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guardpig · ‎02-05-2013

We have one opening locally to us. Is it worth the joining fee?

Have had the flyer and a lot of stuff on offer seems to be dearer than the supermarket and other stuff designer or good quality but again cheaper than the retailers own brands would be. To me it looks like another Makro(only closer)

So if anyone uses it I would be interested in learning from your experience

huggles1253 · ‎02-05-2013

No idea as I've never been to one but I expect it will be busy as we've had about four leaflets in the post and we are miles away.

Life is not measured by the number of breaths we take, but by the moments that take our breath away.

petitecalicocat · ‎02-05-2013

We are members of Makro & Costco , its ok for some items when on offer & we like meat from there when we have bbq's . For everyday stuff wash powders etc i prefer Makro 🙂

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A bed without a quilt is like a sky without stars.

stan3502 · ‎02-05-2013

As a buisness I was given a 6 month free membership when it first opened here but found it overpriced compared to others for my needs so never bothered again 😐

“I don't trust anyone who doesn't laugh.”

guardpig · ‎02-05-2013

Huggles - we are about a mile away!!!!!. So if it's worth the money ..............

I wash with Merlingoo. Wonders whether they stock Borax sub cheap?.

ilove2patch · ‎02-05-2013

Not heard of them.

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"I am made entirely of flaws stitched together with good intentions"
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kiss*my*pixel · ‎02-05-2013

Well, I'd say all of the above, at different times, but not always.

We belong, but our nearest is a fair distance away, so only go about once every six months or so.

Sometimes there are great bargains, other things are no cheaper than the supermarkets. You just have to be careful and research your pricing. Also, buying in such great bulk with some things can be a problem if you don't have the room to store it. Personally I've found that because the warehouse is so big, the trolleys are so big, I lose the sense of perspective. So will buy stuff to go in the freezer, thinking it will be handy, then get home to find my freezer is actually much tinier than I remember, can't fit everything in and we have to eat all the ice creams in one single sitting for instance (bleurghh)!!!

Televisions and things can be more expensive than elsewhere.

But sometimes it's just nice to go and peruse the seasonal things they have. Different things at Christmas, nice garden bits and bobs in the summer, very reasonably priced

We enjoy our visits, and for us it is worth the fee.

You just have to make sure you don't get carried away. If it's very near to you, it may be easier for that not to happen.

They are also very fair about items. As long as you keep the receipt and original packaging, they offer lifetime guarantees on things, in my experience. For an electrical product that becomes faulty for instance, this is brilliant.

Have also returned two items of clothing about two years after I bought them (unworn, I hasten to add) and was given a refund with no questions asked.

Also, one Christmas, I had a very large shop. Paid £300 in cash, put the rest on my card. Got home and realised that the cashier had put the entire amount on my card, so I'd effectively lost my £300. Phoned the office, and they were so helpful, investigated it and I received a cheque for £300 a couple of weeks later. Very impressed.

Lots of free sample tasters, free coffee and cakes/pastries in the morning

The cafe pizzas are delicious (and very cheap) Son will come along just for that alone :^O

Lots of good points, so for us, we like it. 🙂

mr-expresso · ‎02-05-2013

We use the Costco in Milton Keynes a lot...

The quality of their meats are second to none..

The problem I find is that most items are sold in multipacks..

i.e 12 muffins in a box..

cakes are catering size... However the quality is very good...

BEWARE....... You will go to spend £100 and you will end up spending £300.....

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Ignore anything under this ^^^^^ line... It's just my signature....

purplepennyb · ‎02-05-2013

We use Costco when we are doing things like the village garden party, or when we need to do some ad hoc catering/ birthday cakes for offices etc.

12 Danish Pastries £4, muffins the same. Big 16 portion cakes £8, meat, cheese very good quality. Good for catering consumables if throwing a party (although if in catering others can be cheaper in the long run), alcohol is not cheaper than supermarkets. Can buy stamps in multipacks cheaper than in post office (worth membership fee alone with all my e-bay and river sales). Also mum got her eye test and glasses there and they were very reasonable. Cafe is great.

I think it was worth the fee, but you do have to use it.

the_original_slummy_mummy · ‎02-05-2013

Been a member for about 18 years and love, love , love it! When we joined we were only about 5 miles from the one in Watford so went often. Now my nearest one is about 100 miles away so we either go when visiting family in Watford or Birmingham and I visit the Thurrock one about 3 or 4 times a year.

Love it for food! The meat and fish is lovely - just what you'd expect from a butchers. Very reasonably priced too. It's good for us as we are a large family (4 adults and 2 children) so we benefit from buying in bulk. If I'm doing a food shop there we just seperate it out when we get home and freeze it.

Regarding white goods they only sell the upper end of brands. So whilst you will find cheaper on the high street and at retail parks you won't necessarily get the same brands for the same money.

The wonder of Costco is never knowing what you will find in there at any one time! We were there on Sunday and the kids and husband took a fancy to an overground pool and a mahoosive BBQ!

