Costco

[mater]

They are building a Costco about 3 miles from where I live. I heard some good things about them but I have never been to one their stores. We already have Sam's Club and BJ's. The Costco will be located across the street from BJ's and about 1 1/2 miles from Sam's. I used to find some pretty good tool bargains at Sam's but since they built a new store the bargains don't seem to be there anymore.

[Ed62]

If you're asking about the prices at Costco, you can get some good buys. But you really need to know what the items are selling for at other places. I've seen my DeWalt MS at Costco for more than I paid at Home Depot. Admittedly, I did get a good deal at Home Depot because they matched an online price, which is pretty unusual.

Ed

[siliconbauhaus]

From what I have seen on Tv, Costco and Sams are 2 opposite ends of the spectrum as far as employee benefits etc. Sam's being part of the WalMart empire has all the perks that wal mart offers ....ie not many.

On the other hand the guy who owns Costco is supposed to be really down to earth and everyone gets health care etc etc.

Personally we dont shop at wal mart or sams unless we absolutly have no other choice. The closest costco to us is 30 miles away so that's a pita.

[jackellis]

Costco is great if you use lots of whatever you're buying because things like food come in huge packages a family might typically use. Prices are usually OK to good, and the mix of merchandise is a little higher-end than in a Sam's or a Wal Mart. My wife typically buys only things we like and cannot get elsewhere because the checkout lines tend to be long as people wheel up carts piled high with stuff. If we had kids, we'd probably shop there more often.

Like Wal Mart, Costco focuses on selling for a fair price instead of for the highest markup they can get. In fact, Costco store managers have reportedly been taken to task for making too much money on some goods.

They do tend to pay their people better and provide better benefits than Wal Mart, too.

[cgallery]

Like Wal Mart, Costco focuses on selling for a fair price instead of for the highest markup they can get.

I know what you're trying to say. And I don't want to nitpick, but...

I think the reality is that Wal-Mart and Costco (actually, any big box retailer) actually charges the highest markup they can get away with.

However, they are experts at presenting themselves as price cutters and describing themselves as "wholesalers," etc.

[Tom Slick]

here are a couple of interesting articles about costco. although both sell the same types of products to the same clientèle, costco and sam's club are almost polar opposites in management.
one interesting fact is the CEO limits his salary to $350,000/year with additional stock options. walmart's CEOs are paid in the 5 million range.

http://reclaimdemocracy.org/articles...ts_walmart.htm
http://www.laborresearch.org/print.php?id=391l
http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/busine..._costco29.html

[430752]

Umm, back to tools...

I dunno, the costcos near me all have kinda lame tool aisles. Not bad, but not particularly good either. I'd say they cater to the numbnutz weekend warrior (e.g. 215 pc. drill bit set, 505 piece dremel accessory kit, 50 piece pliers set, etc.). With that said, once in a while they have something worth looking at. And, they do have Lufkin stuff (or whomever owns them), so its at least good for rulers (lufkin), monkey wrneches (Crescent brand), and aviation snips (Wiss brand) etc. Of course, your mileage may vary since I've heard others talk about table saws and lathes at their costcos. I think I'd drop dead if the several costcos around here carried anything better than the dewalt cordless combo packs or cms's.

Generally, however, costco is the higher end club store. Haven't been in a sam's or bj's in some time, but when I did it was crystal clear that costco offered a superior product mix in terms of quality.

just my .02

curt j.

[Cheeky]

costco has big cans of san marzano tomatoes (the world's finest, for sauces, pizza, etc IMO) for a little more than what a small can costs in the supermarket. the ~5lb can is roughly a dollar more than a really small can at the supermarket.

membership is exorbitant at $50 bucks for one person (whereas i've seen bj's f2 people for $30 dollar specials).

and you can no longer unequivocally return electronics for life at costco; that's only left at sam's club i believe.

as for prices, there's nothing at these stores you can't do much better on, price-wise, at grocery stores via sales (and coupons).

[dlminehart]

We shop Costco for the food. Good fresh veggies, fish, meat, bread. The quantities are such that you need a freezer or a special party occasion sometimes, but the quality is really high. My sense is that a lot of their electronics, tools, etc. are upper-middle-of-the-line, limited selection but thereby purchased in large enough quantitities that they can offer good prices.

