Ranee's post about the non-availability of good kosher hot dogs at
Costco brought up an interesting sidebar. She said that she and Rich
had let their Costco membership lapse. The SO and I have debated for
years about the value of getting a Costco membership. I briefly had a
Sam's Club membership many years ago, but I let it lapse because there
wasn't one nearby when I moved from Dallas to Ithaca in 1986. Our
neighbors are big Costco aficionados, and my relatives back east are
devotees of BJ's and Sam's. To my thinking, a membership doesn't make
much sense for the two of us. We don't have oodles of space to store
large quantities of stuff. Anyone in a small household want to chime in
one way or another?

Cindy

--
C.J. Fuller

Delete the obvious to email me

On Feb 19, 4:11*pm, Cindy Fuller >
wrote:
> Ranee's post about the non-availability of good kosher hot dogs at
> Costco brought up an interesting sidebar. *She said that she and Rich
> had let their Costco membership lapse. *The SO and I have debated for
> years about the value of getting a Costco membership. *I briefly had a
> Sam's Club membership many years ago, but I let it lapse because there
> wasn't one nearby when I moved from Dallas to Ithaca in 1986. *Our
> neighbors are big Costco aficionados, and my relatives back east are
> devotees of BJ's and Sam's. *To my thinking, a membership doesn't make
> much sense for the two of us. *We don't have oodles of space to store
> large quantities of stuff. *Anyone in a small household want to chime in
> one way or another?
>
> Cindy
>
> --
> C.J. Fuller
>
> Delete the obvious to email me

Costco is not just big quantities. They have great prices on tons of
things other than food items as well. And a great
wine selection. If you haven't shopped one in a while, go in on a
guest pass and check it out, then decide.

Cindy Fuller wrote:
> Ranee's post about the non-availability of good kosher hot dogs at
> Costco brought up an interesting sidebar. She said that she and Rich
> had let their Costco membership lapse. The SO and I have debated for
> years about the value of getting a Costco membership. I briefly had a
> Sam's Club membership many years ago, but I let it lapse because there
> wasn't one nearby when I moved from Dallas to Ithaca in 1986. Our
> neighbors are big Costco aficionados, and my relatives back east are
> devotees of BJ's and Sam's. To my thinking, a membership doesn't make
> much sense for the two of us. We don't have oodles of space to store
> large quantities of stuff. Anyone in a small household want to chime in
> one way or another?
>
> Cindy
>

With fairly minimal purchases, mainly Prilosec, Splenda, and
Craisins, I get a nice kickback in the fall. MY debate was
whether to go for the more-expensive membership, and I decided the
kickback was worth at least that amount.

Jean B. wrote:
> Cindy Fuller wrote:
>> Ranee's post about the non-availability of good kosher hot dogs at
>> Costco brought up an interesting sidebar. She said that she and Rich
>> had let their Costco membership lapse. The SO and I have debated for
>> years about the value of getting a Costco membership. I briefly had
>> a Sam's Club membership many years ago, but I let it lapse because
>> there wasn't one nearby when I moved from Dallas to Ithaca in 1986.
>> Our neighbors are big Costco aficionados, and my relatives back east
>> are devotees of BJ's and Sam's. To my thinking, a membership
>> doesn't make much sense for the two of us. We don't have oodles of
>> space to store large quantities of stuff. Anyone in a small
>> household want to chime in one way or another?

> With fairly minimal purchases, mainly Prilosec, Splenda, and
> Craisins, I get a nice kickback in the fall. MY debate was
> whether to go for the more-expensive membership, and I decided the
> kickback was worth at least that amount.

As a Costco member, I get my American Express through them and
I get cash back from it amounting to a few hundred dollars every year.
I save on Craisins, too, and soap and laundry detergent, moisturing
lotion and Visine, kitchen garbage bags ... not everything is a great
bargain but enough things are. The rewards I get from my executive
membership and my American Express card more than cover the
annual fee. Just my two cents.

nancy

Wayne Boatwright wrote:
> On Fri 19 Feb 2010 05:11:29p, Cindy Fuller told us...
>
>> Ranee's post about the non-availability of good kosher hot dogs at
>> Costco brought up an interesting sidebar. She said that she and Rich
>> had let their Costco membership lapse. The SO and I have debated for
>> years about the value of getting a Costco membership. I briefly had a
>> Sam's Club membership many years ago, but I let it lapse because there
>> wasn't one nearby when I moved from Dallas to Ithaca in 1986. Our
>> neighbors are big Costco aficionados, and my relatives back east are
>> devotees of BJ's and Sam's. To my thinking, a membership doesn't make
>> much sense for the two of us. We don't have oodles of space to store
>> large quantities of stuff. Anyone in a small household want to chime in
>> one way or another?
>>
>> Cindy
>>
>
> For the two of us it's hard to justify a Costco membership, too. We don't
> have a lot of storage space for large quantities, either, and the few large
> containers of items I have bought don't really justify the cost of the
> membership. Two people can only consume so much unless they entertain
> frequently, have family stopping by often, etc.
>
> I don't know how often you can get a "guest card" at Costco, and I believe
> there's a dollar limit on purchases, but you might try that. Our
> membership has expired, and I think I'll try getting a guest card next
> time. That would probably suffice for our needs, and since there are two
> of us, we could each get a guest card at different times.
>

We had a Sam's Club membership for years, we let it lapse last year as
we could see no cost benefit in shopping there. The only bulk things we
bought and used were toilet paper, paper towels, and laundry detergent.
I did a cost comparison and decided it was cheaper to shop at the nearby
supermarket than to drive the twenty mile round trip to Sam's. We also
don't shop at Walmart, even though it is only two miles away. I object
to the pushing and shoving of the crowds of people in there and getting
heel knocked by some good old girl who is in a big hurry.

