People of the OB. You seem to be the most sensible bunch on this questionable website, so I'd like to illicit your opinion. We're about to have our first kid in the next few weeks, and we're wanting to start buying in "bulk". Is a Costco membership worth all the hype, or should we just stick to the normal stores?

My humble opinion (not worth a whole lot):

Get either a CostCo membership, or an Amazon Prime membership, but not both. We get diapers and other baby stuff delivered through Amazon subscribe and save pretty regularly, and have been pretty happy with it.

I have both Costco and Sams memberships. There are some good deals on the bulk items and i think the Costco food quality is better than Sams. I get free coupons from Costco for drinks and paper towels a few time a year which is nice.

Stasco said:

---

My humble opinion (not worth a whole lot):

Get either a CostCo membership, or an Amazon Prime membership, but not both. We get diapers and other baby stuff delivered through Amazon subscribe and save pretty regularly, and have been pretty happy with it.

---

I will disagree. Amazon Prime includes other entertainment options that costco doesn't.

Stasco said:

---

My humble opinion (not worth a whole lot):

Get either a CostCo membership, or an Amazon Prime membership, but not both. We get diapers and other baby stuff delivered through Amazon subscribe and save pretty regularly, and have been pretty happy with it.

---

There's additional benefits to Amazon Prime with streaming service and shipping stuff that help offset other features you don't use.

That said, I do have a Sam's Club membership and Amazon Prime. Main reason I've kept the Sam's membership is because of the gas service being usually cheaper than other local gas stations near me since they usually charge 10 cents more per gallon if you pay by card v cash. I also grab their paper towels and bulk toilet paper when company is over.

Worth it. Fanboy here (full disclosure)

Kid stuff (diapers/wipes/formula) is great. But so much more there. Their vegetables/fruit last longer than almost any other store (Kroger, Tom Thumb). Their meat prices and selection is great. They also have a ton of prepared stuff for when you're tired and don't want to cook from scratch. Kids older now (11 & 9) and we got A LOT of their clothes/jackets there (Gerry). Socks, underwear, gloves, etc.. I've also purchased bigger items: got my egg there (Kamodo) and even my gun safe. We have a couple of big TV's (55+ in) that were super-cheap as well. Place sucks you in.

The availability of prime brisket alone makes it worthwhile

Yep. And every year now we have a Xmas tradition of cooking up one of their nice prime, whole beef tenderloins (trimmed or untrimmed, they have both).

Costco matches the factory warranty on things. 1 yr manufacture warranty +1 yr from costco. They also have additional 3 yr warranty to purchase <$999 for $59 and >999 for $99. Not too bad.

The biggest place to save in my opinion is fruits and veggies. You'll get twice as much by weight on berries for the same price as a grocery store. Roll in general saving on gas and I make back my membership money pretty readily. I tend to eat blue berries for breakfast every day of the week and do a lot of grocery shopping at Costco.

It's worth it, we have the executive membership and we buy enough every year to get enough money back that it pays for our membership. I have a food saver and a deep freeze so I can stock up on meat. They also sell prime steaks and brisket. Honestly their choice is good enough that I don't pony up for prime steaks, but I do get my briskets from Costco. We get our diapers and baby wipes from Costco, they have the cheapest bottled water around 40 bottles for $3. Their prices on produce are much better than my local grocery stores too. I stocked up on charcoal the other week, 2 18 pound bags of kingsford competition for $13 since it was on sale.

powerbelly said:

---

Stasco said:

---

My humble opinion (not worth a whole lot):

Get either a CostCo membership, or an Amazon Prime membership, but not both. We get diapers and other baby stuff delivered through Amazon subscribe and save pretty regularly, and have been pretty happy with it.

---

I will disagree. Amazon Prime includes other entertainment options that costco doesn't.

---

This. If you dig the entertainment options especially, there's no problem with having both.

As Max said use a vacuum sealer. I also have the Executive Membership and I always receive more in rebate than the membership costs. Buy gas every time you go and get your tires there, and that will mostly pay for the membership.

Always get the executive membership. If for some reason you don't use it enough to get a rebate to make up the difference, you get reimbursed what's left of the difference. So after the first year, you're basically always paying for the standard membership.

just to add - they also have pretty good gas prices.

powerbelly said:

---

Stasco said:

---

My humble opinion (not worth a whole lot):

Get either a CostCo membership, or an Amazon Prime membership, but not both. We get diapers and other baby stuff delivered through Amazon subscribe and save pretty regularly, and have been pretty happy with it.

---

I will disagree. Amazon Prime includes other entertainment options that costco doesn't.

