I came, I saw, I Costco'd

blowers said :

AussieChris11 said :

To all the Yuppie Plebs going out to CostCo…. Do they all have those lame “My Family stickers on the back screens of their cars??

Some of us are quite proud to have families and happy to display that pride on our rear windows.

“It works!”

screaming banshee said :

Brooklynite said :

Even I have to admit that the best maple syrup comes from our friends over the border in America Jnr;

You know maple syrup comes from Canada don’t you??

You know that Canada is in America, don’t you??

You see a lot of people in chef clothes shopping at CostCo! The quality of everything I’ve bought so far (edible) has been excellent.

Oh, and for those who are over the My Family stickers on the rear windows of the smug, Creepy Uncle http://www.creepyuncle.com.au/ has some great alternative stickers.

Or you can do what some people are doing, buy extra kids from the normal sticker source and add them to peoples’ families (schwarzeneggering, it’s called).

cranky said :

Just been treated to a dozen Costco oysters.

Simply the best I have had! Fat, tasty, and with a couple of pieces of bread, a meal.

They make the wimpy, overpriced restaurant versions look exactly that.

I agree,they are the best in Canberra at 11.99 doz.

Just been treated to a dozen Costco oysters.

Simply the best I have had! Fat, tasty, and with a couple of pieces of bread, a meal.

They make the wimpy, overpriced restaurant versions look exactly that.

chewy14 said :

Erg0 said :

AussieChris11 said :

To all the Yuppie Plebs going out to CostCo…. Do they all have those lame “My Family stickers on the back screens of their cars??

I had an idea to stick a few of those on my car and cross them out, Red Baron style. Then I remembered I was lazy.

No, what you want to do is buy a heap of younger female and baby stickers.

Then add Daddy’s mistress and illegitimate child to the family of unsuspecting people.

Yes, yes indeed 🙂

Erg0 said :

AussieChris11 said :

To all the Yuppie Plebs going out to CostCo…. Do they all have those lame “My Family stickers on the back screens of their cars??

I had an idea to stick a few of those on my car and cross them out, Red Baron style. Then I remembered I was lazy.

No, what you want to do is buy a heap of younger female and baby stickers.

Then add Daddy’s mistress and illegitimate child to the family of unsuspecting people.

I saw a good one on a little hatchback the other day that just had the teenage girl and lo-one else. It made me smile.

btw isn’t yuppie pleb an oxy-moron, or maybe using it is just moronic.

AussieChris11 said :

To all the Yuppie Plebs going out to CostCo…. Do they all have those lame “My Family stickers on the back screens of their cars??

How old are you?!? Some of us are quite proud to have families and happy to display that pride on our rear windows. I am not a Yuppy nor a Pleb. Just a proud father who thinks you need to pull your head in.

AussieChris11 said :

To all the Yuppie Plebs going out to CostCo…. Do they all have those lame “My Family stickers on the back screens of their cars??

I had an idea to stick a few of those on my car and cross them out, Red Baron style. Then I remembered I was lazy.

AussieChris11 said :

To all the Yuppie Plebs going out to CostCo…. Do they all have those lame “My Family stickers on the back screens of their cars??

They don’t, but I’m sure you can by some for your truck next Monday while you’re in town.

AussieChris11 said :

To all the Yuppie Plebs going out to CostCo…. Do they all have those lame “My Family stickers on the back screens of their cars??

You do see rather a lot of them, yes. Proud aspirationals busy spending all the the taxpayer-funded largesse they are handed. I saw a good one the other day, a female with a line of dogs and cats after her. I’ll pay that one.

To all the Yuppie Plebs going out to CostCo…. Do they all have those lame “My Family stickers on the back screens of their cars??

Keijidosha said :

Angelina said :

My father has recently saved over $300 by using their optical services. Suck it, OPSM.

Out of curiosity, what is the quality like? What brand lenses do they use? I’ve cheaped out on glasses from one of those discount mobs and regretted it. Very poor quality lenses and cheap frames that needed replacing within 6 months. I learned an expensive lesson and switched back to my regular optical provider.

