4 ms·

If you live in the USA, a Costco membership is very worth it.

hansvm 4y ago
Definitely true, but I'll add that you still need to do price comparisons. Even supposed staples like pasta are often substantially more expensive than at nearby grocers.
- LocalPCGuy 4y ago
  I don't buy a lot of pasta, so can't speak directly to that example, but in many cases if you compare like quality, Costco will tend to be cheaper or equivalent, I've found. Although maybe for some of the staples there just isn't really that much difference in quality. There is also the problem that some folks have (cough, me, yes, I'm talking about me) that even if I go into Costco for 3 specific items, I walk out with 5-10 at least. That's another place to watch for cost and try to be strict about sticking to a list.
bastardoperator 4y ago
Who doesn't need a bucket of guacamole? I jest, but Costco is awesome, they also have pretty good vacation packages.
kjkjadksj 4y ago
Its tough when you live in an apartment with no storage. You often are paying more because you dont have room for bulk. Costco is great if you have a garage or basement though
- gt565k 4y ago
  What I do is buy meat in bulk from costco and marinate and preseason then cut it up and vacuum seal it with a $30 vacuum sealer and sousivide bags from amazon. I can then stuff my freezer with ready to cook chicken, steak, fish, etc. I just take it out the night before to thaw in the fridge.
  - User23 4y ago
    You probably know this, but sous vide will cook fine from frozen too. You just have to give it an extra hour or so. Heat baths are cool!
    - gt565k 4y ago
      I do that sometimes but I started going for thinner cuts of meat and just grill them in 12-15 mins. Sousvide is nice but sometimes takes too long and you still gotta sear. For nicer cuts of meat, sure, but for flank steak and such, I find it much easier to just let the meat marinate for 24-48 hours and then grill it.
  - drost 4y ago
    Skip the thaw step and cook those things sous vide.
    - weberer 4y ago
      And eat microplastics? No thanks.
      - manwe150 4y ago
        You can buy a Cinder Grill instead. Same basic thermodynamic concept, but with metal instead of water+plastic for the stable heat source
      - addisonl 4y ago
        Do you think the steak is microplastic free? It's not: https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2022/jul/08/microplastics-detected-in-meat-milk-and-blood-of-farm-animals#:~:text=Microplastic%20contamination%20has%20been%20reported,sample%20in%20their%20pilot%20study https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2022/jul/08/micropla....
        r00fus 4y ago
        That's a fallacy - microplastic contamination isn't a boolean, more like a floating point.
- atyppo 4y ago
  I'm in a pretty small apartment in Manhattan (albeit with an abnormally large kitchen). I can always get the value of my Costco membership in my first trip there, even without a car. Basic goods like Advil, laundry detergent and dishwasher detergent are miles cheaper than other options in Manhattan.
  - tshaddox 4y ago
    We find it difficult to use the Costco OTC drugs like Advil among two people before the expiration date.
    - atyppo 4y ago
      Expiration dates on some OTC drugs like Advil aren't as important as you might think. [See this.](https://www.healthdigest.com/756305/does-ibuprofen-expire/ https://www.healthdigest.com/756305/does-ibuprofen-expire/)
      - tshaddox 4y ago
        Yeah, I've taken drugs years after their expiration date. It's just not super confidence-inspiring.
    - collegeburner 4y ago
      i have literally used 20yr expired medicines before and been fine
      - LadyCailin 4y ago
        Many medicines simply degrade, so yeah, you won’t poison yourself, but then it’s just a placebo.
        omgwtfbyobbq 4y ago
        It depends on the medication. There are some that can last for 20+ years with the same effectiveness.
- rightbyte 4y ago