Their returns policy is incredible! Absolutely no quibble at all. You can take anything back, after any length at all, if faulty and get a full cash refund!

The only thing you need to do is check the criteria for joining. I'm not sure what that is these days but when we joined you either had to have a retail shop or work in certain industries (public health was one of them). Members of the public that do not meet their criteria are not able to join.

My husband is the main card holder and I have a spouse card. Each visit we are allowed to take 2 people in on our card that are not members. Children (up to 16 I believe) can go in regardless. It's useful if you can find someone you know that has a card that would let you see how you like it.

They now do an executive card too. Its about £50 more than the usual membership but you get cashback for shopping there. For frequent users its a great idea but not worth it if you are a sporadic user.

I also have a Makro card and in my opinion Costco knocks spots off Makro. Because Costco is a US company you can get items there that often you cannot get here or well in advance of them being available in UK.

Brilliant at Xmas - some wonderful gift ideas and masses of lovely, lovely food ideas! You will get sucked in! It's impossible not to!

the_original_slummy_mummy · ‎02-05-2013

.......and mahoosive pizzas with the most unbelievable amount of toppings, to feed about 12+ for £4.99! As purplepennyb said - great for catering functions. Their croissants are to die for and their mince is minced steak (and tastes massively better than any supermarket mince). Their double pack of chickens are brilliant value and I'd say are 25% bigger than any of the supermarkets "large" birds. Apple pies that would do 12 people that you could pass off as homemade about £7.......I could go on and on!!

And books! If you are a book fan their book section is impressive. Massive savings (usually about half price).

merc1_clocks · ‎02-05-2013

Costco...brill !

I buy steak mince, lamb chops, duck & chicken breast in bulk, then separate & freeze...so much tastier & cheaper than supermarkets.

Their electrical goods & white goods, all come with 3 years guarantee - no quibble.

Every time we go ( once a week just for a look-see ) there is something different.

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Be not inhospitable to strangers, lest they be Angels in disguise.

shelly180 · ‎02-05-2013

I love it too!

Their own brand Kirkland complete dried cat food

is about £18 for a huge sack compared to about £40

for the Hills or Ekanuba, and my two cats love it.

I get my toilet rolls and washing liquid there too, but you need to

watch sometimes the supermarket deals can be cheaper.

mr-expresso · ‎02-05-2013

Been a member for about 18 years and love, love , love it! When we joined we were only about 5 miles from the one in Watford so went often. Now my nearest one is about 100 miles away so we either go when visiting family in Watford or Birmingham and I visit the Thurrock one about 3 or 4 times a year.

Love it for food! The meat and fish is lovely - just what you'd expect from a butchers. Very reasonably priced too. It's good for us as we are a large family (4 adults and 2 children) so we benefit from buying in bulk. If I'm doing a food shop there we just seperate it out when we get home and freeze it.

Regarding white goods they only sell the upper end of brands. So whilst you will find cheaper on the high street and at retail parks you won't necessarily get the same brands for the same money.

The wonder of Costco is never knowing what you will find in there at any one time! We were there on Sunday and the kids and husband took a fancy to an overground pool and a mahoosive BBQ!

Their returns policy is incredible! Absolutely no quibble at all. You can take anything back, after any length at all, if faulty and get a full cash refund!

The only thing you need to do is check the criteria for joining. I'm not sure what that is these days but when we joined you either had to have a retail shop or work in certain industries (public health was one of them). Members of the public that do not meet their criteria are not able to join.

My husband is the main card holder and I have a spouse card. Each visit we are allowed to take 2 people in on our card that are not members. Children (up to 16 I believe) can go in regardless. It's useful if you can find someone you know that has a card that would let you see how you like it.

They now do an executive card too. Its about £50 more than the usual membership but you get cashback for shopping there. For frequent users its a great idea but not worth it if you are a sporadic user.

I also have a Makro card and in my opinion Costco knocks spots off Makro. Because Costco is a US company you can get items there that often you cannot get here or well in advance of them being available in UK.

Brilliant at Xmas - some wonderful gift ideas and masses of lovely, lovely food ideas! You will get sucked in! It's impossible not to!

^^^^ THIS ^^^^

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Ignore anything under this ^^^^^ line... It's just my signature....

the_original_slummy_mummy · ‎02-05-2013

:^O

Guardpig - I think you can go along to the warehouse and tell them you are interested in joining and would they allow you to have a browse around to see if it's suitable for your requirements. They used to let you do that.

Bear in mind Costco never have sales of any kind. They do mail out booklets of additional discount vouchers that usually have about 20 offers available on a week by week basis.

That said, when I was at Thurrock on Sunday they did have a pallet of white goods that were ex display that they were selling off and I've not seen that before and the last time I was in there a few months back all their minced steak had been reduced by 50% and still had 3 days left on sell by date!

Costco is absolutely the only thing I missed when we moved from Herts! My fave shop by a mile!