ARTYOORAN / Shutterstock.com
- Costco has plenty of excellent deals, but in some cases, the cost of a membership just isn’t worth it.
- If you’re shopping for perishable items, for example, or if you have limited space in your home, a Costco membership might not be a good idea.
- Here are some instances where the $60 annual fee for a Gold Star membership — the lowest-priced tier of Costco membership — can’t necessarily be justified.
Costco is a fantastic grocery shopping option for a variety of reasons. Between the great deals, the ability to buy large quantities of your favorite products at once, and the generally high quality of their available items, there’s a reason why the wholesale warehouse is a favorite among savvy shoppers and professional chefs alike.
But of course, as with everything, there are certain drawbacks and restrictions when it comes to whiling away a day wandering the high-stacked aisles at Costco. In particular, many would-be members are turned off by the fact that the store is members-only, with a Gold Star membership running you $60 per year and a higher-tier Executive plan costing $120 annually.
Read more: How to shop at Costco without a membership
While die-hard Costco lovers will insist that the cost of membership is well worth it, that’s not quite always the case for every person and in every situation.
Here are six instances in which it’s hard to justify forking over the cost of an annual Costco membership:
If you’re shopping for perishable foods, food waste can be costly.
Justin Sullivan/Getty
While buying in bulk can be a lifesaver for a family of five, it doesn’t always make sense to stock up when you’re a single shopper or even a couple — particularly when it comes to perishable foods.
If you know for a fact you’ll be using a large quantity of a certain item within a particular time frame — such as one of Costco’s many party platters for a special event — it obviously makes sense to stock up. However, when it comes to things like fresh produce, fresh meat and fish, and even over-the-counter medications, the expiration date can sneak up on you quicker than you realize.
This is doubly tricky because Costco doesn’t do size options. It’s either the amount they have available in bulk or nothing.
"Determining whether a Costco membership is worth it comes down to two things: lifestyle and shelf life," Jenna Coleman of Particular Pantry told Business Insider. "If you are shopping for a one- or two-person household, beware of perishable items. Anything from giant bottles of OTC medications to two-pound packs of strawberries has an expiration. And no matter how good the deal is, it is wasted if you can’t consume it all before it expires."
If you’re a savvy sale shopper or couponer, you’ll often find better prices at local stores.
Tim Boyle/Getty Images
When you’re a bargain shopper, on a strict budget, and/or not particularly wedded to any specific brand, you may find that Costco’s prices are not necessarily the best. There are plenty of supposed Costco "deals" that are actually a waste of money. This can include some Costco products that are lower quality than other brands as well as other items that are regularly found on sale elsewhere.
"Costco has great varieties of pasta all packaged together, but they’re really not the best bang for your buck. Especially if you stock up on pasta when it’s on sale at the normal grocery store, I usually only pay between $0.50-$1.00/lb. for pasta, which Costco can’t beat," blogger The Many Little Joys writes.
Especially when you combine store or manufacturer’s coupons with a rebate app like Ibotta, local grocery chains can easily beat Costco’s per-unit prices for certain items.
"It can be hard to find items at Costco that are actually good values relative to regular grocery stores if you are a penny pincher. This is particularly true if you are conscious of a unit of measure pricing. Bigger is not always better," personal finance blogger Stephanie Schill of Wynning In Life told Business Insider.
"For example, La Croix sparkling water, which my husband and I drink a lot of, is available at my local Costco for $8.99 per 24-pack," Schill continued. "That’s $0.37 each. They are regularly priced at $3.99 for a 12-pack at my local Woodman’s store every day of the week, bringing the cost down to $0.33 each."
If there isn’t a Costco within a reasonable distance of you, it can be hard to justify the lengthy and out-of-the-way trip.
Mario Anzuoni/Reuters
While Costco is massively popular, there’s not exactly one on every corner. Per Statista, the company operates a total of 762 warehouses worldwide, 527 of which are in the United States and Puerto Rico. Compare that with approximately 4,769 Walmart locations and 1,822 Target stores, and you’ll realize that it might not necessarily be easy for a potential member to access the warehouse bargains.
Driving significantly out of your way to shop at Costco can cost you both valuable time and money, in terms of gas and the cost of additional wear-and-tear on your car.
"I’d recommend taking a second look at a membership if you have to drive any distance out of your way to get there," Schill told Business Insider. "You may convince yourself that you’ll make a special trip once a month, but odds are if you have to put in the effort to go there, you won’t. So unless there is a location near your home, or on your commute, I’d reconsider."
See the rest of the story at Business Insider
See Also:
- 18 retailers with the best loyalty programs
- How Walmart keeps its prices so low
- Health officials are searching for the source of an E. coli outbreak that has sickened more than 70 people. Here’s what a food-poisoning expert always avoids.
Source: Business Insider – feedback@businessinsider.com (Caralynn Lippo)