Is Costco worth it in the UK for an individual?

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alex_3410@reddit

For us, no it was not worth it. We live about 45-60 minutes away and went three times last year (2 of these were because we went to Ikea which is next door). We spent a fair bit but not really saving anything from Tesco etc and ended up spending on stuff we would not have otherwise (huge packs of sweets for example or massive bags of pasta!) The only thing that we did get which i will miss was the maple syrup but they didnt always have it and while a good price was not cheap enough to warrant the joining fee. It was a cool place to look around and fun buying unusual stuff but overall not worth the drive over or the fee.

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Zeteco@reddit

Was it any good in Gateshead Costco?

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thomas100Dn@reddit

Costco in the UK is like finding a pot of gold at the end of a rainbow, mate! The huge packs, the free samples - it's a bargain hunter's paradise.

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grumpymort@reddit

BS uk prices are high and selection based on location is limited. All the meat is very expensive. When you work out the prices for goods, travel, membership you are paying way more over normal supermarket. US get far better deals and selection as well

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ward2k@reddit

Yeah anytime I go most items are more expensive than standard supermarkets On occasion the alcohol aisle stocks bottles about £8-10 cheaper which is nice. That's the only 'huge' saving I see Sometimes the massive bulk buys are a *tiny* bit cheaper, but I find it's rare The main argument I see in favour of Costco online is "you can get bulk which is more convenient" but I don't understand that argument since instead of 1 40 pack of rolls from Costco you could always just get 2 x 20 pack of rolls from Asda/Tesco for cheaper

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Independent-Blood828@reddit

I just signed up after visiting a Costco in the US. Here in the UK it is not really cheaper than my Lidl for most items. I looked at it because I need to change my car tyres. The best deal I could find for Michellin's around me was about £200 a tyre. The same tyres in Costco is £175. So that itself will pay for my £30 annual membership. If you live close to a Costco it's definitely worth it to pop in regularly and see what they specials they have. I found Bose bluetooth speakers for £90 that are £150 on amazon or elsewhere. Toiletries, such as shampoos, soaps, shaving gel is much much cheaper at Costco but you'll have to buy packs of ten etc in one go. Beef steak was cheaper, but again, you'll have to buy 10kg worth at once. Which I did, and will freeze most of it since I'm single. Weekly grocery shopping is definitely not cheaper as I can't consume that sort of bulk as an individual. I took out a £30 membership which will definitely pay for itself, and then some, over the year, with savings on electronics, toiletries, drinks etc.

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AlfredLuan@reddit

Costco is complete crap. hardly anything in there is cheaper than elsewhere. people think toilet roll is cheap but it isn't. you can get much better deals in home bargains etc. i can't think of any reason to go there.

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tmstms@reddit

1) yes, fuel is cheap and you can calculate your saving easily enough on mileage/ fuel economy 2) in general, stuff is CONVENIENT more than cheap! It is NOT cheaper than supermarkets unless you can use the bulk/ multipack sizes. As a member of the public, it is good for you IF it helps you e.g. to buy 48 kitchen rolls ready-packed up in polythene, because it saves you time AND you have somewhere like a garage to put them in. 3) Costco has loads of more premium and more fun items; you should see joining as getting a different shopping experience more than anything else. 4) You will NOT save money over £30-50/week

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euforic-@reddit

Putting fuel from Costco in your car... you must hate your car then 😅

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yossanator@reddit

Pretty much what I was going to write. I buy quite a few things in bulk and always come away with some great bargains. It is not as cheap as some would have you believe. I often come away with something ridiculous, because I'm a man-child, which is a bonus. I have a massive container of googly-eyes, in different sizes, which I think was one of my best investments in a while. It's kinda like The Range, on sterioids, in that respect.

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i_sesh_better@reddit

I hope you go around sticking googly eyes on everything in public

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Sea_Lavishness_7859@reddit

Happy Cake Day!

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AJCham@reddit

"No more google eyes!"