Cindy Fuller wrote:
>
> Ranee's post about the non-availability of good kosher hot dogs at
> Costco brought up an interesting sidebar. She said that she and Rich
> had let their Costco membership lapse. The SO and I have debated for
> years about the value of getting a Costco membership. I briefly had a
> Sam's Club membership many years ago, but I let it lapse because there
> wasn't one nearby when I moved from Dallas to Ithaca in 1986. Our
> neighbors are big Costco aficionados, and my relatives back east are
> devotees of BJ's and Sam's. To my thinking, a membership doesn't make
> much sense for the two of us. We don't have oodles of space to store
> large quantities of stuff. Anyone in a small household want to chime in
> one way or another?

If you don't have space to store larger packages it can be more
difficult to justify if you look at it just from a savings perspective.
If you team up with a few friends and split those large packages it's
more practical. I've never heard of anyone having problems bringing a
friend along and team shopping.

For me I look at it more from an access perspective, i.e. access to some
items that are not readily available at other places in the area and are
also at good prices. I have both Sam's and Costco memberships, Sam's is
close by while Costco I am near about once a month. I also got family
cards for both for my mother at no extra cost, though she rarely uses
them.

On Fri, 19 Feb 2010 16:11:29 -0800, Cindy Fuller
> wrote:

>Ranee's post about the non-availability of good kosher hot dogs at
>Costco brought up an interesting sidebar. She said that she and Rich
>had let their Costco membership lapse. The SO and I have debated for
>years about the value of getting a Costco membership. I briefly had a
>Sam's Club membership many years ago, but I let it lapse because there
>wasn't one nearby when I moved from Dallas to Ithaca in 1986. Our
>neighbors are big Costco aficionados, and my relatives back east are
>devotees of BJ's and Sam's. To my thinking, a membership doesn't make
>much sense for the two of us. We don't have oodles of space to store
>large quantities of stuff. Anyone in a small household want to chime in
>one way or another?
>
>Cindy

I guess it depends on your requirements. On lots of the electronics,
what you can save on one item will more than pay for a year's
membership.
In our case, we feed wild birds year 'round and have had a Costco
membership since '92. What we save on only one item, the black oil
sunflower seeds for bird feeding, pays for our yearly membership many
times over. The savings on anything else we buy there is just a bonus.

Ross.

Cindy Fuller wrote:


> To my thinking, a membership doesn't make
> much sense for the two of us. We don't have oodles of space to store
> large quantities of stuff. Anyone in a small household want to chime in
> one way or another?
>
>
>

There are just two of us. I love Costco's cheese selection, their large
bags of shelled pecans and almonds, mushrooms, fresh figs in season,
baby salad greens, smoked salmon, whole beef tenderloins (for the
extended family visits or guests), cry-o-vac boneless chicken breasts,
large pkgs of yeast, multi-packed batteries, artichoke and jalapeno
spread, and multi-pack canned tomato sauce. Since our neighborhood
Albertson's has closed along with their pharmacy, I am about to transfer
our prescriptions to Costco. We have three Costcos within 10 miles of us.

I do try to go only once or twice a month because I'm like a kid in a
candy store there.

gloria p

I would never patronize a member store that would have me as a member.

John Kuthe...

Gloria wrote:

> There are just two of us. I love Costco's cheese selection, their large
> bags of shelled pecans and almonds, mushrooms, fresh figs in season, baby
> salad greens, smoked salmon, whole beef tenderloins (for the extended
> family visits or guests), cry-o-vac boneless chicken breasts, large pkgs
> of yeast, multi-packed batteries, artichoke and jalapeno spread, and
> multi-pack canned tomato sauce. Since our neighborhood Albertson's has
> closed along with their pharmacy, I am about to transfer our prescriptions
> to Costco. We have three Costcos within 10 miles of us.
>
> I do try to go only once or twice a month because I'm like a kid in a
> candy store there.

To which I'll add: They've got good prices on wine (and stronger alcohol),
they've got produce I don't see elsewhere (like those colossal grapes in the
summer), and the savings on our HDTV was enough to pay for membership for
several years. The Kirkland brand of dog food is good quality, and so that's
what we buy for our "golden cuddler."

The big beef rib roasts are handy for breaking down into boneless roasts and
racks of meaty beef ribs: When you see beef ribs in grocery stores, almost
all the meat has been removed, rendering them useless for barbecue. If you
cut ribs off the roasts yourself, you can keep the meat there.

I'm glad Ross mentioned birdseed; Lin's been getting it at Target, but it
never occurred to me to see if it's at Costco.

The only problems I have with Costco are their shitty check-out lines and
their spotty product availability. Lin likes ground coffee (rather than
whole bean), and when I was in Costco just a few days ago, they only had one
selection of ground coffee, which happened to be a roast Lin doesn't like.

Bob

"Cindy Fuller" > wrote in message
...
> Ranee's post about the non-availability of good kosher hot dogs at
> Costco brought up an interesting sidebar. She said that she and Rich
> had let their Costco membership lapse. The SO and I have debated for
> years about the value of getting a Costco membership. I briefly had a
> Sam's Club membership many years ago, but I let it lapse because there
> wasn't one nearby when I moved from Dallas to Ithaca in 1986. Our
> neighbors are big Costco aficionados, and my relatives back east are
> devotees of BJ's and Sam's. To my thinking, a membership doesn't make
> much sense for the two of us. We don't have oodles of space to store
> large quantities of stuff. Anyone in a small household want to chime in
> one way or another?
>
> Cindy
>
> --
> C.J. Fuller
>
> Delete the obvious to email me

Cindy,

Being part of a two person home, I can honestly say it is a phenomenal
value. Clothes are sold individually, as are wine, books, appliances, small
appliances, cd's, as well as many other items. In addition, within their
services section, great vacation values, insurance, banking.

