Shopping at Warehouse Clubs

[cdttmm]

I know that a number of people on the forums have memberships to one of the warehouse clubs (BJs, Costco, etc.). I'm curious, which club(s) do you belong to and what are your most common purchases? If you can also include how large your family is that would be wonderful.

We've been BJs members for years, but I'm starting to question whether it is cost effective for us as a two-person household. The club is located in a town that we do not frequent and as we continue to move towards eating more organic and locally-sourced foods we are finding that there are fewer and fewer items that we buy at the club. But, I'm wondering if I'm overlooking something.

[benhyr]

Costco

family of 2

toilet paper, olive oil, oatmeal, rice, potatoes, frozen salmon fillets, pasta. Between that and the occasional lightbulb purchase, we do come out well ahead of our membership fee. However, the nearest Costco is 40 minutes away and in the same town as my MIL. So, there are certain downsides to having the membership ;)

[jania]

I've had a Costco membership for maybe 6 years now and have been thinking about getting rid of it. As a single person in a smallish home I don't really have storage for so much of the bulk items that are sold at this store. Even my refrigerator/freezer is fairly small so not a lot of room to keep the bulk purchases there. What I do enjoy is the organic apple selection, some of the other produce, nuts and garden burgers. Really though I can get these things elsewhere.

I never participate in the sampling and sometimes I'm interested in something, gee that apple pie looks great, but it's just too big! I have a feeling I'm going to let my membership run out this year.

[Mrs. Hermit]

We have a Costco account for our family of 6. With growing teens/early twenties, we buy most things in bulk. Paper goods, cereals, grains, pasta, cheese and frozen fish are probably our best cost savers there. Oh, and sometimes clothes, especially jeans.

[Merski]

Costco family of 2. We save on rolled oats, bags of flour, grey poupon mustard, love their salmon burgers and buy their kirkland vitamins & supplements. It's hard not to succumb to Costco fever and believe that everything's a bargain. I could easily purchase 3x what we end up paying for...

[treehugger]

Costco members. Family of 2, plus 2 dogs and 2 cats. I shop very carefully at several different places, all with a pricebook. Some things are phenominally cheaper at Costco, some aren't. It's important to pay attention to prices in your area to see if it's worth it for you.

Compared to my fellow shopppers at Costco (I mean, by looking in their carts), I buy relatively few items. But I definitely save us a lot of money and the membership is worth it (although i didn't have to pay last time since a friend added me to her daughter's account; I will pay half the $50 fee next year).

We buy Costco's brand of grain-free dog food (Nature's...something - Reserve?) and my dogs do so well on it. I first switched (from California Natural, Innova's "cheap" brand) due to price. But after being on the grain-free awhile (I buy the salmon/sweet potato), 2 different chronic health problems my male greyhound was having cleared up. $30 for a 35 pound bag.

I have been making my cats' food for 8+ years, any buying the giant cans of Costco tuna makes this affordable.

I buy meat occasionally, when the per pound price is right, packaging in smaller amounts for the freezer.

Other items we buy regularly and save a lot on: tp, vitamins (fish oil, calcium, multi), cheese (again, packaging for the freezer), 25 pound bags of pinto beans and rice, eggs (only when cheaper than grocery store), milk, olive oil. vinegar.

I plan to start buying flour there (I already know it's lots cheaper per pound than grocery store) as soon as I can get some 5-gallon food storage buckets from DH's uncle's restaurant.

Kara

[razz]

Family of 2 and we let the Costco membership lapse some time ago as we could do better locally on almost everything and were not tempted with some of their specials.

[Zippy]

Family of four, I go there weekly for fruit and meat. It's just eight minutes from my house; otherwise I probably wouldn't go. But we eat a ton of fruit and they have a good selection and large quantities!

[Zippy]

Costco, by the way - sorry!

[loosechickens]

We have a Costco membership, and even with just two of us and living in a motorhome, feel we get our money's worth from the membership. We get our vitamins there, frozen organic berries, Campari tomatoes, feta cheese, big containers of peeled garlic, blocks of extra sharp Cabot farms cheese, canned wild caught salmon, various organic things like canned tomatoes as they have them, and sundry impulse purchases, hahahaha.......

[Greg44]

Costco - buying gas + using Costco/Amex to get 3% back on gas. Outside that we are not big Costco shoppers. I get my prescription there, vitamins, some frozen prepared foods, some books/DVDs, bakery items (when we go hungry!), fruit. The bulk of our shopping is done a WINCO, a no frills grocery store and we don't have to buy the huge quantities. I don't like the BIG sizes in our fridge - I don't need a gallon size mayo taking up space!