According to my dad he got the same ones he was going to get at OPSM, and he doesn’t get the cheapies. I’d have to ask him what the brand was though.

I would imagine that like all optical places there is a range so the general rule ‘you get what you pay for’ probably still applies, but your quality stuff will just cost a bit less.

Angelina said :

My father has recently saved over $300 by using their optical services. Suck it, OPSM.

Out of curiosity, what is the quality like? What brand lenses do they use? I’ve cheaped out on glasses from one of those discount mobs and regretted it. Very poor quality lenses and cheap frames that needed replacing within 6 months. I learned an expensive lesson and switched back to my regular optical provider.

My father has recently saved over $300 by using their optical services. Suck it, OPSM. And I’ve been told people can save phenominal amounts of money buying/fitting their hearing aids through Costco’s audiology services.

I think everybody that matters is in agreement. Costco rocks the shit. I’m well over reeces peanut butter cups though…

Is this a record? They’ve just put their Christmas stuff out! Xmas trees, statues, decorations… It must have gone out last night. If you have ever wanted a life-sized statue of The Nutcracker, (and have $399), now is your big chance.

Costco’d last night as well. 1KG of potato chips and half a kg of cheezels for the party this weekend! blow up QS bed with built in pump for less than $60 for the guests, but got to get me one of those paddle boats with four seats, drink holders and built in esky. I’ll have a smile a mile wide when I see the first one on Lake Barely Living or Tuggers.

Well, went and checked out costco tonight. What a ripper of a place – we loved it! The staff were great (and the nice yank lady at registration let me pull a stupid face for my costco card) and very friendly.

We tried the pizza slices for dinner (not bad at all), and then headed in. Bought quite a lot of stuff and in large quantities, but it was stuff we use anyway. We filled the boot of the car for $130.

I’ll definitely be going back.

Kt01 said :

Sorry, but CostCo pushes all the wrong buttons for me. With heaps of imported products and requiring a drive to Majura Park, it’s the antithesis of trying to reduce ‘food miles’ (issues which have also been raised in relation to CostCo in Melbourne). Buying in bulk (multi-buys or large sizes) reduces the practicalities of public transport (if there is any from here to there) so everyone has to drive (altho I suppose you could get together with a friend and take 1 vehicle). The direct financial savings are probably good (although not always as good as you think, esp. for fresh food), but at the cost of your time and your carbon footprint.

Your functioning under the assumption that majura park is miles away for everyone. 1000’s of people work at or around the airport, not to menton those who drive that way to go home.

The other thing I have issue with in the first quote is that you complain about people not using public transport. We have been out there several times, carpooling with a car full of adults (five to be exact) and done the shopping we needed and then split it ointo smaller quantities between us. Given that my car (a mid size 4WD) does about 9-10l/100km around town, would that not be better for the environment than one of those smoke belching buses with 20 passengers on it??

Sorry, but CostCo pushes all the wrong buttons for me. With heaps of imported products and requiring a drive to Majura Park, it’s the antithesis of trying to reduce ‘food miles’ (issues which have also been raised in relation to CostCo in Melbourne). Buying in bulk (multi-buys or large sizes) reduces the practicalities of public transport (if there is any from here to there) so everyone has to drive (altho I suppose you could get together with a friend and take 1 vehicle). The direct financial savings are probably good (although not always as good as you think, esp. for fresh food), but at the cost of your time and your carbon footprint.

Your functioning under the assumption that majura park is miles away for everyone. 1000’s of people work at or around the airport, not to menton those who drive that way to go home.

Has anyone compared Costco to Aldi? Wonder how they stack up…

Watson said :

Oh man, your enthusiasm about grocery shopping is actually catchy! I swore I’d never go, but now I (almost) want to!

Just doooooo eeeeeettttt.

Oh man, your enthusiasm about grocery shopping is actually catchy! I swore I’d never go, but now I (almost) want to!

Went there on opening day. Not as bad as I had expected, crowds-wise. But the trolleys are ENORMOUS, and have wonky wheels just klike all the others. Got rammed by several.

