costco any melbournites checked it out?

[geoffw]

Some things are worth it, some not. Some things are wetter quality at one place- paper plates which we were buying at Woolies were cheaper bu we had to use two. Costco paper plates are much thicker and we only have to use one (at the markets).

Many things are only available bundled or in larger containers. It's not a bargain if you're going to have to throw half of something out.

 

[onetwothreefour]

I love shopping at Costco.

I love the simplicity shopping at Costco. You don't get hundreds of different brands for a box of cereal, butter, milk, eggs etc..
What they have is usually the better brand items at normal supermarket, in a bigger size.

Their fresh produce and meat are very good quality and usually the same price as normal supermarket or cheaper. Milk is so much cheaper...$3.50 for a 2L A2 milk...(Woolies $5 for the same thing).

Their books, clothing, socks etc, are way cheaper than anywhere else. $47 for a men Levi;s jean..

Since shopping at Costco, I do less running around shopping for all the things we need.

Service is superior. Returning items is very easy. The staff are quick, friendly, helpful and look very happy to work there.
I dislike shopping at Woolies..staff are arrogant and make you feel like you wasting their time. They always busy chatting to themselves..
Their fresh produce is a hit and miss....sometimes you get good strawberries, most of the times the strawbs were bruised and had to be consumed immediately.
And since our local woolies built a sushi station inside the supermarket (complete with sushi chef), I lost respect for this Australian company.

So, I don't mind spending $60 for shopping at Costco. I just wish that there is one closer to where we live...


ps..I don't work for Costco...just love shopping there..

 

[topcropper]

And since our local woolies built a sushi station inside the supermarket (complete with sushi chef), I lost respect for this Australian company.
..

Why is the sushi a problem?


See ya's.

 

[BayView]

When we lived in Santa Rosa (CAL, USA) we went there to do the bulk of our shopping...it was terrific, and the membership was well worth the cost.

Can't speak about Melb directly; never been to it, but if it is anything like the others we've seen O/S then go for it.

Not so good for a single person because so much of the product is bulk packed.

It would be good for the non-pershable items I suspect.

 

[Indifference]

We use the Melb store... It is good for some items (bulk goods as others have said) but can be relatively expensive for other items. We can generally buy basic staples and fruit/veg cheaper elsewhere, so you need to be selective. We generally get all our non-perishables, cleaning items and bulk frozen food at Costco. Everything else we either use Aldi or local supermarket & vendors.

 

[S.T]

It's not bad, though the few times I've been, we've hardly bought anything. If you have a large or second freezer, that's the way to go. Oh the massive apple pies are good.

 

[sanj]

I joined the one in Canberra about 6 months ago - have been a few times and not really impressed.

The fresh premade meals such as the pizzas, curries etc are great.

However I found a grocery type shop there incredibly expensive. I had bill shock at the checkout. I found that the small incidental items that I dont pay much attention to in a normal shop such as toilet paper, toothpaste etc ended up costing me a lot in one hit.

Afterwards I compared to Woolies/Coles and didnt find much difference overall.

We were having a party and I bought alot of the soft drinks there, however again I found I could have bought them cheaper at Woolies.

With certain items, especially soft drinks at places like Woolies will be loss leaders. From what i understand from people i know who are supplying costco they have a pretty rigid price structure and set margins so items which otherretailers might have a large margin on will be a lot cheaper at costco but smaller margin items or those FMCG loss leaders wont be.

 

[D.T.]

Now that trading hours have improved a little in Perth, Aldi and Costco are both considering Perth but neither can find a big enough warehouse.

Maybe Dazz can help?

 

[matto_]

I am with others. 60 membership is s lot of savings to be gotten before it is worthwhile and I didn't see that occurring. Also the site is a fair way out of the way so hassle to get to.

Give me the vic market any day.

 

[Corey Batt]

Looking forward to the Churchill site opening, I've always had a bit of a obsession with bulk buying...