Where most people say they are turned off by quantities, we are talking
about food. There are three things to do regarding food: don't buy it, go in
with another couple, or do what I and many others have done. Many years ago
I bought a foodsaver sealer. When I buy a package of prime top sirloin
steaks (four to a package) at $3.49/lb), I make up four bags. They last many
months.

And as for the debate of Costco vs. Sam's, most surveys choose Costco hands
down. And one added benefit. The openly "defy" Wall Street by treating their
employees with respect, money and bennies. And, unlike Sam's have never laid
off any employees.

John Kuthe wrote:
> I would never patronize a member store that would have me as a member.
>
> John Kuthe...

Haha ... Best answer!



--- news://freenews.netfront.net/ - complaints: ---

"Cindy Fuller" > wrote in message
...
> Ranee's post about the non-availability of good kosher hot dogs at
> Costco brought up an interesting sidebar. She said that she and Rich
> had let their Costco membership lapse. The SO and I have debated for
> years about the value of getting a Costco membership. I briefly had a
> Sam's Club membership many years ago, but I let it lapse because there
> wasn't one nearby when I moved from Dallas to Ithaca in 1986. Our
> neighbors are big Costco aficionados, and my relatives back east are
> devotees of BJ's and Sam's. To my thinking, a membership doesn't make
> much sense for the two of us. We don't have oodles of space to store
> large quantities of stuff. Anyone in a small household want to chime in
> one way or another?
>
> Cindy

BJ's here. Just two of us and I save enough to pay for the membership many
times over. Do you want to pay $1.79 for a boneless pork loin or $4.49 at
the supermarket? Having a freezer helps, but even without, I could buy
enough to save.

Make a list of the "every month" items you buy and compare prices. I'm the
only one that eats peanut butter so that we get at the local market. Same
with many and things of that sort that we use little of. Meats, cheeses,
OTC medications are all big money savers at the club stores. Propane tanks
for the grill and my shop heater save $5 a fill over local places. I fill
10 to 12 tanks a year.

On Fri, 19 Feb 2010 16:11:29 -0800, Cindy Fuller
> wrote:

> Ranee's post about the non-availability of good kosher hot dogs at
> Costco brought up an interesting sidebar. She said that she and Rich
> had let their Costco membership lapse. The SO and I have debated for
> years about the value of getting a Costco membership. I briefly had a
> Sam's Club membership many years ago, but I let it lapse because there
> wasn't one nearby when I moved from Dallas to Ithaca in 1986. Our
> neighbors are big Costco aficionados, and my relatives back east are
> devotees of BJ's and Sam's. To my thinking, a membership doesn't make
> much sense for the two of us. We don't have oodles of space to store
> large quantities of stuff. Anyone in a small household want to chime in
> one way or another?
>
We have a membership but don't go very often. Basics like toilet
paper are in such huge packages these days that it's ridiculous for
two of us. We go every so often to get nice steaks, lamb chops etc
but it's not a #1 destination the way it was when our kids were still
at home and we entertained a lot more often.

--
I love cooking with wine.
Sometimes I even put it in the food.

On Sat, 20 Feb 2010 01:03:20 GMT, Wayne Boatwright
> wrote:

> I don't know how often you can get a "guest card" at Costco, and I believe
> there's a dollar limit on purchases, but you might try that. Our
> membership has expired, and I think I'll try getting a guest card next
> time.

I don't remember a dollar limit on what you can buy with a guest
membership, but you'll need to bring cash because they won't take
checks or credit from nonmembers.

--
I love cooking with wine.
Sometimes I even put it in the food.

On Sat, 20 Feb 2010 01:42:04 GMT, Wayne Boatwright
> wrote:

> We
> generally buy laundry products and surface cleaners at Big Lots.

I was just thinking about this today... do you (or anybody else) have
a product you prefer for bathroom grout? I hate cleaning that stuff.

--
I love cooking with wine.
Sometimes I even put it in the food.

"Cindy Fuller" > wrote in message
...
> Ranee's post about the non-availability of good kosher hot dogs at
> Costco brought up an interesting sidebar. She said that she and Rich
> had let their Costco membership lapse. The SO and I have debated for
> years about the value of getting a Costco membership. I briefly had a
> Sam's Club membership many years ago, but I let it lapse because there
> wasn't one nearby when I moved from Dallas to Ithaca in 1986. Our
> neighbors are big Costco aficionados, and my relatives back east are
> devotees of BJ's and Sam's. To my thinking, a membership doesn't make
> much sense for the two of us. We don't have oodles of space to store
> large quantities of stuff. Anyone in a small household want to chime in
> one way or another?
>
> Cindy
>
> --
> C.J. Fuller
>

We dropped our Costco some years ago as the closest was not very close and
was a hassle. In 2008 they opened a new Costco that is closer to us. We
renewed out membership, and it is great. The organic Gala apples and the D
Anjou pears are better than anything our regular groceries have. The price
is better too. The salad greens are very fresh and last a long time. Even
if I had to throw out half of them, the price is still better than the
supermarkets. Potatoes are a great buy, but unless I split them with a
neighbor, I cannot store them. They have a selection of organic frozen
corn, peas, and other veggies that are a great price and very tasty. We
have really been enjoying the corn this winter. Meat is excellent and very
fresh, store cut. That is where we do not buy as much as we might as we do
not have a lot of freezer space and I prefer fresh meat. Just the two of
us, but if I had a family, i would be all over the meat department. VERY
good vacuum packs of Coleman chicken, but not always available. Cheese,
smoked salmon and other stuff is very good and priced right. Canned goods
and crackers and such are a very good buy if you can use them up. Cleaning
supplies are a real bargain. My contact lenses are REAL cheap. The pecan,
walnuts, pistachio and other nuts are fresh and very well priced. Our
stores do not have chain store wine or liquor, so each store sublets a
liquor store. Those are independent and most have good prices (not great
prices) and a limited selection. We currently only have two normal
refrigerators with a bottom freezer. We can store the items we need without
too much problem. We go at least every two weeks. The deli has a rotisserie
chicken that is large and tasty for $4.99. I am in favor of Costco.

