Costco is a relatively new phenomenon here in Australia.
It’s an unusual concept for us Aussies – a $60 annual membership fee needs to be paid before the customer is even allowed to walk into the store. The Australian website offers very little information about the items for sale, nor any prices or advertising.
So it’s understandable that we’ve baulked at paying the membership fee for so long. Given that we try not to buy packaged or processed food, it was hard to see how we’d recoup our investment over twelve months.
It wasn’t until Davey mentioned the Taylor’s port that I decided it was worth the punt. I’m a collector of Portuguese vintage port from way back, and the last time I saw a bottle of Taylor’s Quinta de Vargellas, it had an $84 price tag on it. So when Dave mentioned that the 2001 was on sale at Costco for $39.99, the lure was just too great. My very first purchase after joining up was six bottles of this fine drop…
The wine department at Costco is small but impressive. There were very reasonably priced Champagnes, including their Kirklands house label, made for them by Dom Perignon, no less (and selling for around $30/bottle)…
There were oodles of books…
…high stacked aisles of bulk groceries…
…flat screen televisions, computers, expensive cameras, gaming consoles, Lego…
…KitchenAid food processors, crockery, storage containers, power tools, fresh fruit and vegetables, meat, loads of seafood…
…shoes, handbags, clothes, jewellery, underwear, crystal glassware and ornaments…the list goes on…
We’ve decided that the $60 annual membership is, at least for us, very good value – we were able to recover our investment on the first purchase. It’s obviously not going to suit everyone, and if you’re primarily joining to buy groceries, then you’ll need quite a lot of storage space to make it worthwhile.
However, there are other areas which might appeal – Costco offers discounted tyres, which you can have fitted while you shop, as well as Optical and Hearing Aid departments. I was chatting to the salesman in the wine section, and he told me about a couple who had been in the previous week. They’d flown in from the Cook Islands, taken a taxi from the airport to Costco and joined up. Then the wife had purchased (and had fitted) a $2000 hearing aid. The husband claimed that they’d been quoted $12,000 for the same hearing aid back home!
I’m sure my American friends will be laughing at me for blogging about Costco, but it was all very exciting! Tell me, are you a member, and if so, what do you buy there?
Yup! I love Costco! I would not have hearing aids if it weren’t for their Kirkland branded Siemens units.
Sami, I think that’s the best thing – it makes stuff like that affordable. My brother in law bought three pairs of reading glasses in there for $17!
Ahhh, Costco has arrived in Australia! I heard that you’re getting Williams Sonoma & Pottery Barn too? We don’t go to Costco that often, but we do pop in to stock up on paper goods, plastic wrap, and diapers (exciting, I know…) And recently, they’ve had excellent prices on organic butter. They have good finds sometimes. You could easily get sucked into a lot of things there, right? xx
Em, the Manildra bakers flour that we buy from Harkola at $12/12kg bag was just $10 at Costco. I didn’t think it could get any cheaper!!
Oh wow! That’s fantastic! I’m going to keep my eyes peeled the next time we go to Costco. Hopefully we’ll have a deal like that. Thanks Celia!
I am a member, have been for years. We buy a broad range of items, from paper towels to wine. I can only find Meyer lemons at costco. The seasonal items are always fun, from golf umbrellas to plants. I like Costco. To me, it’s worth the membership. (If you join as an Executive member, you get a yearly rebate) Have fun…….