As usual, be familiar with the pricing within Coles/Woolworths/whateversupermarketyouusuallyuse and pick up the real bargains.

$60 is nothing really, particularly if they stock items that the Coles/Woolies monopoly doesn't. Which is something a lot of people have failed to realise, both chains have dramatically cut down on the line of items, forcing consumers to buy certain products over others.

 

[Sean M]

I am pretty crazy about getting good discounts etc. With Costco I find that the fresh stuff is over priced unless your buying for a party i.e. cakes, salads, etc.

The preserved stuff is ok but you have to buy large quantities and once opened gets spoilt easy.

I have chosen to go ALDI over Costco. Also need to remember when you lock in large sums of money you need to take into consideration the net present value of money when comparing like for like in relation to the cost of toilet paper. Oh and don't forget about the storage of 100 + roles.

In relation to their electronic items, hard to compare unless you know what your buying. Generally ok priced but I am not sure if you can bargain as you would with other shops like Harvey Norman etc.

 

[sanj]

. Also need to remember when you lock in large sums of money you need to take into consideration the net present value of money when comparing like for like in relation to the cost of toilet paper.

I can honestly say i never thought i would hear the words net present value, large sums of money and toilet paper in the same sentence.

 

[Corey Batt]

I can honestly say i never thought i would hear the words net present value, large sums of money and toilet paper in the same sentence.

Does SS breed the ultimate tightwads, or is the cost of living increases making us evermore aware of our expenditure and waste?

 

[sanj]

Does SS breed the ultimate tightwads, or is the cost of living increases making us evermore aware of our expenditure and waste?

Im going with the former. The latter is true but it can get to ridiculous levels on SS imo, a race to the bottom re how frugal one can be.

Im all for being smart with money but why not focus on making more instead of washing and reusing toilet paper?

 

[Corey Batt]

Im going with the former. The latter is true but it can get to ridiculous levels on SS imo, a race to the bottom re how frugal one can be.

Im all for being smart with money but why not focus on making more instead of washing and reusing toilet paper?

Why wash them? Water costs money too.

I think Aussies in general aren't very entrepreneurial, and the current economic environment doesn't make for asking for pay rises/getting significant amounts of overtime for employees. I've noticed when talking to Australian friends about business opportunities, they shy away from it as it is seen as risky, whereas my migrant friends are quite optimistic and instead ask 'where do we sign up?'.

 

[Ideo]

Im going with the former. The latter is true but it can get to ridiculous levels on SS imo, a race to the bottom re how frugal one can be.

Im all for being smart with money but why not focus on making more instead of washing and reusing toilet paper?

Mmmhmm.

I buy Aldi where the quality is the same or better. Stilton cheese is a great example. Best quality and half the price. Toilet paper, dishwasher powder etc are all purchased from there. But that is because it is in walking distance and the most convenient place to shop for me.

I wouldn't make a 1 hr round trip using 7l of petrol to save 5c a roll on toilet paper. It's a false economy.

 

[Aaron_C]

I am not frugal but that's because I like to enjoy life. I do shop at Costco though

 

[westminster]

I am not frugal but that's because I like to enjoy life. I do shop at Costco though

That's because you like to buy 5 litre vats of caviar

 

[Ausprop]

I can honestly say i never thought i would hear the words net present value, large sums of money and toilet paper in the same sentence.

let's not forget inventory management, risk management, insurance on costs, logistics and increased propensity to consume... it's a mind bender.

 

[geoffw]

Just some observations on CostCo after a visit today:
1. If you know the prices you can do well. One item is $12.89 at Woolies, cost $17.99 for a two pach at CostCo.
2. If you don't know the prices you can get caught. Sometimes there's no generic equivalent at CostCo so you may pay more for a corresponding branded product at CostCo- and you have to buy a larger quantity to boot.
3. The range is interesting. There's products which have no exact equivalent at Woolies or Coles- but other products are missing completely. Like Aldi, the range is a bit limited. The products which are stocked appear to be American influenced, and you can get some interesting items.