In article >,
"Bob Terwilliger" > wrote:



> Lin likes ground coffee (rather than
> whole bean), and when I was in Costco just a few days ago, they only had one
> selection of ground coffee, which happened to be a roast Lin doesn't like.

Every Costco I've been in has industrial strength coffee grinders.
Sometimes they are next to the coffee, sometimes after the checkout.
They'll grind the whole bag in a couple of minutes, even the five pound
bags. They have scissors and tape. Just don't forget! Guess how I
found that out?

--
Dan Abel
Petaluma, California USA

On Fri, 19 Feb 2010 22:44:21 -0700, "Dale P" > wrote:

> My contact lenses are REAL cheap.

So, they have a good selection? I need to check it out.

<snip>
> The deli has a rotisserie chicken that is large and tasty for $4.99.
>
My husband is the rotisserie chicken guy and he loves CostCo chicken
too... twice as big for the same price or less than in the grocery
store.

--
I love cooking with wine.
Sometimes I even put it in the food.

sf wrote:

> We have a membership but don't go very often. Basics like toilet paper are
> in such huge packages these days that it's ridiculous for two of us.

We get toilet paper, paper towels, and napkins at Costco: We've got the
space for those "huge packages", and since they're non-perishable it makes
sense to take advantage of the savings. (Then again, we've got almost enough
closet space to store a Greyhound bus.)

Bob

Jean B. wrote:
> Cindy Fuller wrote:
>
>> ... She said that she and Rich
>> had let their Costco membership lapse. The SO and I have debated for
>> years about the value of getting a Costco membership. I briefly had a
>> Sam's Club membership many years ago, but I let it lapse because there
>> wasn't one nearby when I moved from Dallas to Ithaca in 1986. Our
>> neighbors are big Costco aficionados, and my relatives back east are
>> devotees of BJ's and Sam's. To my thinking, a membership doesn't make
>> much sense for the two of us. We don't have oodles of space to store
>> large quantities of stuff. Anyone in a small household want to chime in
>> one way or another?
>
>... MY debate was
> whether to go for the more-expensive membership, and I decided the
> kickback was worth at least that amount.

We shop regularly at Costco. In some years we've had overlapping
memberships in both Costco and Sams Club and that wasn't worth paying
the extra fee.

Costco has better meat than any of the local groceries, less expensive
than any of the local butchers. We get most of our meat at Costco and
some at the local butcher now. They also have a lot of products that
have better price or are just not available at other stores. The larger
package size rarely matters to us. If we lived in a downtown tiny
closet sized place it might matter but we live out in the burbs.

Our question now is should we downgrade from the fancy Executive
membership to the regular membership. We don't quite spend enough in
the year for the fancy membership for pay for itself and I don't recall
using any of the other extra services. This is a function of just being
the two of us now.

Doug Freyburger wrote:
> Jean B. wrote:
>> Cindy Fuller wrote:
>>
>>> ... She said that she and Rich
>>> had let their Costco membership lapse. The SO and I have debated for
>>> years about the value of getting a Costco membership. I briefly had a
>>> Sam's Club membership many years ago, but I let it lapse because there
>>> wasn't one nearby when I moved from Dallas to Ithaca in 1986. Our
>>> neighbors are big Costco aficionados, and my relatives back east are
>>> devotees of BJ's and Sam's. To my thinking, a membership doesn't make
>>> much sense for the two of us. We don't have oodles of space to store
>>> large quantities of stuff. Anyone in a small household want to chime in
>>> one way or another?
>> ... MY debate was
>> whether to go for the more-expensive membership, and I decided the
>> kickback was worth at least that amount.
>
> We shop regularly at Costco. In some years we've had overlapping
> memberships in both Costco and Sams Club and that wasn't worth paying
> the extra fee.
>
> Costco has better meat than any of the local groceries, less expensive
> than any of the local butchers. We get most of our meat at Costco and
> some at the local butcher now. They also have a lot of products that
> have better price or are just not available at other stores. The larger
> package size rarely matters to us. If we lived in a downtown tiny
> closet sized place it might matter but we live out in the burbs.
>
> Our question now is should we downgrade from the fancy Executive
> membership to the regular membership. We don't quite spend enough in
> the year for the fancy membership for pay for itself and I don't recall
> using any of the other extra services. This is a function of just being
> the two of us now.

The wife and I have a Sam's membership. We use it strictly for gasoline.
We very seldom go in to the Sam's store. Sam's is only about a mile
away. You have to buy large portions of groceries at Sam's. We just use
Walmart for 90% of our groceries.

On Fri, 19 Feb 2010 16:11:29 -0800, Cindy Fuller
> wrote:

>Ranee's post about the non-availability of good kosher hot dogs at
>Costco brought up an interesting sidebar. She said that she and Rich
>had let their Costco membership lapse. The SO and I have debated for
>years about the value of getting a Costco membership. I briefly had a
>Sam's Club membership many years ago, but I let it lapse because there
>wasn't one nearby when I moved from Dallas to Ithaca in 1986. Our
>neighbors are big Costco aficionados, and my relatives back east are
>devotees of BJ's and Sam's. To my thinking, a membership doesn't make
>much sense for the two of us. We don't have oodles of space to store
>large quantities of stuff. Anyone in a small household want to chime in
>one way or another?
>
>Cindy


Don't just think food. We are a 2 person family. We do have plenty
of storage space so I do buy the toilet paper, paper towels, laundry
detergent and other such items there.

Computer paper
Printer ink
Sony laptop computer
Television
Computer monitor
12' x 8' greenhouse with fittings
Sunsetter awning
eye glasses
hearing aids
books
these are a few thing we have bought there in the last few years in
addition to foodstuffs.

