Costco Membership Dues - a rip off?

[GLC1968]

I'm fairly certain we pay $50 a year for our annual membership (for the two of us)! $180 is nuts.

And hell yeah, $50 is worth it. There are two Costco's within 10 miles of us and one of them is walkable from my office, so it's easy shopping for us. We buy boatloads of produce, nuts and meat from them every couple of weeks. They often carry great deals on organics and for us...a vast majority of the in-season stuff is local. Ours carries local, pastured eggs as well. We never even go down half of the aisles since we no longer eat any pre-packaged or processed foods, and yet it's still a great deal for us.

For those that don't shop there (I can't speak for BJ's as I've never been) because you have to buy in bulk, you really don't. Not everything comes in mammoth sizes!

We've also had good luck buying electronics and various other home goods there on occasion but it is very important to be cognizant of pricing as it's not always the best deal.

Between Costco, TJ's, two CSA's and New Seasons (a local 'Whole Foods' type place but better prices and selection of local stuff), we hardly ever go to a regular grocery store anymore!

[Irulan]

I'm fairly certain we pay $50 a year for our annual membership (for the two of us)! !

That is the basic membership with no cash back.

We've also had good luck buying electronics and various other home goods there on occasion but it is very important to be cognizant of pricing as it's not always the best deal.

If you have to get a laptop for a kid (high school or college) they have a really awesome 2 year return policy on electronics. It's good even for things like, "tripped on the power cord and it fell off the table onto the floor and the screen broke". You won't find that anywhere else unless you buy an extended warranty.

[shootingstar]

In Vancouver, we've lived near a Costco that's only 2 blocks away. It has been open there for last 6 yrs.

But we never shopped there. We don't buy stuff in bulk on that scale and to have room to store it all, to make it cost-effective for 2 of us. Besides..Chinatown is only half a block away, and a pile of grocery, drug stores to get good sales on items.

I've only shopped at Costco once in my life....when I was with a friend and she had a card.