Terrific information and thank you for your time. I was hoping the meat and seafood would be good, I try to make a trip to Shipshewanna Indiana once a year for their meat but that gets difficult to do every year. Jasdip, thanks for the info on kitty litter, we have 8 cats and use a combination of shavings and Americas Best kitty litter. There are only 2 of us but I do keep a freezer for those stock up days. Thanks again.

We go every few months unless we need something specific from there. I always by my Chinet paper plates there and if I am having a BBQ or party I get plastic ware and cups. I buy seafood, fruits and vegetables, frozen goods, big package of bacon and cheeses, coffee, trash bags, vitamins, we like the rotisserie chicken great price on those.

My DH and I did a walk thru to see how prices compared.....should we join?

I found my just purchased Dyson vacuum for $300 more than I'd paid for a refurbished one online, for instance. I paid $2lb for thick cut bacon with a coupon on sale @ Safeway(got 6lbs)....they sell Kirkland bacon in #3lb packages for $15! Yikes! The pork roast was the same quality, same price that I'd paid at Safeway without a membership.

I liked the name brands they carry and the quality...but I can beat their prices hands down.

DH and I now visit Costco at least monthly, now that there is one 15 minutes from our door. (It's painful to see huge amounts of taxes going to the town 'next door'. The Old Guard in our town thought Costco was too 'common' to be on our side of the tollway. You can see the store from where it could have been in our town!)

I don't like their rotisserie chickens -- don't like any store's 'brined' chickens. I do like their beef, lamb chops, and some of the prepared foods like stuffed peppers and salmon w/basil butter. (I divvy up things, freezing portions we won't use immediately.) We buy big hunks of cheddar and organic milk and half and half. I'm going to try their organic brown eggs.

I like the LaBrea products, the Danish, the chocolate chip cookies. (Extras freeze well.)

Paper goods...sometimes. Batteries. We've bought TV's and tablets, and my new glasses are due in this week. New tires. Coffee mill. Sheets.

Two25 -- Do you have the store's credit card that pays back? Costco is doing a change-over from American Express soon.

Oh, their bath towels are fantastic! You get tired of the colour before they wear out. LOL Here, they are only $8.

It's the only place where hubby buys his t-shirts and underwear. The t-shirts are only black or white, nice heavy quality.

Our newest Costco that opened in a nearby city is the largest one in Ontario. It has gas pumps (I believe that all of yours in the U.S. sells gas, but not ours). The gas is 6 cents/litre cheaper.

The rotisserie chickens sound good, we like to have chicken salad in pita's for breakfast. I suppose a lot of the pricing will be determined by the region as well. Ours will be opening soon, I told hubby we will visit but not buy the first day. I want to compare. I've been keeping track of prices at the store I am currently shopping at, since Costco is a warehouse store, bulk pricing will have to be factored in.

Chisue - we are cash/check only in our family. Online I use my paypal account and we have one card for emergencies only. We've been doing it that way for a couple of years and really like it.

I'm going to say DON'T make a list! At least not until you've become familiar with Costco. Go in and browse, browse browse, and graze, graze, graze!

Take it all in and figure out how it best suits your needs in every way.

I have found that some Costco have different items that are regional. In Eureka, there Costco sells a great sour dough bread, and they have a apple/turkey sausage that is so good (frozen). When we traveled we tried to stop at different ones just to see what they carried that was different. Check the book area, and some with pharmacies are cheaper as is the gasoline. I agree, try to go when they first open, less traffic, but they do NOT bag items. You could take plastic bags to carry the smaller items. Oh yes, check if you wear glasses, cheaper.

All Costcos I've been to will box items using their empties. Regular grocery bags will help somewhat, but with the size of the bulk stuff, it's best to ask them to use their boxes to bundle the items for transfer.

Throwing a laundry basket or two into the car trunk is also helpful ;-)

We go maybe every 4-6 weeks. When checking out those rotisserie chickens, you might look for the chicken noodle soup they make from those roasted chickens. It's more like a chicken stew and loaded with pulled-not-chopped meat. A hearty heat and serve dish for those days you've been shopping and want something quick for dinner. In the deli section usually near the roasted chickens - but I can warn you, it's too much for two.

