What's REALLY Cheaper at Costco?

I used to spend way too much money at Costco. In reality, things really
are not cheaper. You do much better at grocery stores on a sale!!!!

Their photo printing is cheaper than my local store's unless they have a sale. Plus Costco ships them anywhere for free when you order through the website.

I also got nice winter coats for my kids for a great price, but I don't know that you'd care so much (being in TX).

ETA: their prescriptions were cheaper than elsewhere a few years ago but I don't live close enough anymore to make it worth my time.

We buy or Toilet Paper and Paper Towel in bulk there. We only buy about 2-3 times a year and so it saves money and headache over all. Also we stock up on Goldfish while we are there, my boys eat these constantly. Their bread is priced great and it freezes well. They have great christmas presents and decor at awesome prices. We are getting an interactive globe for our oldest, it is $110 on the Mfr website and only $70 at Costco.

Everything is cheaper or at least the same.

The generic Zyrtec is 300 pills for around 17 dollars.

A lot of convenience items are cheaper but not by much so I stay away from them.

Oh yeah they send out coupons once a month. Troy and I go through them like two old fuddy duddies marking what we need that is :on sale". Still I can get this massive bag of tidy cat for 8 dollars or my Charmin for like 9 for a million rolls.

We have shelves and freezers in the basement for what we don't need in the living areas. My older kids call it the food pantry. They shop there too. :( Not sure if that is saving us money.

diapers(30 for pullups when normally id spend 20 on a third the amount)

nutella(7 dollars for 2 big jugs when 1 small one is easily 3.50)

agave nectar(6 dollars for 2 big jugs when just 1 could run you 5 dollars)

bagels(5 dollars for 12 when 1 pack of 6 could run you 4 dollars),

cream cheese(4.50 when 1/10 of that would cost 2.99),

soy milk(this ones my favorite, i can get 12 pints of organic for 10.00 when normally it would cost me 2.50 per pint),

cliff z bars for kids(12 dollars for 24 when 1 bar can cost 1.99,

amys organic frozen meals( run me 10 dollars for a 4 pack when they are sometimes 3.99 to 4.99 per meal)

i cant think of anything that isnt cheaper since you can buy it in bulk.....dont even get me started on produce.

Organic is cheaper,and maybe butter and milk, but everything else? You are better off using coupons.

My Costco list ALWAYS has:
butter
cheese
DanActive
Kirkland paper towels
Kirkland tp
Kirkland babywipes (no baby here but they are great for cleanups, etc)
Dentyne Ice
Hellman's Mayo

Depending on how often I go... (usually once/3 months) My Costco is 5 minutes away, same as grocery store but other value items I keep stocked up on are:

Peanut butter
Nutella
Diced tomatoes
Canned corn, green beans, green peas, baked beans
Frozen broccoli
Kirkland dishwashing liquid
Finish Dishwasher detergent
Red solo cups
Jarlsberg cheese
Chicken that is freezer ready packaged (6 packs of 2 breasts/pack)
Aspirin
Benedryl
Pepto Bismol
Vitamins
Olive Oil
Canola Oil
Lemon Juice
Frozen waffles
Pasta
Brownie mix

I make a huge run about once every 3 months. My last one was $600, to stock up. I keep a good stockpile of items in my pantry and freezer.

I only do Costco.. no Sam's or Wally World... I boycott anything by Sam Walton

I have to make sure hubby is around to help me because he has the biggest car to fit everything in!

We go there at least once a week, but it's only 15 minutes from our house. We buy:
Juice Boxes
Milk
Yogurt
String cheese
Individual pizzas
Kids snak foods for lunch boxes
chips
some soda
Paper products
Saline solution (SO MUCH CHEAPER!!)

Ummm... and then we take advantage of coupons all the time, and I buy my ink for my printer at school there.

LOVE Costco!!

I call it the $500 club because I can never seem to walk out of there without spending $500!

Ours is over an hour away, so I only go once a month (was just there today, actually).

Things I almost always buy:

Romaine lettuce
Milk
Eggs
Beer (Kirkland brand)
Paper Towels (Kirkland)
Toilet paper (Kirkland)
Split top whole wheat bread
Vermont cheddar cheese
Bananas
Strawberries or blueberries
Juice boxes
Olive oil (Kirkland)
Walnuts
Sugar (regular, confectioners and brown)
Whole bean coffee
Whole chicken or chicken breasts

Most of these things are significantly cheaper than the grocery stores in my area. As you can tell, I'm pretty fond of the Kirkland brand.

