Author Topic: Is Costco really cheaper?  (Read 36560 times)

cats

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Re: Is Costco really cheaper?
« Reply #50 on: September 04, 2018, 10:41:59 AM »
It is “cheaper” if you demand high end/luxury or convenience food. If you meal plan/prep and cook most of your food from scratch, Costco is much less valuable.  We used to have a Costco membership but have found that we do better in terms of cost with a combo of TJ’s (eggs), local Indian grocery (legumes), and shopping loss leaders or “reduced for quick sale” items for produce and meat.  This does require some more flexibility and creativity about what you cook, but we find we eat very well.  We also buy less random stuff that we don’t really need and that isn’t all that healthy for us (cheese...)

As others have mentioned, I would also re-examine just how protein-rich and meaty you need your diet to be.  In my experience, it’s possible to get plenty of protein from vegan or vegetarian sources, you just don’t have as much room for low-quality carbs or fat because vegan/veg protein sources typically also contain a fair amount of carbs or fat. You definitely aren’t doomed to weakness.
- Depends on where you live and what other stores are around - it may be cheaper without the "high/end luxury"
- Lots of food at costco is not high end or luxury
- It also matters if you care philosophically about workers, etc.  Living wage and all that.

In response:

-Certainly, but from this thread, quite a bit of what people are reporting buying there is higher end food.  Things like fancy cheese, coffee, quinoa, salmon, turkey sausage, frozen cauliflower rice, greek yogurt, chicken tenderloins, pita chips, salad mixes, chocolate, rogaine, pool chemicals, energy drinks and protein powders...none of these are things you NEED to have to live a healthy life, and I would class them all as "luxury" items.  It's true that basics like oatmeal, dried beans, flour, TP, etc. are often also available at Costco for a good price, but for a single person I would question whether the savings on those items alone is really enough to justify the annual membership.  In my area, I have found a lot of those basic items are periodically cheaper at places like Sprouts, Smart & Final, the local Indian grocery, or even Whole Foods at times, if you are willing to keep an eye out for sales.  I find also the selection of these kinds of basics is better elsewhere.  Costco only has 1-2 kinds of dried legumes, for example, limited spice selection, etc.  The produce is also on the higher end...when did you last see a cabbage at Costco? I never have. But I concede that every location is different and there are probably some places where Costco makes a lot of sense.  OP needs to do their own research and my view is that Costco is not uniformly cheaper and that if you are not insistent on particular high-end versions of items, you may not find Costco to be that amazing.  Some people have also pointed to the gas savings as being worth the membership, to which I say maybe you need to be re-examining how much you are driving.  We fill up our 10 gallon tank less than once a month.

-Towards the end of our Costco days I was finding they were moving more and more towards pricier versions of even basic items.  For example, when we started shopping there, they stocked the 105 oz. cans of tomatoes and the price was great.  At some point they stopped selling those and instead started selling a flat of 16oz cans of organic tomatoes.  At that point it was cheaper to buy 32 oz cans from the grocery store.  I noticed this more and more as they started to emphasize their organic offerings--sure they were doing more organic fruit and veg, but also a LOT more organic snacks, frozen foods, and stuff like coconut water.  I'm sure the basics are still there but they are getting crowded out by fancier items in our areas.

-Definitely see your point about living wage, but my city (where all the stores we frequent are located, unlike Costco, which is a couple towns over) has a fairly high minimum wage and has further increases scheduled.  So I'm not convinced I would be supporting something better by driving 10 miles to Costco.  But certainly, YMMV on this one.

lentil

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Re: Is Costco really cheaper?
« Reply #51 on: September 04, 2018, 10:43:51 AM »
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Then, the next week, I took the same list to Costco along with my coworker who had his membership card.  The total was more than Stop & Shop.

You adjusted for quantity and quality differences, correct? Your statement is a straight apples-to-apples comparison?

I've done this comparison too, using my dorky grocery spreadsheet to make sure I strictly compare price/weight. My regular grocery shopping system is significantly cheaper than Costco, and far more convenient for where I am located. Obviously, that's not true for everyone -- if this thread illustrates anything, it's that there are many, many factors that go into individual grocery savings!

mm1970

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Re: Is Costco really cheaper?
« Reply #52 on: September 04, 2018, 11:02:11 AM »
Quote
-Towards the end of our Costco days I was finding they were moving more and more towards pricier versions of even basic items.  For example, when we started shopping there, they stocked the 105 oz. cans of tomatoes and the price was great.  At some point they stopped selling those and instead started selling a flat of 16oz cans of organic tomatoes.  At that point it was cheaper to buy 32 oz cans from the grocery store.  I noticed this more and more as they started to emphasize their organic offerings--sure they were doing more organic fruit and veg, but also a LOT more organic snacks, frozen foods, and stuff like coconut water.  I'm sure the basics are still there but they are getting crowded out by fancier items in our areas.

I do miss the 105 oz cans of tomato products.

GrumpyPenguin

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Re: Is Costco really cheaper?
« Reply #53 on: September 04, 2018, 11:34:51 AM »

-Certainly, but from this thread, quite a bit of what people are reporting buying there is higher end food.  Things like fancy cheese, coffee, quinoa, salmon, turkey sausage, frozen cauliflower rice, greek yogurt, chicken tenderloins, pita chips, salad mixes, chocolate, rogaine, pool chemicals, energy drinks and protein powders...none of these are things you NEED to have to live a healthy life, and I would class them all as "luxury" items.

I didn't realize that some folks here think buying bulk coffee beans is considered a "higher end food" and "luxury".

GuitarStv

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Re: Is Costco really cheaper?
« Reply #54 on: September 04, 2018, 11:40:11 AM »

-Certainly, but from this thread, quite a bit of what people are reporting buying there is higher end food.  Things like fancy cheese, coffee, quinoa, salmon, turkey sausage, frozen cauliflower rice, greek yogurt, chicken tenderloins, pita chips, salad mixes, chocolate, rogaine, pool chemicals, energy drinks and protein powders...none of these are things you NEED to have to live a healthy life, and I would class them all as "luxury" items.

I didn't realize that some folks here think buying bulk coffee beans is considered a "higher end food" and "luxury".

You don't consider a recreational drug to be a luxury?

Cranky

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Re: Is Costco really cheaper?
« Reply #55 on: September 04, 2018, 11:45:16 AM »

Sam's Club is just Walmart with a cover charge.

Aldi's will beat those prices for actual food (and flowers), though. And I've shopped at both Sam's and Costco, and find them almost indistinguishable.

