Author Topic: Top 3 Values at Costco  (Read 5926 times)

GilesMM

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Top 3 Values at Costco
« on: January 28, 2025, 06:21:29 AM »
What is your shortlist of 3-5 favorite value-priced items at Costco?  I'm sometimes surprise to find what others think are good value.


We can get the following no-brainers out of the way since they don't bear repeating:
A. Gas (around here Fred Meyer has the same price)
B. $1.50 all beef hot dog and bottomless soda
C. $9.99 large pizza
D. $4.99 roast chicken
E. $9.99 shrimp cocktail
F. tires and batteries


My shortlist
1. $13.99 (?) Kirkland chicken breast nuggets 4 lb. Amazing in air fryer or oven. Better than a lot of fast food places. https://www.costcuisine.com/post/costco-kirkland-signature-lightly-breaded-chicken-breast-chunks-review
2.  $6.99 dozen massive croissants (freeze well). Nearly as good as the local French bakery that wants the same price for one. https://www.costcuisine.com/post/costco-kirkland-signature-butter-croissant-review
3. $5.99 12-inch pumpkin pie. 3.5 pound pie for low price and just good enough (not great). Seasonal. https://www.costcontessa.com/costco/costco-pumpkin-pie/

Bartlebooth

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Re: Top 3 Values at Costco
« Reply #1 on: January 28, 2025, 07:43:12 AM »
Giant paper bag of tortilla strips
Jalepeno-garlic stuffed olives
Super-premium ice cream

Bonus: Large can of peanuts
Bonus bonus: hard liquor and occasional 1/2 price clearance beer

Now none of these are strictly necessary, and they are all actually unhealthy.  And I eat unhealthy sized portions of them.  So the "value" presented by these is not the greatest.  But I believe they are notably lower-cost than equivalent items elsewhere.
« Last Edit: January 28, 2025, 07:45:30 AM by Bartlebooth »

SweatingInAR

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Re: Top 3 Values at Costco
« Reply #2 on: January 28, 2025, 07:57:01 AM »
I miss having a Costco around! No Costco in my current city, so I shop at Sam's. The pricing and selection is probably 90% identical to Costco, but that 10% is noticeable. There seem to be fewer store-brand bulk items and more multi-packs of single-serving name-brand snacks. 

Here are my Costco favorites:
  • Whole-bean coffee
  • Rotisserie chicken
  • Hearing aids
  • Kirkland-brand Liquor

charis

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Re: Top 3 Values at Costco
« Reply #3 on: January 28, 2025, 07:59:37 AM »
(1) Chicken pot pie
(2) Frozen cauliflower crust pizza
(3) Flavored seltzer water (we go through it like crazy)
(4) Coffee

turketron

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Re: Top 3 Values at Costco
« Reply #4 on: January 28, 2025, 08:14:28 AM »
Not gonna repeat anything that's already been mentioned but agreed with a lot of the above. 

Prescription medication - YMMV depending on the specific meds and your insurance but for some things it's been significantly cheaper than Walgreens for us. Also true of a lot of pet meds!
OTC medication - specifically daily allergy medication
baby formula - I know not all babies tolerate specific formulas the same, but the Kirkland formula was a huge savings for us
diapers+wipes

GuitarStv

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Re: Top 3 Values at Costco
« Reply #5 on: January 28, 2025, 08:21:03 AM »
They've got the cheapest peanut butter that I can find around here.  Both natural and whatever the hell Kraft is.  Also cheese, milk, eggs, and yogurt tend to be either the lowest prices that you can find or close to it.

ChpBstrd

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Re: Top 3 Values at Costco
« Reply #6 on: January 28, 2025, 08:24:30 AM »
Our local Costco is about 20 miles away, so probably not our go-to place for weekly grocery shopping. I breezed through it once after someone else let me in. I was in a hurry, so I only noticed the following 2 things I wanted to buy:

1) 0W-20 Full Synthetic Motor Oil - the price seemed unbelievable so I made a note to look up whether it was any good. Never got around to it.
2) Lunch-sized glass food storage dishes with lids that are all the same size so they can nest and take up less space!!! Sams and other places only sell variety packs with 5 different sizes to dig through and get the lids mixed up.

I have also seen stories about Costco putting interesting things on sale, like this Intense mountain bike for like $1500-1700, which was a steal at the time.

