Costco

joneve

Bloody money black hole, isn't it?

I was so happy when they'd finally bought them over here to the UK. We tend to go every 4 months or so to stock up on consumables like detergent, softener, toilet rolls, shower gel etc...Went on sunday, and ended up spending £200, fucksake! 

Good news is, we won't need to shop for anything but food for the next 4 or 5 months at least - everything else is covered. 

Bloody love it. 

ICBM

Brilliant place. You effectively get the cost of your annual membership back on the first trip, after that it's all a bonus.

The range of stock at the higher end can sometimes be very interesting too - they buy up surplus from other places, so you can sometimes get real surprises. I once saw a Martin D-28 in there - it wasn't cheaper than a second hand one so I didn't buy it, but it was a very good price if you were looking for a new one.

guitarfishbay

The only thing is sometimes they only sell a product for a short amount of time (presumably because it isn't popular enough).  They used to do a big bag of Blue Corn Tortilla chips that tasted awesome.  Not seen them in ages...

midlifecrisis

tbh i found the bulk food quite good but nothing else seemed any cheaper than i could get anywhere else, do they still price everything ex VAT, making it look cheaper

ICBM

midlifecrisis said:

tbh i found the bulk food quite good but nothing else seemed any cheaper than i could get anywhere else, do they still price everything ex VAT, making it look cheaper

Yes, but they also print the inc-VAT price on the ticket in smaller letters, so you can see what you're really paying.

It's not *that* much cheaper, but enough that if you shop in bulk or for some of the higher-priced things it's worth the saving.

xSkarloey

Do they have a regular stock of musical instruments then? 

There is one near me, but I always thought it was just a trade only cash and carry. 

chrispy108

I find their pricing a bit hit and miss. They're definitely cheaper than RRP, but often not cheaper than supermarket special offers.

I mainly go for the stuff you can't get anywhere else.

boogieman

I used to be a member, the only problem I found is that you need a massive amount of storage space for all the bulk packs. Their double choc muffins are awesome though. 

joneve

We find the consumables (detergent and toilet roll etc) are A LOT cheaper than a supermarket. 

We bought 48 toilet rolls for £15. Did a quick reccy in tesco the day before we left and they're double the price for the toilet rolls we'd buy of the same quality in Tesco. 

ICBM

Skarloey said:

Do they have a regular stock of musical instruments then? 

Mostly just starter-level kit - cheap guitars, home keyboards and electronic drums etc. The Martins were a one-off - I've heard of them having Gibsons too, but never seen one in there… although it wouldn't surprise me at all if some 2015 models end up there.

Axe_meister

Just avoid the butchers, I've always found there beef to be rather tough, and I can get it cheaper from my local butchers

EricTheWeary

I have a Macro card. That's a bit shit now,  very little realistically cheaper than the supermarkets and much less choice than year ago but it has a good fish counter. 
I presumed Macro was a similar thing to Costco? 

ICBM

Axe_meister said:

Just avoid the butchers, I've always found there beef to be rather tough, and I can get it cheaper from my local butchers

Wait til just after the end of the racing season, it tends to be a bit cheaper then.

joneve

EricTheWeary said:

I have a Macro card. That's a bit shit now,  very little realistically cheaper than the supermarkets and much less choice than year ago but it has a good fish counter. 
I presumed Macro was a similar thing to Costco? 

It is, in principle, but Costco (in my experience) is A LOT better. 

Moss

Some absolute bargains http://www.costco.co.uk/view/p/full-car-v8-simgp-motion-simulator-with-v1-500-motion-platform-211106

ToneControl

guitarfishbay said:

The only thing is sometimes they only sell a product for a short amount of time (presumably because it isn't popular enough).  They used to do a big bag of Blue Corn Tortilla chips that tasted awesome.  Not seen them in ages...

I miss those, and the white corn ones. Just yellow corn currently.

ToneControl

midlifecrisis said:

tbh i found the bulk food quite good but nothing else seemed any cheaper than i could get anywhere else, do they still price everything ex VAT, making it look cheaper

some things are better, and they sell some  higher-than-normal quality stuff for good prices

ToneControl

EricTheWeary said:

I have a Macro card. That's a bit shit now,  very little realistically cheaper than the supermarkets and much less choice than year ago but it has a good fish counter. 
I presumed Macro was a similar thing to Costco? 

Makro is very grim and depressing compared to costco
the non-food stuff in costco is much  much better than in makro

ToneControl

my regular purchases are fresh salsa, tzatsiki, etc,  £2-£3  for 900g
Good  for 1kg ish of feta, 6 packs of halloumi
dried herbs
giant kitchen roll
big bags of decent corn tortillas
maple syrup
green unpitted olives in brine

the  massive made to  order celebration cakes are only £12 or £13

lots of massive garden furniture and top-notch BBQs too

Neil

We found when going to Makro and Costco we were buying huge amounts of stuff like washing powder, toilet rolls etc to make savings  that you then have to store.

We had to put up some dexion shelving in the garage for it all!

You can save a bit at those places but I'd prefer my Mrs just buy the stuff weekly from Tesco or whatever where she looks out the bargains and leaves me out of that shopping stuff altogether..........and we don't have to run a warehouse at home.

ToneControl

yes, I get a lot of the cost-saving done at Aldi now instead in smaller chunks