Things I seldom buy elsewhere.....plain white unscented bath soap. Paper towels and TP. Adult multi vitamins. Laundry soap (both Tide HE powdered and the Woolite for Darks that I use every week), dish soap, dishwasher tabs and JetDry for the dishwasher.

Milk. We buy 9 half gallons of the 1% organic milk at a time, its the ultrapasturized with the extended use by date. Cases of organic chicken stock in 1 qt containers. Olive oil. Cheeses of all kinds. I do like their berries, and the Satsuma oranges in season. Frozen shrimp. Garbage bags. Televisions.

Sometimes housewares or towels. Wine. Their meat is very good, I don't always find it bargain prices. I don't mean overpriced, just not bargains as weekly local store specials can occasionally be. I can almost always do better on locally grown whole chickens at the grocery stores when they are included in the weekly ads.

Snidely, I can find copper river salmon briefly, and sometimes Alaskan at Costco. More often than not, I'm passing up Atlantic farm raised there and this is coastal Washington! Their canned wild sockeye, Alaskan, Kirkland label, is exceptionally good.

*Editing to add, I ask for a box (boxes) for smaller loose things that do not need refrigeration. Otherwise, I take a BIG cooler and fit as much into that when I get into the parking lot as I can.

*Another edit - I saved $400 over local pricing on the Michelin tires DH wanted for his truck at Costco a few months ago. They had to special order them, honored their coupon, I paid for them online and they were shipped to and installed at the closest Costco to us about 10 days later.

You can't beat Costco's gasoline prices. The Kirkland Signature Nature's Domain salmon and sweet potato grain free dog food is a wonderful value at $1 per pound for a 30 pound bag.

Yes, DH buys our gas there, but we go at closing as the lines tend to be long otherwise. They sell spit roasted chickens at their cost. Love their cooked shrimp cocktail. And do try a hot dog when you shop. A bargain and very good. Many people like their oven ready pizza to take home for dinner that night, and we have bought several to feed a crowd. Friends love their frozen lasagna, bucket of cream puffs, mini quiches, and taquitos too.

I go every week! Of course it's different here in Canada and especially Newfoundland. I find their produce amazing, but that's because we have very limited selection at our grocery stores. Apparently Costco flies their produce in whereas our grocery stores truck it in (which involves a ferry, we are on an island) and therefore Costo's produce is far superior to the grocery stores. I go through a pack of grapes and romaine lettuce weekly. I love their tangerines (when I can get them), asparagus, pineapple, etc, etc,etc.

If you only buy a couple of books a year you've saved your membership $$. Again, that's because I live in Newfoundland, Canada, and we don't get free or prime Amazon shipping, etc.

And if you buy a membership and decide it's not for you, Costco will refund you the price of the membership.

And as others have said, their return policy can't be beat. They will take things back without packaging or a receipt. I've never had a problem returning things at Costco, even things that were given to me as a gift.

We don't go as much as we used to since we're empty nesters and no longer have a cat (always bought litter there). When we go we usually buy paper towels, TP, laundry detergent, some foods, cleaning supplies, etc.

For the first trip I would suggest just walking every aisle and become familiar with the products and prices. It's easy to get carried away and before you know it you've spent a few hundred dollars.

Because most of their items are sold in bulk-style, it is nice to have someone to share it with a split the cost. For a simple example, the peanut butter is three jars; we get one jar, my daughter gets one jar, and a neighbor gets one jar and we split the cost three ways. Same with ketchup and many other items.

I think it may have been mentioned, but I will do so again, their Kirland brand dog and cat food are great.

My doctor gets all of his prescriptions filled at Costco and he has told me other over-the-counter meds to buy there because they are cheaper.