The problem is our household is gluten-free, dairy-free, and generally vegetarian. Plus we try to eat healthier. That eliminates about 95% of the groceries for sale at either Sam's or Costco. This means we cannot seem to justify the $65 annual membership, to drive 20 miles, to go shopping. Plus, we already freeload the in-laws' spare Sams card to buy things like bulk toilet paper, cheap clothes, bulk fruits and veggies, bulk nuts, and the occasional housewares. So the $65 Costco membership would only be useful for whatever Sam's didn't have that also wasn't on our list of things we avoid. The justifications just don't add up in our particular case.

turketron

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Re: Top 3 Values at Costco
« Reply #7 on: January 28, 2025, 08:33:37 AM »
They've got the cheapest peanut butter that I can find around here.  Both natural and whatever the hell Kraft is.  Also cheese, milk, eggs, and yogurt tend to be either the lowest prices that you can find or close to it.

I'd love to buy their peanut butter but they only have creamy, and for both me and my wife it's chunky or nothing haha

GuitarStv

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Re: Top 3 Values at Costco
« Reply #8 on: January 28, 2025, 08:35:53 AM »
They've got the cheapest peanut butter that I can find around here.  Both natural and whatever the hell Kraft is.  Also cheese, milk, eggs, and yogurt tend to be either the lowest prices that you can find or close to it.

I'd love to buy their peanut butter but they only have creamy, and for both me and my wife it's chunky or nothing haha

They've recently started carrying chunky at the Costco near us.  I don't know if I can ever go back to creamy peanut butter either.

Sibley

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Re: Top 3 Values at Costco
« Reply #9 on: January 28, 2025, 08:55:41 AM »
I just got a costco card this weekend, split the cost with SO. I had just gone to the grocery store so didn't need much, but looked around to see what they had. I did get laundry detergent. If the Kirkland detergent works out, it'll be cheaper than what I have been getting. If I really hate it I'll donate it to the animal shelter.

Costco is not going to replace the regular grocery store for me. But I will be shifting some things there. And somethings I can potentially split with my parents, so that helps expand what makes sense to get there. I need to compare prices though.

How's the meat? Decent quality? Cost effective in your areas?

Morning Glory

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Re: Top 3 Values at Costco
« Reply #10 on: January 28, 2025, 09:10:57 AM »
I just got a costco card this weekend, split the cost with SO. I had just gone to the grocery store so didn't need much, but looked around to see what they had. I did get laundry detergent. If the Kirkland detergent works out, it'll be cheaper than what I have been getting. If I really hate it I'll donate it to the animal shelter.

Costco is not going to replace the regular grocery store for me. But I will be shifting some things there. And somethings I can potentially split with my parents, so that helps expand what makes sense to get there. I need to compare prices though.

How's the meat? Decent quality? Cost effective in your areas?

Costco's meat, frozen veg, and most of their produce is more expensive than some of our local grocery chains here, but I suspect that varies by region.

Things I get there:
Cheese (15-20 lbs per trip of various kinds)
Dog food (Kirkland is better than any of the brand names for my dog's tummy)
Toilet paper
Dish and laundry soap (I refill smaller bottler out of the large one. It lasts about a year)
Flour
Rice
Coffee
Minced garlic
Nuts
Dried fruits
Frozen fruit
Certain produce if I'm there anyway

GuitarStv

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Re: Top 3 Values at Costco
« Reply #11 on: January 28, 2025, 09:20:46 AM »
How's the meat? Decent quality? Cost effective in your areas?

Usually good quality and fancier stuff, but not the cheapest in my area.

dcheesi

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Re: Top 3 Values at Costco
« Reply #12 on: January 28, 2025, 09:22:38 AM »
Coffee (we buy the big Folger's can)
Dish detergent (and laundry, when they have what we use)
Mixed nuts
Parmigiano Reggiano (the solid wedges are especially versatile)
Allergy meds, when they have the right one(s)

sonofsven

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Re: Top 3 Values at Costco
« Reply #13 on: January 28, 2025, 09:29:56 AM »
I just went yesterday. I buy ingredients to prepare food, not prepared food, except for an occasional rotisserie chicken and the gf cauliflower crust pizza which is my guilty pleasure 👹.
If you buy ingredients, it's almost all a good deal: gf oats,  honey, maple syrup, unsalted unroasted nuts (walnuts, almonds, pecans), eggs, bone in chicken thighs, EVOO, mushrooms, dates, spinach, cauliflower, butter, epsom salts; all stuff in my cart.
I get my tires and car batteries there, but I don't think they're priced much better than some competitors.
Sometimes there's crazy good deals, like a small chest freezer I got a few years ago for $149.
One thing I like about Costco is the lack of choice, it's a little overwhelming to go to a normal grocery store with an aisle of different mayonnaise, for example. My Costco has two.
I rarely ever buy from the food court, even though it's probably the best deal in the store, because "healthy choices!" (mom voice).
When I lived in the city it was inconvenient to go to Costco, and really crowded, with crazy eyed people bashing into your cart, or racing past you to the receipt checker (really?), but in my rural Costco it's much more chill. I think we're borderline having the population to support Costco, but it's a heavy tourist area so that brings a lot of traffic in.
So, top three from yesterday?
Epsom salts $8.99/12 lb 
Pitted dates $11.99/24 oz
Sauerkraut, raw & organic $8.89/50 oz

franklin4

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Re: Top 3 Values at Costco
« Reply #14 on: January 28, 2025, 09:38:21 AM »
A few of the grocery items we get from costco:
spices
trail mix
bananas
milk
ground beef
canned beans and tomatoes
cereal
bread
bandaids
greek yogurt
+many items already mentioned