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yossanator@reddit

I couldn't possibly comment about that...

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i_sesh_better@reddit

I hope you go around sticking googly eyes on everything in public

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V65Pilot@reddit

I swear I'm not responsible for every set of googly eyes you see on the ads on the back of buses. I will admit to being responsible for some of them.

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thisisthisisp@reddit

It is not cheap, but it is great value - it’s actually all about really great quality items - produce and meat is easily twice as good as the equivalent produce in supermarkets, for a similar price

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tmstms@reddit

As a man-child, I like the fact the tech-y bits are place near the entrance and you have to encounter them.

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admtomas@reddit

Have a membership via my employer. My wife go to Costco for petrol but need to drive 10miles one way to save 10p a liter. Goes there 1 a month, sometimes twice. Food wise, Costco is expensive compared to supermarkets or discounters. The 30 pound membership, will not pay itself if you are a couple. Family of 10 might work out only if you buy heavily in bulk quantities and only items on offers. And you buy lot of roast chickens as those are super cheap.

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Status-Ad-5543@reddit

I have a costco membership for 4 years now, i upgraded my membership to executive u get a certain percentage of cashback when shopping. Plus, u go in earlier. Bulk buying works out cheaper, toilet rolls, washing powder, milk, the cakes the pepsi max and costco own brand kirkland battery. I do less day to day shopping, buying bread. Clothes are cheaper there, plus they got a better warranty for ekectrics.. I bought a oral b toothbrush and within 5 months developed a fault battery wasnt charging.. Costco refunded the full cost and bought a cheaper oral b instead. They do every month warehouse online offers well worth.. I also compare what a individual item cost by checking out wat tesco asda sell.

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Necessary-Maximum-82@reddit

I have a card simply for the day out with gf. Get some stuff see some deals. Saves me going round a town centre where u have to pay parking and walk all day my nightmare.

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Glass_Jellyfish6528@reddit

Possibly one of the bleakest comments I've ever seen. I read it in Karl Pilkington's voice 😂

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DemmickyOne@reddit

Same here. I like looking at the massive tellies

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Clever_Username_467@reddit

Depends on your criteria for "worth it". I use it for petrol and for some specific things they sell that I like that you can't get anywhere else. Don't go there expecting to save money though; you won't.

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InvadingEngland@reddit

Yeah. Really depends what you're looking for. Costco carries some things you'd struggle to find elsewhere (it's difficult to put a price on that). Some things are not worth it. For us the most "worth it" things are the cheap nut mixes and beef hot dogs 😆. It's not a place to do our normal weekly shop.

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Clever_Username_467@reddit

The Chicago's Best brand hotdogs are one of the "things I like that you can't get elsewhere". I also like a lot of the frozen stuff like corndogs and the folded pizza flat bread things. I also get a lot of my meat from there because although it's not cheaper than the supermarket it does seem to be of a better quality than most. I've never bought the bulk boxes from there, but considering it as I've just bought a second hand freezer for the garage.

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DeapVally@reddit

You can't get hotdogs elsewhere? Ahhh come on now. Try some from a European store that you can't read the wrting on the packaging. I guarantee they'll be better!

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Clever_Username_467@reddit

I can't get that brand, and have never found one even similar to it.

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V65Pilot@reddit

Those beef ones from Costco are pretty damn good though.

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InvadingEngland@reddit

Yeah. Meat seems to be hit or miss. Sometimes there's a great deal and we stock up the freezer.

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itsaslothlife@reddit

For me, Costco was not worth it even with a discount membership through work. I did a spreadsheet a few years back costing up Aldi stuff I bought regular and then checked Costco and it didn't work out any cheaper. Add to that Aldi is down the road but Costco is the next city over etc. So I'd advise you to do something similar - cost up the last big shop you did and see how it pans out

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jael001@reddit

I have a card on my dad's account. I live alone and for me it's not worth it most of the time because I can rarely use the large pack sizes of things on my own. It can be good for non-perishables if you have the space to store them, and petrol, but for fresh or frozen food it's generally not worth it for me.