We buy gas, tires, clothes, giant bags of coffee beans, stuff like that at Sam's/Costco. And rotisserie chicken! It's a good place to go if you're having a big party or a church dinner.

(For those looking for the giant cans of tomatoes - GFS. And their spaghetti sauce is awesome!)

GrumpyPenguin

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Re: Is Costco really cheaper?
« Reply #56 on: September 04, 2018, 11:49:30 AM »

-Certainly, but from this thread, quite a bit of what people are reporting buying there is higher end food.  Things like fancy cheese, coffee, quinoa, salmon, turkey sausage, frozen cauliflower rice, greek yogurt, chicken tenderloins, pita chips, salad mixes, chocolate, rogaine, pool chemicals, energy drinks and protein powders...none of these are things you NEED to have to live a healthy life, and I would class them all as "luxury" items.

I didn't realize that some folks here think buying bulk coffee beans is considered a "higher end food" and "luxury".

You don't consider a recreational drug to be a luxury?

Oh coffee is much more than just a recreational drug :).  But anyway, if we simply rule out the importance of anything other than those "things you NEED to have to live a healthy life" we can effectively eliminate 99% of the discussion on this forum.  That seems kind of pointless to me.

edit: Are you also saying you agree that bulk coffee itself is a "higher end food"?

edit 2:  The economics definition of "luxury good' is a good with an income elasticity greater than one -- where if your income goes up your quantity demanded will increase proportionally.  Compare this to a "necessity" good, where it has an income elasticity of demand of less than one.  For me, without a doubt, coffee is a "necessity good", if my income increased by 5% or 500%, my quantity demanded would not budge.
« Last Edit: September 04, 2018, 12:01:34 PM by GrumpyPenguin »

seattlecyclone

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Re: Is Costco really cheaper?
« Reply #57 on: September 04, 2018, 12:00:35 PM »
Being a person who runs a tight ship with my grocery budget, here's what I've found. On average, regular non-sale grocery store prices are more expensive than Costco, but Costco is usually more expensive than loss-leader grocery store sales. If you're used to just going to Safeway and buying whatever is on your list, regardless of whether it's on sale---Costco will save you money. But if you watch the sale prices and buy when your household staples are on deep sale at Safeway and at Costco only if they're cheaper there, you can do even better.

For example, a can of black olives:

Regular Safeway price: $1.79
Costco price: ~$1.15
Loss-leader Safeway price: 10/$10

There are a few things for which Costco is usually cheaper than even the loss leaders: bananas, gasoline, toilet paper, tortillas, spices, big bags of rice/bread flour, and bulk olive/canola/soybean oil (I'm probably missing a couple things, but I think those are the main ones).

Pay attention to your ad flyers, and be formulating a price book (even if it's just in your head). I have general rules that live in my head: beef shouldn't cost more than $3/lb; chicken shouldn't cost more than $1/lb; bell peppers should be 50¢/each or less; lettuce no more than $1/head; cheese for $2/lb or less; etc., etc.   You can formulate your own rules by watching the ad cycles for your local grocery stores, and noting how grapes that are usually $2.99/lb are $.98/lb this week, so you know that $2.99 is too much for grapes and that you should buy grapes only when the ad cycles them through as the $.98 featured item.

I agree with everything here. Costco's everyday prices are often significantly lower than the everyday prices at your neighborhood supermarket. Costco mostly keeps their prices pretty consistent, unlike the neighborhood supermarkets. We had a Costco membership the past couple years. When it was about to expire earlier this summer we decided to do one last big stock-up and let the membership lapse until we started running out of stuff, to save a bit on membership fees. Since then I've started paying a bit more attention to the loss leaders at our neighborhood supermarkets. A lot of the things we usually get at Costco (cereal, cheddar/colby/jack/mozzarella cheese, crackers, snack bars, butter, and more) have been offered for less than Costco prices on at least one occasion. Other things (flour, rice, beer, fancier cheese, vegetarian sausage, cooking oil) have not. Once we start to run out of several of these things we'll probably renew our Costco membership.

OurTown

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Re: Is Costco really cheaper?
« Reply #58 on: September 04, 2018, 12:04:10 PM »
I have always had a very positive experience with Costco.  Gasoline is about 10 cents cheaper than the local convenience stores.  Whole-bean coffee is way cheaper, and very high quality.  Non-perishables (paper towels, t/p, etc.) are all a big win.  Store brand canned and frozen veggies are consistently good.  The meat is high quality and you can divide up the portions to freeze half.  I don't generally purchase fresh fruits and vegetables there.  If you get the "executive" membership and use the Costco credit card, you get 4% back on everything. 

Luxury items?  Sure.  We have even purchased high-end items from the jewelry department.  Very satisfied. 


GU

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Re: Is Costco really cheaper?
« Reply #59 on: September 04, 2018, 12:27:31 PM »
For example, while it's perfectly rational to note that I could cut a major cost out of my budget by going vegetarian and eating cheaper starchy prepared foods, it would mean slower recovery time between workouts, less lean muscle mass, etc. Is a Costco membership going to doom me to a life of frozen foods and weak arms?

This dude can lift 800 pounds. He's vegan and has the US record for c&j. If you don't like black beans or lentils, it becomes much harder.

https://www.mensjournal.com/food-drink/vegan-diet-american-olympic-weightlifter-kendrick-farris


LOL. He became vegan *after* he was already a very strong and muscular Olympian. Maintaining strength and muscle mass is a lot easier than building. Also, he was/is a professional athlete with *way* better genetics than the average dude. And he probably took PEDs, like almost every other weightlifter who makes the Olympics.

For the typical skinny fat middle-aged Mustachian, extrapolating from Kendrick Farris is a bit like saying you should pick individual stocks, because look at Warren Buffet!

Mtngrl

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Re: Is Costco really cheaper?
« Reply #60 on: September 04, 2018, 02:40:10 PM »
I just finished updating my price book today -- really the best way to know which store is cheaper. I don't have an Aldis anywhere near me. For most of the things I regularly buy, Costco is still cheaper. Sale prices and loss leaders at my local Kroger affiliate can be less expensive -- my price book lets me know when this happens and I'll stock up. Costco is never going to replace my regular grocery store, but it definitely saves me money on staples.

OtherJen

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Re: Is Costco really cheaper?
« Reply #61 on: September 04, 2018, 03:37:26 PM »
Luxury or not, I’m gonna buy coffee beans and frozen salmon filets because we genuinely enjoy those things, and I’d rather pay $5.20 and $8.50 per pound of good-quality product, respectively, at Costco than $6.70 and $11, respectively, at Aldi.