I don't price shop anymore because when I did the pricing for a costco size amount would be about the same as a container half the size at safeway.
Another big plus - at a regular store when there may be 10 items essentially the same but in different sizes and a spread of prices I am compelled to spend a minute or two selecting the best deal. At costco that's already been done internally and often there's only 1 item on the shelf, so you buy it or you don't.


jrhampt

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Re: Top 3 Values at Costco
« Reply #15 on: January 28, 2025, 09:49:00 AM »
Agree with most of the things mentioned here already.  My top 3 are:

Dairy (milk, yogurt, massive cheese blocks)
Nuts (cashews, shelled pistachios in particular)
Wine

Special appreciation to:

giant Costco version of Bailey's which is like $17 and is appreciated in hot cocoa all winter
easy hosting of family thanks to giant chicken pot pie, giant shepherd's pie, lasagna trays (supplemented with my all-time favorite non-Costco best buy, the Big Y giant grinder - 30" for $20)
giant pecan pie, cheesecake
top cap steaks

KYFIRE

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Re: Top 3 Values at Costco
« Reply #16 on: January 28, 2025, 12:52:13 PM »
Maple syrup
TP
Paper towels

englishteacheralex

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Re: Top 3 Values at Costco
« Reply #17 on: January 28, 2025, 04:14:17 PM »
Did you know...

Car rentals! Also gift cards for restaurants, uber, travel stuff. They go on sale sometimes. Got $200 of Chuckie Cheese gift cards for $130 (using for my daughter's birthday party).

Furniture/small kitchen appliances can be quite good value from Costco. Our $1100 sofa from them is still holding up after four years of hard use.

Kl285528

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Re: Top 3 Values at Costco
« Reply #18 on: January 28, 2025, 04:25:27 PM »
yes to car rentals
of course, gas

One thing I haven't seen mentioned yet - 2 pack of 1 liter bottles of organic lemon juice - $9.99 - my wife and I have a lemon elixir to start the day, so we go through it pretty quickly


Telecaster

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Re: Top 3 Values at Costco
« Reply #19 on: January 28, 2025, 04:27:26 PM »
In addition to the other stuff:

spices
shop towels
men's dress shirts
Large cuts of meat like pork bellies and brisket (I do a lot of smoking and BBQ'ing so that's important to me)
pellets for the smoker
Tillamook cheese (and cheese in general)
Collagen powder
batteries
Olive oil.

Many the sizes are many great Costco deals are simply too large for my household.

I don't think Costco is great place for tires.   Discount Tire has the same prices and better service.   

La Bibliotecaria Feroz

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Re: Top 3 Values at Costco
« Reply #20 on: January 28, 2025, 04:34:57 PM »
As a parent, some of my big savings have been:
Children's winter coats, gloves, and snowpants
Diapers
Baby formula

Dicey

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Re: Top 3 Values at Costco
« Reply #21 on: January 28, 2025, 04:51:50 PM »
As a parent, some of my big savings have been:
Children's winter coats, gloves, and snowpants
Diapers
Baby formula
I noticed that Costco has all their gloves marked down right now. I didn't notice winter coats or snowpants, possibly because I live in CA, but they're probably on sale, too.

My answer: Glasses! I chose two new pair last week and picked them up today. Squeeeeee!

I actually have a Costco Spread Sheet. I check off what I need before each trip. That way, when I am planning the next trip, I can see what I bought last time, which is really helpful.

Pro tip: My Costco is always out of eggs by mid-afternoon. Last trip they had a single 18 pack and a small pile of multi-dozen packs in a corner of the fridge. All had a broken egg or three. I grabbed the 18 pack, removed the cracked eggs, replacing them with unbroken eggs from the larger cartons. Later, someone asked me if there were more eggs. I smiled and said I think I got the last one. Once home, DH pointed out that I should just take an empty 18 pack with me and fill it from the spoils pile next time. I think I will. It scans normally and prevents waste, so why not?