The place is a monument to overindulgence! HUGE containers of sweets, many of which are unfamiliar. The pies, pizzas and other baked goods are way over the top, size-wise. In fact, given that people cram themselves into tiny 1 br units with miniscule ovens, I wonder where people would put things. I have a big pantry and large oven, but I had difficulty finding spots for bulk packs of things. As for the 16″ pizzas, great for a crowd, but there’s no way they will fit in the average modern oven

Many of the products I use were there in bulk, and represented good savings. Such things as muesli bars, cereals, shampoos and such were good value, as was the Bulmers cider (YUM!). The travel mugs, as already pointed out, were excellent. Business shirts were good quality and actually came in different sleeve lengths, something you don’t see much now! The toilet paper came in decent-sized rolls (I won’t buy anything below 250 sheets per roll, on principle), but was unfortunately individually wrapped, thus negating the packaging benefits of having longer rolls.

But the best product of all, was something you don’t normally get here. 6 large (320g) tins chicken breast. And it’s very tasty, but few nasty additives. Now I just need some recipes for it…

I’d like to second the positive view on Costco’s staffing. I also noticed the high proportion of older workers, and was impressed. So nice to see a polite smile after having become so used to the bored indifference I often encounter elswhere.
Medley, the root beer is Bunderberg variety, nothing you can’t purchased at your local Woolies, although it was slightly cheaper

McManus said :

They have root beer, just not that brand, as I bought some for my mate, when we went up so he could have a look around yesterday.

Thanks! I must have missed it, I’ll be having a good search next time.

They’re not EXTREME COUPONS but I notice Costco has coupons.

Did anyone who went happen to notice whether they’ve got bulk packs of 240V halogen light bulbs?

Shopping at Costco is certainly an eye-opener, the least of which is what we have been deprived of for so long in this country with the second rate service and shoddy merchandise we’ve had to suffer up till now. My only hope is that the introduction of Costco will encourage other retailers to lift their game and no longer take us all for granted.

The other thing I noticed was that Costco has not jibbed in employing staff who are of advanced years, some quite elderly – something similar stores here will not do lest they risk “skewing too old” and losing a youthful image. There is also the desire in this country to only employ young people so the tight-fisted bosses can pay them peanuts and boost their profits.

The other thing I noticed was how polite and helpful the American staff were. There seems to be a whole new attitude to the customers which is in total contrast to most of the shop assistants in this city especially who act as if they’ve sucked a lemon.

Let’s hope this attitude will continue and Costco doesn’t become too Australianised. It really is a breath of fresh air and if they can keep up this approach I for one will keep coming back.

medley said :

It was fun seeing everyone so excited about grocery shopping with their families. The checkouts were super fast and they helped pack your trolley for you too.

I noticed this alot aswell.
There were several occasions when I found myself laughing at prices out loud then feeling stupid until watching someone further down the aisle doing the same thing 🙂

medley said :

The only thing I was sad about was that they didn’t have any root beer, I’ve been looking for Barq’s everywhere.

They have root beer, just not that brand, as I bought some for my mate, when we went up so he could have a look around yesterday.

I joined the Costco madness today and loved it. Even though it was super busy (we had to stop every couple of metres to let someone through or avoid a trolley collision) everyone seemed to be really happy and genuinely sorry when they bumped into you.

Luckily I haven’t changed my license details since moving out of home so I still have the same address as my mother which meant that we could go halves in a membership (1 card plus an extra household card).

Most of our savings were made in household cleaning items bought in multi packs, saving approx 50c – $1 on each unit. It might not seem like much, but since we bought multiple items we shouldn’t have to go back for a while saving precious petrol money.

My boyfriend and I thought the meat and veges looked really good but decided we’d keep supporting our local produce peeps at the markets and only bought red capsicums (prices at the markets for red capsicums were quite expensive last week).