I’m not convinced flour is a necessary basic for health but I do like to bake for holidays, and our local Costco has good prices on gluten-free all-purpose flour and almond flour (celiac disease precludes a lot of the standard American diet).

Thanks to the person who mentioned optometry services. Husband needs to replace his glasses.

mm1970

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Re: Is Costco really cheaper?
« Reply #62 on: September 04, 2018, 04:39:05 PM »
Luxury or not, I’m gonna buy coffee beans and frozen salmon filets because we genuinely enjoy those things, and I’d rather pay $5.20 and $8.50 per pound of good-quality product, respectively, at Costco than $6.70 and $11, respectively, at Aldi.

I’m not convinced flour is a necessary basic for health but I do like to bake for holidays, and our local Costco has good prices on gluten-free all-purpose flour and almond flour (celiac disease precludes a lot of the standard American diet).

Thanks to the person who mentioned optometry services. Husband needs to replace his glasses.

GF all purpose flour??  I haven't looked for that.  Thanks for the tip!!

OtherJen

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Re: Is Costco really cheaper?
« Reply #63 on: September 04, 2018, 04:46:46 PM »
Luxury or not, I’m gonna buy coffee beans and frozen salmon filets because we genuinely enjoy those things, and I’d rather pay $5.20 and $8.50 per pound of good-quality product, respectively, at Costco than $6.70 and $11, respectively, at Aldi.

I’m not convinced flour is a necessary basic for health but I do like to bake for holidays, and our local Costco has good prices on gluten-free all-purpose flour and almond flour (celiac disease precludes a lot of the standard American diet).

Thanks to the person who mentioned optometry services. Husband needs to replace his glasses.

GF all purpose flour??  I haven't looked for that.  Thanks for the tip!!

My regular store also started carrying packs of GF brown rice+quinoa ramen-style noodles (no seasoning, just noodle blocks). We like to cook them up separately and put them in the chicken stock we make from the rotisserie chicken bones (along with leftover meat and some veg).

mountain mustache

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Re: Is Costco really cheaper?
« Reply #64 on: September 04, 2018, 07:33:56 PM »
I eat mostly gluten, and grain free, so I consider the salmon, cauliflower rice, organic frozen veggies, etc to be staples for me. Yeah, they are not optimizing my grocery budget to be the cheapest, ever. But, my health is way more important than that to me, and my body feels terrible on flour, beans and rice. I want to compete at a professional level in endurance sports, so eating healthy food is just part of the game plan. Everyone is different though, and I know the beans, rice, homemade bread, etc works great for a lot of people!

I have to also give an endorsement for Costco optical. I get 2 years worth of contacts for $150, and last year I got new glasses for $199, frames+lenses, with no optical insurance. That is the cheapest I have ever gotten glasses, especially because I have such strong lenses.

cats

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Re: Is Costco really cheaper?
« Reply #65 on: September 04, 2018, 08:55:00 PM »

-Certainly, but from this thread, quite a bit of what people are reporting buying there is higher end food.  Things like fancy cheese, coffee, quinoa, salmon, turkey sausage, frozen cauliflower rice, greek yogurt, chicken tenderloins, pita chips, salad mixes, chocolate, rogaine, pool chemicals, energy drinks and protein powders...none of these are things you NEED to have to live a healthy life, and I would class them all as "luxury" items.

I didn't realize that some folks here think buying bulk coffee beans is considered a "higher end food" and "luxury".

You don't consider a recreational drug to be a luxury?

Oh coffee is much more than just a recreational drug :).  But anyway, if we simply rule out the importance of anything other than those "things you NEED to have to live a healthy life" we can effectively eliminate 99% of the discussion on this forum.  That seems kind of pointless to me.

edit: Are you also saying you agree that bulk coffee itself is a "higher end food"?

edit 2:  The economics definition of "luxury good' is a good with an income elasticity greater than one -- where if your income goes up your quantity demanded will increase proportionally.  Compare this to a "necessity" good, where it has an income elasticity of demand of less than one.  For me, without a doubt, coffee is a "necessity good", if my income increased by 5% or 500%, my quantity demanded would not budge.

I would actually consider coffee to be one of the more luxurious items listed...unlike actual food, it provides zero calories (which are a necessity up to a point).  For me, it’s definitely something I have limited my purchasing of during low-income periods of life and I rarely purchase even now because even Costco prices make me shudder.

If you have a coffee addiction or just enjoy it, fine, but I really don’t think it’s a necessity, and I’m sure there is some income level at which you might reconsider purchasing it. Same goes for most of the items I listed—it’s fine to enjoy them and to seek out the best price, but be real with yourself that they aren’t needs and they aren’t the most budget friendly items. 

OtherJen

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Re: Is Costco really cheaper?
« Reply #66 on: September 04, 2018, 09:05:13 PM »

-Certainly, but from this thread, quite a bit of what people are reporting buying there is higher end food.  Things like fancy cheese, coffee, quinoa, salmon, turkey sausage, frozen cauliflower rice, greek yogurt, chicken tenderloins, pita chips, salad mixes, chocolate, rogaine, pool chemicals, energy drinks and protein powders...none of these are things you NEED to have to live a healthy life, and I would class them all as "luxury" items.

I didn't realize that some folks here think buying bulk coffee beans is considered a "higher end food" and "luxury".

You don't consider a recreational drug to be a luxury?

Oh coffee is much more than just a recreational drug :).  But anyway, if we simply rule out the importance of anything other than those "things you NEED to have to live a healthy life" we can effectively eliminate 99% of the discussion on this forum.  That seems kind of pointless to me.

edit: Are you also saying you agree that bulk coffee itself is a "higher end food"?

edit 2:  The economics definition of "luxury good' is a good with an income elasticity greater than one -- where if your income goes up your quantity demanded will increase proportionally.  Compare this to a "necessity" good, where it has an income elasticity of demand of less than one.  For me, without a doubt, coffee is a "necessity good", if my income increased by 5% or 500%, my quantity demanded would not budge.

I would actually consider coffee to be one of the more luxurious items listed...unlike actual food, it provides zero calories (which are a necessity up to a point).  For me, it’s definitely something I have limited my purchasing of during low-income periods of life and I rarely purchase even now because even Costco prices make me shudder.

If you have a coffee addiction or just enjoy it, fine, but I really don’t think it’s a necessity, and I’m sure there is some income level at which you might reconsider purchasing it. Same goes for most of the items I listed—it’s fine to enjoy them and to seek out the best price, but be real with yourself that they aren’t needs and they aren’t the most budget friendly items.