Carla, there are only two forms of membership available here – the company and the individual ones. It was really a fun shopping experience, like a little adventure! :)
very interesting Celia
Thanks Linda
We buy our ground coffee (Italian) at Costco because it’s a fraction of the price at the supermarket. Peder buys his wine and beer there, I always haul a huge jug of olive oil home (unbelievably cheap), and yes, Peder bought winter tyres at a very good price. We like Costco, but you do need to pre-think where you’ll store the items because it is bulk buying. :)
Misky, it’s easy to understand how people go nuts once they get into the store. As we don’t buy a lot of processed food, it was easier to restrict our purchases to raw ingredients and dry goods, but as we were walking into the store for the first time, we were a little disconcerted by the sight of a family loading an entire trolley’s worth of donuts into their boot… ;-)
Very interesting concept, hasn’t happened in darkest Africa yet! :)
Quite new here too, Sue! And great fun! :)
We have been members of Costco since it first opened many years ago, here in the state of Washington. There are deals to be found and savings to be made, but most important to me is the customer service. I can say, Costco knows that customer service makes the store. They also know that the way they treat their employees is the way their employees treat their customers. In almost 30 years of shopping at Costco for a family, a Bed and Breakfast and a small construction business, I have never had a problem that wasn’t quickly and nicely resolved. I didn’t start out thinking this would be such a ringing endorsement, but personal service from big companies is rare, so I am proud to tell you that Costco is a great new venue to add to your shopping list.
Sally, thank you for bringing that up, because I should have mentioned it – I noticed that the staff were really polite and obliging (apart from the guy who actually took our registration, but I think he was just flat out from processing a never ending stream of registrations!). And there were plenty of staff too, so there was no problem at all finding someone to ask a question to and get an answer from.
Oh how I miss Costco and Sam’s. :) I would LOVE a store up here. I’d drive to Brisbane to stock up. I would get canning jars and a vacuum sealer with a jar top thingo and vacuum seal everything I bought in bulk like cereal, flours, etc. Then I’d vacuum seal stuff in bags for the freezer. It’s a lot of work but it really saves time not having to go to the store for stuff all the time.
Maureen, they had the Sunbeam vac sealer for just $199, which is heaps cheaper than I’ve seen them elsewhere. Oh, I was tempted, but my cheapie model is still working ok, so it was hard to justify! :)
I belong to Sam’s Club- a Costco rival here in the States.
I buy basmati rice and olive oil and car batteries and well, whatever is a good price. I don’t go very often and share the membership with my family members so it isn’t too expensive. :)
And flowers- their flowers are always to fresh and beautiful and cheap.
Heidi, it’s a clever system – I’m actually really impressed with how they make it work. We barely buy things from the supermarket anyway, but I think this might have just finished off our supermarket visits altogether! :)
Hi Celia, a wonderful insight to a new shopping concept, Thanks.
I’ve gone majorly healthy with my diet and am wondering if they had a decent range of organic products such as coconut oil and other coconut products, hemp seed, raw cacao products, whey protein powder, nuts, seeds etc? Bulk almonds would be good for making my own nutmilk.
Big ask of the memory I know, as your mind must have been in overload.
oh, what about dehydrators, any there?
As i don’t tend to buy much processed foods nowadays, I do wonder if costco could work for us, but the savings you made on one item did pay for your registraion, so that gives me hope for maybe bulk coconut oil
thanks in advance
Narelle, I didn’t notice any of the things you mention, sorry. My friend Becca told me that she does get some organic ingredients there, but I didn’t spot any of the more unusual items you mention – most items are in bulk, and I didn’t notice a health food section. No on the dehydrators also – I saw a very reasonably priced vacuum sealer though. There were nuts, although I’m not sure they were noticeably cheaper than Harkola (the Lebanese wholesaler we buy from in Auburn) who are just up the road. I didn’t see any bulk coconut oil, but I wasn’t looking for it, although we did get very cheap grapeseed oil ($6.50/litre).
Our original hesitation to joining was that we don’t buy much processed food either, and a lot of the food on offer is just that. But there are other things as well – appliances, accessories, wine etc. I’ll have a good look next time I’m there, and if I see any of the items you mentioned, I’ll try to remember to email you!
Hi Narelle, I had a look for you when we were in today – lots of nuts, but didn’t see whey powder, raw cacao, seeds or other coconut products, but DID see organic figs, and organic coconut oil, here’s a photo…
Hope that helps!
We do not have a Costco near us but we have a BJ’s and Sam Club, both rivals of Costco. I do not belong to any but my kids are Costco members. I send them a shopping list before they come to visit. Good deals on nuts which I used a lot.