Favourite items:
1 x 1.1kg tin of Swiss Miss Hot Chocolate with tiny marshmallows for under $4.75
1 x 36pack Duracell AA batteries $22.99
4 x 6pack Up & Go $23.99 (uni student staple item)
1 x 2.5kg (approx 320 pieces) Giant container of Red Vines $11.99 (Heaven knows if I’ll ever finish them, but it’s much cheaper than at the IGA, and they seem more fresh)
1 x 842g bottle A1 steak sauce $9.99
1 x 425g bag of Ruffles chips $4.39 (had to, haven’t had these since the early 90’s, was a nice surprise)
1 x 12pack of Gatorade $21.29

Costco would be the best place to shop if you’re having a party, big BBQ or something like a school camping trip.

If you haven’t bought a membership and plan on going, I’d advise to pay online before you go. The line was huge, but those who already signed up were hurried to the front of the line.

It was fun seeing everyone so excited about grocery shopping with their families. The checkouts were super fast and they helped pack your trolley for you too. Afterwards we headed back to my mother’s for a cup of Swiss Miss and divided up some of our multipack buys like toilet paper, rice and candy.
The only thing I was sad about was that they didn’t have any root beer, I’ve been looking for Barq’s everywhere.

Thanks for starting this thread, it got me really excited but mindful of what I bought (we only bought a few items that weren’t on our shopping list, I can see myself putting on some weight if I impulse buy at Costco, there’s sooo much candy).

Checked it out today with the family. We’d signed up in March at the temp store at Brand Depot. It was really good. Have pretty saved most of the $60 today and didn’t go overboard buying stuff. Saved a load on stuff for the kids (nappies, wipes etc).

Got some Ruffles Chips (remember those growing up?).

I was really impressed on the prices. They have Columbia polar fleece for ~$35. Also North Face (is that the brand) of jackets etc.

Ended up with a ‘treat’ some Tootie Rolls (big jar) which are a hit. Nice treat. Hadn’t had those since US visit.

We had early lunch there too. Hot Dog and Softdrink for $2.49. Unlimited refill on the drink. The dog was excellent…. also the pizzas (available by the slice) looked really good too (huge size slice). They make the pizzas onsite near the deli. You can buy them to take them home.

I think that for the fruit and meat we will probably stick with the local shops. We tend to buy fruit a in smaller (more frequent) amounds than CostCo has. Costco fruit was bagged up larger size. Oh we did get kiwi fruit $4 for a huge plastic tub worth.

I look forward to going back there.

BTW the staff are great too! they have someone unloading and reloading your trolley when you go through. Also don’t be put off if the food line is long they blast through it.

Cheers

Karl

Good to see that Cosco have done a little market research to help local sme food producers. Evident by the presence of a “Poachers Pantry” line of products.

The Frots said :

mr_wowtrousers said :

Can anyone confirm if they do American brands like Dr Pepper, Cherry Coke etc?

Cheers big ears.

Dear Big Ears – yes, they do have ‘cherry coke’ and just about anything else you put a cherry in, on or through.

Ah, but do they have Cherry Coke Zero? I can get Cherry Coke at my local IGA (albeit at a much higher price), but I’ve yet to see the Zero version anywhere in Australia.

My first visit this morning. Online rego queue was very short.

Stand out deal was: Vitamin D3 1000IU, 250 caps for $8.89. That’s more than 50% off the next best price I can find anywhere locally or online. The discount pharmacy up the block from Costco does 250x1000IU for $24.95 for example.

Also a Southern Cross Dairies 1kg full cream ricotta for $5.69. If it tastes good then I’ll be back for more.

The meat and F&V is top quality stuff, not budget, although if you look you’ll find bargains. BUT! the meat, as well as being top grade, is often in US cuts. So if you like your steaks thick, head on down, you’ll be in hog-heavan and never having to buy whole cuts and slicing your own again.

The butchery guys are right behind the display tables too, no high barriers, so you can engage with them. Fish… there were some whole atlantic salmons that were so fresh-looking, I thought for a moment they were alive! And king crab legs, never seen those in Australia before. Massive things, you see them in every US supermarket.

I went out there and was impressed by a lot of the items you cannot buy in shops here such as Under Armour clothing and Jack Daniels BBQ sauces. They also have an optometrist and audiologist.

The range of supermarket groceries is fairly limited and you couldn’t just rely on Costco, you would have to keep shopping at Woolies or Coles for the full range of items.