Gee, thanks for giving us permission and a lecture.

SlowlyButSurely

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Re: Is Costco really cheaper?
« Reply #67 on: September 04, 2018, 09:33:51 PM »
If you ever rent a car, Costco can be an amazing deal. I rent a car for a week a year for an annual family trip, and the last time I did the math, the amount I saved more than paid for the membership. When you compare prices, the Costco price includes all taxes and fees, as well as a second driver, but most quotes you see online do not.

401Killer

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Re: Is Costco really cheaper?
« Reply #68 on: September 05, 2018, 06:10:33 AM »
I'm a single guy(40y/o) and picked up a membership a few months ago. I initially justified the membership cost for the better rewards card, and boy is it better than my BoA card! 5 months in and I have more than $225 in rewards! I use my card for everything possible.

Grocery shopping becomes a bit of a tough battle as described. I'm a huge fan of the frozen foods/veggies. That works out very well. I actually buy 2 or 3 units of laundry detergent, softener, TP, paper towels etc... I do that consumable type stuff proper and only need to re-up like once, maybe twice a year.

So really, overall I pay for a really really good rewards card that comes with a Costco membership!

cats

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Re: Is Costco really cheaper?
« Reply #69 on: September 05, 2018, 06:11:13 AM »

-Certainly, but from this thread, quite a bit of what people are reporting buying there is higher end food.  Things like fancy cheese, coffee, quinoa, salmon, turkey sausage, frozen cauliflower rice, greek yogurt, chicken tenderloins, pita chips, salad mixes, chocolate, rogaine, pool chemicals, energy drinks and protein powders...none of these are things you NEED to have to live a healthy life, and I would class them all as "luxury" items.

I didn't realize that some folks here think buying bulk coffee beans is considered a "higher end food" and "luxury".

You don't consider a recreational drug to be a luxury?

Oh coffee is much more than just a recreational drug :).  But anyway, if we simply rule out the importance of anything other than those "things you NEED to have to live a healthy life" we can effectively eliminate 99% of the discussion on this forum.  That seems kind of pointless to me.

edit: Are you also saying you agree that bulk coffee itself is a "higher end food"?

edit 2:  The economics definition of "luxury good' is a good with an income elasticity greater than one -- where if your income goes up your quantity demanded will increase proportionally.  Compare this to a "necessity" good, where it has an income elasticity of demand of less than one.  For me, without a doubt, coffee is a "necessity good", if my income increased by 5% or 500%, my quantity demanded would not budge.

I would actually consider coffee to be one of the more luxurious items listed...unlike actual food, it provides zero calories (which are a necessity up to a point).  For me, it’s definitely something I have limited my purchasing of during low-income periods of life and I rarely purchase even now because even Costco prices make me shudder.

If you have a coffee addiction or just enjoy it, fine, but I really don’t think it’s a necessity, and I’m sure there is some income level at which you might reconsider purchasing it. Same goes for most of the items I listed—it’s fine to enjoy them and to seek out the best price, but be real with yourself that they aren’t needs and they aren’t the most budget friendly items.

Gee, thanks for giving us permission and a lecture.

Oh come on.  Someone decides to snark on my reasonable point that coffee is technically a luxury, yeah, I’m going to get up on my high horse a bit.

If someone started talking about the great deal they got on a monster truck, would this forum congratulate them on the good price or deliver a facepunch about bicycles and used compact cars?

Cranky

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Re: Is Costco really cheaper?
« Reply #70 on: September 05, 2018, 07:03:34 AM »
I think that, historically, coffee is more elastic than you might think - when prices double, people cut back.

What changes the equation now is that so many people drink coffee away from home, the actual price of the coffee as an ingredient is a fairly small amount of what you pay for that drink at Starbucks.

happyfeet

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Re: Is Costco really cheaper?
« Reply #71 on: September 05, 2018, 07:31:01 AM »
Single lady here.  I buy:

Glasses/exam
Gas
Car Rental
Kirkland brand TP
Their roasted chicken
The single organic humous packs - probably not a "deal" but for me - I love them
Pineapples - only when not available at another grocery and they are always 2.99 at Costco
Vitamins B,D, Magnesium when offered with a coupon
The big bag of purple lightly sweet salt popcorn.  There was special - buy a bag and get a bag free not too long ago
Starbucks coffee when a coupon is offered

Worth it to me to have the basic card probably for gas alone

I also shop Aldi 

Headed to Hawaii in December with family and we are planning big Costco run for groceries


mm1970

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Re: Is Costco really cheaper?
« Reply #72 on: September 05, 2018, 08:55:42 AM »
Luxury or not, I’m gonna buy coffee beans and frozen salmon filets because we genuinely enjoy those things, and I’d rather pay $5.20 and $8.50 per pound of good-quality product, respectively, at Costco than $6.70 and $11, respectively, at Aldi.

I’m not convinced flour is a necessary basic for health but I do like to bake for holidays, and our local Costco has good prices on gluten-free all-purpose flour and almond flour (celiac disease precludes a lot of the standard American diet).

Thanks to the person who mentioned optometry services. Husband needs to replace his glasses.

GF all purpose flour??  I haven't looked for that.  Thanks for the tip!!

My regular store also started carrying packs of GF brown rice+quinoa ramen-style noodles (no seasoning, just noodle blocks). We like to cook them up separately and put them in the chicken stock we make from the rotisserie chicken bones (along with leftover meat and some veg).
No luck on the GF flour yesterday.  And I wandered most of the store because they moved everything over the weekend... now I have to look for the noodle blocks.  My kid loves ramen.

OtherJen

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Re: Is Costco really cheaper?
« Reply #73 on: September 05, 2018, 09:25:44 AM »
Luxury or not, I’m gonna buy coffee beans and frozen salmon filets because we genuinely enjoy those things, and I’d rather pay $5.20 and $8.50 per pound of good-quality product, respectively, at Costco than $6.70 and $11, respectively, at Aldi.

I’m not convinced flour is a necessary basic for health but I do like to bake for holidays, and our local Costco has good prices on gluten-free all-purpose flour and almond flour (celiac disease precludes a lot of the standard American diet).

Thanks to the person who mentioned optometry services. Husband needs to replace his glasses.

GF all purpose flour??  I haven't looked for that.  Thanks for the tip!!

