keeps us from having to replenish multiple small jars and worrying about coupons and timing sales.

I have three children too, I kind of like timing sales. It also makes me think creatively about meals: "Oh, London broil cuts are on sale, maybe I'll make beef stew" etc. I also hate having to make multiple grocery store stops. Totally comes down to preference though, I freely admit.

I agree with that for a lot of items. But part of it is that I don't think Costco ever does loss-leaders like grocery stores will (except in gas and their restaurant). Hence why I don't buy Costco's milk.

Costco is in a league of their own in Canada (and probably Iceland where they have a location). ex-USA, you just don't have deep-discounters.

With such massive turnover, is that everything is fresh at Costco, and it's not because they're throwing anything away. Their stock probably sells out daily.

And if you're not happy with them, you know you can return it a month later with a smile.

The $5 whole roasted chicken is, checked with an employee on it.

> Costco is in a league of their own in Canada

They sell cheese at almost-US prices! It's insane!

Why are Canadian cheese prices so high?

The Costco in Iceland is amazing. 150% of US prices, vs. 300-400% everywhere else.

In Hawaii (cost) and Puerto Rico (cost and quality) it is pretty amazing, too. In Puerto Rico there is basically no other good supermarket; the next best alternatives are a couple horrible local chains and Walmart/Sams Club/CVS/Walgreens.

For me, it’s hard to find markets with salmon/steak as fresh as those found in costco.

Ditto for fish in Hawaii. We tried both a local “fresh off the boat” market and Costco on the same trip and Costco was definitely higher quality for local caught fish.

Same for salmon and halibut in Anchorage, Alaska.

Costco is good, but next time you are in Hawaii just go the fish auction.

The gas is worth it though. Everything else is meh unless you're feeding a giant family or something.

Feeding 2 growing boys costco can be a live saver in some areas..

We have a trader joes + costco right next to each other. Between both of those, I can get the best of both worlds.

Yes you do have to be very careful with costco, because you end up just buying way too much. I have specific lists that I go in, and try not to veer from it at all.

But saying most are "barely cheaper" I don't agree with at all. Almost every item I buy at costco is SIGNIFICANTLY cheaper. Sometimes half the price. Cheerios, bread, chocolate chips, some fruits, most vegetables, cheeses..

Shopping exclusively at costco will just get you into trouble yes- but there are significant savings if you are careful about it. And the quality is generally very high and reliable.

See, cereal is one area I hated Costco for. Very little selection, first off. And while their retail price was cheaper than local supermarket retail, the brands at local stores all rotate sales about once a month and I can get 40% to 60% (and often a free gallon of milk) over a much larger selection. So I stock up then, which is what I'd have no choice but to do buying in bulk from Costco. I'll admit I borrow the in-laws Costco card now and again to buy their whole briskets.

I make back the cost of the membership fee just by the savings on a couple of car rentals. Their rates are cheaper and they have free cancellation and no extra driver fee for your spouse.

I've found car rentals for way cheaper than Costco directly on the car rental website. The prices are changed constantly, so check the car rental company's website a day before or even a few hours before you need it, and you might find it for much cheaper.

I do that, but on the Costco website. The free cancellation means you can book and then cancel and re-book when the price drops. It's also easier when Costco is aggregating all the prices for easy comparison.

The ability to cancel and rebook is pretty common.

Autoslash will do it automatically for you when a lower price is found. I’ve had it save me quite.

I have no affiliation with Autoslash, just found it useful.

> most items I needed from them were generally about the same or only pennies cheaper per unit

are these exactly the same products or are you comparing equivalents ?

Costco rolls their own brand for things so it's generally the closest equivalent. Paper cups was one thing I particularly remember ticked me off, because their price per 100 was like 20% higher for no dicernible difference.

It's jam packed for a reason.

“nobody goes there.. the lines are too long!”

I know, it's popular. Many people find actual value (just not me) while some shoppers assume "It's Costco, it must be a good deal." When that's not always the case.

Regardless, it's popularity in this way makes it a negative UX for me. It can be jam packed at the local supermarket but I can scan items as I shop and do self-checkout and skip the 20 minute lines.

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