Man, that Costco Membership really pays off!

denverpilot said:
We quit. Stuff is packaged in too much bulk for two people without kids. Doing the math after moving rural, Amazon Prime pays back better for us.
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We get Amazon Pantry once in a while, but there's nothing on their catalog that is essential. But we buy some critical supplies in Costco.

Avocado emerged as the biggest problem recently, as we moved away from potato. It turned out that we cannot buy avocado that can be ripened without rotting anywhere. Costco is the only source. We usually buy a couple of nets of them, put them into a paper bag, then migrate into fridge as they ripen.

We buy bottled water in Costco usually 3 trays at a time. It's true that the packaging became annoyingly large over the years. It was 24 a pack a few years ago, then 35, and now 40. However, as long as I remain strong enough to lift them onto a cart, it's acceptable, and convenient.

Flank steak is the only kind of steak Olga can eat because of liver issues. Costco sells them 2 per tray. One goes to freezer immediately, but still it does not seem like packaged in too much bulk.

Figs in a plastic bucket are pretty essential, too. Replaces cookies and candy with tea.

Executive summary is, Costco is irreplaceable for sick, old people, who insist on clinging to the suffering of this world just a little more. You'd think Whole Foods would be it, but nope! Interestingly enough, prices do not figure into any of this.
 
denverpilot said:
We thought about it, but it really requires more freezer space than we have. And a big deep freezer could handle the job, but we also have too many freaking power outages. I'd want the whole house generator project done before storing anything perishable that long, even frozen.
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And Costco sells whole-house generators! :goofy::rofl:
 
I never understood the folks who avoid warehouse clubs because they "only sell in bulk." It just isn't true. Yes, if you're looking for one-stop shopping, or you want just enough chicken for tonight's dinner for two, you could have a problem--but you'd have the same problem at many regular grocery stores. Plus, the quality of items that Costco sells is usually way above what's available at the typical supermarket.

I've saved way more than the cost of membership on LED light bulbs alone, and most of those were sold in a 2 pack or 4 pack.

Of course, those savings calculations assume that a physical store is reasonably accessible. I doubt that we'd be warehouse club members if we had to drive an hour or more to get there.

Although we are Amazon Prime members, I don't find their prices all that great on most items. I can usually easily beat them on comparable items at local retail. However, Amazon often has a larger selection, and certain categories (such as electronic accessories) can be significantly cheaper than local retail. The last time I looked, though, I barely broke even on the membership fee.


JKG
 
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flyingcheesehead said:
And Costco sells whole-house generators! :goofy::rofl:
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ColoPilot said:
But they only sell them in 4 packs. :)
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LOL! Not any cheaper than the Orange and Blue hardware stores, though. :-)

JGoodish said:
I've saved way more than the cost of membership on LED light bulbs alone, and most of those were sold in a 2 pack or 4 pack.
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I did that with a sale on a 36 bulb contractor pack at Lowes when they overstocked. Replaced every bulb in the house all at once for slightly more than a buck per bulb.

I don't think that's a very good example of Costco beating anyone. :-)
 
I used to buy my Christmas lights at Costco. But they never had enough in stock.

Maybe I have a different problem...
 
denverpilot said:
I did that with a sale on a 36 bulb contractor pack at Lowes when they overstocked. Replaced every bulb in the house all at once for slightly more than a buck per bulb.

I don't think that's a very good example of Costco beating anyone. :-)
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I replaced about the same amount, but most of them were BR40s. You aren't getting those anywhere (especially Lowes) for anything close to a buck a bulb. For the regular fixtures, I replaced an assortment of standard 60w and 100w equivalents at well under a buck a bulb. Not to mention that most of the LED bulbs I've seen at Lowes/HD are rated for a lot less life than the ones Costco typically sells.

Before the LEDs, I'd get about 6 months out of halogen BR40s at around $7/bulb.


JKG

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Pro
 
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JGoodish said:
I replaced about the same amount, but most of them were BR40s. You aren't getting those anywhere (especially Lowes) for anything close to a buck a bulb. For the regular fixtures, I replaced an assortment of standard 60w and 100w equivalents at well under a buck a bulb. Not to mention that most of the LED bulbs I've seen at Lowes/HD are rated for a lot less life than the ones Costco typically sells.

Before the LEDs, I'd get about 6 months out of halogen BR40s at around $7/bulb.


JKG

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Pro
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Yeah makes sense. One of the downsides of having all those goofy can lights. :-) We don't. House is too old for that fad. Seems like all houses have piles of those silly things anymore.
 
denverpilot said:
Yeah makes sense. One of the downsides of having all those goofy can lights. :-) We don't. House is too old for that fad. Seems like all houses have piles of those silly things anymore.
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When we built the house, we thought the goofy cans would distribute light around the rooms (I like a lot of light) without being conspicuous. They do all of that well, but prior to the LEDs I dumped hundreds of dollars into bulbs over just a few years. I suspect that the higher-wattage incandescents and halogens fell victim to the heat trapped in the cans. The other problem is that most of our cans are the larger ones which take the R40 bulbs, rather than the apparently more common R30 bulbs.

I never liked CFLs, so when LEDs became available at a reasonable price, I began the migration. I've had a couple LED bulbs die, but overall their performance has been excellent. The LEDs that died weren't in cans, they were in ceiling-mounted enclosed fixtures, where there's nowhere for heat to escape.


JKG


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gkainz said:
maybe I'm missing something subtle, but the Costco stores down here in the metro area all have attached booze stores ... separate from Costco but attached.
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We have that too, a Mom & Pop connected to the main building but its own entrance. Not the same as Costco as far as prices go, at least if my experiences in CA are any indication. It's also why it took so long to get Trader Joe's. Alcohol is a much of their income. Two Buck Chuck and all. Only one TJs in Colorado has a liquor license, I think Aurora.
 
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