My regular store also started carrying packs of GF brown rice+quinoa ramen-style noodles (no seasoning, just noodle blocks). We like to cook them up separately and put them in the chicken stock we make from the rotisserie chicken bones (along with leftover meat and some veg).
No luck on the GF flour yesterday.  And I wandered most of the store because they moved everything over the weekend... now I have to look for the noodle blocks.  My kid loves ramen.

Aw, bummer! Ours carries the Namaste brand and Blue Diamond almond flour. It looks like you can get the Namaste flour online for $3.06/lb, but it comes in a 6-pack of 3-lb bags.

jeninco

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Re: Is Costco really cheaper?
« Reply #74 on: September 05, 2018, 09:42:26 AM »
Quote
-Towards the end of our Costco days I was finding they were moving more and more towards pricier versions of even basic items.  For example, when we started shopping there, they stocked the 105 oz. cans of tomatoes and the price was great.  At some point they stopped selling those and instead started selling a flat of 16oz cans of organic tomatoes.  At that point it was cheaper to buy 32 oz cans from the grocery store.  I noticed this more and more as they started to emphasize their organic offerings--sure they were doing more organic fruit and veg, but also a LOT more organic snacks, frozen foods, and stuff like coconut water.  I'm sure the basics are still there but they are getting crowded out by fancier items in our areas.

I do miss the 105 oz cans of tomato products.

One of our King Soopers (are they a Kroger family store?) has a half aisle of industrial food sized products. We buy hominy in 110 oz cans (for pozole in the winter), and I think they have tomato products there, too. It's .... fairly random? Like, they have marinated artichoke hearts in huge bottles? (and olives -- maybe they sell to local pizza joints?)

letsdoit

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Re: Is Costco really cheaper?
« Reply #75 on: September 05, 2018, 09:46:44 AM »
It depends.There are two of us and we make weekly trips to Costco. Many weeks, I don't even touch the kale and chicken, so my husband would probably do this eveni if he were single. Although he hates picking apart the rotisserie chicken...

For the vegetables they have, yes Costco usually is better. A bag of kale salad mix is the same price as our grocery stores, but twice the size.

For meats, they are often better, but not necessarily the same cut. You can always get a large tri tip, cook to eat hot, then use the leftovers for sandwiches or salads.Their rotisserie chicken is the best around and usually cheaper than grocery stores.

We used to buy Morning Star breakfast patties there and have since switched to Jimmy Dean turkey sausage. Both are considerably cheaper in bulk and the Jimmy Dean goes on sale every six months.

Oh, and when the price of eggs shot up, we switched to the large Costco eggs, whereas my husband always insisted on jumbo when eggs were cheap.

However, not everything is cheaper and not everything is practical in bulk. We can't use two gallons of milk. Costco doesn't carry any cheap pasta...

i just did a price inventory of costco vs other places in our area.  costco won,  we'll see about the quality. 

GrumpyPenguin

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Re: Is Costco really cheaper?
« Reply #76 on: September 05, 2018, 10:55:33 AM »

-Certainly, but from this thread, quite a bit of what people are reporting buying there is higher end food.  Things like fancy cheese, coffee, quinoa, salmon, turkey sausage, frozen cauliflower rice, greek yogurt, chicken tenderloins, pita chips, salad mixes, chocolate, rogaine, pool chemicals, energy drinks and protein powders...none of these are things you NEED to have to live a healthy life, and I would class them all as "luxury" items.

I didn't realize that some folks here think buying bulk coffee beans is considered a "higher end food" and "luxury".

You don't consider a recreational drug to be a luxury?

Oh coffee is much more than just a recreational drug :).  But anyway, if we simply rule out the importance of anything other than those "things you NEED to have to live a healthy life" we can effectively eliminate 99% of the discussion on this forum.  That seems kind of pointless to me.

edit: Are you also saying you agree that bulk coffee itself is a "higher end food"?

edit 2:  The economics definition of "luxury good' is a good with an income elasticity greater than one -- where if your income goes up your quantity demanded will increase proportionally.  Compare this to a "necessity" good, where it has an income elasticity of demand of less than one.  For me, without a doubt, coffee is a "necessity good", if my income increased by 5% or 500%, my quantity demanded would not budge.

I would actually consider coffee to be one of the more luxurious items listed...unlike actual food, it provides zero calories (which are a necessity up to a point).  For me, it’s definitely something I have limited my purchasing of during low-income periods of life and I rarely purchase even now because even Costco prices make me shudder.

If you have a coffee addiction or just enjoy it, fine, but I really don’t think it’s a necessity, and I’m sure there is some income level at which you might reconsider purchasing it. Same goes for most of the items I listed—it’s fine to enjoy them and to seek out the best price, but be real with yourself that they aren’t needs and they aren’t the most budget friendly items.

Gee, thanks for giving us permission and a lecture.

Oh come on.  Someone decides to snark on my reasonable point that coffee is technically a luxury, yeah, I’m going to get up on my high horse a bit.

If someone started talking about the great deal they got on a monster truck, would this forum congratulate them on the good price or deliver a facepunch about bicycles and used compact cars?

Actually, I was using the technical definition you can look up in a principles of microeconomics textbook.

But anyway, there's still nuance as to when a facepunch would be delivered.  Clearly, I think store-bought bulk coffee beans is not in facepunch range.  Your example about cars and bicycles is curious, as I don't own a car OR a bicycle. And I live perfectly healthy without either, so by your definition, if you own a car OR bicycle, it's facepunch worthy... right.

edit:smoothed out some language. :)
« Last Edit: September 05, 2018, 11:01:36 AM by GrumpyPenguin »

GuitarStv

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Re: Is Costco really cheaper?
« Reply #77 on: September 05, 2018, 11:05:15 AM »
The technical economic definition of luxury good fits very well for coffee.  When people can't afford to eat, they don't buy coffee.  If people can only afford to eat, they don't buy coffee.  When people have excess money, they sometimes choose to buy coffee.  That's income elasticity.  As people become wealthier they buy more coffee.

GrumpyPenguin

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Re: Is Costco really cheaper?
« Reply #78 on: September 05, 2018, 11:16:35 AM »
The technical economic definition of luxury good fits very well for coffee.  When people can't afford to eat, they don't buy coffee.  If people can only afford to eat, they don't buy coffee.  When people have excess money, they sometimes choose to buy coffee.  That's income elasticity.  As people become wealthier they buy more coffee.

Your explanation only describes an edge case where a person is at absolute subsistence.

At that level, your bicycle is facepunch worthy, nearly all property you could own is facepunch worthy.  As I mentioned earlier, probably 99% of the discussion here is facepunch worthy.  At that level, almost all of the discussion on this forum is moot. 