I have also found that the Kirkland brand items are at least as good
as regular brands and frequently better. I have been told by people
who buy them there that their prescription medicines are cheaper.

Ask one of your neighbors if you can go with them on a trip to Costco
when you both have time to look through the store. Costcos will be
packed when the other stores are also. And I have never found the
customers in line to be any more obnoxious than the ones in any busy
grocery store check out.

We live about 40 miles from Costco and go about every 2 weeks. We
also plan to hit other stores in town while we are there.
--
Susan N.

"Moral indignation is in most cases two percent moral,
48 percent indignation, and 50 percent envy."
Vittorio De Sica, Italian movie director (1901-1974)

In article
>
,
Cindy Fuller > wrote:

> Ranee's post about the non-availability of good kosher hot dogs at
> Costco brought up an interesting sidebar. She said that she and Rich
> had let their Costco membership lapse. The SO and I have debated for
> years about the value of getting a Costco membership. I briefly had a
> Sam's Club membership many years ago, but I let it lapse because there
> wasn't one nearby when I moved from Dallas to Ithaca in 1986. Our
> neighbors are big Costco aficionados, and my relatives back east are
> devotees of BJ's and Sam's. To my thinking, a membership doesn't make
> much sense for the two of us. We don't have oodles of space to store
> large quantities of stuff. Anyone in a small household want to chime in
> one way or another?
>
> Cindy

Since there are just two of us and I also don't have tons of space to
store in bulk, a Costco or Sams membership makes no sense to me either.
And there is a Sams less than two miles from where I live.

I just don't see the point.
--
Peace! Om

"Human nature seems to be to control other people until they put their foot down."
--Steve Rothstein

Web Albums: <http://picasaweb.google.com/OMPOmelet>

Subscribe:

Wayne Boatwright wrote:
> On Fri 19 Feb 2010 06:11:39p, George Shirley told us...
>
>> Wayne Boatwright wrote:
>>> On Fri 19 Feb 2010 05:11:29p, Cindy Fuller told us...
>>>
>>>> Ranee's post about the non-availability of good kosher hot dogs at
>>>> Costco brought up an interesting sidebar. She said that she and Rich
>>>> had let their Costco membership lapse. The SO and I have debated for
>>>> years about the value of getting a Costco membership. I briefly had a
>>>> Sam's Club membership many years ago, but I let it lapse because there
>>>> wasn't one nearby when I moved from Dallas to Ithaca in 1986. Our
>>>> neighbors are big Costco aficionados, and my relatives back east are
>>>> devotees of BJ's and Sam's. To my thinking, a membership doesn't make
>>>> much sense for the two of us. We don't have oodles of space to store
>>>> large quantities of stuff. Anyone in a small household want to chime
>>>> in one way or another?
>>>>
>>>> Cindy
>>>>
>>> For the two of us it's hard to justify a Costco membership, too. We
>>> don't have a lot of storage space for large quantities, either, and the
>>> few large containers of items I have bought don't really justify the
>>> cost of the membership. Two people can only consume so much unless
>>> they entertain frequently, have family stopping by often, etc.
>>>
>>> I don't know how often you can get a "guest card" at Costco, and I
>>> believe there's a dollar limit on purchases, but you might try that.
>>> Our membership has expired, and I think I'll try getting a guest card
>>> next time. That would probably suffice for our needs, and since there
>>> are two of us, we could each get a guest card at different times.
>>>
>> We had a Sam's Club membership for years, we let it lapse last year as
>> we could see no cost benefit in shopping there. The only bulk things we
>> bought and used were toilet paper, paper towels, and laundry detergent.
>> I did a cost comparison and decided it was cheaper to shop at the nearby
>> supermarket than to drive the twenty mile round trip to Sam's. We also
>> don't shop at Walmart, even though it is only two miles away. I object
>> to the pushing and shoving of the crowds of people in there and getting
>> heel knocked by some good old girl who is in a big hurry.
>>
>
> We do shop at Walmart, but only for items that are clearly the best price,
> or a few store brands that we prefer. We only go there during non-peak
> hours, early in the morning or well into the evening. No crowds then. We
> generally buy laundry products and surface cleaners at Big Lots. The rest
> of our purchases are at a variety of supermarkets, and David scours the ads
> for specials on things we would normally buy. Luckily, all the stores we
> shop at are within a 3 mile radius of our house, so we really don't waste
> money driving from place to place.
>
The local Walmart is open 24 hours a day. We have a large shift work
population due to all the hydrocarbon processing plants and the place is
nearly always crowded beyond belief. We shop at Big Lots anytime we
drive the ten miles into the big town nearby. I coupon and run the ads
but nearly always shop at the local Kroger as they send me coupons every
week or so that make it harder to shop elsewhere.

Doug Freyburger wrote:

> Costco has better meat than any of the local groceries, less expensive
> than any of the local butchers.

Their meat is the reason I joined Costco, I was having trouble finding
decent pork chops. Now I mostly buy chuck roast from them, it's always
great and they come two to a package. Freeze one and make one.
They look much better than anything I find at the supermarket.

They also have something labeled chuck short ribs, which makes
terrific stew meat or braise them whole.

> some at the local butcher now. They also have a lot of products that
> have better price or are just not available at other stores. The
> larger package size rarely matters to us. If we lived in a downtown
> tiny closet sized place it might matter but we live out in the burbs.

Same here, though I don't find that buying paper towels, toilet paper
or soda there is the cheapest alternative. Kleenex, yes.

> Our question now is should we downgrade from the fancy Executive
> membership to the regular membership. We don't quite spend enough in
> the year for the fancy membership for pay for itself and I don't
> recall using any of the other extra services. This is a function of
> just being the two of us now.