  1000 kg of potatoes is 1444 litres (1,44 m^3) and fits in a corner in any flat. YMMW if the floor can take it. My point is that with less space you need to store less different things.
dangus 4y ago
Unpopular opinion, Costco isn't that great. - Too many items force you to buy insane quantities that don't make sense even for a 4 person family. The meat, for example, is great quality and value, but it's very hard to make steak or chicken taste good after being frozen, and in no universe should I be eating 4 huge steaks within the refrigeration shelf life. I can never use their giant tub of sour cream or shredded cheese before it goes bad. - Related to the last point, Costco makes you pay for the square footage in your home to store their stuff, and to really utilize the membership you're gonna want a chest freezer, a whole extra appliance to purchase, run (electricity), and repair. Probably about $50/year in electricity costs. - Too many of the items that are "great deals" are things most people would probably never buy in the first place when sold at the normal higher retail price. For example, Red Bull is barely over a dollar a can, which is unbeatable, but in no universe should I be buying a 24 pack of Red Bull for any reason. - Similar to the point above, Costco's deals encourage consumption where the alternative is to not consume anything at all. For example, paper towels are an item where you really should just reduce your usage. Just use dish towels and cloth napkins, toss them in with your regular laundry. There are very few messes where you actually need to use paper towels. - I know it's not supposed to be a replacement for a grocery store, but I think it's very hard to cook from scratch using whole and minimally-processed foods solely from what Costco sells. - The low SKU count of the store has never not been infuriating to me. The entire health and beauty section is the worst offender here: good luck having any sort of preference. - The store wastes your time by making you memorize aisle layout, this is done on purpose to increase aimless browsing time. - The negotiation practices that Costco uses to keep prices low also causes their inventory to be incredibly inconsistent. One day there will be a pallet of Legos or an interesting brand of trail mix, the next it could be gone or replaced by something else. - Costco is almost always packed with an uncomfortable amount of people. - Am I the only one who thinks Costco doesn't have enough cat supplies?? It's all stuff for dogs!! You'd think I should be saving so much money by using Costco for cat litter but...nope, the stuff I buy at Target is about the same cost, they'll deliver it for free in two days, and Costco doesn't sell any form of unscented cat litter product. - Their lauded snack bar is trash food and I don't believe the common refrain that it's a loss leader. Costco brags about that as a PR exercise. It breaks even at the very least. - If your Costco is able to sell beer/wine/liquor, that's a pretty nice perk that can pretty legitimately make up for the membership cost over a year, but anyone with a really legit liquor warehouse type of store (e.g., Binny's) isn't going to be massively impressed. Low SKU count is still a problem here, and I don't actually think Costco is that great at curating wines (another PR exercise they like to engage in). - Don't forget that you have to pay $60 a year just to get in the door. You have to buy enough discounted things to make up for that difference. Sure, it probably makes more sense than Amazon Prime, but that's still a major point to think about. I think the only reason to be a member is to buy diapers, you'll make up the membership cost very quickly that way. Still, if you can tolerate lower quality diapers, Target's brand is actually lower cost than Kirkland. There are a number of Costco products out there where other store brands offer something at a close-enough price and quality ratio, without having to shell out a membership fee. For many products it might not actually matter that "Kirkland is the best."