We have Costco 2 miles from us and always get our gas there. It's usually below what the cash price is at other stations. Not busy very often either, one plus to living more rural. The only thing we don't like to buy there is the produce. The bagged mix salads are ok, but you have to be sure to check the dates, because as someone else said, it sours and gets slimmy. Until recently they had great options for laundry detergent but that is mostly tide or kirdlands now and we don't like either. Good bargains on kitty litter, paper goods, trash bags, juices, soups, medicines and personal hygiene items as well as household. It's our go to place because usually the quality is there.

The biggest plus about Costco is with the exception of their electronic stuff, they let you return anything anytime if you're not happy with it. We bought some faucets and had them installed, a year and half later they were falling apart and giving us tons of problems, we took them back and got a refund.

The biggest downfall is the only credit card they take is American Express, we have one but a lot of people don't and have to pay cash. If you could see the look on some of the faces when they see their total, it's pretty funny because they add up fast and it's always always higher than you expect it to be!

The return policy can't be beat. I know the idea is that you'll buy it and never bother to return it -- not this lil' chicken.

Recently, I asked DH to pick up some lamb chops when he was there for something else. I *thought* they looked pretty big, but we tried some. Mutton! The rest went back -- full refund.

A multi-vitamin was advertised as being smaller, easy to swallow. Nope. The bottle went back for full refund. on a very large, *opened* bottle.

Our prescription meds are not less at Coscto. I compare pricing on our Part D policy website. I do find my CeraVe lotion on the shelf behind the pharmacy pick-up counter.

The white cotton men's T-shirts are a great value. Wish Kirkland made men's jockey shorts.

Wine, liquor, usually less there than a local liquor store -- IF they carry your brand.

They do take debit cards too. We did have their credit card but never used it anymore so got rid of it. I don't do much of the food samples anymore because we have gotten very sick a few times after eating them. I don't think some are heated properly. I am very selective.

They have very good prices on their king crab legs and very good quality huge legs. When they have plants they are usually very nice big plants or trees for good prices. I have bought several beautiful citrus trees. If you like nuts they have great containers of them and good trail mixes.

We brought 2 of their giant cooler bags which we take with us when we go with the blue ice frozen blocks. Very nice quality bags.

The first time you go, it is so easy to over-buy, as I discovered. I had huge bags of pecans, dates, etc.because the price was so good! I like their paper products very well, and always buy coffee there. I'm just more cautious now as I don't really need those huge amounts of some things.

Tip: if you don't want to buy in bulk...but want to take advantage of pricing..split with a friend. You can take a guest in with you...they cannot purchase though. Decide on those items you want to split! I loved doing it this way!

I like the Kirkland's nitrate-free and additive-free turkey breast luncheon meat and their sulfite-free dried cherries and blueberries. I rarely buy the croissants because we don't need the calories, but they are much tastier than those from the grocery store. Most of the Kirkland's nuts are priced reasonably, too. They have great wired ribbon for gift wrapping at a very reasonable price usually in the fall and in the spring. I like to go 30 minutes before closing to avoid crowds.

lukkiirish, our Costco now takes Master Card. Previously it was only Amex. And of course, they take debit as well.

A membership permits two people, so you can share a membership with someone. I share with my sister, and we are not even in the same state. I don't think you have to be family.

Costco Canada's membership/credit cards are Mastercard. Currently in the US, it's American Express but next March 2016 will shift to a CapitalOne Visa. I don't know if they take ALL MC's (or will take all Visas, when the time comes) or only their own card. And yes, they accept debit cards.

Costco only takes their own credit card. In Canada its MasterCard, Amex in the USA. But of course they take debit and cash.

Socks your Costco is very lenient if you share membership with your sister who lives in another state! Here you can only share with someone who lives in the same household as you. They require proof of address.

Yes, morz8, Costco's the place for Copper River salmon. My reminder for that is that the timing is similar to cherry season, so it should be in the stores in the next week or so. The supply seems to last for less than a month and then that's it until the next year. (A couple of years ago, we were in Seattle in mid-June and came home with two Copper River salmon from Pike Market).

They seem to have wild salmon about half the time, I suspect that depends on the fishing season. I avoid farmed salmon, at Costco or in a restaurant or anywhere else. It's really not a good product to eat. Costco just announced that it was changing its farmed salmon supplier from a Chilean source (where they bought something like 15% of the country's output) to a Norwegian one. The change was because of product contamination and environmental issues.