If you don't make enough to cover the extra $50, they'll refund that
portion of your membership.

nancy

"Omelet" > wrote in message
> Since there are just two of us and I also don't have tons of space to
> store in bulk, a Costco or Sams membership makes no sense to me either.
> And there is a Sams less than two miles from where I live.
>
> I just don't see the point.
> --

Not everything is in huge packages. Yes, some paper products are, but
coffee, a gallon of milk, an appliance, a book, are all the same package as
every other place. Meats are typically 20% to 50% less than the supermarket
so big savings there. You do have to buy 4 pounds of butter to pay $1.68 a
pound compared to $3.50+ at the supermarket. Freeze or go in with a friend
on stuff like that.

I saved $100 on my TV a few years ago, that is two and a half years of
membership dues.

"Cindy Fuller" > wrote in message
...
> Ranee's post about the non-availability of good kosher hot dogs at
> Costco brought up an interesting sidebar. She said that she and Rich
> had let their Costco membership lapse. The SO and I have debated for
> years about the value of getting a Costco membership. I briefly had a
> Sam's Club membership many years ago, but I let it lapse because there
> wasn't one nearby when I moved from Dallas to Ithaca in 1986. Our
> neighbors are big Costco aficionados, and my relatives back east are
> devotees of BJ's and Sam's. To my thinking, a membership doesn't make
> much sense for the two of us. We don't have oodles of space to store
> large quantities of stuff. Anyone in a small household want to chime in
> one way or another?
>
> Cindy
>
> --
> C.J. Fuller
It's just the two of us. No one has mentioned the Kirkland brand men's blue
jeans for $12.99. They are a great deal, heavy-weight, good fit and offered
in more size variation than I could possibly find in a local store. Also
the Kirkland men's T-shirts. 6 for $14.00, generously sized, heavy weight
fabric and wear like iron. Pillows and blankets are a fantastic deal. Area
rugs (non-skid) Dog food -- Kirkland and well as many different brands
packed in bags that are 5 or 10 pounds more for less money than Petsmart.
My neighbor maintains a membership just so that she can continue to get OTC
allergy medicine for her dog at a savings that pays for her membership and
more.

It depends what kind of shopper you are. I am the kind that if I saw a good
deal on a can of something in a regular grocery store, I would buy 4 or 5
cans. If you are the type of shopper that would only buy one can and
prefers to shop everyday for your meal, Costco is not for you.
Janet

In article >,
"Ed Pawlowski" > wrote:

> "Omelet" > wrote in message
> > Since there are just two of us and I also don't have tons of space to
> > store in bulk, a Costco or Sams membership makes no sense to me either.
> > And there is a Sams less than two miles from where I live.
> >
> > I just don't see the point.
> > --
>
> Not everything is in huge packages. Yes, some paper products are, but
> coffee, a gallon of milk, an appliance, a book, are all the same package as
> every other place. Meats are typically 20% to 50% less than the supermarket
> so big savings there. You do have to buy 4 pounds of butter to pay $1.68 a
> pound compared to $3.50+ at the supermarket. Freeze or go in with a friend
> on stuff like that.
>
> I saved $100 on my TV a few years ago, that is two and a half years of
> membership dues.

Costco or Sams?
--
Peace! Om

"Human nature seems to be to control other people until they put their foot down."
--Steve Rothstein

Web Albums: <http://picasaweb.google.com/OMPOmelet>

Subscribe:

On Sat, 20 Feb 2010 07:13:36 -0600, Andy wrote:

> Old Harley Rider > wrote:
>
>> The wife and I have a Sam's membership. We use it strictly for gasoline.
>> We very seldom go in to the Sam's store. Sam's is only about a mile
>> away. You have to buy large portions of groceries at Sam's. We just use
>> Walmart for 90% of our groceries.
>
> I belong to BJ's Wholesale club. They don't sell gas. First I've heard of
> that! My club is pretty small compared to CostCo, Sam's, etc. Membership is
> $40/annual.
>
> I usually visit once annually mostly for paper, plastic and cleaning
> supplies. I never bothered to figure out if the cost + $40 dues is a
> bargain, compared to what? No way to tell really.
>
> Andy

yeah, jeez, that would call for math and thinking and stuff.

blake

"Nancy Young" > wrote in news:GwGfn.61409$3E5.12609
@newsfe18.ams2:


> Jean B. wrote:
>> Cindy Fuller wrote:
>>> Ranee's post about the non-availability of good kosher hot dogs at
>>> Costco brought up an interesting sidebar. She said that she and Rich
>>> had let their Costco membership lapse. The SO and I have debated for
>>> years about the value of getting a Costco membership. I briefly had
>>> a Sam's Club membership many years ago, but I let it lapse because
>>> there wasn't one nearby when I moved from Dallas to Ithaca in 1986.
>>> Our neighbors are big Costco aficionados, and my relatives back east
>>> are devotees of BJ's and Sam's. To my thinking, a membership
>>> doesn't make much sense for the two of us. We don't have oodles of
>>> space to store large quantities of stuff. Anyone in a small
>>> household want to chime in one way or another?
>
>> With fairly minimal purchases, mainly Prilosec, Splenda, and
>> Craisins, I get a nice kickback in the fall. MY debate was
>> whether to go for the more-expensive membership, and I decided the
>> kickback was worth at least that amount.
>
> As a Costco member, I get my American Express through them and
> I get cash back from it amounting to a few hundred dollars every year.
> I save on Craisins, too, and soap and laundry detergent, moisturing
> lotion and Visine, kitchen garbage bags ... not everything is a great
> bargain but enough things are. The rewards I get from my executive
> membership and my American Express card more than cover the
> annual fee. Just my two cents.
>


What are the annual fees??

Costco has just 'moved' to Australia, so I'm pretty sure they'll situate
themselves in most capital cities over the next few years.

Oops!! No matter........ GIMF.

http://www.costco.com.au/MV/Membership.aspx


I qualify for the $55 Business membership.



Are those membership fees comparable to the US's?