[sweetana3]

Family of two and have Costco for the first time this year. Previously Sams Club. Love the cheese, fruit, chinese cracker mix, Great salmon burgers, frozen fish, etc.

It is not probably very cost effective but I cannot get these things as deeply discounted elsewhere. Those frozen salmon burgers and the chicken/spinach fully cooked burgers are worth it to me.

[Madsen]

Sam's Club here since that's the only option.
Protein bars, whey powder, and alcohol are probably my 3 biggest categories.

[iris lily]

2 adults here. I've come to hate those warehouse places because the quantities are too much. So only the disciplined shopper DH gets to go there--he uses Sam's. I guess we buy dishwasher soap, parmesean cheese, and a few other things there beside DH's gallons and gallons of milk. I just hate the huge quantities and refuse to buy most things in those quantities.

[early morning]

We have a Sam's business membership as an associate on my brother's account. They give it to us every year for Christmas - otherwise we wouldn't have it. I do use it for gas off and on. It's just off the interstate on my way to work, and business accounts can get in at 7 AM -that's the saving grace, that I can do my occasional run there with no one else in the store, and I like that. On the down side, I can't purchase anything that's not ok to sit in the car all day, which limits me in very hot or very cold weather, lol. If it were not a gift membership, it would not be worth it to us to belong.

[rosarugosa]

Two adults, Two cats, & Costco (wow, that sounds like the title of a really crappy movie!) I think kitty litter savings alone would almost pay our membership fee. We also split membership with DSIL, although we pay the full fee, but it feels good to share. Regular purchases include: kitty litter, coffee beans, vinegar (big jug for cleaning, etc), TP, paper towels, tampax, kitchen trash bags, chocolate, wine (less so now that we're buying boxed wine, which they don't carry).
We just bought a bag of frozen sockeye fillets which I would like to add to our regular repertoire - I have decided that I want a freezer full of seafood :) I'm interested in the salmon burgers others have mentioned; will have to check those out.
When the tomatoes ripen each year, we always buy a tub of mozzarella balls in seasoned oil. With tomatoes and some fresh bread, you have a good meal right there. Oh, and we recently discovered that they have jars of the yummiest almond toffee! Which brings me to my next point, similar to Iris Lily's, it is way more budget-friendly when DH goes alone, with a list. When we go together, we tend to indulge each other and spend way more money, "if you want it, you should get it," "you deserve that," etc.
They're also great for generic OTC drug items: generic claritrin (for cat-allergic DBIL), ibuprofen. And rubbing alcohol. And razor blades (why do they cost more than gold?)

[Nella]

I'm a fan of Costco. I'm single but I share my membership with my parents and will also buy items for one of my places of employment as I live closer to the store than other employees. I think Costco can be a real money saver if you're careful about keeping tabs on the price of items at other stores so you know if you're getting a bargain.

I buy: bagels, books, vitamins, butter, mozzerella blocks, bottled water, trays of sushi, soup, toothpaste, sugar, some green groceries (although I'm careful because the large quantities can spoil before I get to them - same thing for the giant packages of eggs), fabric softner, wool blend socks, grated parmesean cheese, hmm.... Oh, and gas for the car. It's the least expensive than anywhere else in town, even factoring in the grocery store points programs.

[Glo]

We've been members of Sam's for years. When our three boys were growing up, we shopped there monthly. Now that it's just the two of us we go less frequently but still stock up. I hate running out of stuff, so I like large quantities of thi ngs we use. However, since we moved to our new community, we shop a lot more at Aldis. Its very near our home and they have the cheapest prices; their brands are just as good as national brands and much much cheaper.

[JaneV2.0]

I love Costco for its products and its relative corporate decency. I buy for myself alone and have never encountered the "huge quantities" problem others describe. The only product I regularly buy in a large container is artichoke hearts, and they never go to waste. Otherwise, I buy electronics, vitamins, office supplies, towels, tires, storage bins...If I had a better freezer, I'd probably buy and freeze meats. Recently, I've been eying a folding office table. Earlier this year, I bought an excellent HDTV (what a bargain!) through their website. I recently had an eye exam there, and will buy glasses from their highly-rated optical department if I find a style I like. Their electronic "concierge" service provides customer assistance and extended warranties as a matter of course, and their return policy is a generous 90 days on covered items. Aside from their relentless pushing of changes in Washington's liquor distribution laws, I have not a bad word to say about them.