We sometimes intentionally go to Costco for lunch, with the intent of having samples as lunch. Never had any issues from eating the stuff and the variety can be very interesting. The problem is that the big demonstrator sample days are Saturdays and Sundays, when the stores are really crowded.

In the US, they're switching their Costco credit card affiliation from American Express to Visa next year, so they'll be accepting Visa cards starting next spring.

Casey, you make it sound like Costco only takes their own credit card. All master cards are accepted.

Socks, I second what Casey said about family members in the same household here.

Do you know what's really weird? We have a Costco in our city, and we shopped at one in a nearby city. Their Kirkland toilet paper was $4 Cheaper, as was their men's t-shirts. I find that bizarre.

And not all stores are the same.... The stores in Gilroy and the Monterey Peninsula (Sand City) carry more higher end merchandise, such as clothing and wine, and other selections, while the Salinas store doesn't carry the higher end stuff, or a lot less of it.

Someone mentioned not buying something but taking a picture and researching the item. Better be quick, because there is no guarantee that the item will be there tomorrow or ever restocked. Yes, there are some staples, like the TP, roast chickens or milk. But the kitty litter might be different the next shipment if they find a cheaper/better supplier. Lots of items,s when it's gone, it's gone.

Our local store carries gift cards for local restaurants, 2 $50 card for $79.99. Yup, 20% discount.

Snidely, that is a cool tidbit to know about the credit card, thank you for sharing. My husband loves salmon but won't eat farmed ever. Often times if you can't find something that is sold out, they can find it locally for you at a different location. At least they can in our area.

the premade spinach salad, cakes (great for large groups), Rx meds, muffuletta olive mix

Yes, my husband buys the restaurant gift cards at 80% of face value for the restaurants we frequent. 20% off is a good deal!

We live in a Costco hotspot (3 stores within 5 miles; many others a bit farther). They are my go-to store. The max-pack tri-tip and boneless beef ribs are great buys per lb. for the quality. The rotisserie chicken is less expensive than uncooked chicken--great for making broth, and for use in recipes that call for cooked chicken. There is a learning curve to shopping there; certain items go on sale regularly.

Don't forget their online store, which carries some items not offered locally. If something ordered online does not work out, it can be returned to the local store. The return period for electronic items is extended over other stores, and excellent. Often the items offered will have upgrades (more memory, cables included, etc.) over the other retail places selling that same model, so don't forget to check those details, too. Another tip that isn't always known is that CostCo gift cards can be used for shopping there even if you are not a member.

Their (Kirkland) brand of canned tuna is, in my opinion, the ONLY edible canned tuna any more.. We also love the Kirkland bacon that cooks in the microwave.. Though we paid $7.99 for a pkg last week, it lasts us a LONG LONG time.. Far longer than a pound of ordinary, uncooked bacon.. It takes only one and a half minutes to nuke several strips. No mess breakfast!. I recently read an article online that listed a dozen ways to make your membership fees at Costoc pay for itself.. One that I remember is buying movie tickets.. It costs us $6 less if we buy our theater tickets at Costco rather than at the box office..

LOL!!!

HA! They goofed. I know my Costco. Or Vodka. Their first photo of the boxed Vodka is of the imported variety, which is roughly $19.99 (that price scoots around a bit). The American Vodka is $13.99.

Jasdip I was under the impression that Costco only took their own branded credit card, not other mastercards. I will have to check and see what my Costco says about that. They all seem to be different on the rules.

Books and magazines are much cheaper. I was looking at some Swarovski jewelery and the associate said that Swarovski and Pandora jewelery is 20% cheaper than anywhere else.

Casey, perhaps provinces are different, but I have used my MC inside the store and for gas.

Our Costco only accepts Costco's American Express card (and debit and cash). I use my Costco AMEX for everything I can, for the Rewards Coupon. (I pay it off every two weeks, there is never a balance). My Rewards Coupon this year was 180.00. More than pays for my Costco membership.