--
Peter Lucas
Brisbane
Australia

Killfile all Google Groups posters.........

http://improve-usenet.org/

http://improve-usenet.org/filters_bg.html

"gloria.p" > wrote in -
september.org:

> Cindy Fuller wrote:
>
>
>> To my thinking, a membership doesn't make
>> much sense for the two of us. We don't have oodles of space to store
>> large quantities of stuff. Anyone in a small household want to chime
in
>> one way or another?
>>
>>
>>
>
> There are just two of us. I love Costco's cheese selection, their large
> bags of shelled pecans and almonds, mushrooms, fresh figs in season,
> baby salad greens, smoked salmon, whole beef tenderloins (for the
> extended family visits or guests), cry-o-vac boneless chicken breasts,
> large pkgs of yeast, multi-packed batteries, artichoke and jalapeno
> spread, and multi-pack canned tomato sauce. Since our neighborhood
> Albertson's has closed along with their pharmacy, I am about to transfer
> our prescriptions to Costco. We have three Costcos within 10 miles of
us.
>
> I do try to go only once or twice a month because I'm like a kid in a
> candy store there.
>


They even give you coupons to shop there!! (Well, I know you *would* have
coupons over there, but it's a 'new thang' over here)

http://www.costco.com.au/Resources/c..._FEB_FINAL.pdf


Someone mentioned Craisins before.......... $1 off a 1.3kg bag..... but
they don't give you the actual price of the items.

--
Peter Lucas
Brisbane
Australia

Killfile all Google Groups posters.........

http://improve-usenet.org/

http://improve-usenet.org/filters_bg.html

"Omelet" > wrote in message
>> I saved $100 on my TV a few years ago, that is two and a half years of
>> membership dues.
>
> Costco or Sams?

BJ's. Two in reasonable distance. Costco is 60 miles.

Wayne Boatwright wrote:
> On Sat 20 Feb 2010 06:04:20a, George Shirley told us...
>
>> Wayne Boatwright wrote:
>>> On Fri 19 Feb 2010 06:11:39p, George Shirley told us...
>>>
>>>> Wayne Boatwright wrote:
>>>>> On Fri 19 Feb 2010 05:11:29p, Cindy Fuller told us...
>>>>>
>>>>>> Ranee's post about the non-availability of good kosher hot dogs at
>>>>>> Costco brought up an interesting sidebar. She said that she and
>>>>>> Rich had let their Costco membership lapse. The SO and I have
>>>>>> debated for years about the value of getting a Costco membership. I
>>>>>> briefly had a Sam's Club membership many years ago, but I let it
>>>>>> lapse because there wasn't one nearby when I moved from Dallas to
>>>>>> Ithaca in 1986. Our neighbors are big Costco aficionados, and my
>>>>>> relatives back east are devotees of BJ's and Sam's. To my thinking,
>>>>>> a membership doesn't make much sense for the two of us. We don't
>>>>>> have oodles of space to store large quantities of stuff. Anyone in
>>>>>> a small household want to chime in one way or another?
>>>>>>
>>>>>> Cindy
>>>>>>
>>>>> For the two of us it's hard to justify a Costco membership, too. We
>>>>> don't have a lot of storage space for large quantities, either, and
>>>>> the few large containers of items I have bought don't really justify
>>>>> the cost of the membership. Two people can only consume so much
>>>>> unless they entertain frequently, have family stopping by often, etc.
>>>>>
>>>>> I don't know how often you can get a "guest card" at Costco, and I
>>>>> believe there's a dollar limit on purchases, but you might try that.
>>>>> Our membership has expired, and I think I'll try getting a guest card
>>>>> next time. That would probably suffice for our needs, and since
>>>>> there are two of us, we could each get a guest card at different
>>>>> times.
>>>>>
>>>> We had a Sam's Club membership for years, we let it lapse last year as
>>>> we could see no cost benefit in shopping there. The only bulk things
>>>> we bought and used were toilet paper, paper towels, and laundry
>>>> detergent. I did a cost comparison and decided it was cheaper to shop
>>>> at the nearby supermarket than to drive the twenty mile round trip to
>>>> Sam's. We also don't shop at Walmart, even though it is only two miles
>>>> away. I object to the pushing and shoving of the crowds of people in
>>>> there and getting heel knocked by some good old girl who is in a big
>>>> hurry.
>>>>
>>> We do shop at Walmart, but only for items that are clearly the best
>>> price, or a few store brands that we prefer. We only go there during
>>> non-peak hours, early in the morning or well into the evening. No
>>> crowds then. We generally buy laundry products and surface cleaners at
>>> Big Lots. The rest of our purchases are at a variety of supermarkets,
>>> and David scours the ads for specials on things we would normally buy.
>>> Luckily, all the stores we shop at are within a 3 mile radius of our
>>> house, so we really don't waste money driving from place to place.
>>>
>> The local Walmart is open 24 hours a day. We have a large shift work
>> population due to all the hydrocarbon processing plants and the place is
>> nearly always crowded beyond belief. We shop at Big Lots anytime we
>> drive the ten miles into the big town nearby. I coupon and run the ads
>> but nearly always shop at the local Kroger as they send me coupons every
>> week or so that make it harder to shop elsewhere.
>>
>
> Our Walmart is a 24/7 operation, too, but we don't have the shift worker
> problem you have. If I happen to go really early or really late at night,
> I see more employees than customers. :-) All the supermarkets are so close
> by that we mainly shop at whatever one has the best specials, sometimes all
> of them since they're so close. Big lots, too, is only 2 miles away.
>
And Phoenix area has how much population? Our little town has four
markets; Kroger, Brookshire Brothers (a Texas chain), Market Basket
(fancy name for locally run co-op stores), and a Misses. Misses is
strictly local, their ancestors were Maronite Christians who immigrated
here from what is now Lebanon but was just part of Greater Syria in the
early twentieth century. Good people but just barely hanging on. That's
it. Kroger is a mile from our home, very well run, clean, lots of stuff,
the others not so much. Market Basket is actually closer and I
occasionally shop their sales; Brookshire Bros. is about five miles away
and nothing any better than what is closer.

