Is Cosco really that cheap? Which SM is best?

A question about : Is Cosco really that cheap? Which SM is best?

We have two adults and three young children in our house and seem to spend a fortune on shopping. I've tried Lidl and Alidi and while I understand they are much cheaper I'm not a huge fan of the brands to be honest.

Our default weekly big shop is normally ASDA.

I joined Cosco a while ago and had a stage where I used it a lot for bulk, none perishable items.

However, a visit recently convinced me buying this way isn't the best option. Do you think I'm right?

Has anyone looked at Cosco/bulk buying in greater detail?

Do people think this is a cheaper option long run?

Thanks,

Dan.

Best answers:

• I almost always check something in Costco against Tesco/Asda (I keep their mobile websites open on phone) and only buy if I know we will use it all in a reasonable timescale and it is cheaper than the supermarkets.
  I find meat works out quite a good deal in Costco and a lot of it is better quality for the same price as Tesco, also by buying a big pack and freezing in portions we always have meat ready to defrost. Also the products on offer in Costco usually work out a good deal, for example currently they have 3kg (jn 6x500g) of organic pasta at Ј2.34, 3kg of standard pasta in one big bag is Ј2.87 at Asda. But at Costco standard prices they aren't always cheaper, but are often better quality.
  I do often buy things we don't need at Costco too though such as 24 bags of M&Ms (they were on offer!) but have also found good prices on books and other similar things for gifts.
• Thanks that is helpful. I'm just finding that you cant beat some of the deals in the SM but they might not be regular deals. You know, Colgate buy one get one free etc. Even buying Colgate in bulk at Tesco/Asda you can't beat that but I guess it's all down to the deal on the day.
• We love Costco!!
  But always, always check prices.
  Have had fantastic bargains very rarely......once a glitch and three times special offers.
  I make sure I can buy LOTS on the odd occasions its a great deal because its NEVER still there when you go back.
  Their frozen onion rings were the best EVER but no longer stocked and never were cheap but delicious!
  I tend to buy my meat there......not cheap but far better quality than my local butchers or supermarkets eg minced beef leaks NO fat or water when dry frying.
  My local (Southampton) has dreadful stock control and several times I have pointed out bread etc past its sell by date (no price reductions).
  Their toilet roll offer of the month tends to be good on a consistant basis.
  Other deals SEEM very ad hoc but if you track the reductions, they do come around quite often so you can plan to bulk buy when the best offer appears.
• We joined Costco a bit over a year ago. Most of our meat comes from there - as others have said it is great quality. We also buy frozen things like fish fingers and chicken tenders, cheese, some tinned items, rice when it's on offer, and have picked up various other things for the house, booze sometimes, some clothes, and books can be excellent. And loo roll is usually a great deal.
  You do need to check prices as it's not always cheapest for some things but we definitely save money buying there.
• Bakery items are well priced, although they stopped doing my favourite Almond Croissants :-(
  Electricals are always worth checking.
• Thanks very helpful. I guess it's the same as everything. Keep a close eye on prices and take a look advantage of their special offers.
  Surely the meat can't be cheaper than a local butcher??
• I got my last set of continetals from there, it worked out at Ј10 cheaper per corner than anywhere else I had found, so it also covered the cost of my membership and still saved me money.
• I buy teabags, loo & kitchen roll & black sacks in bulk from there. these are the 4 main things we save a lot of money on. I "could " get cheaper loo & kitchen roll from Јland etc but it is terrible quality & end up going through so much of it. The velvet loo roll at Costco is much nicer & at 35p a roll, I can live with the cost. Same with the huge kitchen rolls. I also like just having it in the house & not ever running out mid #2
  Anything else I get I use price scanner & see if it is worth it. My son is going through a pot noodle stage atm so I buy 12 for around 35p each, which is cheaper than supermarkets.
• Weve used Costco for years and find that they are at worst the same as supermarkets and usually better and their offers are substantially better.Only proviso is that some supermarket bogoffs and special deals may be better.
  We dont have a Lidl or Aldi near us but always compare with Tesco Sbury and Waitrose.
  Qualitywise their meat and bakery items are consistently excellent.Own brand Kirkland as good as any other brand and far better than supermarkets own.
  Downside you need space to store bulk buys anda large family to eat them. Fortunately we have both.
• I find costco great for some things - not always because they are cheapest but because the quality is good.
  As others have said, I think their meat is very good so will buy it (particularly when they have an offer) and divide packs up to freeze. Their rotisserie chickens are also very nice. Other stuff I regularly buy include toilet roll, kitchen roll, tinned tomatoes, jars of pasta sauce, pasta, vettee dine in rice (much cheaper than SM), par baked baguettes, new potatoes, cherry plum tomatoes, spices, soy sauce, icing sugar (I bake a lot),...there are quite a few other things I would buy if I had more storage at home, but space is limited!
  I also get my contact lenses from the Costco opticians which works out Ј100 per year cheaper than my previous provider and the service is very good.
  Oh, and I'll buy household stuff there if there's something I need that they have - usually they are similar in price to if you shop around elsewhere, but their returns policy is brilliant so I'd rather buy from Costco knowing that if anything goes wrong I'll get my money back without question.
• I'm looking to bulk buy household cleaning products and toiletries, washing powder and fabric softener in particular. I guess I just need to be careful as the BOGOF offers from SM can be great and it's just a matter of taking advantage of the offer when it's on I guess.
• I haven't bought washing powder or fabric softener from them yet, but they have some good offers on in the next coupon book and I'm almost out so I think I'll be stocking up next week!
• And when you've finished shopping go into the cafe and have a tasty meal for less than couple of quid.
  The only area I find Costco consistently pricey is with the fresh fruit and veg, but quality is always A1.
  I've had Michelin tyres fitted and they are a great buy too, especially if you get them done on special offer.
• Yes I agree with most of the above.
  Meat good and cheap (eg 1kg good quality sliced ham Ј6.99)
  Fruit and veg good quality but no cheaper than supermarket.
  Special offers - always much cheaper than anywhere else. For example Waitrose are currently running special offers for Persil S&M, Fairy fabric softener, Flora Proactive and pesto and are much cheaper than the other supermarkets for these - Costco are also running SOs on the first 3 and all 4 are even cheaper than WR.
  New Bosch 70Ah battery for diesel Golf Ј68, cheapest on Ebay Ј75, usually around Ј100+ from garages.
  Tyres Ј10-20 cheaper than anywhere else, free fitting, nitrogen fill, balancing and rotation if you are only buying a pair PLUS current special offer of between Ј10 & Ј100 shop voucher.
  Dry goods (tins, jars, packets) nearly always cheaper.
  They can only usually be beaten (other than fruit and veg) by supermarket SOs.
  Downside - I live the far side of Oxford, my nearest Costco is in Reading.
• I considered joining, but turns out that the nearest one is about 30 miles away from me. I usually just walk to the shop (have a tesco and lidl within a minute walk and an iceland and two greengrocers a short bus ride away), even for my weekly stuff with a granny trolley or two! So when adding up the numbers it just wasnt worth it when I had to add in 60 miles worth of fuel...
• I rate Costco Kirkland Triple Satin toilet roll higher than the other brands they have on offer. More on the roll and better quality. It is never on special offer but I think it works out better value due to the amount on each roll.