Norma, that’s the way to make the membership fee worthwhile! We bought nappies for our neighbour! :)
What is the concept of paying for membership why do they want to keep people away. Normally membership is required for upmarket places to keep it exclusive. Anyway I would consider it for the things you mention other than food, would have liked to foraged amongst those book titles and did I see designer handbags in one of your photos?
Hearing aids seem a bizarre thing to buy in a warehouse but sounds…forgive the pun, like that couple did their homework.
I actually think it’s a brilliant idea. What they don’t want is people coming in, comparing prices and then not buying and going elsewhere. Once you’ve paid your fee, you’re more likely to shop there anyway. And their prices are so good that eventually, people hear about it by word of mouth and go in to join up. I didn’t pay much attention to the handbags (you know me), but someone told me they sell Longchamp bags there (should have known you’d pick that up, Roz!).
We ARE allowed to take friends with us, so we can go next time you’re in if you like. However, if you wanted anything, I think you’d have to pay cash – the woman in the check out in front of us tried to use a credit card under a different name, and the system wouldn’t let her pay!
For your family, with growing lads, Costco is great Celia! For just the two of us, we tend to feel it’s expensive and we spend more than we need to. However, we do love Costco… they have some wonderful products… their meat and fish is exceptionally good and I love that they stock the Barossa bacon! AND I had four new tyres done in January, bargain!!!
Lizzy, that’s a bit endorsement, because I know how particular you are about the quality of your fresh produce! I’ll take a better look next time! Thanks! :)
Good to be forewarned about paying, so if I go with you and want to use my card I had better join up! I am a big Longchamp fan and went into the new flagship shop in Brisbane this week but I usually buy in Paris, as you do..
By the way Celia I am now signing in under FBook identity, the wordpress one just won’t let me which is odd since I am a wpress user for my own blog.
Roz, that’s odd re WP, have you tried logging off and logging back in? I can’t open your FB page..
Just joined recently knowing I had to purchase a new telephone set and eyeglasses. Was delighted to find that they have many organic and other healthy products. Downside is that you have to buy in quantity. But for items that you can freeze, store, or share with friends, there can be good buys. Another plus is that they pay their workers a reasonable wage and have good working benefits.
Eleanor, that’s good to know about the workers, thank you!
Welcome to the Costco Family! I shop at Costco, Celia, and often bring non-member friends with me. We buy what we like and divide it among us whenever possible. It’s a great way to stock up on heavily used items.
It’s very cool John, I’ve heard my US friends mention Costco, but never known what it was about before. It’s great! :)
I haven’t been yet but my husband ‘pops’ in when over that way. He loves it. He said he doesn’t eat before going because he can have a meal just by taste testing all the food. He seems to buy what ‘he’ thinks ‘I’ need and spends way to much. So now he is banned from going there. He must check with me first. :)
Hehehe…the temptation really IS great – there’s so many things on offer! :)
I haven’t known this… it is very interesting. I wished to be there … :) Sounds so nice. Thanks and Love, nia
Thanks Nia! :)
Welcome to the big box phenom – looks just like ours does. Always takes awhile to get over the sting of the membership fee – but that usually passes swiftly. Our closest one is even 65 miles away, but we go over monthly. We appreciate Costco’s return policies – they take anything back for any reason, and often beyond the manufacturer’s warranty period. We got our last washer/dryer there, and not only saved on the initial cost, but got free delivery and installation – and no one else would do that! I think they must take a loss on some items, ’cause sometimes they’re as much as 40/50% less than anyone else. We love it.
Doc, I got my fee back on the first purchase! :) I didn’t notice large electricals there – maybe they’re saving that up for the REALLY big store they’re building out west! I’d like to go back with a couple of free hours to explore.. ;-)
Curse you Celia, you are such a temptress! We are getting a Costco here in Adelaide soon, but I HAD decided it would have nothing of interest to me. Now I’ll just have to go and check it out. And one of your commenters mentioned that Williams Sonoma are to open here? OMG – that’s it for my credit card!
