The Pros and Cons of shopping at Costco

The Pros & Cons of Shopping at Costco

by Pam on August 17, 2009

Costco is a wholesale store providing all sorts of things from groceries to television sets to engine oil. When it comes to buying groceries, I find that I can often get better deals at my local grocery store. Costco doesn’t carry the cheaper generic food brands, and you have to be willing to buy food in large quantities. Although buying bulk is often cheaper, it can be more expensive at times, so you need to watch.
I also don’t like the idea of having to pay a $56 membership fee to be able to shop there. There are other wholesale places that don’t charge you anything. Not only that, but they won’t let you take a tour first before deciding if it’s worth your while to pay for a membership. You have to pay before you can look around. Another downer is that you can’t pay using a regular credit card, it has to be a Costco credit card, cash or debit. I like to use my credit card for everything so I can earn points, but I can’t do that at Costco.
That being said, Costco definitely has its good points. We save a ton of money on synthetic engine oil – it costs about 70% of what it would cost in regular retail stores. We’ve also saved a lot of money on buying ink for our printer. Had we bought it at any other store, we would have paid almost twice as much. Costco also has cheap clothing and books. We also discovered some good deals on picture frames, electric toothbrush replacements, and other miscellaneous items. If you are patient enough to look through the entire store, you are sure to find something you need and find a good deal.
A bonus to shopping at Costco is that they have plenty of people offering samples for everything from sausages to lemonade to candy. You can be entertained just by walking around the grocery section and trying all kinds of new things!
For us, at least, Costco has been worth the membership fee because of the savings on computer and auto supplies. The grocery prices aren’t that great, however, if you do a lot of entertaining, you will probably like their inexpensive fruit and veggie trays. I would encourage you to check it out, but only if you have plans to buy more than just groceries.