Hi everyone. I joined Ciao in the early days and, now I'm back, am delighted to see it's still the s...
Hi everyone. I joined Ciao in the early days and, now I'm back, am delighted to see it's still the same great community. Spellings seem to have got worse though!
Member since:17.10.2000
Reviews:94
Members who trust:210
We are fortunate to have a friend who is an owner-driver of a big cement truck. Fortunate because he takes my husband out to play in it and also because he was able to get us a Costco card.
Costco isn't like Makro, (where it is difficult to get a pass card), but it is expensive. It costs £25 a year for Individual membership (you can have one other person on your card for that). As our friend the cement-driver has a Trade membership, he can have a number of people registered under his name and they all get their own cards for £14 each. They let children in too - which I'm not sure is a terribly good idea! Ours walk around saucer-eyed with a list of "I want"s.
Is it worth it? Yes. We saved that on the first shopping trip. On every little girl's Christmas list is a Barbie Beetle. It was £10 cheaper in Costco than in the shops. We got my son a huge Lego tanker at £20 cheaper than in Toys R Us. We regularly buy replacement heads for our electric toothbrushes there. They are 4 for £10 in Costco - a saving of about £6 in comparison to Boots prices.
Costco warehouses are huge places. You have to have some stamina to get round the things. The staff seem to have realised this, though, and often have free tea/coffee and biscuits waiting at the door for shoppers.
The goods cover a wide range of categories. There is an excellent fresh section, where we regularly buy a tray of 5 GIANT mangoes for £5. Big bags of bananas also work out cheap. You have to watch, though, not everything is less than in other shops. There is a frozen food section and large aisles full of tinned goods. You have to buy whole boxes, though, not the odd can or two.
Goods are subject to VAT. Often they are priced with both prices, though, which helps (price excluding and including VAT).
My husband likes the tools section and I enjoy the specials they get in. Recently they were promoting outdoor spa baths. Your own relaxing spa for a mere £5,000. I don't know why we didn't come home with one. Also on offer this Summer was a swimming pool for £150. Yes, really! It's not an inflatable, its a solid-sided affair with a pump and everything. We didn't get one, but only because our cement-driver friends already have one so we just pop round there when we fancy a freezing dip.
The queues at the tills can be a bit off-putting. We always seem to get behind an off-licence owner who is doing his six-monthly shop.
All the Costcos we have been to (just two, but it sounded impressive didn't it?!) have had cafes. These are basic but cheap. Jacket potatoes for £1.50. Also important for people who have been guzzling free coffee at the entrance are the toilets. Functional, again, but fine. Usually situated near the cafe.
The staff are usually very rushed but helpful. I have never seen any help people out with their stuff, though.
You can go in Costco as a visitor but just for a look, you aren't allowed to buy anything. We did this before deciding the take the plunge with a card of our own. We decided on that first look round that we would easily save the cost of the card. My husband was particularly impressed with the price of car tyres. Top brands at really good prices - and they fit them for you.
The only danger is in getting carried away and buying things just because they are cheap. Like me wanting that bargain-basement spa for just £5,000.
How helpful would this review be to a person making a buying decision? Rating guidelines
Good review,I haven't been yet but would love to go.thanks ;)
Crazy-Christian 07.04.2001 01:35
Once again, I agree with everything you say. We recently "went organic" (which isn't as painful as it sounds) and so hardly use Costco now. Like most stores, they have very little organic produce. Hopefully that will change as people's habits change!
LICARUS 01.04.2001 21:42
Excellant detail here, just what I need to convince me! They have just built one nearby and was pondering about getting a card, your op has convinced me! THanks Emm
very helpful by (100%):
