Costco Opening

[whiskeytails]

A Costco is opening about 2 miles from my work sometime in November. What do I need to know? There's a membership right? Think that it would be on discount to sign-up before it opens?

[VillainV]

There are a few levels of membership. I think one level is like $50 and one is like $100....on the $100 one you get a certain percentage back on all your purchases and if you don't get back $50 in a year (or whatever the difference is between the two memberships is) they give you back the difference.

[raangoli]

Avoid it on the weekends and closer to major holidays.

[moolarkey]

By any chance is this the Dublin, Ohio store? I'm waiting for it to open. I just won't deal with traffic at either Easton or Polaris to visit those stores.

[whiskeytails]

Oct 4, 2015 17:22:16 GMT -5 moolarkey said:

By any chance is this the Dublin, Ohio store? I'm waiting for it to open. I just won't deal with traffic at either Easton or Polaris to visit those stores.

Appleton, WI

[orangeblossom]

They might have some pre-discount deals. I know I've seen membership deals for Sam's on LivingSocial and Groupon. I think when I got my card, a long time ago, I got some free bakery goods and a $20 gift card.

I'd checkk out their website. They have a lot of perks, like great rates on rental cars, mortgages (so I've heard) and other things.

Gas is usually a better price there. Bonus, the gas station opens at about 5:30 or 6:00, depending on where you are, so you tend to avoid lines if you go early.

It's the kind of place that stays crowded, but weekdays are better than weekends.

[xokell2]

You have to go to the grand opening event they hold the night before they officially open. They have samples of literally everything in the store with a much fancier presentation then their normal setup. The membership price doesn't get discounted but you can usually get coupons for free stuff

[dexteroni]

When our Costco opened, they had a free membership promotion. That was several years ago, and I don't know if they still do that, but it was great.

Otherwise, it depends why you're joining. If you're going to find the lowest prices, I would make a list of stuff you would buy and compare it to grocery store and Target prices before buying. If you're joining for fun, check out the prepared foods, frozen appetizers, books, and snack food. That's where I find the best impulse buys, lol. Compare prices on books, but I've found some great deals. I just bought Martha Stewart's appetizer book for $15; full price is $27, and Amazon's price is $21, so it was a great deal.

[dirtyred]

Oct 4, 2015 17:20:35 GMT -5 VillainV said:

There are a few levels of membership. I think one level is like $50 and one is like $100....on the $100 one you get a certain percentage back on all your purchases and if you don't get back $50 in a year (or whatever the difference is between the two memberships is) they give you back the difference.

There's a $55 and a $110; you get 2 percent of your purchases back with the higher level membership. Last year our rebate check was $102.73, and it's just DH and I.

[whitemerlot]

The gas at my Costco is at least $0.15 less a gallon. If you fill up there often enough, savings can add up quickly.

They have wonderful meat and inexpensive and delicious bakery items. Their rotisserie chicken is huge, awesome, and $5. They have great prices on cheese and have crackers with various kinds in one box, perfect for holiday entertaining. I buy big tubs of plain low fat and Greek yogurt and frozen berries are really reasonable.

I could go on. I'm a big fan.

[Deleted]

Add me to the list of Costco lovers. My dad's version of evaluating a community's quality of life is its distance to the nearest Costco.

[tacokick]

Shop during football games! The place is a ghost town.

[Deleted]

My mom and I share a membership (and we're in 2 different states).

She uses it for groceries (feeding my 20s brother and my niece) and random, but useful items.

I use it for gas, alcohol, and their chicken. I've literally waited for 20 mins just to buy a chicken.

[Mushe]

I loooooove Costco, and have one right by my work too. I love that I can go midweek at lunch and be in and out in no time. Weekday Costco is the best! If you have to go on weekends, I limit myself to right when it opens.

[moandjo]

Oct 4, 2015 17:31:23 GMT -5 whiskeytails said:

Oct 4, 2015 17:22:16 GMT -5 moolarkey said:

By any chance is this the Dublin, Ohio store? I'm waiting for it to open. I just won't deal with traffic at either Easton or Polaris to visit those stores.

Appleton, WI

I'm from Appleton - living in Madison. My sister is super excited for the opening.

[MNH2013]

Check Groupon! Ours had a special before the local store opened. We used it one year and have since let it lapse. I did get some good deals the first day they were open. (It was a Thursday so it wasn't crowded during the middle of the day) We just don't eat things fast enough before they would go bad.

[huskymom]

See if your work can get a deal...we had a discounted sign up at our office a few times.