MaybeBabyMustache

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Re: Top 3 Values at Costco
« Reply #22 on: January 28, 2025, 05:09:42 PM »
Many of the items mentioned here.

-We're near Napa, so we often get fantastic & expensive wine for a very reasonable price.
-Ski clothes. We're not picky (well, I'll restate. DS18 & I will wear just about anything. DS17 uses his own money to buy "fancier" ski clothes.)
-Their dairy alternative milk (I use oat milk) is cheaper than anywhere else I can find it
-I often peruse the frozen foods section & they typically have 1-2 appetizer type items at a ridiculous deal. I often get those & use them for entertaining. I have a teen who loves to host events, so this way, I always have a huge appetizer ready to feed 6-10 teenagers.

We do the majority of our shopping at Costco. It's not the best price on every item, but overall it's cheaper. We also have the Costco credit card & an executive member, and between those two things, it drives the price down even more. We like the quality of the meat, dairy & produce.

sonofsven

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Re: Top 3 Values at Costco
« Reply #23 on: January 28, 2025, 05:11:50 PM »
As a parent, some of my big savings have been:
Children's winter coats, gloves, and snowpants
Diapers
Baby formula
I noticed that Costco has all their gloves marked down right now. I didn't notice winter coats or snowpants, possibly because I live in CA, but they're probably on sale, too.

My answer: Glasses! I chose two new pair last week and picked them up today. Squeeeeee!

I actually have a Costco Spread Sheet. I check off what I need before each trip. That way, when I am planning the next trip, I can see what I bought last time, which is really helpful.

Pro tip: My Costco is always out of eggs by mid-afternoon. Last trip they had a single 18 pack and a small pile of multi-dozen packs in a corner of the fridge. All had a broken egg or three. I grabbed the 18 pack, removed the cracked eggs, replacing them with unbroken eggs from the larger cartons. Later, someone asked me if there were more eggs. I smiled and said I think I got the last one. Once home, DH pointed out that I should just take an empty 18 pack with me and fill it from the spoils pile next time. I think I will. It scans normally and prevents waste, so why not?

Ahh, good idea! I had to buy five dozen last month, it was all they had. I used my saved cardboard egg-tainers to parcel two dozen out to friends.

Telecaster

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Re: Top 3 Values at Costco
« Reply #24 on: January 28, 2025, 07:26:54 PM »
-Ski clothes. We're not picky (well, I'll restate. DS18 & I will wear just about anything. DS17 uses his own money to buy "fancier" ski clothes.)

The 32 Degree base layers are unreal.  I believe it is two items (two tops or two bottoms) for $12.   Polyester blend just like Patagonia ones that cost $90 each.  I've skied about 10 days this season and they work great.   

I also got a Nautica puffy jacket last season (not a ski jacket, but a winter coat).  For I believe only about $20.    It isn't super thick, but plenty for most of my applications.   If not, I wear something underneath. 

I've seen Head ski gloves for about $20.  I don't need gloves, but otherwise I would have nabbed some. 

Re glasses:   Foster Grant readers are about three pair for $20 vs. one for $20 at the drug store.   


Sandi_k

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Re: Top 3 Values at Costco
« Reply #25 on: January 28, 2025, 08:13:19 PM »
Our list includes:

- Synthetic oil for my car and our van.

- Frozen food. We like the Yakatori rice, and the Sobe noodles; add chicken, and dinner is done. We are also occasional fans of the Marie Calendar pot pies, and the ground turkey 4-pack.

- Chicken tenders. Makes for easy weeknight dinners.

- Maker's Mark - DH's preferred whisky. Cheaper than at BevMo.

- Thomas' English muffins. We can get a 4 pack for the price of two packages at Safeway.

crocheted_stache

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Re: Top 3 Values at Costco
« Reply #26 on: January 28, 2025, 11:21:43 PM »

2) Lunch-sized glass food storage dishes with lids that are all the same size so they can nest and take up less space!!! Sams and other places only sell variety packs with 5 different sizes to dig through and get the lids mixed up.

I have also seen stories about Costco putting interesting things on sale, like this Intense mountain bike for like $1500-1700, which was a steal at the time.


Darn it, we have two different former sets of glass containers. We've gotten our nickel's worth out of them, but we hardly use the bitty or the really big ones, and the lids are such a jumble. We don't seem to be doing them in, either. Maybe...

I'd be pretty cautious about buying a bike not from a bike store or at least a full-service bike department in a sporting goods store. Maybe this was an exception, but department/big-box store bikes are usually bad build quality, inexpertly assembled. You also don't get any help getting it to fit.

I just went yesterday. I buy ingredients to prepare food, not prepared food, except for an occasional rotisserie chicken and the gf cauliflower crust pizza which is my guilty pleasure 👹.