Seems that as I age, if it ain't convenient I don't go. <G> Besides
Kroger never changes the position of the food on the aisles, Walmart
does it once a week or sooner to encourage impulse buying, one of their
strategies.

In article
>
,
Cindy Fuller > wrote:

> Ranee's post about the non-availability of good kosher hot dogs at
> Costco brought up an interesting sidebar. She said that she and Rich
> had let their Costco membership lapse. The SO and I have debated for
> years about the value of getting a Costco membership. I briefly had a
> Sam's Club membership many years ago, but I let it lapse because there
> wasn't one nearby when I moved from Dallas to Ithaca in 1986. Our
> neighbors are big Costco aficionados, and my relatives back east are
> devotees of BJ's and Sam's. To my thinking, a membership doesn't make
> much sense for the two of us. We don't have oodles of space to store
> large quantities of stuff. Anyone in a small household want to chime in
> one way or another?
>
> Cindy

What I save buying Zyrtec there all year over the drug store pays for
our membership.

There are only two of us but we do buy food there - we use a food saver
to package up meats into two person servings and freeze. The prices on
laundry soap for an HE machine are better than the local stores here.
When they have coupons for toilet paper the Costco price then is the
same as Target on sale. We also purchase batteries, vodka, and socks
there for less then the local stores. You do have to be familiar with
prices locally as some things at Costco are the same or a bit higher at
times.

marcella

In article >,
"Ed Pawlowski" > wrote:

> "Omelet" > wrote in message
> >> I saved $100 on my TV a few years ago, that is two and a half years of
> >> membership dues.
> >
> > Costco or Sams?
>
> BJ's. Two in reasonable distance. Costco is 60 miles.

Never heard of BJ's...
--
Peace! Om

"Human nature seems to be to control other people until they put their foot down."
--Steve Rothstein

Web Albums: <http://picasaweb.google.com/OMPOmelet>

Subscribe:

PLucas1 wrote:

> They even give you coupons to shop there!! (Well, I know you *would*
> have coupons over there, but it's a 'new thang' over here)

Every month a coupon book arrives in the mail. Usually there are
three or four coupons on stuff I buy anyway, and sometimes there
is a coupon for something I decide to try.

> Someone mentioned Craisins before.......... $1 off a 1.3kg bag.....
> but they don't give you the actual price of the items.

Last time I bought them, the 48 oz package was on sale in the
neighborhood of $4.65 (American, naturally). It's usually a couple
of dollars more. Either way, it's a bargain. $4.65 is about what
I'd pay for a small package of them in the grocery store.

I have no idea how those prices relate to where you live.

nancy

PLucas1 wrote:
> "Nancy Young" > wrote

>> As a Costco member, I get my American Express through them and
>> I get cash back from it amounting to a few hundred dollars every
>> year. I save on Craisins, too, and soap and laundry detergent,
>> moisturing lotion and Visine, kitchen garbage bags ... not
>> everything is a great bargain but enough things are. The rewards I
>> get from my executive membership and my American Express card more
>> than cover the annual fee. Just my two cents.

> What are the annual fees??

I have an executive membership which is $100. You can still have
the American Express card with the regular Gold Star membership,
which is $50. I don't see the executive membership on the link
you quoted.

> http://www.costco.com.au/MV/Membership.aspx

nancy

"Ed Pawlowski" wrote:
>
>BJ's here. Just two of us and I save enough to pay for the membership many
>times over. Do you want to pay $1.79 for a boneless pork loin or $4.49 at
>the supermarket? Having a freezer helps, but even without, I could buy
>enough to save.

I have a Sam's Club membership, that's what's closest but still more
than 30 miles one way... I shop there like 3-4 times a year but not
for everyday food items, mostly specialty food items like whole
cheeses, dry sausages, snack foods like pretzels, a few large bags of
candy, I've a weakness for gum drops, jelly beans, sweedish fish and
the like, jars of marinated olives/pickles, but mostly cat food and
cat litter, and paper goods... I buy staple canned goods by the case,
and large bags of pasta, things like that... toiletries and OTC drugs
too. The few times I go I buy a lot, and save many times my
membership. But I can buy better boneless pork loins at Price Chopper
for $2/lb, that's one of the cuts that's almost always on sale at that
price. I tried the meats at the big box stores but don't find them to
be a quality grade, it has always been inferior, especially pork and
beef, the two meats I consume the most, I don't eat lamb and I eat
seafood out. I don't cook a lot of poultry, typically a turkey on
Turkey Day and the occasional roasting chicken on the grill, I never
buy cut-up chicken. I see no bargains on fresh meats at the big box
stores... in fact the little stupidmarket here in town sells very good
quality meat, and at low prices if I shop the sale items... I know the
butcher there and he will custom cut whatever I want, that's how I got
that piece of boneless chuck for the soup I just made, only I should
have asked for a hunk twice that size, not his fault I misjudged.

>OTC medications are all big money savers at the club stores.

Agreed, but only if you can use those large sizes before they expire.
But I save even more on the few OTCs I use regularly at Amazon and
they come right to my door for free.

>Propane tanks for the grill and my shop heater save $5 a fill over local places.
>I fill 10 to 12 tanks a year.

That's a very expensive way to purchase that much propane, you'd do
much better to have a bulk tank installed, and save all those trips
hauling dangerous tanks. Wait-a-minute, didn't you just buy a fancy
schmancy gas stove, where does that gas come from?

On 2/20/2010 10:36, Omelet wrote:
> Never heard of BJ's...

When we lived in New York State, we had BJ's and Sam's Club. I didn't
encounter a Costco until we came west.