My definition fits the vast majority of the continuum of cases, particularly for folks on this forum.

pdxmonkey

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Re: Is Costco really cheaper?
« Reply #79 on: September 05, 2018, 12:09:26 PM »
It doesn't however make your definition correct. Coffee IS a luxury good as are many other commonly consumed items in the United States. It has elastic demand. You might not consume MORE if your income INCREASES 5% or 500%, but you will very likely consume less if your income DECREASES 80% or at minimum substitute home brewed coffee for purchased coffee or the like. Increased income does correlate with increased coffee demand...but of course there is a limit because one can only consume so much coffee every 24 hours and people don't tend to hoard it in cellars or garages like wine or sports cars.

https://econlife.com/2014/06/coffee-is-an-economic-indicator-in-developing-nations/

GrumpyPenguin

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Re: Is Costco really cheaper?
« Reply #80 on: September 05, 2018, 12:22:31 PM »
It doesn't however make your definition correct. Coffee IS a luxury good as are many other commonly consumed items in the United States. It has elastic demand. You might not consume MORE if your income INCREASES 5% or 500%, but you will very likely consume less if your income DECREASES 80% or at minimum substitute home brewed coffee for purchased coffee or the like. Increased income does correlate with increased coffee demand...but of course there is a limit because one can only consume so much coffee every 24 hours and people don't tend to hoard it in cellars or garages like wine or sports cars.

https://econlife.com/2014/06/coffee-is-an-economic-indicator-in-developing-nations/

I do love that you're trying to use economics here. However, just because a product doesn't have a perfect zero income elasticity of demand does not preclude it from having an income elasticity of demand between zero and 1.  I was hoping your link would have estimated income and price elasticities of demand for coffee in the United States, but alas, I did not see any.

Also, we're talking about the income elasticity of demand for bulk coffee beans specifically. Not store prepared coffee beverages. Of course store prepared coffee beverages would likely have higher income- and price- elasticities of demand.

PiobStache

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Re: Is Costco really cheaper?
« Reply #81 on: September 05, 2018, 12:22:46 PM »
IMO, two things are required to maximize the value and also obtain the healthiest diet from CostCo:

1)  A chest freezer (or two.)  At CostCo they are well under $200 to buy.
2)  Willingness to actually cook.  What's more, to cook in large batches and freeze for use on work nights.

We have two chest freezers, will cook up big batches of things on the weekend, like grilled chicken breasts (use in everything from pasta to salads,) or buy pork and make our own sausages.

CostCo is of course great for dry goods in bulk, but for the fresher stuff, a freezer and cooking is required to maximize things, IMO.

Goldielocks

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Re: Is Costco really cheaper?
« Reply #82 on: September 05, 2018, 12:43:02 PM »
I agree with the posters @APowers and others that the place to start saving money on groceries is to look to your own meal planning first.
 
- figure out the top 8 meals that you already like to eat that also cost the least, and eat those meals a lot more often.
- then check your costco prices for those ingredients (I have not found much difference, loss leaders are much lower here than costco, even baking nuts were lower on a typical sale compared to Costco).
- most of your food will be staples, cooking from scratch.   Costco is not targeted at these types of items.
- keep a price book  / mental price book for your top 50 items that you buy. 

Costco is wonderful for getting convenience foods and higher end stuff at good prices, this food costs a LOT more than staples from scratch.   
------------------

What rewards credit cards does your Costco accept?     That can be worth quite a bit more than the Costco Savings. (if any)

It has been a while, but here, CC acceptance at Costco is very limited, and if I go with a relative, I have to pay them in cash.  Missing out on 2-5% rewards depending on the card.

honeybbq

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Re: Is Costco really cheaper?
« Reply #83 on: September 05, 2018, 12:43:40 PM »
I buy almost no convenience foods at Costco (in terms of premade, prepackaged, ready to eat pre-cooked meals). I find enormous value in their produce, meat, and dairy selection as well as canned goods. My staples:

fresh produce- most of which is approximately half the price as the supermarket:
6 pack of peppers
bag of avocados
giant bag of carrots
power blend of greens
green beans or broccoli
tomatoes
berries
apples/oranges/pineapple whatever's in season
My cart is always half produce.

meat/dairy
They often have specials on some meat- I got huge logs of pork tenderloin for almost nothing the other day
eggs- their 24 packs are very well priced
butter
yogurt* (still want to learn to make my own in the instant pot but for now...)
pre shredded cheese is a bargain!

canned:
beans
tomatoes

Other:
Dave's bread
granola/cereal
beer and wine
spices

Non food items: TP, kleenex, dishwashing liquid, detergent.

Like a grocery store, I stay to the other ring skipping the first part of electronics. First to produce, then dairy/meat, and finally canned. Stay away from the DVDs, books, clothes, and other thing that end up in your cart* (unless they are on your list).

I love costco, I just hate the crowds and the parking lot.

boarder42

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Re: Is Costco really cheaper?
« Reply #84 on: September 05, 2018, 12:45:27 PM »
if you have an aldi then costco is not cheaper.

cats

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Re: Is Costco really cheaper?
« Reply #85 on: September 05, 2018, 12:47:13 PM »
The technical economic definition of luxury good fits very well for coffee.  When people can't afford to eat, they don't buy coffee.  If people can only afford to eat, they don't buy coffee.  When people have excess money, they sometimes choose to buy coffee.  That's income elasticity.  As people become wealthier they buy more coffee.

Your explanation only describes an edge case where a person is at absolute subsistence.

At that level, your bicycle is facepunch worthy, nearly all property you could own is facepunch worthy.  As I mentioned earlier, probably 99% of the discussion here is facepunch worthy.  At that level, almost all of the discussion on this forum is moot. 

My definition fits the vast majority of the continuum of cases, particularly for folks on this forum.

I used to earn about $25k/yr, which is low but not subsistence level.  However, at that level, if you want to save a decent portion of your income, you *do* notice the cost of items like coffee beans.  Maybe you chose to continue buying them and cut something else from your budget instead, but you're definitely aware of the $6-12/month you are spending on coffee.  And there are plenty of people on this forum who say things along the lines of "I only drink coffee because I get it for free at work".  To me that doesn't sound like a necessity or an item with inelastic demand--within the MMM forums, at least, there definitely is a subset of people who are sensitive to the price of coffee.