This is us, too, but different ingredients: milk, yogurt, cheese, butter, flour, sugar, dry yeast**, canned tomatoes, bell peppers, broccoli, summer squash*, oatmeal, bananas, oranges*, apples*, strawberries, potatoes, onions, olive oil, peanut butter...

The big bags of almonds and pistachios always feel kind of lavish, but I doubt they're cheaper elsewhere.

I haven't tried the Kirkland brand of dish soap, but the gallon-ish bottle of Dawn for <$10 lasts me years for the dishes I hand wash. I refill a small bottle that has sat by my sink for probably 20 years now. I also squirt a bit into a spray bottle full of water and use it for most light surface cleaning.

*Only when we're not getting loads from the garden.
**We usually get the 2lb vacuum packed block. Even though we bake quite a bit, it's more than we need in the year or so that it's fresh, so we often share some with friends or Buy Nothing neighbors, which in turn is a good thing to do with some of those little glass jars that were too cute to toss. Even if we give away half, it's much cheaper than in the little packets.

GilesMM

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Re: Top 3 Values at Costco
« Reply #27 on: January 29, 2025, 05:22:41 AM »
How's the meat? Decent quality? Cost effective in your areas?

Usually good quality and fancier stuff, but not the cheapest in my area.


The beef is high quality - mostly USDA Choice or Prime.  When is the last time your grocery offered Prime? The prices are fair but the quantities are large so prices scare us, like $70 for a package of five NY strips at $10/lb.  Safeway has better meat sales. However, the quality of the beef at Costco always amazes us and tastes head and shoulders better than anything from a grocery.  https://www.eatlikenoone.com/price-guide-to-buying-beef-at-costco.htm


Most things (not all) that are Costco/Kirkland brand are high quality and fair to low price.  This applies to stuff like meat, baked goods, olive oil, nuts, pet food, meds, organic milk and eggs, cheese, coffee, whiskey, wine, batteries, paper goods, even petrol.  https://www.kiplinger.com/slideshow/spending/t050-s001-25-best-kirkland-products-you-should-buy-at-costco/index.html
« Last Edit: January 30, 2025, 06:04:57 AM by GilesMM »

41_swish

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Re: Top 3 Values at Costco
« Reply #28 on: January 29, 2025, 09:58:19 AM »
For me it is all about the meat. I buy ground beef and chicken there. I also will buy frozen fish. The price and quality is excellent.

I also buy my protein bars there as well as other snacks.

Pantry items are very will priced there. They just come in industrial quantities.

Archipelago

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Re: Top 3 Values at Costco
« Reply #29 on: January 29, 2025, 10:06:20 AM »
Quaker Old Fashioned Oats - 10 lbs for $10
Teddy's All Natural Peanutbutter - 2 large jars for $10
PB Fit peanut powder - large bag for $13
Hemp hearts - large bag for $13 I believe
Chia seeds - same thing
Rotisserie chicken - $5
Kirkland brand toilet paper - $20
Kirkland branded Prosecco (plain or Rose) - $7-8 per bottle
'All' fragrance free branded liquid laundry detergent - $12.50 (this was on sale and was the best price I've ever seen, and haven't seen for a while)

Archipelago

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Re: Top 3 Values at Costco
« Reply #30 on: January 29, 2025, 10:07:24 AM »
They've got the cheapest peanut butter that I can find around here.  Both natural and whatever the hell Kraft is.  Also cheese, milk, eggs, and yogurt tend to be either the lowest prices that you can find or close to it.
Teddy's all natural PB for the win. Ingredients list: Peanuts & salt

therethere

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Re: Top 3 Values at Costco
« Reply #31 on: January 29, 2025, 10:22:26 AM »
I love my Costco business center. I rarely go to a regular Costco because business centers have the basics minus all the pre-made stuff and have no lines. I just got a 40lb box of boneless chicken thighs for $1/lb. It can be an undertaking to split it up before freezing (we're also pre-marinading and cutting it up into cubes/slices), but it really can't be beat. When we are running low I go and look at the sell by dates, then go back to check for clearanced boxes the day before. Here's my general list.

spring mix
yogurt
eggs
espresso beans (on sale about every 3 months but Amazon sales regularly match this)
flour and yeast
TP and paper towels (obviously)
oats and chia seeds
broccoli
« Last Edit: January 29, 2025, 10:24:10 AM by therethere »

Cranky

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Re: Top 3 Values at Costco
« Reply #32 on: January 29, 2025, 02:29:33 PM »
Wine, coffee, and the three berry frozen fruit I eat with my yogurt.

crocheted_stache

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Re: Top 3 Values at Costco
« Reply #33 on: January 29, 2025, 09:59:35 PM »
Quaker Old Fashioned Oats - 10 lbs for $10

If you regularly eat oatmeal, see if your Costco offers the Kirkland brand in the big, red bag. Same 10 lbs, couple bucks cheaper. And it's not like oatmeal is the kind of thing that matters a bunch whose name is on the container.