As I was washing my baking sheet this morning, their household products are fantastic. I bought 3 KitchenAid baking sheets for $19.99 and they're the best ones I own. Heavy-weight and super easy to clean.

Printer cartridges are very reasonable as well.

They often have demos and prices on steam cleaners, Vita-Mix, Dyson, etc.

If it only saved you money, I doubt Costco would be such a success. IMO, it's value is as much due to the good quality of the products offered there. High quality plus the 'no questions' return policy are big reasons we shop there. .

We originally joined Costco on Maui because we couldn't get high quality meat at the groceries there. Safeway sold only 'select' but Coscto sold 'choice'. (This was 2001.) I've heard Costco members on Maui say they couldn't afford to live -- and eat -- there were it not for Costco.

We had a similar question awhile back about Sam's and credit cards, so I looked up Costco's policy. I've always used my regular American Express green card, but I haven't been there for awhile and thought maybe it had changed.

From the Costco website: We welcome cash*, checks*, debit/ATM cards, Costco Cash Cards, Costco
Credit Cards, EBT* and American Express Cards. Checks may require
picture identification and approval by a supervisor or manager. *Not
accepted at Costco Gas Stations or Costco Car Washes. (my bold) http://www.costco.com/member-privileges-conditions.html

Angelaid uses her Costco co-branded AmEx to get Rewards Coupons. You can't get those without the store card, but you should be able to pay with an American Express, including the one from Macy's.

Costco is changing their credit card partner this year to Citi VISA. http://money.cnn.com/2015/03/02/news/companies/costco-citi-visa/ They're likely to make the transition easy for the current holders of the Costco AmEx card.

When the changeover is done you should be able to use any VISA, though, again, you'd need the Costco co-branded card to get the points/rewards/coupons. If you shop at a store a lot, and don't need to limit your open credit, getting the co-branded card is usually worth it.

While I was looking this up, I found a blogger who had a trick. He would order Costco no fee gift cards online with free shipping and pay with the miles card he preferred, so in essence was using a different card at Costco. It looks like an old post, so might be out of date as far as availability is concerned. http://www.myinvestingblog.com/i-figured-out-a-way-to-use-any-credit-card-at-costco-as-they-only-accept-amex-now/

We've been Costco members for many years, but seldom go. Yes, they have great prices, but you must remember that they are great prices for very high-end brands, at least in our area. And I don't buy high-end brands of everything. So, when I want something from Costco, DH goes first thing in the morning to grab the few items I want, while the crowds haven't descended. We still keep our business membership so we can gift our kids and their spouses with their own cards each year.

Donna, what exactly do you mean by very high-end brands, please. I am asking simply because the brands I see are DelMonte, Chicken of the Sea, Starkist, Hellman's, Heinz, Tide, Finish, Ziploc, etc., just like in grocery stores. I am very curious as to what you mean.

I haven't looked at Costco prices for probably 5 or 6 years so I won't comment on their current pricing. But when I was there the last couple times I did some random price checks on some common things I purchased. Examples: Dawn Dish Liquid, huge jug, must be cheaper right? Nope. Cheaper (per ounce) at Walgreens! Plus Walgreens would accept a coupon for it which made it substantially cheaper, plus I wouldn't have to buy a gallon at a time. Another plus, the bottle is much more manageable. Tide laundry detergent. Cheaper at Target and K-mart, plus they had more varieties if that's important to you. Shampoo? At the time I was buying the bonus size White Rain for $1. ) Not even close. Coffee? Limited brands, larger size came to about the same price per ounce or slightly more. These were just some staple item examples that I did to get a feel for their "great prices" that so many people raved about. For me, I didn't see it as a viable option. Others disagree of course so they're doing quite well!

I will also say that prices can be deceiving there. With the huge quantities it's hard for many people to really compare prices. Many items aren't conducive to unit pricing comparisons. Number of sheets of paper towels might be a different size or weight. And nobody has really mentioned spoilage and your potential losses there on the bulk purchases. Nor do people factor in the cost of the extra refrigerator or freezer to buy the bulk. It's part of the cost. And of course, instead of buying one or two candy bars, you buy a box of them!