I don't buy the flour because it's just TOO huge.

I would buy wine there - but alas, no wine in grocery stores in New York State.

I buy many of my cleaning supplies and toiletries there too, plus some office supplies. Not all things are a bargain, though, so you have to be careful.

I buy some clothes for my son there, mainly pajamas, but I almost never get anything for myself except undies. I've never had good luck with their women's clothes.

Meat is usually a better deal there. I don't know the prices off hand but we try to buy our pork loins, chicken breasts, ground beef and fish at Costco because it is cheaper than the grocery store.
Ditto the saline solution.

Big stuff that you can't live without is much cheaper, like toilet paper, paper towels (their Kirkland brand is awesome), toothpaste, toothbrushes, toilet bowl cleaner, sanitizing wipes, laundry detergent, shampoo, razors, dish soap, and those big containers of strawberries. Things I have found there that are NOT much cheaper: cereal, crackers, pasta, mac and cheese, coffee, and other grocery items (it depends on your grocery store prices, coupons, etc). Happy shopping!

Sour Cream, Tortilla Chips, Potato Chips, Specialty Cakes, Fruit bowl, Grapes, Certain Breads, books, some clothing. OH and especially the ground beef, Italian Sausage and I have found good prices on the steaks.

The Christmas photo cards by far are the best price anywhere...Luckily they have a design again this year that i like :)

toliet paper, paper towels, laundary soap, bottled water, juice, and diapers and formula when we had to use it. this is for Sam's Club which is simular to costco.

I primarily buy my chicken and ground meat at Costco. It is much cheaper to get it there than at the grocery store. I also buy the ziploc bags, paper plates, soda, juiceboxes and laundry detergents. I find that it saves so much more on those items in particular. Oh and batteries, definitely a saver.

I bake a LOT so I use Costco to stock up on huge (25 lb) bags of AP flour, bread flour, sugar and big sizes of baking powder, cinnamon, butter, etc. The flour and sugar gets stored in giant tupperware containers that I got at the pet store that are supposed to be used to store dog food... but they do the trick for me.

Diapers (love the Kirkland brand!!)
Coffee
Bottled Perrier (my husband and kids love the stuff)
Beer if they have a good deal on a case of a brand we like
Toilet paper (the mega brand of Charmin)
Paper towels
Dishwasher soap
Trash bags

I LOVE not having to stop at the store every single week for diapers, paper towels, toilet paper, and trash bags!

Cereal. I buy Grape Nuts, Cheerios, and Quaker Oat Squares.
Nuts (unless you have Trader Joe's near you.)
Frozen organic peas (and they taste so much better than the cheap ones at the grocery store)
Raisins
Natural Peanut Butter
Parmigiano or Grana Padano (and other cheese)
Vitamins, some shampoos, some drugs
Baby wipes (Kirkland's Best)
Diapers (but I don't like them as much as Pampers, which they don't carry)
Pork tenderloin
Organic chicken
Pesto
Roasted chicken (and I find it tastes better than my favorite nearby grocery)
Big bag of pretzels.
Can of marcona almonds
Z-bars (kid's clif bars)
Kids books and toys and clothes (dresses and coats, esp.).
Kid pjs. Carter's footie pajamas are $7-8 here and $20 full price.
Adult clothes
Nice sheets (cheaper ones elsewhere aren't as nice)

I go through their monthly coupon book as well. It would be difficult to get much of the above cheaper, even with coupons.

I love me some Costco!

Toilet paper is way cheaper there as well as all other paper products. So are baby diapers and wipes. Garbage bags are another regular thing I buy.

We're BJ's shoppers and here are the items that are consistantly lower at the club....
cheese
chips - we love our tortilla chips with salsa
salsa
juice
milk
eggs
chocolate chips
bananas

here are some items that are usually cheaper at the club, however, sometimes the grocery store will have a better sale price - you also need to take into account coupons
laundry detergent
dishwasher detergent
veggies - carrots, romain lettuce, potatoes (note: most veggies are more expensive at the club)
fruits - strawberries, grapes, apples
cereal
crackers

Blackberries and Raspberries are usually cheaper!