I’ve heard Costco being described as Big W on steroids and that is a fairly accurate description. On the downside, the TVs and radios they sell can pick up the ABC.

Mysteryman said :

“….1.5kg Reeces pieces $14.99”

THIS has got my attention!

Working my way through my packet at the moment…

(It is the minatures btw.)

It’s an electric baby grand, that’s why it’s so cheap.

We costco’d also. And probably fell into the spent too much camp. That said – we got an air mattress (queen size, built in pump) and it is fantastic. And much cheaper than camping stores. We got the toilet paper, but with Woolie’s sale this weekend (obviously costco driven) it would have worked out cheaper buying from there (costco was $22 ish for 48 rolls – woolies deep discounted to $8.99 for 24 rolls, each was sorbent).

The costco meat department is great for beef but not the cheapest. That said, it had awesome looking wagyu, and I bought short ribs – a cut I’ve been looking for but unable to find in Canberra. Very cheap lillydale free range chickens ($5.79/kg). Also some impressive dairy/cheeses – italian buffalo mozzarella , french salted butter, french place of origin Roquefort, camembert etc. And the fondue cheese sets a lot cheaper than the markets sell them for.

We got paper towels, great zip locs (American brand I think, *much* better than what is available at Coles/Woolies), cheap tinned tomatoes and coconut milk.

Like with any store you should carefully research the prices first and then buy loss leaders. Even then I am amazed at how many things I ended up buying. These are the things I normally buy at Woolies/Priceline as well – eg 24 Up and Gos for $23.98 (normally 3 for $8), 10 Oral B professional care toothbrush heads for $40 (normally 2 for $15) and 1.8kg Jelly Bellies for $19.99 (normally you get 700g for that price). There are also insane items like a baby grand piano for $1999 (normally at least $10000!) but when I played it the quality was quite crap… but then who cares if you can get it for just 2K!

I bought tyres on Saturday. saves $100 over 4 tyres on the best price I could do anywhere else. Although they were slow and easily got my extra $100 in store, still was worth the trip.

I finally stumped up for membership. Lines quite long, the line for people who’ve already joined online was shorter. The store was laid out exactly the same as the ones in the US, products of similar quality standard, prices seemed OK although I’d still be doing research on any big-ticket things. Bloody tempting though if you’re pushing a giant trolley around to chuck in a Janome sewing machine and SLR kit (Canon OR Nikon, choice), and a couple of dishwashers.

One thing caught my eye, they had very puffy mattress toppers, $35 for a queen bed. That’s really good. (they were several inches thick). And memory foam bathroom mats. Odd, unusual, wasn’t tempted.

“….1.5kg Reeces pieces $14.99”

THIS has got my attention!

Not all of the products were imported by overseas… I bought smoked trout (husband hasn’t had too much success in the fishing hobby) and it came from the fishery in Goulburn (yes, I know the fish are farmed) and hubby and I also looked at the price of tyres, Bridgestone Ecopia tyres (http://www.bridgestone.com.au/planetark/default.aspx) off the top of my hard were $145ea including balance, free rotation, free punchure repair and inflated with nitrogyn. I don’t think thats too bad for a new technology tyre… but hey Im sure someone will find a problem with my post 😀

Ex Warrior said :

$60 entry to go shopping????

comeon, its been answered time and time again, yes.
to quote nsn

nsn said :

So which part of “Membership Warehouse” didn’t you understand?

Ex Warrior said :

$60 entry to go shopping????

If you go there and don’t think it’s worth it they offer a full refund on your membership.

$60 entry to go shopping????

Jethro said :

McManus said :

The place took my breath away, me and the family ended up spending $500 all up on non-perishables and a couple birthday presents for my girlfriend and brother.

How much of that $500 was on stuff you had no intention of buying before walking in the store?

Some of it was just impulse bought, but alot of it was things that you dont need to buy very often, and we were just holding out until costco opened.
Things like
Kirkland Signature Shampoo Twin Pack (1L Bottle) $9
Kirkland Signature Conditioner Twin Pack (1L Bottle) $9
8KG! Surf Washing Powder was only $27
18KG Bag of Kirkland Signature Dog Food $39
A couple of shirts for golf (Callaway Brand) $30 ea!
2 Twin Packs of Travel Mugs (THEY DONT LEAK!!! Even when turned upside down full of hot tea) $24 Ea

Thats just a few things from my receipt.