GuitarStv

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Re: Top 3 Values at Costco
« Reply #34 on: January 30, 2025, 08:01:44 AM »
Our costco only has oatmeal that's cut up into little bits - no big flakes.  I can't get around that.  It's like eating non-crunchy peanut butter.  Who wants all this textureless food???

Turtle

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Re: Top 3 Values at Costco
« Reply #35 on: January 30, 2025, 09:01:27 AM »
Maple syrup
TP
Paper towels

These are 3 of my top as well.  Even with it just being me now, the membership is still worth it to me because of how close I am to them.  My daughter has my spare card and finds quite a bit there that she needs, including adding to her work wardrobe because she’s on site every day.

Ones I haven’t seen mentioned yet are birdseed and pet items.  I wish they carried suet more often, but I’ve learned to stock up when I see it.

Dicey

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Re: Top 3 Values at Costco
« Reply #36 on: January 30, 2025, 09:08:19 AM »
Quaker Old Fashioned Oats - 10 lbs for $10

If you regularly eat oatmeal, see if your Costco offers the Kirkland brand in the big, red bag. Same 10 lbs, couple bucks cheaper. And it's not like oatmeal is the kind of thing that matters a bunch whose name is on the container.
I was just going to say the same thing. I bought a bag of Kirkland Oats last week. It was $7. During the pandemic,  the Quaker twin pack box got up to $12.99.

Sibley

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Re: Top 3 Values at Costco
« Reply #37 on: January 30, 2025, 09:27:48 AM »
The roast I got at Costco has been cooked and eaten. Came out well. I'll be making a list for price comparison purposes in general.

I am glad I rearranged/cleaned up my closets, because now I have a lot more bulk storage capacity.

41_swish

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Re: Top 3 Values at Costco
« Reply #38 on: January 30, 2025, 10:16:27 AM »
Maple syrup
TP
Paper towels

These are 3 of my top as well.  Even with it just being me now, the membership is still worth it to me because of how close I am to them.  My daughter has my spare card and finds quite a bit there that she needs, including adding to her work wardrobe because she’s on site every day.

Ones I haven’t seen mentioned yet are birdseed and pet items.  I wish they carried suet more often, but I’ve learned to stock up when I see it.
REAL maple syrup is way better than the fake stuff. This is one small luxury I will never give up.

franklin4

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Re: Top 3 Values at Costco
« Reply #39 on: January 30, 2025, 10:31:57 AM »
Quaker Old Fashioned Oats - 10 lbs for $10

If you regularly eat oatmeal, see if your Costco offers the Kirkland brand in the big, red bag. Same 10 lbs, couple bucks cheaper. And it's not like oatmeal is the kind of thing that matters a bunch whose name is on the container.

I make oatmeal for the family every weekday so we go through a lot of it, enough that the Costco bag seems too small. I get 25 pound bags of Bob's Red Mill oats at the US Foods Chef Store, which we call the restaurant supply store. The stores are concentrated in the west half of the US but the store locator map shows several in the Carolinas as well. Anyone can shop with no membership required. Besides several types of oats the stores carry loads of bulk foods intended for restaurants. It's a good counterpart to Costco. We also like the wide selection of Torani flavored syrup for Italian soda.

Turtle

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Re: Top 3 Values at Costco
« Reply #40 on: January 30, 2025, 11:18:40 AM »
Quaker Old Fashioned Oats - 10 lbs for $10

If you regularly eat oatmeal, see if your Costco offers the Kirkland brand in the big, red bag. Same 10 lbs, couple bucks cheaper. And it's not like oatmeal is the kind of thing that matters a bunch whose name is on the container.

I make oatmeal for the family every weekday so we go through a lot of it, enough that the Costco bag seems too small. I get 25 pound bags of Bob's Red Mill oats at the US Foods Chef Store, which we call the restaurant supply store. The stores are concentrated in the west half of the US but the store locator map shows several in the Carolinas as well. Anyone can shop with no membership required. Besides several types of oats the stores carry loads of bulk foods intended for restaurants. It's a good counterpart to Costco. We also like the wide selection of Torani flavored syrup for Italian soda.

Love Bob’s Red Mill.  Their gluten free quick cooking rolled oats are one of the things I buy at my locally owned grocery store. 