I’d taken the same attitude, Amanda, but I’ve changed my mind. ;-) I’m hoping to resist Williams Sonoma, but I doubt that will happen..hehe
This seems like such a clever shopping concept! Just looking at your photos I can see loads of things that I’d want to buy! :D
Hehehe…guess Roz isn’t the only one I’m taking handbag shopping.. ;-)
Dear Celia,
I’ve always wondered about Costco and thought it would be best for big families but I guess sharing a membership with my friend who also collects wine might be a good way to start. You’re not wearing your beret today though?
Oh no, I only wear that on special occasions. :) Re the wine, the Bollie was about $56/bottle, which is what it costs when it’s on special at Kemenys and Dan Murphys. There was quite a small range in wine terms, although I really only had eyes for the port. Spirits and beers were there as well.
im in heaven in the candy aisle :P
There’s certainly a lot there.. ;-)
When i lived in the US I used to go to Costco – for my tires, coffee, and then once you are in the store, you find so many other things you HAD to buy! So exciting!
Hehehe…it really was! :)
I do like the meat Celia- but they take the skin off the pork belly- why?! I find the fresh veggies ridiculously priced though. There’s always a good selection of really well priced cookbooks too. I really don’t think our family finds it worth while- they don’t have much allergy friendly food and we don’t eat a lot of processed stuff, and we have to use allergy friendly toiletries which they don’t stock either. But it’s lots of fun to window shop! :) x
Becca, that’s a good point – the apples were $1 each! I did wonder why that was. It would be hard to get your money’s worth if you had to buy specialty items, because it really was aimed to bulk products..
I cannot imagine ever needing that much loo paper in one go to justify the $60 — but I’m curious to have a look.
Mel, they won’t even let you in unless you have a membership or you’re with a member! Very clever on their part, I reckon! :)
Two other things to mention, Celia. Our Costco in Bellingham Wa is the busiest Costco anywhere in their chain, so it takes some planning to shop there. Before I go to shop, I go on line and check out what I need and to see what they have. It is not always the same, but close. I have also found, that if I request at the service desk that something be carried, eventually it will show up or they will tell me why they don’t or won’t carry it. We regularly buy nuts, coffee, chips and tires!
Sally, over here they don’t give any prices out online – a smart move I think, as otherwise it leads to a price matching war! My friend Dan tells me the one in San Francisco has the best business shirts she’s ever found for her husband! :)
Well Celia, this has been quite an eye-opener and thank you so much for the tour! I had no idea all these goods were there! Not that I can make it a personal experience living 100 km south of Sydney and alone, but one can window-shop with a slightly greenish tinge on one’s face, can’t one?
Eha, it’s a fun place to check out if you ever get the chance!
Thank you Celia! I am hanging out for it coming to Brisbane. I think they have it ‘free’ to enter for the first little while so I can’t wait to check it out!
Claire, definitely check it out if you have a chance to. Not sure how much Will will let you stockpile in the apartment though.. ;-)
WOW! I’m blown away that you’re a Sydney sider!!!!!! :-) I just ‘assumed’ you were in the U.S like so many other blogs I read!
I went to this Costco just a few weeks ago for the first time ever!
Sandy, all my posts about Harkola in Auburn and Flemington Markets didn’t give it away? ;-)
Haha – I’ve only recently started following!
I am a bit slow though… ;-)
That’s kind of you to follow, thank you! :)
i would prefer Australian made and owned at least i’m contributing our kids and great grand kids future but i understand if u have a family every dollar counts. it’s a shame you have to buy products over sees to get a better deal..
Kath, I think Costco have actually tried hard to stock a large number of Australian products – the olive oil and many of the food items were locally made. Conversely, my friend Dan in San Francisco tells me that she’s noticed a lot more Aussie products in her local Costco since they’ve opened up here, so they might have some reciprocal arrangement which is really good! It is tough when you’ve got to fly to another country to save so much money on a pair of hearing aids, isn’t it?