ALSO!!!

Bananas are only $10 a KG out there, There are also pizzas that are so big they would not fit in the oven properly (Did not purchase so i can’t actually say whether they would actually fit).
There is alot of great of deals out there so I DEFIANTLY recommend checking it out.

The electronics section was AMAZING, A huge selection of everything from TVs to high quality DSLR Cameras

But as previously stated there is not NEARLY enough time for me to tell you everything I saw in that store, it was SOO BIG.

I can honestly say, you will very likely impulse buy there the first time you go in, while you look around, but with the deals there, it’s just WAY to tempting.

And my entire previous comment came out a quote… oh well.

kevin22 said :

dpm said :

There is no way Aldi is cheaper and at the same quality.

-American produce/food
-Quality

pick one.

Nearly all American food is produced by 5 or 6 GM companies that are not allowed to operate anywhere else in the world because they are so dodgy, Monsanto is the obvious one, but there is also Tyson, Smithfield Foods, Perdue Farms etc. Also it’s important to note that American food is filled with GM corn or derivatives of GM corn in nearly every single way possible.

Aldi might be no-name brands from Slovakia or Yugoslavia or what other dirt poor european country they get their stuff from, but atleast it isn’t dangerous US GM crap.

kevin22 said :

dpm said :

http://www.canberratimes.com.au/news/local/news/general/check-out-who-has-the-lowest-prices/2236013.aspx

Of course, Costco do have a lot more stuff beside groceries, plus they have brand-name groceries, which many people are obsessed with (cf. no-name stuff like at aldi). You only have to check aldi’s online price list to the lists of the prices mentioned here to see they are easily matched.
Anyway, kind of interesting….
As people have said, magicallly, the ‘big two’ have managed to find some room to move (down) on prices this week. Sounds like the extra competition is working for everyone so far, either directly or indirectly.
So those who are obsessed with carbon footprints etc should possibly be able to shop in sandal-walking distance from their homes and still save some $$$. .Therefore, they shouldn’t really complain about Costco…?

The Sunday Canberra Times newspaper is misleading, when you look at the fine print, next to Costco column you can clearly see it indicate with the sign “^” which in the fine print said “not equal to the same quantity, which mean costco products has more quantity. There is no way Aldi is cheaper and at the same quality.

But in the article it says the “basket price” is based on unit price. Which indicates that Aldi is cheaper, but you’ll spend more money in one trip at Costco because you buy in bulk.

Was heading Costco’s way this afternoon and there was a 3+ hour wait for those who didn’t have a membership or needed to pick up their card.

Came back 3-4 hours later after we had finished running errands.. the wait was still well over an hour…

Only 3 people producing membership cards on opening week seemed a bit silly to me…
(yeah yeah blah blah you’ve been able to get memberships for months now… but not all kiosks that sold memberships were able to PRINT the card with your photo on it…. )

dpm said :

http://www.canberratimes.com.au/news/local/news/general/check-out-who-has-the-lowest-prices/2236013.aspx

Of course, Costco do have a lot more stuff beside groceries, plus they have brand-name groceries, which many people are obsessed with (cf. no-name stuff like at aldi). You only have to check aldi’s online price list to the lists of the prices mentioned here to see they are easily matched.
Anyway, kind of interesting….
As people have said, magicallly, the ‘big two’ have managed to find some room to move (down) on prices this week. Sounds like the extra competition is working for everyone so far, either directly or indirectly.
So those who are obsessed with carbon footprints etc should possibly be able to shop in sandal-walking distance from their homes and still save some $$$. .Therefore, they shouldn’t really complain about Costco…?

The Sunday Canberra Times newspaper is misleading, when you look at the fine print, next to Costco column you can clearly see it indicate with the sign “^” which in the fine print said “not equal to the same quantity, which mean costco products has more quantity. There is no way Aldi is cheaper and at the same quality.

