Agree, and most aren’t accepting returns now anyway (by virtue of being closed). But Costco is saying they will not take back those items, purchased during this time, ever, not just that they won’t take them back now. Presumably it’s to stop people from hoarding then returning later.
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But on the flip side, taking that stuff back now would only be helpful in redistributing it to where it’s currently needed. It’s the returns 6 months from now, after store shelves are fully restocked, that need to be preempted.
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That’s not what is happening though. No one is going to hoard these items, then return them while the situation is still here. Also, Costco sends most returned items back to vendors or bulk buyers (actual bulk, not “Costco bulk”). So they wouldn’t hit the marketplace for the next buyer for a while anyway.
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Kudos to Costco.
I wish HD and Lowes did this for their generators and bottle water when a hurricane “threatens”.
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Starting Friday, April 3 only two people per membership card will be allowed to enter Costco at a time
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Good… I haven’t been to Costco for over a month. I like their sour dough 2 pak bread.
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Are non-members who hold Costco gift cards still allowed to shop there? Was thinking of offering to buy GC for locals in my circle so they could do so on their own.
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Yeah, baby! Their Fench sticks are good, too.
The Bogleheads have a thread on Aldi’s. It looks like their stuff is high quality and lower price than Costco
'Aldi thread at Bogleheads/
p.s we do not have Aldi’s here in CA. Too bad. Seems like a good store
Maybe not where you are, but we do have Aldi in CA. A ton of them in SoCal. They’ve been moving in for the last 3-4 years. I checked it out once or twice, the prices were NOT low and I didn’t care for what they were selling (I tried a few things).
I love the concept of Aldi (mainly store brand products, focus on efficiency), but I don’t shop there regularly. They offer neither value or selection IMHO.
The prices are okay, generally equivalent with warehouse clubs with the benefit that you don’t have to buy in bulk (but lots of variation, some things are a great deal and others are more expensive). The quality is very hit-or-miss. If you stick with staple items you tend to get decent value, but I’d avoid most of the snack foods, frozen items, etc. The best deal at Aldi was the whole salmon fillet which was both fresh and half the price of Sam’s Club.
A bigger issue for me is the limited selection. Every time I went to Aldi I’d also have to go to a regular grocery store to get 1-3 things Aldi doesn’t carry. I understand the focus on efficiency and low cost means they don’t stock less popular or profitable items, but it totally defeats the purpose for me if I have to go to a mainline grocery store anyway.
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Is Costco worth it? I find that they are a meh grocery store. But for some categories, such as vitamins and supplements and paper products they tend to be really cheap.
Among groceries, I’ve only found the quinoa to be way cheap. $4.5 for 5lb works out to $2.20/lb. Aldi is $3.50 for quinoa. For most things, Aldi/Lidl are cheaper (or only slightly) more than Costco, without the need to buy in bulk.
Vitamins and medicines are mad cheap. The glucosamine is <$13 on sale for 375 tablets (2 a day; 187 day supply). Meanwhile, a normal drugstore, even when BOGO, costs $15 for 120 tablets (3 a day; 40 day supply). So here, Costco costs 79% less! Same goes for allergy medicine.
This sales week, Lidl had 30 roll 425 sheet 2 ply toilet paper for $13.99. I think the Kirkland 30x425 is up to $16.99 nowadays. It is not an item that is always carried, but when it is, it is a steal. 
If you live in certain geographies, Costco may be relatively more useful. E.g. in Norcal there’s no Aldi/Lidl, the Kroger affiliate (Foods Co) is pretty weak, and Safeway is way overpriced, so Costco is relatively a better deal. In Hawaii, Costco is useful since they’re the only store that offers mainland-like prices, and the gas prices are like 60c less than at other pumps.
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I do like Aldi’s $3.49 32oz honey greek yogurt (32oz chobani costs $5-6, and the Aldi stuff is better. Lidl sometimes sells their 32oz greek yogurt (super thick) for as low as $2.49).
Some of Aldi/Lidl’s snacks are very good. E.g. the thin mint-like cookies for <$1, the Ben & Jerry’s like ice cream for $2, tortilla chips for $0.89, kettle chips for $1.35, and $1 wheat thin-like cracker are really fantastic. Other snacks don’t taste so good, probably because the manufacturer’s recipe is a well-guarded secret (e.g. store brand Oreos, Cheez Its, and Cheetos are not very good in general).
Their Organic groceries (fruits, veggies, mushrooms, yogurt, eggs, chicken) are usually cheapest in my experience, and usually last longer than my second favorite, TJ’s. Atlantic Salmon (farmed) at $10-11/lb is pretty good too.
That Kirkland TP is terrible. It’s thin and coarse, and it takes more sheets folded over to do the job than the thicker and softer Charmin they carry for a few more bucks.
Some of the gift cards they sell to other businesses can have massive discounts on them.
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I find Costco to be very hit or miss. Some stuff is overpriced, some stuff just equal to other shops. But for certain things they’re very competitive.
Same with Sams Club (We have no Costco around here). For specific brand name items, you’re always savings on “list” price. But if you arent brand loyal, seriously coupon or shop sales, or include generic brands, it’s very hit or miss.
They also have certain items typically only available through food wholesalers. Sams has boxes of battered (as opposed to breaded) cheese sticks, that are next to impossible to find at retail - everything in the grocery store is breaded. The fact that the 5(IIRC) pound box is also cheaper than typical retail prices is just a bonus.
As always, it depends on your benchmark. If I weren’t shopping at Costco, I’d be shopping at an relatively expensive local grocer instead. No Aldi, and Walmart is too trashy.
I sort of consider the Costco membership fee to be a door charge to not have to shop with a bunch of discount store customers, and I know may not beat the sale prices at regular grocers, but I’m going to pay a fair-ish price for the items we buy.
I also never have to go there after 4 on weekdays or ever on the weekend, so my shopping experience is probably different there than working people.
Yeah I try to go during the day on a weekday if I have to.
Its always a crowded mess during weekend afternoons.
I have to admit, I am going to think hard about whether to renew our Costco membership when it expires in November.
I can think of 10-12 items that are excellent deals at Costco, most of which appear in the coupon book a couple times each year. Off the top of my head, olive oil, toilet paper, Oral-B toothbrush heads, paper towels, ibuprofen, Cascade, Tide, Dixie cups, car batteries, vanilla extract, and flowers are generally excellent deals. The Charmin in particular is the extra wide variant which is extremely hard to find from other retailers and the wife insists on it.
Costco’s produce is almost universally terrible around here. It’s all on the verge of expiring - I have never bought produce I was happy with at Costco. Their bakery is good, but it’s only really useful for events or for freezing - even for large families their pies and cookie packages are massive. Their meat is a good deal, particularly the rotisserie chickens, ground beef, and the high end steaks. Although again, you’re buying a 6lb package of ground beef so you have to be feeding an army or willing to freeze the surplus. The chicken is one of the few things that doesn’t fall under the “army” category.
So, is it worth paying $60 to take advantage of these? I don’t know. With the gas discount, it was an easy yes, but without that, the math becomes more difficult. If I can find a reasonably priced, reliable vendor for wide Charmin, I might drop the Costco membership.