Current Events > Recently got a Costco membership.

(+) Yeah! (+)

People kept saying it made grocery shopping noticeably cheaper, plus they had a decent Groupon on a membership, so I got it.

Been 2 months, honestly, I don't see the prices being that much cheaper. At least not for the food staples I buy. Maybe I'm just buying the wrong things.

If you buy a lot of frozen type bulk meals, or just home supplies like toilet paper and tissue paper, I can see it being good. Just by having access to the bulk item plus a little bit of savings there.
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its a bulk purchase savings probably shouldnt get one if you dont have a family

There was a Twitter Thread about the economics behind Costco. Basically, they sell their products at cost and sometimes at a loss, and make up everything else with memberships. They make an ungodly amount of money off of memberships.

https://twitter.com/investing_city/status/1179974257779982336?s=19

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CADE FOSTER posted...

its a bulk purchase savings probably should get one if you dont have a family

The things they have in bulk aren't things I buy anyway. I don't buy much snacks for example. So those kinda savings don't matter to me.

It's not like I'm paying noticeably less for my eggs, rice, veggies, and lentils at Costco than any other store.
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Used to have membership.

Now I just go on saturdays, say I need to go to the pharmacy, and just eat all the free samples and leave.

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Alucard188 posted...

There was a Twitter Thread about the economics behind Costco. Basically, they sell their products at cost and sometimes at a loss, and make up everything else with memberships. They make an ungodly amount of money off of memberships.

Yep, I saw that also. They have good retention.

I ended up initially getting the regular membership for $40. It cost $60 but came with a $20 cash card, plus some coupons for free home supplies that ended up being worth like $30.

Then they had a deal where you can upgrade to the executive membership for $60 more, but they gave me a $60 cash card. So that was free...

I probably won't renew next year.
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I have enough toilet paper and paper towels to last a year and it was ~$40

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People like Costco because of the Kirkland brand. Kirkland puts out some pretty high quality stuff for a store brand but you pay store brand prices. I think thats what most people mean when they say its cheap.

The issue is most people buy shit they otherwise would not care about buying. For example, Costco has these dark chocolate covered mangoes that I would possibly kill for. But before I shopped at Costco, I never would have thought I needed chocolate covered mangoes. So yeah, I guess its cheap but Im not saving money when I buy random shit that looks appealing.

If you are truly looking to maximize Costco value, only use it to buy meat like chicken breast. Throw the meat in the freezer and thaw as much as you need for your next meal. Also use Costco for dog food, TP, bottled water, wine, oatmeal/cereal. Costco is not ideal for stuff that goes bad quickly (milk, produce, etc)
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flobbyg posted...

People like Costco because of the Kirkland brand. Kirkland puts out some pretty high quality stuff for a store brand but you pay store brand prices. I think thats what most people mean when they say its cheap.

The issue is most people buy shit they otherwise would not care about buying. For example, Costco has these dark chocolate covered mangoes that I would possibly kill for. But before I shopped at Costco, I never would have thought I needed chocolate covered mangoes. So yeah, I guess its cheap but Im not saving money when I buy random shit that looks appealing.

If you are truly looking to maximize Costco value, only use it to buy meat like chicken breast. Throw the meat in the freezer and thaw as much as you need for your next meal. Also use Costco for dog food, TP, bottled water, wine, oatmeal/cereal. Costco is not ideal for stuff that goes bad quickly (milk, produce, etc)

YES, this for sure
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Costco and Sams Club are ripoffs

Costco and Sams are great if you have a family if you dont go shop at walmart or grocery stores

CADE FOSTER posted...

Costco and Sams are great if you have a family if you dont go shop at walmart or grocery stores

The Hutterites and farmers in Manitoba absolutely love Costco.

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