I am an impulsive shopper – just getting past the centre aisle at Aldi is a challenge for me. If they open in Brisbane, its 2hrs drive away so the kids inheritance is safe for now. Thank you for the information though, sometimes living in the bush is like living on another planet. Joy
Joy, it’s a fun place to explore – bit too easy to spend money though! :)
I can see an excursion coming on. I agree with the above I find it tough to go past the centre isle in Aldi so…. we better go in your car, it’s bigger
Hehehe…road trip, Thelma!! :)
To repeat Lambsearandhoney, you are definitely a temptress. I had no intention of ever going to Costco and often said this, but after reading your piece there was a little spark of interest, not to do with the booze, however. There is only two of us at home generally so I couldn’t see how we would be able to justify joining, but we have. My first purchase was a 2-tier fruit basket which I have been looking for sometime…..and this was just inside the door. Then I saw the cutest snuggly toy which turns into a playmat, this is for our first grandchild. Third purchase was 10 pack of firm plastic shoe boxes fr $$19.59, another item I have been looking for. So 10 minutes into entering the store I was happy.
However, their fruit and vegetables were no cheaper than can be bought elsewhere, Aldi’s for instance.
I didn’t see any washer/dryers but there were some fridges.
Oh, and I was amazed at the price of some of the jewellery they have. One item was several thousands of dollars. So both ends of the market are catered for.
Carmen, that was quick – I only put this post up this morning! ;-) I hope you find it useful and worthwhile – I know we will, but as you say, everyone’s circumstances are different.
I promise I didn’t write the post to tempt – Costco won’t let you go in to have a look without joining, so I thought if I could give folks a quick squizz, then they could make up their minds about whether or not they thought it was worth the membership fee! :)
Celia, that ‘quick squizz’ was all the impetus I needed and you are a temptress in the nicest possible way. :))
I am DESPERATE for Costco to open in Brisbane. I snuck into the Canberra store a couple of months ago and nearly signed up then. I was very impressed with the range of cheeses [from Margaret River] and small goods [from Barossa], as well as so much more.
Mel, there is SO much stuff in there! And everyone I talk to is taken with a different thing – one friend wants their handbags, another buys business shirts there, and lots of others go on about toilet paper.. :)
Just as well we don’t have one of these – I don’t think I could get Pete out of there.
Have a beautiful weekend Celia.
:-) Mandy xo
Mandy, one of these days, we should introduce our Petes. They could go to Costco and look at all the gadgets and power tools and coffee machines. :)
Oh that would be awesome Celia. xo
Both my sisters are members so I usually tag along as I think you can bring up to two other people but you have to purchase with cash or with the same credit card. Storage is a big issue for me but I generally stock up on tissues and kitchen towels.
The meat section is also quite reasonably priced. I normally buy haloumi cheese and speck, and also their olives.
But I think there are a lot of people familiar with their concept (having visited the States, etc) so they probably realised that they don’t need to advertise that much or allow tours (to see if it is worth joining).
I can’t get over the cost of the kitchenaid there. Not much to choose from colourwise, but so much cheaper!
Lien, I was blown away by the price of the KitchenAid food processor as well. I’ve seen it for $150 more elsewhere in Sydney and online!!
I’m not a member because it’s just such a trek out to where the Sydney store is located and also, I went once to the store in Canberra and $550 later! I did become swept up in the addiction that is what Costco can become and I do wish we had a store nearly to wear I live but as for now, I just can’t be bothered to make the journey xx
It IS a long hike for you, Charlie! It’s not too bad from our place! :)
I had great ideas about taking my friends membership and making the trek to Lidcombe, but I hear that they have a photo on the membership cards? Alas I’m no blonde and look nothing like her so I’d have to fork out the membership fee. I’ve always wanted to take a sticky beak inside! I hear that there are plans in motion to open 3 more stores in Sydney ;)
Lisa, you can go in with your friend, but if you want to buy anything, you’ll need to pay cash, as you can only use a credit card in the same name as the membership (the woman in front of us at the checkout was caught out by this). I think a giant store is planned for Casula!
Oh gosh, they don’t give the prices here either, or very rarely, but I do like knowing what is available. The shirts for men and women are exceptional quality as well as clothes for little ones. I loved today’s post. Have a really nice week-end, but don’t go to Costo on a week-end, it is packed!