---

As a Prime subscriber, I certainly agree that there are other benefits to the Prime subscription. That said, if I didn't regularly take advantage of the free shipping, and instead got most of my stuff at CostCo, I'm not sure those other benefits would be worth the annual price (vs. Netflix or other alternatives.)

Likewise for CostCo. I recognize that CostCo is great and potentially worth the membership, just not sure I'd use it enough to justify the cost if I already have Amazon Prime.

Like I said, it's only my opinion.

I thought every middle class and above household in America already had an Amazon Prime membership.

We did CostCo, and the gas discount pretty much pays for the membership price. The meat selection alone makes it worth it. It's less than $100/year. Do it for year 1, and if you don't like it, don't renew.

If there is more than 2 people in your house, you cook at home and fairly fresh, you will save a lot of money going to Costco.

Between fruit, vegetables, meat, dairy, and (if your aren't a complete coffee snob) coffee you will get cheaper better quality groceries from costcontjan just about anywhere else. Including amazon

Granted you do trade a fair bit of variety for that savings.

Fair enough. For me, a big factor is just that CostCo is a bit of a drive from my house. So I suppose convenience does play a big role in how much you'll use the CostCo membership for routine grocery runs.

Worth it, but compare prices on things to HEB or wherever else you shop. They are really good on some things, high as a kite on others. I initially bought mine to get bulk goods and pork bellies to make bacon with, but generally we hit it up once a month or so for something or other. Between it and Amazon, much of what we used to get at HEB gets delivered to us now.

Am I the only one who thinks the legit hot dogs for like a buck and enough free samples on Sunday to cover both breakfast and lunch take care of the membership fees by themselves?

Costco and Amazon Prime.

Don't care for eithers owner's politics but they are great places to shop.

It is work it if you shop there frequently or get gas there. I had a membership but have been on Amazon Prime for the last 2 years. I agree that the meats and bulk goods are good deals but have not found that the produce was any better deal than other grocery stores.

The closest Costco to me just put in a propane refill station. It's probably half the cost of ace hardware for a 20 lb fill.

Their house brand natures domain dog food is good too. Much better coats on the dogs than when they were on Iams and cost is about the same.

Canceled Costco. Went all in with Amazon prime.

Why? I don't like people

I've put in place a self imposed ban on me shopping alone in Costco.

That place sucks you in, provides tasty treats, displays flashy goods and wares to buy while secretly filling your basket with all sorts of bounties you didn't know you needed.

It's so terrible, I love it. Used to be a Sam's club guy but ever since the Costco opened up we've switched. I've never needed a 50gal drum of mayo from Sam's, but I will take the 50gal drum of fancy herb-infused mayo from Costco.

The meat selection is superior to Sam's and for quick pinch things like diapers, wipes and dry goods it's incredibly convenient. I have noticed the produce prices are usually a little more than your typical grocery store on a per item/per lb basis so I guess that's where they offset some of the cost of the cheaper products. I've started buying pants, gloves, socks and items like that for myself and the kiddos there as well cause they've got some decent products at pretty good prices.

Their photo department is also good...your bride will love it. We get all photos, Christmas cards, and other things printed there.

Kirkland vodka. Enough said.

Be careful in that place. There's one exactly 1 mile from our house. Went in to buy dog food and my wife came out with a couch and I bought a portable building. That was expensive dog food.

we're like 20 posts in and nobody's mentioned the $4.99 rotisserie chickens? That's cheaper than you can buy a frozen chicken (it's a loss leader for them), and they're delicious! Even if I am not planning to eat chicken in the near future, I can't afford to walk out of Costco without one. And by the time you get home you will be hungry for chicken!

Also buy my Mobil 1 there by the case, and there are always a few packages of top sirloin cut nice and thick.

Forget sitting in line to buy Costco gas though. We live near a Kroger gas station that's the same price or cheaper.

CrottyKid said:

---

Kirkland vodka. Enough said.

---

You don't have to be a member to shop at their liquor store.

Yep. They're twice the size of the ones at H-E-B and $3 less

Quote:

---

just to add - they also have pretty good gas prices.

---

They do on pretty much everything compared to Amazon and in a lot of cases it is significant. Most Amazon shoppers don't realize they are paying up for convenience.

Duncan Idaho said:

---

The availability of prime brisket AND PRIME RIBEYE CAP STEAKS alone makes it worthwhile

---

FIFY

They sell safes for a decent price and deliver them for free. That saved me enough to cover the membership fee.

You guys are failing to mention all of the educational benefits of a Costco membership. For example, I've learned that in Asian cultures, at least 3 generations of family members must be present whenever shopping. Seriously though, what's up with that?