Wholesale everything! Cheap prices. Nutella jars bigger than your head! We’ve all heard about it. The exclusive “members only” shopping experience. Membership costs $60 annually however members can take *nosy* visitors as long as they don’t purchase anything. So when a friend of mine wanted to catch up, I suggested we catch up at Costco (she’s a member)! I know what you're thinking. We are wild and out of control. Anyway, nothing can prepare you for that first impression as you walk in the door. The warehouse is HUGE with “stuff” stacked to the ceiling. They sell EVERYTHING! I didn’t even know I needed a teddy bear the size of my husband until I went there! You name it, they sell it! I skipped the electronics, toys, clothes, bedding, and car tyre sections. I was only there for one thing. FOOD! Costco is a 40 minute drive from my house. So realistically if I was to become a member, it would be to go once every couple of months in order to stock up on pantry supplies. It’s just too far for me to use for my weekly grocery shop. Keeping this in mind, I walked around taking photos, doing my price comparison research. My friend applied the 50 metre rule. I usually purchase all my seeds, oats, powders and nuts from Mrs Flannery’s once every couple of months on their 20% off Super Saturdays. Here is a price comparison for the items that I realistically would buy from Mrs Flannery’s on those days. *The packet sizes were different in each store so I have altered the prices to the same volumes for comparisons sake*
The difference between the two trolleys is $21.33 A $20 saving is not big enough to make me want to drive a 1 hour 20 minute round trip to Costco. Let's pretend that while I am there, I also stock up on some pantry staples that I would usually buy at Woolworths supermarkets.
That's another saving of $14.13 So for my total shop I have saved $35.46 Realistically if I was a member (due to Costco's location) I would only get there every 2 months. That is 6 times per year. Purchasing the above grocery shop, I would've paid back the membership fee in only 2 visits. But after that, I have to factor in petrol and the time taken out of my day to get there. Is that worth $35 to me? Probably not. So what is the verdict? If I lived within a 15 minute drive from Costco, I would go there often for a large portion of my general grocery items which would indeed save me loads of money. But for someone who is geographically distant from it, I just don't feel it's worth my while to drive all the way out there. I'd rather purchase locally and have the extra hour of time to do other shit....... like write a blog. I do love supporting my local family-owned health food shops (read about them here). Buying from Costco would reduce my dollars spent at my favourite stores and time spent shoulder rubbing with vegans. I just don't think I would be willing to sacrifice that. But I would gladly go back to Costco as a guest. I had a great time looking at products and reading labels. I was pleasantly surprised with the amount of organic foods to select from. I was slightly confused as to why they market their meat as grain-fed as if this was a good thing. I learned that if you "Costco", you don't go on the weekend because the lines are MASSIVE. And I found it rather a lovely metaphor that the HUGE line for the fast food: Was right next to the coffin section: Do you Costco?
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