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BuBBles_the_pyro@reddit

costco is good if its nearby and you have things you buy lots of, remember its more for businesses than individuals. my flatmate lives off pepsi max and monster, so buying those in bulk does save some money. and just because it is in bulk doesnt mean its always cheaper, lidl toilet roll is cheaper per sheet I think. I tend to stay away from the fridge section as its not always great, and I dont know why but the sausages give me heartburn. But if you are hosting a party, its cheaper to buy a crate of beer for sure! mine is less than 5 miles away and I drive a lot, so I make up the membership on the fuel alone, so the inside stuff is a bonus tbh.

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imtheorangeycenter@reddit

Oh man, their Butcher's Hook Cumberland sausages (about 9" long) are my faves (good pop, nice corseness), each to their own I guess! We have a very static list of things to buy that are deffo way cheaper than supermarket, but we have freezers and space to stash it all: Many cans of Coke Zero A slab or two of Heinz baked beans Two mega packs of loo roll Two packs of kitchen roll Washing tabs + fabric softener Aforementioned sausages A half sirloin and a whole rib eye joint to cut into steaks and freeze Crate of redbull Their tequila - not often found though - is sublime.

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BuBBles_the_pyro@reddit

Yeah their sausages are nice, but has something in them that just doesnt sit with me, which is strange as I dont get it with any other sausage! Never tried the tequila, their spiced rum isnt too bad but its for mixing not straight drinking haha.

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Huge-Celebration5192@reddit

We go every few months. My partners dad has a business membership so we have a card attached to that It isn’t cheap. Supermarkets are cheaper for basically everything food wise.

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Underwritingking@reddit

There's two of us, but we generally buy tinned goods in bulk (baked beans, chopped tomatoes, sweetcorn, kidney beans, chick peas, tuna etc there - also Kleenex tissues (wife has hay fever and goes through them like drugs). Sometimes some good mens' clothing or the occasional electronic thingy Overall probably worth it for us

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Fluffy_data_doges@reddit

Not for you. You pay more but you usually get very good quality food. For instance I always buy a huge pack of toilet rolls. More expensive than Lidls own brand but cheaper than branded ones. But the quality of the roll is amazing.

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Cleveland_Grackle@reddit

They have top tier Kitchen Roll too.

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BppnfvbanyOnxre@reddit

Fuel is worth the discount, the queues can be horrendous. I think some of the meat is better not necessarily cheaper than supermarkets, they still have hot cooked meats to buy sure that's all but disappeared elsewhere. Their cling film is streets ahead of supermarket brands. Talked us into the premium membership this year, gives a small discount on goods and at the end of 12 months if the savings are less than normal membership they refund the difference. I have no idea if we'll use it enough for that.

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MrNippyNippy@reddit

Yes for me - I make my membership back on petrol (it’s not far for me) and we buy lots of stuff like bog roll in bulk. Electronics are decent value and have extra cover. Plus the meat there is very good quality.

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OneNormalBloke@reddit

Probably not worth for you if you shopping bill is that low. One of the risks with going to Costco is you will come away buying something you probably wouldn't have otherwise.

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___a1b1@reddit

Come now, everyone needs a kayak and at 150" TV.

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Intruder313@reddit

Unless it's really close, it's not somewhere you'd go weekly: I go once or twice a YEAR and buy a colossal amount of longlife/non-perishable stuff. You tend to get larger packs for less and some items are tax-free. It's generally a wholesaler remember!

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Drnorman91@reddit

We use Costco and Asda, Costco is great for non-perishable items, if you’re happy to freeze, most perishables are freezer friendly too

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No-Garbage9500@reddit

It's a common misconception that Costco is cheap. Yes, its petrol is cheap but for just about everything else in there, budget supermarkets like Aldi or Lidl will probably work out cheaper. What it actually is, is incredibly good *value*, which is different. Costco quality is high, meaning you get very good quality food for not as much money as you might buying it elsewhere, because you're buying it in large quantities. If you have means to store such large quantities of goods and food, then yes it is good value. But if you're just after the cheapest toilet roll and beef mince that you can get, then go to a budget supermarket.