You're right though, that at some point pretty much any purchase is potentially a "luxury" worthy of facepunches.  But that's not a particularly good argument for not examining your purchases critically.  The proponents of Costco membership in this thread are largely pointing to it as a great source of relatively luxurious food or other consumer items, stuff that our parents/grandparents probably didn't have access to or if they did, didn't consume very frequently.  And the fact is, eating a diet of more luxurious food items is almost always going to be more costly than eating a diet of basics.  Rather than just focusing on "I'm getting a great price on this luxury food, so everything is great!", I think people should also consider "does this luxury food/item *really* add value to my life?".  Because if it doesn't you are wasting your money and more importantly, your time, when you purchase it.  Overall, I think places like Costco can lull people into ignoring that question, because they're just seeing "this is such an awesome deal!".

clutchy

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Re: Is Costco really cheaper?
« Reply #86 on: September 05, 2018, 12:55:32 PM »
I don't if it's cheaper but being a professional and having less time in my life.... it's nice to know there is a great company with quality products at reasonable prices.... so if I need something I just go get it there and don't have to search around. 

the return policy helps a lot too...

Davnasty

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Re: Is Costco really cheaper?
« Reply #87 on: September 05, 2018, 12:59:36 PM »
It doesn't however make your definition correct. Coffee IS a luxury good as are many other commonly consumed items in the United States. It has elastic demand. You might not consume MORE if your income INCREASES 5% or 500%, but you will very likely consume less if your income DECREASES 80% or at minimum substitute home brewed coffee for purchased coffee or the like. Increased income does correlate with increased coffee demand...but of course there is a limit because one can only consume so much coffee every 24 hours and people don't tend to hoard it in cellars or garages like wine or sports cars.

https://econlife.com/2014/06/coffee-is-an-economic-indicator-in-developing-nations/

I do love that you're trying to use economics here. However, just because a product doesn't have a perfect zero income elasticity of demand does not preclude it from having an income elasticity of demand between zero and 1.  I was hoping your link would have estimated income and price elasticities of demand for coffee in the United States, but alas, I did not see any.

Also, we're talking about the income elasticity of demand for bulk coffee beans specifically. Not store prepared coffee beverages. Of course store prepared coffee beverages would likely have higher income- and price- elasticities of demand.
Why are we using the economic definition of luxury? The economic term is used to describe a specific trend, there are lots of luxury items that do not fit this trend. If we get to pick which definition of luxury to use, I'd go with this one.

Luxury: 2 a : something adding to pleasure or comfort but not absolutely necessary

All definitions outside of economics include terms that are subjective which in turn means the word luxury is subjective. My opinion is that coffee is a luxury.

Anyway, the original comment where coffee was mentioned made a good point that Costco can provide savings on higher quality and luxury goods. The comment was relevant and added to the discussion, unlike everything that has occurred in response to it, including this comment :)
 
« Last Edit: September 05, 2018, 01:01:09 PM by Dabnasty »

GuitarStv

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Re: Is Costco really cheaper?
« Reply #88 on: September 05, 2018, 01:06:00 PM »
The technical economic definition of luxury good fits very well for coffee.  When people can't afford to eat, they don't buy coffee.  If people can only afford to eat, they don't buy coffee.  When people have excess money, they sometimes choose to buy coffee.  That's income elasticity.  As people become wealthier they buy more coffee.

Your explanation only describes an edge case where a person is at absolute subsistence.

At that level, your bicycle is facepunch worthy, nearly all property you could own is facepunch worthy.  As I mentioned earlier, probably 99% of the discussion here is facepunch worthy.  At that level, almost all of the discussion on this forum is moot. 

My definition fits the vast majority of the continuum of cases, particularly for folks on this forum.

If the price of coffee were 700$ a bean, would you still drink the same amount of it?  Or would your consumption vary with your income?

Goldielocks

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Re: Is Costco really cheaper?
« Reply #89 on: September 05, 2018, 01:19:21 PM »
Cats put it quite well,

I think for most families, if you are under $150 per adult/month for your grocery bill, you won't find Costco prices cheaper on that basket of groceries (carrots, onions,  canned tomatoes, beans, dairy, etc are about the same price, I find, and the fancier produce is a treat that does not fit into modest food budgets often).

It is 10 miles to Costco, and 3 miles round trip to the low price grocery store near me.  That is a difference of 7 miles x 50cent/mile = $3.50 (although most local trips are by bike).   That is $10-15 per month.

I can get 3% cash back rewards on the grocery card I use, which is worth $15/month.

The membership is $5 per month here.

Total monthly extra cost (before "savings"):  $30-$35 per month to shop Costco.

Could a person save $35 on $300-$450 per month of food at Costco, if they only bought basic staples and bulk, not fancy produce? 

In my region, it is definitely a no.  Loss leaders are a big thing here, and my staples are equivalent prices to regular sale prices.  A great example, Starbucks VIA was a lot cheaper at Costco recently, but Maxwell house coffee  or nescafe instant is more money.  Other regions (seattle / honeybbq) seem to be much better, so you need to price check the items you buy for yourself.
  But don't forget your "extra" costs beyond the cash register when you compare.


simonsez

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Re: Is Costco really cheaper?
« Reply #90 on: September 05, 2018, 01:38:23 PM »
if you have an aldi then costco is not cheaper.
I was under the impression that Aldi stores did not vary that much.  The ones here offer about 1/3rd the goods and services that Costco provides (for example the Aldi stores here do not have a service station, sell computers, automotive section, rental cars, etc.).  Where you live do the Aldi stores carry a lot more than just food?

We definitely shop at Aldi but there are plenty of things we still go to Costco for.

trollwithamustache

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Re: Is Costco really cheaper?
« Reply #91 on: September 05, 2018, 02:30:05 PM »
We use costco for our luxury foods... decent enough "fancy" cheeses, cheapest place ever for decent pesto.  Not the cheapest way to eat though. Agree with others they have good meat prices so its a way to cheaply eat a lot of meat.


I get endless flak in real life for this, but it often seems that good sale prices at regular grocery stores can be much cheaper that costco for stocking up on items that last. 

acroy

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Re: Is Costco really cheaper?
« Reply #92 on: September 05, 2018, 02:38:59 PM »
For us no. Costo and Sams are not worth it. And I am supplying a household of 9.

decent prices on bulk items we don't buy; a lot of it name-brand which we don't buy anyway. We have the best luck working the points @ Kroger while getting 6% off using the Amex card. And buying bread in bulk @ the day-old 'used bread' store, and freezing it.