There's almost a cult-like following for certain stores, this one included and when you're almost brainwashed into thinking "everything is a bargain!!!" some can't wipe the rose tint off their glasses. So, while there can be some savings, the fact is it can easily be offset by overpurchasing. I was at the other warehouse store and needed some paper plates so I bought a pack, WAAAAAAY more than I needed at not a great price either. But I've had paper plates for about 5 years without buying more. Aldi would have been a better choice but I happened to be there. I hear the "I'm saving SO much money" but they don't know what they're actually paying so how would they know? LOL Gas usually is cheaper. (Occasionally it's not.)

It's true you'll probably spend a lot more than you expect. But when you look at what's happening, you'll understand why. You buy way bigger sizes than you generally need and usually want. So the price of paper plates is $15 instead of $2! (And yes I know you're probably going to have more plates so you don't buy them for a while but the point is, $100 doesn't go too far at these places!)

I'm not criticizing Costco or the people who like it, but if your goal is to save money, be prepared. Have a price book and/or know your unit prices. Compare it rationally. If you normally buy store brands, and/or use coupons factor that in when you compare. And don't go there hungry! :) If you don't care what you spend, then enjoy your shopping. The warehouse stores have become almost a "fashionable" place to some people and I think that's why some shop there.

One question for the Costco members with their cashback card: Out of curiosity, is Costco like Sam's in that the cashback earned on the card is in the form of a check made out to the store? Once I saw that you had to spend it there, I threw out the card application.

In my experience, Costco has good prices on *some* things, like trail mix and vitamins. But regular grocery stores have their store brands/generics that are much less expensive than even the Kirkland brand. I can get the generic boxes of cornflakes on sale at my local Safeway for much less than I can buy them at Costco.

When I go to Costco (about 1 time a year), I shop carefully, with prices at regular grocery stores in mind. I am guessing that a lot of people don't do that - I think it can be tempting to go in there with those huge carts and lose all restraint, and just load up on stuff, whether or not it's *really* a good deal. Plus, their current prices aren't published - you can't sit down with your store ads ahead of time and make a list, then stick to that list as you would with other stores.

We have a Cash and Carry in Everett. It's been a while since I've been there; I am thinking of going later this year with the idea of maybe switching from Costco (with it's membership fee) to C&C, which of course is free. You can't get things like bath towels at C&C, of course, but I'll live without new ones!

I do compare prices when I am at other stores. I don't think I could find everything we use within Costco.

At Costco I buy in bulk and repackage portions to freeze . I don't buy more than will fit into my normal fridge/freezer: Meat, baked goods, stuffed peppers. Before Christmas they sell tins of Walker's shortbread cookies which come in sealed sections and keep a long time. We buy Lindt and Ghirardelli individually wrapped chocolates there.

I picked up my glasses today. Costco is one of the few places where the frames do not come from that Italian monopoly that was featured on 60 Minutes. I paid $200 for progressive lenses with anti-glare coating in titanium frames. I wasn't happy with the distance correction in one eye at first. I'd had the refraction done in their in-store facility ($59), they re-tested and changed the prescription (no charge). Costco re-made the glasses to the new prescription (no charge). I waited less than one business week for the glasses both times. The new lenses correct for the astigmatism in my cataract-operated eye -- where the eye surgeon failed to correct for it.

Our earned refunds on the Costco American Express CC are usually only a little over the membership fee, so I don't know if they can be applied outside of Costco -- and I don't care.

In reference to plllogs post, I buy my Costco gift cards online and I can pay with my non-Amex credit card. I've been paying by check physically in the store, but Costco gas is so much cheaper than our local prices, and they only accept an Amex (until the changeover) card. So I use my Costco gift cards to pay for gas and can continue to get my regular credit card rewards or points. I'm contemplating ordering enough gift cards to cover my in-store purchases.

You can turn in your yearly reward for cash, but only by taking it to Costco. You don't have to spend it there.