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ICantPauseIt90@reddit

I'd say yes if you're smart about it. So I don't go on an absolute mad one, i'll go with a list which primarily consists of bulk buying essentials like toilet roll (saves a few when comparing to supermarkets) washing up tablets (saves about £8) fairy liquid (saves £5), tea bags, toothpaste etc. So it can save you money - if you've then got somewhere to store the bulk until you need it. But not on everything. You can go on their site and see what they have, quick comparison on tesco etc. And you can see where's cheaper.

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beartropolis@reddit

Totally agree with this. If you prefer popular brands for set things that they sell in bulk /large packs and have the space to store it then most of the time it will be cheaper. For example, buying persil in bulk is not going to be cheaper than a lidl own brand but if you are set on persil it tends to be cheaper

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PatserGrey@reddit

Great savings to be made on fuel and tyres. Some savage high end TV bargains from time to time also. For general weekly shop food, no, it's a swizz and you see people in there losing the run of themselves thinking they're getting a bargain buying loads. . .probably not seeing the price with VAT added. I'd say we go in maybe twice a year, usually xmas and maybe stocking up for a family shindig - when the giant muffins/cakes will actually have a chance to be consumed.

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botwewa@reddit

We go there to buy things in bulk. For example: dog food, toilet paper, dish soap and detergent. Our weekly shop is still done at Sainsbury’s.

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Sure_Locksmith741@reddit

I don’t use it for food much as most things come in too big a pack for me to get through. Somethings are more convenient with a marginal saving on supermarkets eg the huge tubs of Lurpak, tins of fizzy juice, some of the fruit if you eat a lot of it. What I use it for most and get the biggest saving (and convenience) is for bulk buying cat litter, toilet roll, kitchen roll or the big rolls of blue paper used in commercial kitchens, washing powder, fabric softener, dishwasher tablets and rinse aid. As an example I can get a big tub of washing powder that does 130 washes for about £11, you’ll easily pay £9 for one that does half that amount in a supermarket unless they have a deal on, so that’s a no brainer. Same with toilet roll. 32 rolls for about £24 while you’ll pay £6-7 for 6 rolls in the supermarket.

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QueenieQueeferson@reddit

It's worth it for us for the celebration cakes. They are great value and really tasty. The meat, fruit and veg tends to be expensive in comparison to Aldi or Lidl (IMO), but the quality is always spot on. I'd always recommend checking supermarket pricing compared to Costco when in store. It can be easy to grab things on the assumption they're cheap, but it makes sense to double check. Also check fuel against the Petrol Prices app. 95% of the time Costco is cheaper but on occasion, our local supermarket has a better price.

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dayus9@reddit

If the only thing you care about in this decisionis saving money, then in your situation it won't benefit you much if at all. If, like me, you also like to mix it up a bit when shopping and like to try different things from different supermarkets, then that may be a benefit that's worth it.

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DameKumquat@reddit

No. My friend is a member and drives.with her mum,.fills up.on petrol, and buys everything for a family of 6. I live a bit further away, only fill the car monthly anyway, family of 5, not really worth it.

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KaleidoscopicColours@reddit

I went around about 5 years ago - you can ask for a one day browsing pass (I forget the name) which allows you to go in but not buy I went in, had a look around, compared it to the prices of own brand supermarket goods and rapidly came to the conclusion that the Asda next door was cheaper. Not every Costco has a petrol station either - my local one doesn't.

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TheNotSpecialOne@reddit

The membership is worth it but don't expect buying your whole shopping from it. Not all items are cheaper, places like Heron Foods or actually Farmfoods are excellent for bulk buying

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