GuitarStv

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Re: Top 3 Values at Costco
« Reply #41 on: January 30, 2025, 11:28:39 AM »
Maple syrup
TP
Paper towels

These are 3 of my top as well.  Even with it just being me now, the membership is still worth it to me because of how close I am to them.  My daughter has my spare card and finds quite a bit there that she needs, including adding to her work wardrobe because she’s on site every day.

Ones I haven’t seen mentioned yet are birdseed and pet items.  I wish they carried suet more often, but I’ve learned to stock up when I see it.
REAL maple syrup is way better than the fake stuff. This is one small luxury I will never give up.

I've never warmed up to pouring dirty tree blood on my pancakes.  Give me chemically pure, lab perfected 100% pure Aunt Jemima any day of the week.

GilesMM

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Re: Top 3 Values at Costco
« Reply #42 on: January 30, 2025, 12:01:10 PM »
Maple syrup
TP
Paper towels

These are 3 of my top as well.  Even with it just being me now, the membership is still worth it to me because of how close I am to them.  My daughter has my spare card and finds quite a bit there that she needs, including adding to her work wardrobe because she’s on site every day.

Ones I haven’t seen mentioned yet are birdseed and pet items.  I wish they carried suet more often, but I’ve learned to stock up when I see it.
REAL maple syrup is way better than the fake stuff. This is one small luxury I will never give up.

I've never warmed up to pouring dirty tree blood on my pancakes.  Give me chemically pure, lab perfected 100% pure Aunt Jemima any day of the week.


I thought Aunt Jemima was retired. Is she back?

jrhampt

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Re: Top 3 Values at Costco
« Reply #43 on: January 30, 2025, 01:02:19 PM »
Maple syrup
TP
Paper towels

These are 3 of my top as well.  Even with it just being me now, the membership is still worth it to me because of how close I am to them.  My daughter has my spare card and finds quite a bit there that she needs, including adding to her work wardrobe because she’s on site every day.

Ones I haven’t seen mentioned yet are birdseed and pet items.  I wish they carried suet more often, but I’ve learned to stock up when I see it.
REAL maple syrup is way better than the fake stuff. This is one small luxury I will never give up.

I've never warmed up to pouring dirty tree blood on my pancakes.  Give me chemically pure, lab perfected 100% pure Aunt Jemima any day of the week.
[/quote

Are you really Canadian?

41_swish

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Re: Top 3 Values at Costco
« Reply #44 on: January 30, 2025, 01:23:36 PM »
Maple syrup
TP
Paper towels

These are 3 of my top as well.  Even with it just being me now, the membership is still worth it to me because of how close I am to them.  My daughter has my spare card and finds quite a bit there that she needs, including adding to her work wardrobe because she’s on site every day.

Ones I haven’t seen mentioned yet are birdseed and pet items.  I wish they carried suet more often, but I’ve learned to stock up when I see it.
REAL maple syrup is way better than the fake stuff. This is one small luxury I will never give up.

I've never warmed up to pouring dirty tree blood on my pancakes.  Give me chemically pure, lab perfected 100% pure Aunt Jemima any day of the week.
Are you even Candadian, buddy, eh? It is deplorable to be a Canadian and not like maple syrup....

wonkette

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Re: Top 3 Values at Costco
« Reply #45 on: January 30, 2025, 01:53:34 PM »
Flour! My Costco regularly has King Arthur AP flour and King Arthur bread flour at unbeatable prices.

I'm also super into the Aussie bites for breakfast, which I could probably make myself for slightly cheaper, but I am very time poor right now. So when they went on sale two weeks ago I stocked up!

GuitarStv

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Re: Top 3 Values at Costco
« Reply #46 on: January 30, 2025, 03:46:36 PM »
Maple syrup
TP
Paper towels

These are 3 of my top as well.  Even with it just being me now, the membership is still worth it to me because of how close I am to them.  My daughter has my spare card and finds quite a bit there that she needs, including adding to her work wardrobe because she’s on site every day.

Ones I haven’t seen mentioned yet are birdseed and pet items.  I wish they carried suet more often, but I’ve learned to stock up when I see it.
REAL maple syrup is way better than the fake stuff. This is one small luxury I will never give up.

I've never warmed up to pouring dirty tree blood on my pancakes.  Give me chemically pure, lab perfected 100% pure Aunt Jemima any day of the week.


I thought Aunt Jemima was retired. Is she back?

Ha, I forgot about that.  I'm sure she's relaxing with Mrs. Butterworth*, Uncle Ben, and that cream of wheat guy somewhere in mascot heaven now.  Probably with the land of lakes lady** too.

