Costco membership

My membership for the warehouse club (Sams for us) is essentially free.

We have the Plus membership that gives a refund based on spend, so we get $50 or so bucks back ever year.

The real payback for me is on:

– Tires – Never had any tire store beat sams on same tire price. On top of that, Sam’s club mounting and lifetime balance is $15 a tire. You ain’t gonna get that at Tires Plus.

– Batteries – Roughly 10-20% cheaper.

– Gas – only save a couple of bucks a tankful, but over the course of a year this most likely pays for the rest of the membership.

– Special order items. Sams can order almost any brand name product you can think of at significant savings. Mrs Grouse found Armstrong laminate flooring she wanted. The savings on the kitchen/dining area alone was over $500 off the price the Armstrong dealers quoted.

Mattresses are another big savings.

Grouse

St cloud has been open for maybe 2 years no way you got a membership for $10. I think Costco is better than Sam’s but the options are more limited. Rewards are certainly better with costco

Grouse mentioned some of the other benefits. We pay for the membership with gas, meat and k cups alone. Add in the occasional family gathering or party and you will get the value from it. Their fleece lined pants are also great.

As far as gas lines, it’s never busy before 0900.

Tough to find places other than Costco with USDA Prime Beef. That is worth it in itself. Would be interested to know where else a guy could find Prime.

Costco opened up here in Bismarck last year. I’m single so wasn’t sure it would be worth it for one person but with gas being .35 cheaper for regular and .50 for premium, I easily paid for my membership just this summer with truck and boat gas. Its the closest gas station to my house and right on the hwy heading north to lake Sakakawea so its super convenient for me.

I will say though that the gap for gas prices has gotten lower now, so I wonder if they don’t keep them low for about the first year to get a lot of people signed up and then reduce them to about a .10 difference.

ganderpike wrote:

Tough to find places other than Costco with USDA Prime Beef. That is worth it in itself. Would be interested to know where else a guy could find Prime.

Or is it?
Is Costco Prime beef really Prime? Yes. Costco is one of the few major chain stores that does carry a selection of USDA Prime beef. Unfortunately, they are not very transparent about where their meat comes from, and not everything they have labeled Prime is USDA Prime.

FYI – The grading system is voluntary and paid for by the Seller.

You know it’s Prime when a #14 smoked brisket is super tender in 8-9hrs at 250. That just doesn’t happen with Choice. When there are ten briskets in the bin, usually only 1-2 are marbled enough for me to buy. I don’t buy any cut steaks or chops from Costco. All of their precut steaks are mechanically tenderized. It says it right on the label. Even filet mignon, which is already tender and should be a crime to poke tenderizing blades/needles into it. Only the primals are not mechanically tenderized, so that’s what I buy about once a year and cut my own steaks. Prime ribeye is too expensive for my budget but their Choice grade ribeye primals have never let me down.

Not that I’m a germaphobe but the process of mechanical tenderizing can push surface bacteria into the meat which is why all the packages say to cook to 160 or 165*. I don’t even grill pork past 140-145 unless I’m making pulled pork. I’d never cook a steak to that temp.

Store memberships work for some, not for others. Bottom line. Look into the 6-month money back guarantee. You can get a good look at a T-bone sticking your head up a bulls azz. But I’ll take the butchers word for it. Go with the guarantee if you’re interested.

I have been buying gas at Costco for over a decade at the Eden Prairie location. Last Saturday it was 2.75 and everywhere around me was 3.10, .35 cent difference or about 8.75 savings on a tank, I save enough to cover the membership in 6-7 tanks.

In addition over the decade I have been buying gas at Costco I have seen the difference between Costco and the area around me vary from as low as about 10 cents to as high as 45 cents a gallon.

I believe Costco just marks their gas up using a cost + formula, not what the market will bear like normal stations.

I commonly refer to the difference between the 2 as the SCREW FACTOR

I just spent $163 at costco and have enough supplies in the pantry to last another 2-3 months. IMO the bulk savings pays for itself. I’m not close enough to a costco to justify getting gas there daily so can’t comment on savings that way.

I only buy things that are very cost effective to buy in bulk- flour, sugar, meats (sometimes), cooking oils, rice, canned beverages (v8, sparkling waters). Small use items such as a specialty spices, or items with very short shelf life such as fresh fruits and vegetables usually come from the regular grocery store.

last year I Started buying my beef locally by the quarter or half and will never go back. I get better beef for wayyyy cheaper than even costco is selling it.

We have a Costco in Brainerd. Used to get all my gas there. But now they’re only like 5 to 10 cents cheaper. I can get 10 to 15 cents off with an app I used called get upside. So I usually go to speedway and earn some reward points to use for 50 cents off a gallon. I don’t waste my time going to Costco for gas anymore.

Interesting comments on the drop in MPG with the costco gas. Never heard that before but after some researching, sounds like a common occurrence which is definitely noteworthy. Thanks for sharing.