Sally, thank you – I wouldn’t go near there on a weekend, it was already so busy on a Thursday!! :)
Yes. We’re Costco members. We buy such a wide variety of things, not sure where to start! From appliances to storage shelves to toys, clothes, some groceries, seasonal items, the list goes on. I really like their children’s clothes.
Manuela, the clothes on offer didn’t really grab my attention – I’ll pay more attention next time! :)
Celia you are a wonder :) I have a horror of the idea of these supersize stores but you’ve given me hope – a mid week visit, and ideas of products Costco carries that I’d never considered. I think the $60 membership is very reasonable if you are a deliberate purchaser… as they say… a bargain is only a bargain only if you need or use it.
ED, it’s not for everyone, but it certainly is much nicer than I imagined. As we already buy in bulk, the maths isn’t too difficult – a box of printer paper was $15 as opposed to the $30 we usually pay, so just on that alone we’d probably make the membership fee back over a year! You are absolutely right about needing to approach it with caution and planning – there are too many “bargains” to resist there! :)
Thankfully having little storage space saves us from ourselves :) but it’s good to have an idea of how Costco works and what they stock for next time we’re thinking of a deliberate purchase… and the inevitable few adhoc bargains, as is always the case at Bunnings.
If you ARE thinking of something specific and big, and can wait a little while, email me about it, and I can see if Costco have it in stock before you join…
:)
Interesting post – I am slightly tempted to become a member of costco but here in the UK it isn’t open to everyone – you either have to be self-employed or have your own business or have to be qualified in a certain job or be employed in eg health/post office/education (to name a few). It’s pretty broad, but not all encompassing. I’m tempted because I do like a bargain, but then I have appalling self control and no need for bulk buying for just one so I might keep trying to resist!!!
That’s interesting, and sounds a bit discriminatory – I wonder why they have that policy in place? It IS hard to resist things! :)
I am not fond of CostCo… too many people and crowds, plus we don’t need that much of any one thing. If I bought in bulk it could be a good deal though. Maz
Maz, it’s such an enormous place – it made me think of the shop in the third Spellsinger book.. ;-)
Ha ha ha! Or the end of Raiders of the Lost Ark. :-)
Oooo, sound dangerous ;) we don’t have one here and perhaps it’s better to keep me away ;) I enjoyed reading your article!
Thank you! It was a fun place to explore, but could get quite addictive, I’m sure! :)
Interesting concept. You’d have to be very self-disciplined to shop here!
It IS very clever!! I’m just glad we don’t buy packaged food, or we’d go nuts in there.. :)
We are members of Sam’s Club which is basically the same thing. Membership is needed and then you can shop at any store. We use the membership mainly for stocking up on paper products and office supplies. It is cheaper that way. I also buy books there but I’m on a book diet at the moment since I have so many to read right now. :)
Sharon, it gets a bit that way with books, doesn’t it? I’ve started buying them on the Kindle – same disease, but it takes up less room.. :)
We have Costco in Canberra and I completely agree with you, it’s a great store with some excellent savings. My son and his wife are young and on a small income, it’s been great for him.
I think if we shop wisely there, it will save us a lot of money too. We just have to resist the “bargains”! :D
I’m not a member at the moment (I don’t shop ‘big’ very often) but last year when I was a member I made some good purchases at Costco, including a compost bin that I am very happy with; cookbooks; blank DVDs at half the normal price; and lots of good seafood.
Chris, we picked up Australian ocean trout the other day for dinner, and it was superb!!
I love Costco. The idea of subscription stores has been around, at least here in California, since mid-Century. It was only government employees who could join, then, when Costco started in the 80s you had to belong to a Credit Union, which was usually mostly government employees again. Now, it doesn’t matter. I don’t go often, but it’s great to stock my pantry and my freezer.
I think a new idea to your area like this is worth blogging about. ;)
[…] was over a year ago and it wasn’t until I saw my friend Celia’s post where she photographed some Longchamp Le Pliage bags that I decided I had to pay them a visit. […]