Thread: Costco is it worth the joining fee

We joined, originally to buy plates etc for little Athens club but after a while thought it was ok.

Most times I go to the big smoke I fill up at Costco servo, 10c a litre cheaper than a 4c voucher ( so abt 15c a litre cheaper). Recouped my outlay reasonably quick. Pity the servos aren't 24 hour, they're already self serve.

Bought a camera for a mate and he reckons better price than he could match elsewhere, so happy with that too! They have a photo in your card, issued one to me and one to minister for war and finance!,

I assume you can get a club card so if you join get a club name
( I previously had a card for the ****** social club, (my work location) almost everyone in town used it so it was great, what they didn't know is that stn. was a one man stn!!). But I was very social !

Originally Posted by Stuck

Excluding your second question, that might be why I've never seen anything other than a Mercedes pulling their trailers.
In saying that,a comparison on the percentage of locally sourced products / produce on Aldi's shelves as opposed to the other two would be a good read.

Benz PMs are cheaper than Volvo/Scania, and are a very good price/performance option for a Metro truck. You'll find them at Coles as well. Lindsay loves 'em.

Originally Posted by ramblingboy42

just out of interest johntins , do you know where Aldi is from?

Just out of interest, ramblingboy, do you know where the money from Coles and Woolworths goes? Did you know that Aldi sells far more 'local' products and produce than the other two?

Aldi is german. Owned by 2 brothers.

Originally Posted by Tote

I reckon that I have probably saved my membership cost in fuel over the last six months or so. Consistently up to 10 cents a litre cheaper than other places.
Tyres are also considerably cheaper if you run Bridgestone or Michelin. I saved $40 a tyre on the RTV ute the last time I got tyres.
I like the items that are not easily available elsewhere such as the Whalen storage shelf Whalen 4 Tier 77" (195cm) Industrial Storage Rack | Costco UK -

I'm less convinced that they are a competitor for the main supermarket chains though, we don't buy many groceries there.

Regards,
Tote

No wonder it's so expensive with that carrying capacity

Weight: 79 kg
Material: Steel
Capacity: 3,628 kg
Brand: Whalen
Number Of Shelves: 4
- See more at: Whalen 4 Tier 77" (195cm) Industrial Storage Rack | Costco UK -

Don.

Just a comment on some of the concerns in this thread about which place you should shop at.

The retailer's profit margin on groceries is very small, almost certainly less than almost any other retail item except bulk commodities such as fuel. What this means is that most of the price you pay goes to businesses that the retailer pays - suppliers, transport, lenders, power, rent, wages, rates, taxes etc. The profit numbers of the retailers tend to be very large, simply because their turnover is huge, but the amount of money paid to owners/shareholders is very small compared to these others, Depending where the goods come from, most of it stays in Australia, regardless of where the owners are. And even the profits often stay in Australia to fund expansion of the business.

But the prices that the retailer charge for the same or similar item varies quite a lot. Why is this? While one retailer may be making a larger profit on it the item, it is more likely that either the retailer has a different pricing model for different goods, or has a different business model.

To give some examples of the differences that can exist - Coles/Woolworths (with very similar models) offer a wide range of goods and like to have stores everywhere, and especially in high rent shopping centres. In comparison, Aldi seeks locations which are cheap or low rent, has a very much smaller range (and most of it home brand) allowing them to have lower costs and lower prices both from the lower rent costs and lower cost of stock in hand. Costco similarly seeks low rent locations, but also only sells mostly in large quantities, cutting down all their costs per item.

I have to agree with a few others, I drive past the cosco petrol station twice a day here in Adelaide, and that alone means its easy for me to fill up and I probably save about $7-$8 a week.

Its great if we are putting on a party, but otherwise im lucky to go in the store once every 3 months, but it is good to see allot of their fresh meat, dairy and veg products are locally sourced.

That being said I have bought a few car batterys there rather cheap, and have put a few sets of tires on the car very very cheaply for brand name, so for me it works out as a no brainer.

If I didnt live near or pass the petrol station on a regular basis, I wouldnt pay the membership. I can see that if I had a few small kids then I could possibly do very well on things like nappies and some foods etc over my local foodland supermarket I do 90% of my shop at.

Originally Posted by johntins

Just out of interest, ramblingboy, do you know where the money from Coles and Woolworths goes? Did you know that Aldi sells far more 'local' products and produce than the other two?

9 months to come up with that response isnt too bad......and no , I don't know that Aldi sell more local products/produce than the other two.

I am sure they would have strong arguments about that. They are all the same. None of them give fair prices to the primary producers anymore and that's because we go hunting for their bargains , sucked into believing they are offering you a better service.

They have driven the small stores out of business. As I grew up all the supermarkets were privately owned and we were friends with the owners. Do you know any supermarket owners? You believe they are friendly or better because you can get something cheaper there?

They have no concern for you whatsoever apart from conning you to spend your money at their store.