[CallingAllAngels]

Oct 4, 2015 21:18:53 GMT -5 tacokick said:

Shop during football games! The place is a ghost town.

LOL, this is what we did yesterday!  

[imojoebunny]

Don't go. I swear we throw out half the stuff we get there. I don't find it to be that much cheaper. I do not need a 3 lb bag of chips, 5 pounds of salmon, or 3 pounds of cheese, and I definitely do not need 6 jars of whatever. Medications, both OTC and prescription, eye glasses, rent a cars, they are all cheaper with Costco, but that's about it. We got a membership because the Vitamix I wanted was $100 cheaper there, but the other times I have not found to be productive.

[shell403b]

PUMPKIN CHEESECAKE. This is all you really need to know.

[tacosforlife]

Oct 5, 2015 8:34:19 GMT -5 imojoebunny said:

Don't go. I swear we throw out half the stuff we get there. I don't find it to be that much cheaper. I do not need a 3 lb bag of chips, 5 pounds of salmon, or 3 pounds of cheese, and I definitely do not need 6 jars of whatever. Medications, both OTC and prescription, eye glasses, rent a cars, they are all cheaper with Costco, but that's about it. We got a membership because the Vitamix I wanted was $100 cheaper there, but the other times I have not found to be productive.

Wow, aren't you a fun-sucker.

Also, who doesn't need 3 pounds of cheese? Everyone needs 3 pounds of cheese.

[tacosforlife]

Also, the OP is in Wisconsin. Ergo, there is no such thing as too much cheese!

Buy ALL THE CHEESE!

[msmerymac]

There's one really big dick move that most stores engage in, that would have prevented me from joining had I known how common it was. They check your receipt before you leave, ostensibly to make sure you're not stealing their shit, even though you literally have to pay for the privilege of shopping there.

Other than that, their casual/lounge clothes and women's pajamas are great, and obviously cheap. I might try polos and button downs for my husband, too.

I do not do all my shopping there, by a long shot, but they are great for frozen items, entertaining, cleaning products, etc. If you use the chemical-laden coffee creamer, like me, you can get it super cheap.

[msmerymac]

Oct 4, 2015 21:18:53 GMT -5 tacokick said:

Shop during football games! The place is a ghost town.

The downside being that you can't watch football games while you shop.

[tacokick]

Oct 5, 2015 11:15:25 GMT -5 msmerymac said:

Oct 4, 2015 21:18:53 GMT -5 tacokick said:

Shop during football games! The place is a ghost town.

The downside being that you can't watch football games while you shop.

This is when not being a sports fan really pays off!

[tacokick]

Some Costco tips www.thekitchn.com/can-shopping-at-costco-really-save-you-money-224167

The trick really is to know what is a good deal and what you can reasonably eat before it expires. We have the best luck with staples, cheese (especially variety packs) and things like quac or ravioli that we can refrigerate or freeze.

[tacokick]

Oh, and casual things like pajamas or jackets. My husband just bought a great new hoodie there this weekend.

[Mushe]

msmerymac, I was just telling MH about the receipt thing this weekend, because our store, and I'm sure most others, barely checks the receipt. In the old days, cashiers keyed in the item codes, and the door checkers were more useful, because sometimes the cashiers got it wrong and you were charged for the wrong thing. People I knew who worked there way back when said that was the point of checking receipts.

[stephm0188]

I'd join ahead of time just for the preview night they have for members. We were invited to preview night when ours opened and it was amazing. Free samples on steroids. The entire snack bar was open and everything was free. There were slices of cake, chicken, steak, salads, pasta, ect ect. They were giving away bottles of water, cans of soda and juice, rolls of toilet paper, laundry detergent, trash bags, dish soap. It was awesome.

[whiskeytails]

Oct 5, 2015 9:55:38 GMT -5 tacosforlife said:

Oct 5, 2015 8:34:19 GMT -5 imojoebunny said:

Don't go. I swear we throw out half the stuff we get there. I don't find it to be that much cheaper. I do not need a 3 lb bag of chips, 5 pounds of salmon, or 3 pounds of cheese, and I definitely do not need 6 jars of whatever. Medications, both OTC and prescription, eye glasses, rent a cars, they are all cheaper with Costco, but that's about it. We got a membership because the Vitamix I wanted was $100 cheaper there, but the other times I have not found to be productive.

Wow, aren't you a fun-sucker.

Also, who doesn't need 3 pounds of cheese? Everyone needs 3 pounds of cheese.

I said the store opening is in Wisconsin... obvi I need 3 lbs of cheese for 1 wine night, every night.