I tried out a Costco membership for a few weeks and finally got around to cancelling it last month. In general when I went looking for stuff I'd either find good prices on things I didn't want or average prices on things I did.
For example, coffee. The vast majority of what I saw on the shelf was ground coffee – for personal use bulk whole beans are a better value because they stay fresher longer. Most of it was also Seattle's Best / Starbucks / Peets, not terrible but particularly good either. Kitchen equipment – Costco has great prices on Le Creuset, but only has two sizes listed online (both oval). Laundry detergent, mostly heavily scented stuff, pass.
IMO discoverability is on par with Amazon (not a good thing) which discouraged me from spending more time than necessary in the warehouse.
They sell a ton of whole bean coffee. To the point that they have coffee grinders at the front of the store for people who want ground coffee. Not sure where you were looking.
They sell a ton of whole bean coffee. To the point that they have coffee grinders at the front of the store for people who want ground coffee. Not sure where you were looking.
I was looking on the shelves that were stocked with (ground) coffee. If there is a separate aisle for whole bean coffee I didn't bother looking for it -- I dislike the unlabeled aisles and don't want to wander through a huge warehouse looking for a needle in a haystack.
Granted I only skimmed the brands I knew I wasn't interested in (e.g. Starbucks) so there may have been some whole bean coffee on the shelves that I wouldn't have bought in the first place. I definitely haven't seen customer use coffee grinders though. It could also come down to differences in what the warehouses stock, but I'm not going to drive all over the Bay Area to find a Costco with whole bean coffee.
At my local Costco there is like an entire aisle dedicated to coffee/tea. Not sure what other stores are like. At least at my store, things are pretty logically laid out, usually doesn't feel like searching for a needle.
At least the two Costco’s I’ve shopped at recently sell massive bags of Kirkland brand whole bean coffee, usually with some sort of rainforest animal on the bag label.
Yeah coffee is one of the rare items I'd be a stickler for buying a specific brand name. I do remember seeing a bunch of K-cup inventory as well. Looking at Costco.com, they want around $15 for a two pound bag of Peets whatever. I can go to any of the grocery stores around here and pick up the same thing for the same price (or around $12 when they rotate it through a sale price which Safeway seems to do regularly). Looking at Costco.com the Kirkland stuff is cheaper (no way to filter by whole bean / ground though).
I just though of something else about the dutch ovens. Costo.com also lists a Lodge enameled dutch oven for $58. It's the shape (round) I was looking for and about the right size. I passed because I was looking for a made in not-PRC one. Amazon carries the same Lodge one for only wants $60 though. I ended up with the Williams-Sonoma house brand one (made in France by Staub) for less than Costco wanted for their similarly sized Le Creuset one.
I've heard good things about the print lab, pharmacy, and optometrists but have never used them. The Costco prices on vaccines compare favorably to the normal prices of the city/county run SF clinic, but not by a whole lot. The state of California subsidizes some vaccines for low income folks though. At $26 those are cheaper than what Costco charges (except for the flu vaccine).
And that’s not really how Costco works. I don’t buy coffee there either, to be fair.
Yep. However I went in looking for coffee that Costco does stock (Peet's Holiday Blend) and only saw it pre-ground. I looked around for other roasts that grocery stores sell as whole bean in 2 lb packages (e.g. french, espresso, or italian) and only saw pre-ground on the shelf. The prices were on par with what Safeway charges off-sale.
Even for other items where I largely don't care about a specific brand the quality or price wasn't worth maintaining a membership.
For example, coffee. The vast majority of what I saw on the shelf was ground coffee – for personal use bulk whole beans are a better value because they stay fresher longer. Most of it was also Seattle's Best / Starbucks / Peets, not terrible but particularly good either. Kitchen equipment – Costco has great prices on Le Creuset, but only has two sizes listed online (both oval). Laundry detergent, mostly heavily scented stuff, pass.
IMO discoverability is on par with Amazon (not a good thing) which discouraged me from spending more time than necessary in the warehouse.