Question for the American members...

[cybele]

What's the deal with Costco?

They're building one near-ish to my house (second one in Australia, apparently, goodness knows what was going on when they thought Ringwood would be a great place, but then they stuck the first one in the Docklands which was equally as weird, so, who knows). What's the deal with this whole membership thing? Why do I have to get a membership to buy groceries? Is it actually worth it?

All I have is a flyer with a picture of a 5kg tub of vegemite on it and no useful information.

 

[mom2many]

They have good deals sometimes. For larger families they carry larger sizes. I like them, oh and they make the best dang carrot cake, the carrot cake alone is worth the membership fees.


Now I want carrot cake!

 

[cybele]

Hmm... carrot cake is very tempting.

 

[Xero]

We don't have one here, but we do have a Sam's Club and as far as I know it's kind of like that. They sell things in bulk for cheap, definitely great if you have a big family or just want to buy certain things in bulk. They charge the membership fee so that it's worth it for them to sell things as cheap as they do (I guess).

 

[cybele]

I guess that makes sense.

I just find it weird that according to this flyer I have they check ID at the door. So you can't even look at the food without a membership.

 

[Xero]

Yep, Sam's Club is the same, you can't even get in without the membership. No idea why, you'd think they would want people to be convinced of buying a membership in the first place by seeing what they've got lol. Or maybe they are just trying to eliminate the need to check them at registers therefor slowing down the lines? Not sure.

 

[pwsowner]

I guess that makes sense.

I just find it weird that according to this flyer I have they check ID at the door. So you can't even look at the food without a membership.

That's weird. We have a Costco here and we can browse without a membership, but can't buy without it. They do have great prices for bulk purchases. I don't use them because being single I have no need for bulk. The bulk might be handy when/if I start my daycare business, but for now, that plan is on hold till spring.

 

[cybele]

Wow, that is really weird then.

 

[MamaRuthie]

ive been to the docklands one and they checked my license at the door, I took my sister once and she had to wear a guest sticker which was really weird and she wasn't allowed to buy anything
but as a positive they have a hole load of stuff that we don't normally have here, lots of American chocolates and lollies and cereals which is the reason why we go because usa foods is really expensive

 

[IADad]

ive been to the docklands one and they checked my license at the door, I took my sister once and she had to wear a guest sticker which was really weird and she wasn't allowed to buy anything
but as a positive they have a hole load of stuff that we don't normally have here, lots of American chocolates and lollies and cereals which is the reason why we go because usa foods is really expensive

That's wild, our COSTCO is full of Australian food...just kidding

We've belonged to both Sams and COSTCO, it's worth it if you use it and if you shop smart. If you buy a gallon of mayonaise, where are you going to store it and can you use it before it's bad? Also some stuff that is typically "loss leaders" in stores like Wal-Mart and Target, or grocery stores can actually be cheaper on those sales than in the clubs,(stuff like pop (soda) laundry soap, toilet paper) you have to watch.

For my money COSTCO is better than Sams if you have the choice.

I thought usually, they had some kind of "day pass" system that you could come in and browse to see if you want to join.

 

[cybele]

You laugh, but I'm sitting over here with my TimTams feeling pretty darn happy.

MamaRuthie, I've only been to USA Foods once, it's abput a two hour drive from us. The kids blew so much money there and they didn't end up eatinh half the stuff they bought. They didn't learn though, an international lolly shop has opened near us so we now have pop tarts and marshmallow fluff that none of them can eat because they're so sweet
It makes them feel sick.

IADad, giant mayonnaise sounds good to me, between 8 people we go through a fair bit.
Your Target sells food? Woah.

 

[IADad]

hhmmm, had to look up tim tams...aparently we have them here, I'm just not familiar with them (which is really surprising, coat it in chocolate, and I'm usually pretty aware of it.)

Yeah, most targets now have groceries, either a limited one retrofitted into older stores or newer "Super Targets." It's one of our favored shopping stops. Like their store brand "Archer Farms" stuff. Wal-Mart just makes me Pi%%ed-Off every time I go there.

 

[IADad]

oh, and a gallon of mayo may make sense for you, but the problem can also become, if you have a gallon of mayo, pickles, jalapenos etc, you can run out of fridge space soon.

I remember once, after Sams first opened here, we got a big number 10 can of nacho cheese....I still don't know what we were thinking.

 

[cybele]

See, the thing about 8 people is that one fridge doesn't quite cut it. We have two plus a deep freeze.
Even then they look so empty from time to time.

 

[cybele]

And you should buy TimTams. I recommend the dark chocolate mint ones.

 

[IADad]

See, the thing about 8 people is that one fridge doesn't quite cut it. We have two plus a deep freeze.
Even then they look so empty from time to time.

sounds like COSTCO could become a second home for you then.

 

[IADad]

And you should buy TimTams. I recommend the dark chocolate mint ones.

you would know, it's lunch-time here....now guess what I'm craving.

Thanks

thanks a lot.
;-)

 

[Xero]

I love Target. Ours has a decent grocery section too. It's not huge, but its alright. I love the Archer Farms stuff!

 

[MamaRuthie]

so strange to think of target with food, especially with all the advertising gok wan has been doing with target australia

 

[IADad]

so strange to think of target with food, especially with all the advertising gok wan has been doing with target australia

here it was in response to Wal-Mart adding groceries. Target and K-Mart followed suit - one stop shopping. It's still pretty freaky when you see someone in line getting the week's groceries and something like a chain saw.