Actually, I think that all of the human mascots you can find any more are white now.  The Quaker guy, Colonel Sanders, Mr. Clean, Chef Boyardee, The Lucky Charms leprechaun, The Burger King king, the Wendy's girl, Flo the insurance lady, the Sun Maid lady (maiden?), the Hamburgler, Cap'n Crunch, the Keebler Elf, the Snap/Crackle/Pop elves, the Gerber baby, the Brawny paper towel guy . . . has outrage over mascot racial stereotypes resulted in an ethnic cleansing where we're now only allowed to buy from white people?







* Holy crap, further research seems to indicate that Mrs. Butterworth is still available for sale?  REALLY?

** Who was actually designed by an Ojibwe man in the '50s who gave her culturally appropriate beadwork in the art.  I'm not sure how to feel about that.  Does that make the character less objectionable?

K_in_the_kitchen

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Re: Top 3 Values at Costco
« Reply #47 on: January 30, 2025, 03:59:13 PM »
We have Sam’s and Costco, so I’ll try to name things I can’t get at Sam’s, but can get at Costco

1) Organic frozen mango chunks.  Sam’s doesn’t carry plain mango, everywhere else is just crazy expensive.
2) Organic flour.  Sam’s doesn’t carry organic, and Costco’s is 10¢ less per pound than Azure Standard with the bonus of not having to buy 50# at a time.
3) California extra virgin olive oil, when they have it.  We rarely cook with EVOO, and wouldn’t buy this for cooking, but it’s a staple in our home dressed salads.
4) Organic half and half, great price
5) Dubliner cheese, and manchego

41_swish

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Re: Top 3 Values at Costco
« Reply #48 on: January 30, 2025, 10:43:15 PM »
We have Sam’s and Costco, so I’ll try to name things I can’t get at Sam’s, but can get at Costco

1) Organic frozen mango chunks.  Sam’s doesn’t carry plain mango, everywhere else is just crazy expensive.
2) Organic flour.  Sam’s doesn’t carry organic, and Costco’s is 10¢ less per pound than Azure Standard with the bonus of not having to buy 50# at a time.
3) California extra virgin olive oil, when they have it.  We rarely cook with EVOO, and wouldn’t buy this for cooking, but it’s a staple in our home dressed salads.
4) Organic half and half, great price
5) Dubliner cheese, and manchego
A block of cheese will be cost $10 there and then at the grocery store $10 gets you something 1/5 the size its crazy. Costco is elite for good cheese, but its hard to eat it all ahah

crocheted_stache

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Re: Top 3 Values at Costco
« Reply #49 on: January 30, 2025, 11:46:14 PM »
Maple syrup
TP
Paper towels

These are 3 of my top as well.  Even with it just being me now, the membership is still worth it to me because of how close I am to them.  My daughter has my spare card and finds quite a bit there that she needs, including adding to her work wardrobe because she’s on site every day.

Ones I haven’t seen mentioned yet are birdseed and pet items.  I wish they carried suet more often, but I’ve learned to stock up when I see it.
REAL maple syrup is way better than the fake stuff. This is one small luxury I will never give up.

I've never warmed up to pouring dirty tree blood on my pancakes.  Give me chemically pure, lab perfected 100% pure Aunt Jemima any day of the week.


I thought Aunt Jemima was retired. Is she back?

Ha, I forgot about that.  I'm sure she's relaxing with Mrs. Butterworth*, Uncle Ben, and that cream of wheat guy somewhere in mascot heaven now.  Probably with the land of lakes lady** too.

Actually, I think that all of the human mascots you can find any more are white now.  The Quaker guy, Colonel Sanders, Mr. Clean, Chef Boyardee, The Lucky Charms leprechaun, The Burger King king, the Wendy's girl, Flo the insurance lady, the Sun Maid lady (maiden?), the Hamburgler, Cap'n Crunch, the Keebler Elf, the Snap/Crackle/Pop elves, the Gerber baby, the Brawny paper towel guy . . . has outrage over mascot racial stereotypes resulted in an ethnic cleansing where we're now only allowed to buy from white people?







* Holy crap, further research seems to indicate that Mrs. Butterworth is still available for sale?  REALLY?

** Who was actually designed by an Ojibwe man in the '50s who gave her culturally appropriate beadwork in the art.  I'm not sure how to feel about that.  Does that make the character less objectionable?

I'm told the Quaker Oats guy didn't quite land when presented to Chinese people. Why would he? He's there anyway, but it's called Old Man Brand. (This is secondhand news I'm remembering from a long time ago, so if you know better, please fill me in.)

Do we still have a Jolly Green Giant?

There's a Vermont branch in my family. I grew up on real maple syrup, and I will reach for pretty much anything else before fake maple: brown sugar syrup, fruit, fruit syrup, jam, peanut butter, applesauce, yogurt...