[redfox]

Our last month on a Costco membership of about 8 years. Now that we're a family of 2 - kids are gone - we rarely need to use it. I am stocking up on TP, tissues, laundry detergent, pasta sauce, organic sugar, etc. I'll make one last trip at month's end with our son & say buh-bye to it!

It was great when we bought large quantities of food for growing kids & all the friends they'd have over. We're happy getting our basics at the Farmer's markets & food coop now.

[Stella]

Family of seven. We share a Costco membership with my Dad who lives with us. I buy a lot of stuff there. Their large containers of plain yogurt are about $1 more than the grocery store and almost double the amount. We eat a lot of yogurt. I buy the organic brown rice there in the giant bag, the big container of rolled oats for my granola, oxyclean, ice cream, juice for smoothies, frozen fruit for smoothies, eggs (their organic eggs are $5 and change for 2 dozen, just a little more than the cost of a dozen in the regular store), some fresh fruit, raisins... there's more but those are some of the biggies. Oh and vanilla. Their vanilla extract is a pretty good deal.

I cook for a lot of people. On top of my family we have guests over a lot. I have a gathering on Tuesday for my family and seven other people. Saturday we are having people over for breakfast. It makes sense for me to buy in bulk.

[Blackdog Lin]

Sam's Club (there are no other choices in driving distance, and even then our nearest one is 70 miles away), family of two, we've been members for over 10 years. We've always believed that we save more than enough to offset the membership cost.

But as others have said, you have to do your homework. The bulk of their offerings I can purchase cheaper closer to home (on sale), but for some items the warehouse prices can't be beat. We only go 3-4 times a year, and regularly purchase: dishwasher detergent, bar soap, liquid hand soap, trash bags, pinto beans, basmati rice, flour, bouillon cubes, seasoned salt, worcestershire and soy sauces, and pickles and other pickled treats like okra, asparagus, artichoke hearts etc.

[Mrs.B]

Costco 3 adults. Milk, muffins, paper products, yogurt, cheese, meat, banana's, some seasonal fruit, wine, bread. I have an executive membership which pays me back for each purchase, I get a check at the end of the year. I use to always buy my gas there, but I've gone to cash only, and they only accept debt or credit cards.
I occasionally do a "once through" the rest of the store to see what they have in, but mostly I hit the areas I need and get out!.

[Rogar]

I am single and belong to Costco. I use their photo printing services for very small home business. Their photo enlargements are high quality and about half the price of what I can get online or locally. I buy a few other odds and ends like coffee and books, but can't store the uber bulk products very well. I saved maybe a hundred dollars on a set of tires a while back. Without the photo service, I'd probably not belong.

[Gina]

Shared Costco membership, so it's only half price. I shop mainly there and Trader Joes' and loss-leaders at grocery stores.

I shop costco about once/month and believe I have saved more than enough to pay the membership fee. What I buy most: some meat (theirs is better quality than our local groceries), onions, garlic, some fruits (esp watermelons), some veggies, cat litter, cheeses, tennis balls, paper products, organic free range turkey (when they have them), wild-caught salmon, tuna, olive oils, dry beans, canned tomatoes, dry cat food, the last cordless telephones, light bulbs (absolutely the best deals - subsidized by the electric company), memory foam bed pad, garden hoses and fertilizers....and much more... .

Costco is only 5-6 miles away, and other than TJ's we do not have another discount store anywhere near us. Our regular groceries tend to be higher priced. I've never had a problem with the larger amounts.

[lhamo]

My mom signed us on to her membership, which we only use 1-2 times a year since we live overseas. Some things are great deals, though, so we try to stock up while we are here. We buy the following typically on one of our trips:

-- spices: whole pepper, cinnemon, taco seasoning, steak seasoning, sea salt, paprika, italian seasoning, vanilla
-- chocolate chips (one huge 6lb bag costs just a little more than we would pay for 1lb in China!)
-- contact lens solution (got a $5/package coupon discount this time which is great!)
-- dried fruit, nuts, coffee beans (again, MUCH cheaper than we can get in China)
-- ziplock bags
-- electronics -- got USB drives this time. Not the cheapest but was easy. I got my netbook there last winter.

Often we will also get a roast chicken for dinner and misc. veggies and fruits if we go near the beginning of a stay with my family.

If we were living in the area long term I would probably make regular trips for things we eat a lot of.

the headquarter store is where we shop and it is great. I love their employee friendly policies and the fact that the head of the company still takes a modest salary and lives a modest lifestyle.

lhamo

lhamo