YMMV. walk around the store and add it up. good luck!

letsdoit

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Re: Is Costco really cheaper?
« Reply #93 on: September 05, 2018, 04:08:17 PM »
i've tried two aldi's and the quality of the food is not good enough.
very processed unhealthy food is what i saw

SimpleCycle

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Re: Is Costco really cheaper?
« Reply #94 on: September 05, 2018, 04:19:50 PM »
i've tried two aldi's and the quality of the food is not good enough.
very processed unhealthy food is what i saw

We shop almost exclusively at Aldi and do not eat processed food.  Their produce and meats are good quality, at least in my area.  They don't carry regular brown rice or quinoa, but that is my only complaint.  If you are eating whole foods you should have no problem at Aldi.

GrumpyPenguin

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Re: Is Costco really cheaper?
« Reply #95 on: September 05, 2018, 04:44:04 PM »
The technical economic definition of luxury good fits very well for coffee.  When people can't afford to eat, they don't buy coffee.  If people can only afford to eat, they don't buy coffee.  When people have excess money, they sometimes choose to buy coffee.  That's income elasticity.  As people become wealthier they buy more coffee.

Your explanation only describes an edge case where a person is at absolute subsistence.

At that level, your bicycle is facepunch worthy, nearly all property you could own is facepunch worthy.  As I mentioned earlier, probably 99% of the discussion here is facepunch worthy.  At that level, almost all of the discussion on this forum is moot. 

My definition fits the vast majority of the continuum of cases, particularly for folks on this forum.

If the price of coffee were 700$ a bean, would you still drink the same amount of it?  Or would your consumption vary with your income?

Hate to carry on this because it is pretty derailed at this point, so I will promise whatever the replies this is my last...

Now you're referring to price elasticity of demand rather than income elasticity of demand.  Okay, so if price increased by... I don't know what that is, 10,000 percent?  I don't know the price of a single bean wholesale, are you asking if I would drink less or switch to a substitute?  Yes.  But that doesn't really have anything to do with the income elasticity of demand here.

A specific necessity product can have substitutes.  You can, for example, substitute some vegetables for other vegetables, so the price elasticity of demand for any specific food could be high.  Perhaps coffee and tea are imperfect substitutes, but at a modest point I would switch between the two... but that says nothing about income elasticity of demand and those definitions.

Also BTW, MMM's article today mentioned coffee three times. Just saying...

GuitarStv

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Re: Is Costco really cheaper?
« Reply #96 on: September 05, 2018, 04:56:43 PM »
The technical economic definition of luxury good fits very well for coffee.  When people can't afford to eat, they don't buy coffee.  If people can only afford to eat, they don't buy coffee.  When people have excess money, they sometimes choose to buy coffee.  That's income elasticity.  As people become wealthier they buy more coffee.

Your explanation only describes an edge case where a person is at absolute subsistence.

At that level, your bicycle is facepunch worthy, nearly all property you could own is facepunch worthy.  As I mentioned earlier, probably 99% of the discussion here is facepunch worthy.  At that level, almost all of the discussion on this forum is moot. 

My definition fits the vast majority of the continuum of cases, particularly for folks on this forum.

If the price of coffee were 700$ a bean, would you still drink the same amount of it?  Or would your consumption vary with your income?

Hate to carry on this because it is pretty derailed at this point, so I will promise whatever the replies this is my last...

Now you're referring to price elasticity of demand rather than income elasticity of demand.  Okay, so if price increased by... I don't know what that is, 10,000 percent?  I don't know the price of a single bean wholesale, are you asking if I would drink less or switch to a substitute?  Yes.  But that doesn't really have anything to do with the income elasticity of demand here.

A specific necessity product can have substitutes.  You can, for example, substitute some vegetables for other vegetables, so the price elasticity of demand for any specific food could be high.  Perhaps coffee and tea are imperfect substitutes, but at a modest point I would switch between the two... but that says nothing about income elasticity of demand and those definitions.

Also BTW, MMM's article today mentioned coffee three times. Just saying...

My point was merely that you would buy less coffee if the ratio of coffee price to personal income changed.  If you made 8 billion dollars a year, the 700$ bean coffee would be purchased in greater quantity than if you made 100K a year.  Therefore it is income elastic and a luxury good by your own definition.

Happily Irrelevant

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Re: Is Costco really cheaper?
« Reply #97 on: September 05, 2018, 05:46:40 PM »
I go to Costco every week.  Buy gas when you get there it's always cheaper.  Then eat a hotdog and make sure to refill your soda before you start shopping.  Hit every free sample ( this is where the full soda helps).  At this point you will have probably covered the annual membership through gas savings and a $1.50 hot dog and free sample buffett.  Look at the rotisserie chicken that is already deboned.  Not many want to carve up a chicken.  Check out the clothes as they are always a deal.  Check out their $17.99 chicken enchiladas that they make in the back with the rotisserie chicken.   Easy to get 8 meals out of it.   Count the walking around as saving on a gym membership. 

boarder42

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Re: Is Costco really cheaper?
« Reply #98 on: September 05, 2018, 07:11:36 PM »
if you have an aldi then costco is not cheaper.
I was under the impression that Aldi stores did not vary that much.  The ones here offer about 1/3rd the goods and services that Costco provides (for example the Aldi stores here do not have a service station, sell computers, automotive section, rental cars, etc.).  Where you live do the Aldi stores carry a lot more than just food?

We definitely shop at Aldi but there are plenty of things we still go to Costco for.

I highly doubt those services you just described ate benefiting you more than using other methods. Computers are much easier had thru slickdeal alerts. Rental cars don't have the savings there everyone seems to think they do. Tire savings can be found on Slickdeals. You're fooling yourself thinking that subscription is worth it.

Anon in Alaska

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Re: Is Costco really cheaper?
« Reply #99 on: September 05, 2018, 07:16:43 PM »
Costco is always cheaper on some items, usually slightly cheaper on most items, and about the same on others, after accounting for membership costs, at least here in Anchorage, Alaska but I have heard that this is not always the case in the lower 48.

If you're single buy carefully and consider how fast you will use the item, sometimes they're still cheaper even if you throw away half. Sometimes they're not (three heads of lettuce for a dollar more than I pay for one head of lettuce at WalMart is not a good deal if I only eat one head of lettuce before the other two spoil.)

Gas at Costco is not cheaper IF you have a regular supermarket loyalty card from a chain that also sells gasoline (Fred Meyer's and Safeway for me) AND spend enough at the supermarket to always get 10 cents off on a gallon.

Costco tire has terrible, terrible service. I don't care if they are slightly cheaper. I'm going to the place where I can get my tires done in one visit, not four longer visits.