Gitchi Gummi wrote:

Interesting comments on the drop in MPG with the costco gas. Never heard that before but after some researching, sounds like a common occurrence which is definitely noteworthy. Thanks for sharing.

My wife ran Sams gas in her vehicle and the check engine light kept coming on. She ran gas from anywhere else and never an issue. We havent used Sams gas since.

Gitchi Gummi wrote:

Interesting comments on the drop in MPG with the costco gas. Never heard that before but after some researching, sounds like a common occurrence which is definitely noteworthy. Thanks for sharing.

I’ve noticed this for a long time, as I religiously track my MPG. However, I’ve filled up twice in a row now at CostCo and each tank has been right in line with my normal MPG, so not sure what changed but hasn’t been an issue lately for me.

I do not have a membership to either, a ways back through my work I had a Sams card and shopped a few times but did not have the need for bulk stuff. To the mention about tires Grouse, to my knowledge they buy there tires from the manufacture with no warranty from them and if you have an issue with them you will need to go back to the warehouse store instead of finding support from the manufacture through a tire dealer, just fyi. Also most of there tires have similar tread patterns but are not the same tires. I.E. you can’t get Goodyear Wrangler Duratrac’s from there.

Here is a hint, You can shop at Cosctco if you have a gift card and no membership. I have my dad who is a member buy me 5 $25 gift cards and use one each trip they let you pay the balance with a CC (because who goes and walks out with out spending at least $300). Look up YouTube Costco tips and secrets. That’s where I found away around paying the annual fee.

We don’t have a membership to Costco or Sam’s Club. However, Mrs. Bucky will tag along with one of her coworkers who has the membership. That is all it takes to get in the door and make purchases at Sam’s Club. I’m not sure when she does it at Costco if she has to checkout with her coworker or can do it on her own without the membership. Either way, we have never once felt guilty about doing it. When she does make a run she makes it worthwhile. Parties, vacations, etc. where you’re dropping $500+ really shows the savings.

I know it’s serious when she asks to use my truck and leaves me with her Jeep for a Costco/Sam’s Club run.

Just be careful, lots of their prepared, throw in the oven, entree’s are REALLY bad.

Literally just signed up again last week. Bought a set of tires for the truck, the trick is to get the “club model” which is basically the exact same tire, from the exact same manufacturer, as a different, “branded” one, at a steep discount. That one purchase alone paid this years membership.

Also most of there tires have similar tread patterns but are not the same tires

I actually looked up the manufacturer literature on the tires I bought, in this case Michelins. They are literally the same tread, same compound, same everything but the writing on the side, per the manufacturer itself. It is true the selection is limited, but when I’m saving hundreds of dollars, I’ll deal.

I was in a Costco last year with the wife, certain stores/locations are better than others. The one I was in I will never go back to even if I saved $$$.

We have been Costco members for quite a few years. Like most others we shop for the paper products and other household goods mostly. Used to buy a lot more produce when we lived closer.

Costco has an auto buying program that I used to buy my new truck. They supposedly negotiate the best price for you, but the dealer always had the better price already. However at the time the promotion for Chevrolet products was a $700 costco giftcard sent to you after purchase. I did get this and used it to buy new tires for my wifes car.

SAM’s Club had a $40 1 year membership offer recently. (pay $40 for membership and receive a $40 gift card at the end of the transaction.)

No comparison to COSTCO for produce, meats, etc. Both have their pro’s and con’s, but SAM’s has more of a retail (Wal-Mart) feel to it. Aisles and aisles of junk food that are available anywhere.

we are basically 100% Costco/Aldi family. there are 7 of us here. We save thousands a year based on the math we’ve done.

We have Hyvee grocery stores and it basically feels like highway robbery when I’m buying this or that in a pinch.

The walmarts around here are like walking into an apocalyptic circus. no thanks.

hnd wrote:

The walmarts around here are like walking into an apocalyptic circus

LOL good one

hnd wrote:

we are basically 100% Costco/Aldi family.

x2, I love Aldi! Best produce and prices around imo. And agreed on Walmart.

BigWerm wrote:

<div class=”d4p-bbt-quote-title”>hnd wrote:</div>
we are basically 100% Costco/Aldi family.

x2, I love Aldi! Best produce and prices around imo. And agreed on Walmart.

Ditto! Thankfully we have a Costco and Aldi right next to each other.

We shop Aldi alot. Our Aldi you have to watch the produce.

For those of you who love your Girl Scout Cookies but hate paying those outrageous prices, Aldi has an exact copy of the Samoas, and only like $1.25 a pack.

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yeah aldi produce we buy because its almost half the cost but you got to make sure you are not getting moldy things especially with the berries. and whatever you do get is READY TO EAT.

and yes i have the girl scout copy cats scatter all over my various cookie hiding spots at the house.