Definitely true, but I'll add that you still need to do price comparisons. Even supposed staples like pasta are often substantially more expensive than at nearby grocers.

LocalPCGuy 4y ago
I don't buy a lot of pasta, so can't speak directly to that example, but in many cases if you compare like quality, Costco will tend to be cheaper or equivalent, I've found. Although maybe for some of the staples there just isn't really that much difference in quality. There is also the problem that some folks have (cough, me, yes, I'm talking about me) that even if I go into Costco for 3 specific items, I walk out with 5-10 at least. That's another place to watch for cost and try to be strict about sticking to a list.

bastardoperator 4y ago

Who doesn't need a bucket of guacamole? I jest, but Costco is awesome, they also have pretty good vacation packages.

kjkjadksj 4y ago

Its tough when you live in an apartment with no storage. You often are paying more because you dont have room for bulk. Costco is great if you have a garage or basement though

gt565k 4y ago
What I do is buy meat in bulk from costco and marinate and preseason then cut it up and vacuum seal it with a $30 vacuum sealer and sousivide bags from amazon. I can then stuff my freezer with ready to cook chicken, steak, fish, etc. I just take it out the night before to thaw in the fridge.
- User23 4y ago
  You probably know this, but sous vide will cook fine from frozen too. You just have to give it an extra hour or so. Heat baths are cool!
  - gt565k 4y ago
    I do that sometimes but I started going for thinner cuts of meat and just grill them in 12-15 mins. Sousvide is nice but sometimes takes too long and you still gotta sear. For nicer cuts of meat, sure, but for flank steak and such, I find it much easier to just let the meat marinate for 24-48 hours and then grill it.
- drost 4y ago
  Skip the thaw step and cook those things sous vide.
  - weberer 4y ago
    And eat microplastics? No thanks.
    - manwe150 4y ago
      You can buy a Cinder Grill instead. Same basic thermodynamic concept, but with metal instead of water+plastic for the stable heat source
    - addisonl 4y ago
      Do you think the steak is microplastic free? It's not: https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2022/jul/08/microplastics-detected-in-meat-milk-and-blood-of-farm-animals#:~:text=Microplastic%20contamination%20has%20been%20reported,sample%20in%20their%20pilot%20study https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2022/jul/08/micropla....
      - r00fus 4y ago
        That's a fallacy - microplastic contamination isn't a boolean, more like a floating point.
atyppo 4y ago
I'm in a pretty small apartment in Manhattan (albeit with an abnormally large kitchen). I can always get the value of my Costco membership in my first trip there, even without a car. Basic goods like Advil, laundry detergent and dishwasher detergent are miles cheaper than other options in Manhattan.
- tshaddox 4y ago
  We find it difficult to use the Costco OTC drugs like Advil among two people before the expiration date.
  - atyppo 4y ago
    Expiration dates on some OTC drugs like Advil aren't as important as you might think. [See this.](https://www.healthdigest.com/756305/does-ibuprofen-expire/ https://www.healthdigest.com/756305/does-ibuprofen-expire/)
    - tshaddox 4y ago
      Yeah, I've taken drugs years after their expiration date. It's just not super confidence-inspiring.
  - collegeburner 4y ago
    i have literally used 20yr expired medicines before and been fine
    - LadyCailin 4y ago
      Many medicines simply degrade, so yeah, you won’t poison yourself, but then it’s just a placebo.
      - omgwtfbyobbq 4y ago
        It depends on the medication. There are some that can last for 20+ years with the same effectiveness.
rightbyte 4y ago
1000 kg of potatoes is 1444 litres (1,44 m^3) and fits in a corner in any flat. YMMW if the floor can take it. My point is that with less space you need to store less different things.

dangus 4y ago

Unpopular opinion, Costco isn't that great. - Too many items force you to buy insane quantities that don't make sense even for a 4 person family. The meat, for example, is great quality and value, but it's very hard to make steak or chicken taste good after being frozen, and in no universe should I be eating 4 huge steaks within the refrigeration shelf life. I can never use their giant tub of sour cream or shredded cheese before it goes bad. - Related to the last point, Costco makes you pay for the square footage in your home to store their stuff, and to really utilize the membership you're gonna want a chest freezer, a whole extra appliance to purchase, run (electricity), and repair. Probably about $50/year in electricity costs. - Too many of the items that are "great deals" are things most people would probably never buy in the first place when sold at the normal higher retail price. For example, Red Bull is barely over a dollar a can, which is unbeatable, but in no universe should I be buying a 24 pack of Red Bull for any reason. - Similar to the point above, Costco's deals encourage consumption where the alternative is to not consume anything at all. For example, paper towels are an item where you really should just reduce your usage. Just use dish towels and cloth napkins, toss them in with your regular laundry. There are very few messes where you actually need to use paper towels. - I know it's not supposed to be a replacement for a grocery store, but I think it's very hard to cook from scratch using whole and minimally-processed foods solely from what Costco sells. - The low SKU count of the store has never not been infuriating to me. The entire health and beauty section is the worst offender here: good luck having any sort of preference. - The store wastes your time by making you memorize aisle layout, this is done on purpose to increase aimless browsing time. - The negotiation practices that Costco uses to keep prices low also causes their inventory to be incredibly inconsistent. One day there will be a pallet of Legos or an interesting brand of trail mix, the next it could be gone or replaced by something else. - Costco is almost always packed with an uncomfortable amount of people. - Am I the only one who thinks Costco doesn't have enough cat supplies?? It's all stuff for dogs!! You'd think I should be saving so much money by using Costco for cat litter but...nope, the stuff I buy at Target is about the same cost, they'll deliver it for free in two days, and Costco doesn't sell any form of unscented cat litter product. - Their lauded snack bar is trash food and I don't believe the common refrain that it's a loss leader. Costco brags about that as a PR exercise. It breaks even at the very least. - If your Costco is able to sell beer/wine/liquor, that's a pretty nice perk that can pretty legitimately make up for the membership cost over a year, but anyone with a really legit liquor warehouse type of store (e.g., Binny's) isn't going to be massively impressed. Low SKU count is still a problem here, and I don't actually think Costco is that great at curating wines (another PR exercise they like to engage in). - Don't forget that you have to pay $60 a year just to get in the door. You have to buy enough discounted things to make up for that difference. Sure, it probably makes more sense than Amazon Prime, but that's still a major point to think about. I think the only reason to be a member is to buy diapers, you'll make up the membership cost very quickly that way. Still, if you can tolerate lower quality diapers, Target's brand is actually lower cost than Kirkland. There are a number of Costco products out there where other store brands offer something at a close-enough price and quality ratio, without having to shell out a membership fee. For many products it might not actually matter that "Kirkland is the best."