Costco v Target

[nowa]

I just joined costco! Woo hoo. It's a little overwhelming but so far I love it. I need to return something to target today which got me thinking, what do you buy at one versus the other? Better deals for certain things? Please share with the class. :-)

[lexus]

We buy coffee, fruit (blueberries and strawberries in particular), frozen fruit, juice boxes, peanut butter, applesauce pouches, almonds, Greek yogurt, and milk at Costco. In general, these items are cheaper at Costco but I'm not searching ads or driving around town to verify that.

[justbecause]

Things we buy at Costco:
Bread
Tortillas
Bagels
Fruit
Yogurt
Chicken tenders
Toilet paper
Diapers
String cheese
Shredded cheese
Crushed tomatoes
Macaroni and cheese
Goldfish

[momin2013]

The main thing we buy at Costco is meat (mostly ground beef, chicken thighs and breasts, and legs/shoulders of lamb). It comes in packages that are usually 5-6 meals each for us, so when we get it home I open them up, portion them into meal sizes, then freeze them. We also get steaks occasionally.

We also buy their frozen fish; it's quite good, and comes in large bags with individually frozen portions, so super easy to use.

Other than that: wipes, diaper genie refills, q-tips, dishwasher detergent, and sometimes DH gets deodorant.

We buy fruit occasionally and it's usually pretty good quality too.

[gastro]

Costco -
All household cleaning and paper products
Drinks - sparkling water, wine, hard liquor
Athletic socks for the whole family
Meat
Fish - both fresh and frozen
Organic fruits - especially berries and apples
Bread
Some snack foods
Organic staples like flour, sugar, seeds, dried fruits
Vitamins
Sunscreen
Contact lenses
Cheese
Organic eggs

I actually rarely shop at Target so couldn't say which products are cheaper.

[quesyrah]

Costco:
Hot dogs
Hamburgers
Buns for both
Eggs
Milk
Ground turkey
Peanut butter
Butter
Dog food
Glucosamine (both for me and dog)
Toilet paper
Baby wipes
Carter's sleepers
Baby clothes

[nowa]

What about things like dish soap? Detergent?

[thecheshirekat]

Costco (and Sam's for us) is where we buy food, for the most part. Like everyone else said, we get meat, cheese, milk, fruit, bread, peanut butter, cream, butter, bologna, eggs, Cheerios, Clif bars, cat food, etc. Target isn't a grocery store for me unless I've stopped in and need something as kind of an emergency. I buy clothes, toys, home decor stuff, and toiletries at Target. I generally get paper towels and toilet paper there too because their prices are a little better, the selection is larger, and you don't have to buy a pallet-sized bundle.

[lexus]

Jul 19, 2015 11:43:36 GMT -5 nowa said:

What about things like dish soap? Detergent?

Yes! I buy that there! I just rearely have to buy them (because it's Costco so there's a million of them) so I forgot.

[jnksmom]

I buy toilet paper, paper towels, dish soap, laundry detergent, vitamins and other medicines, as well as many food items at Costco.

[gastro]

We've also gotten a TV, suitcases, vitamix blender, games, books, beach towels, Halloween candy, memberships to local amusement parks, movie tickets and car battery at great prices too.

And an air mattress (that they exchanged a year later when it got a hole) and a regular mattress too.

If you aren't satisfied with anything Costco returns are easy.

[quesyrah]

Jul 19, 2015 11:43:36 GMT -5 nowa said:

What about things like dish soap? Detergent?

Cheaper at target for me

[serendipity]

I find diapers to be a better deal at Target.

Costco is great for organic salad, shelled pistachios, Brownie Brittle (that stuff is amazing), pouches, paper goods, meat, cheese.

They also have the best prices on car rentals.

The only thing I have been unimpressed with is the printer ink refills. Didn't last long at all.

[lala]

I think to know what is better deal there vs. target you just have to know what a good price is in your head as you shop. For me, lots of stuff is a better deal at Costco, not always financially but quality. It also depends on what brands, if any, you prefer.

Certain produce is always cheaper at Costco. But then I have issues like, size. I don't want 8 giant apples. I want 16 medium ones. Costco doesn't have small-medium fruit lots of times.

I get all kinds of great housewares, gifts, clothes and other non food items.

I regularly buy meat, fish, cheese, eggs, a lot of produce, cereal, butter, milk, cracker/snack stuff, nuts, dried fruit, baking supplies, various toiletries. There are certain things I don't buy unless they're on sale, like dh's contact solution.

[andrewsgal]

Look for memberships and stuff. I bought our waterpark membership there. It surprisingly came with the meal plan too which saved me over $400 it was a crazy good deal!

[nowa]

Btw thanks everyone!! I'm such a bad DWP member

[auroraloo]

Diapers on Target.com with a subscription and red card discount are cheaper than just about anywhere.

[amynumbers]

Jul 19, 2015 17:17:54 GMT -5 lala said:

I think to know what is better deal there vs. target you just have to know what a good price is in your head as you shop. For me, lots of stuff is a better deal at Costco, not always financially but quality. It also depends on what brands, if any, you prefer.

Certain produce is always cheaper at Costco. But then I have issues like, size. I don't want 8 giant apples. I want 16 medium ones. Costco doesn't have small-medium fruit lots of times.

I get all kinds of great housewares, gifts, clothes and other non food items.

I regularly buy meat, fish, cheese, eggs, a lot of produce, cereal, butter, milk, cracker/snack stuff, nuts, dried fruit, baking supplies, various toiletries. There are certain things I don't buy unless they're on sale, like dh's contact solution.

Why does our Coatco not have green peppers? This kills me.

[lala]

Which one do you go to? I don't buy a ton of them, so I can't recall. I go to 2 different costcos depending on where I am. Hmm.

Though, there is a rumor a bjs will be coming super close to me. Like 5 min close so I might have to switch if that happens.