[maxparot]

I've had memberships at BJ's, Sam's Club and now Costco.
I find Sam's has too many items that the quantity is way to large for the average family to use in a reasonable time period.
When I lived in NY I was happy with BJ's the big advantage there is they allow the use of coupons and Mastercard. This can be a big savings if what the sell is packaged as a quantity of more than 1 you can use multiple coupons and still get cash back rewards for using your credit card.
Unfortunately no BJ's here in AZ So with Costco and Sam's as the choice Costco it is.

[sparkeyjames]

I have to say that Costco is a great place to shop. I'm single and still love to shop there. I can buy large packages of paper towels and TP that will last darn near a year. Food lot's and lot's of food. Large bags of seasoned potato wedge frys. Lowest prices on Ground beef. Eggs $1.50 for a 18 count carton of extra large eggs. The 1.25" thick new york strip steaks are phenomenal. Grill um or broil them and YUM. Flats of canned goods usualy name brand for less per can than you pay at a local mega grocery chain. Fresh fruit and veggies at great prices. Baked goods Oh yeah, with lot's of items baked right there on the store premises. Large piece of pizza and a large coke at the grill $2.
The thing that stands out more than anything else is Costco's merchandise gurantee. If your EVER not satisfied with anything you buy at Costco just return it for a refund at any time (there are some exceptions but not too many).
The workers are well compensated. If you work there for 5 or 6 years and are a good worker you can make upwards of $19 an hour plus bennies. I have never had an unfriendly or negative experience with a Costco employee. Contrast that with Walmart/Sams that thinks workers are robots and pay them as little as possible and they act like it. Surly rude and in general unhelpful. You get what you pay for.
Last but not least the Costco stores are CLEAN. Walmart stores are cesspits in comparison.

sparkeyjames.

An edit. From the Costco.com website....

Merchandise: We guarantee your satisfaction on every product we sell with a full refund. Exceptions: Televisions, projectors, computers, cameras, camcorders, iPOD / MP3 players and cellular phones must be returned within 90 days of purchase for a refund.

[JR]

FWIW - I bought my BT3000 all-singing-all-dancing package, including Ryobi router, at Costco.

I have always thought Costco tried to give the good deals on good products. I've had very few disappointments on products I've purchased there.

JR

[ejs1097]

We've had Sams Club then switched to Costco. Why? Well as you should find out soon, when a Costco opens they offer a free 1 year membership. We've stayed with them for 4 years now. They have nice stores and typically we buy at least 1 big ticket item that pays for the membership each year let alone the smaller items. Can't say I've ever bought any tools though. Truth be told I never really go down those aisles.

[crokett]

We have a costco membership because I needed tires for the van. I got some tires on sale which more than paid for the membership and still saved about 50 bucks over the next closest guy.

[Black wallnut]

My nearest Costco store is 42 miles away. About a year ago I purchased a membership since we had an infant to feed and keep in diapers. Also since at the time I was commuting to the city where the Costco was located I did not have to spend extra gas to get there. By buying our dog food, diapers, formula, and a few groceries each time we have saved much more than the cost of the $50. membership.

Costco merchandise is at the upper end of the quality scale. For example, we just a month ago ran out of diapers and LOML had to buy some Safeway Store brand diapers. What a pile they turned out to be. Costco diapers are sold in case lots for a few dollars more than name brand large package (not case)with 2-3 times the number per package. Dog food: Costco sells 50# bag for about $1.50 more than a local discount store sells 37.5# bag. We also buy their dishwasher detergent and laundry soap.

I could go on and on about their prices but you asked about tools. At the stores that I've been to in my region Costco does not sell much inthe way of tools, although what they sell is good stuff. I've not bought any there. Costco is one of the few retailers that I shop at that has intellegent merchandisers. A few years ago we needed a window mount AC unit. Middle of the summer, 100°F outside and the Borg and Lowes were sold out for the season. Costco still had plenty. I was able to purchase a better AC unit for less money than the Sears one I had purchased just two months prior.

Someone already mentioned the snack bar. Where else can you get a foot long hot dog and soft drink for $1.50!

All this said Costco is really only worth it if you need or will buy the items that will save you money in enough quantity to pay the $50 membership. Many of the items Costco sells can be had elsewhere for comparable prices.