Whoah, that is a *fantastic* price. That will usually run you around $60-70 or so. Thanks for the heads up The Frots and McManus!

-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-
They have Cases of 36 Dr Pepper cans for $30, also managed to pick myself up a 1.8kg tub of “Jelly Belly” jelly beans for $20

McManus said :

The place took my breath away, me and the family ended up spending $500 all up on non-perishables and a couple birthday presents for my girlfriend and brother.

How much of that $500 was on stuff you had no intention of buying before walking in the store?

mr_wowtrousers said :

Can anyone confirm if they do American brands like Dr Pepper, Cherry Coke etc?

Cheers big ears.

They have Cases of 36 Dr Pepper cans for $30, also managed to pick myself up a 1.8kg tub of “Jelly Belly” jelly beans for $20

The place took my breath away, me and the family ended up spending $500 all up on non-perishables and a couple birthday presents for my girlfriend and brother.

mr_wowtrousers said :

Can anyone confirm if they do American brands like Dr Pepper, Cherry Coke etc?

Cheers big ears.

Dear Big Ears – yes, they do have ‘cherry coke’ and just about anything else you put a cherry in, on or through.

Can anyone confirm if they do American brands like Dr Pepper, Cherry Coke etc?

Cheers big ears.

screaming banshee said :

Brooklynite said :

Even I have to admit that the best maple syrup comes from our friends over the border in America Jnr;

You know maple syrup comes from Canada don’t you??

You know a huge quantity of top-grade maple syrup comes from New England in the US, don’t you?

Costco = http://simpsons.wikia.com/wiki/Monstromart ? What’s the minimum quantity of nutmeg available?

http://www.canberratimes.com.au/news/local/news/general/check-out-who-has-the-lowest-prices/2236013.aspx

Of course, Costco do have a lot more stuff beside groceries, plus they have brand-name groceries, which many people are obsessed with (cf. no-name stuff like at aldi). You only have to check aldi’s online price list to the lists of the prices mentioned here to see they are easily matched.
Anyway, kind of interesting….
As people have said, magicallly, the ‘big two’ have managed to find some room to move (down) on prices this week. Sounds like the extra competition is working for everyone so far, either directly or indirectly.
So those who are obsessed with carbon footprints etc should possibly be able to shop in sandal-walking distance from their homes and still save some $$$. .Therefore, they shouldn’t really complain about Costco…?

I really can’t believe you guys. It’s attitudes like that that explain why we’re up sh!t creek environmentally. So just because you can’t source everything locally or regionally and support local businesses, you say the hell with it? There’s more to life than savings a few cents (and I’m not sure how it works out if you’re driving from the wilds of Belconnen) and shopping in a warehouse. Encouraging these kinds of fringe outlets involving car travel and over-consumption seems completely contrary to other aspects of urban sustainability that are supposed to be on the agenda. This is not about extremes — either you buy everything local or you don’t — but it’s about doing what you can, when you can, and trying to get things structured so that meeting your daily needs inflicts the least damage overall.

Has the Unabomber moved to Canberra?

Maybe its a coincidence, but my local major supermarket has some impressive specials this week

Primal said :

I went there this morning. It was mental.

You can’t enjoy a shopping opportunity like this when you’re constantly dodging other humans just to admire what’s on offer. I’ll go back and try again in a week or two…

Yeah, I figured it would be horrible over the weekend… one of the many benefits of being on Mat Leave.

Primal said :

I went there this morning. It was mental.

You can’t enjoy a shopping opportunity like this when you’re constantly dodging other humans just to admire what’s on offer. I’ll go back and try again in a week or two…

Yeah I’m going tomorrow to see what it’s like, if it’s to mental then i’ll just use the opportunity to go over to DFO.
Apparently the opening day wasn’t to bad.

I went there this morning. It was mental.

You can’t enjoy a shopping opportunity like this when you’re constantly dodging other humans just to admire what’s on offer. I’ll go back and try again in a week or two…

I really can’t believe you guys. It’s attitudes like that that explain why we’re up sh!t creek environmentally. So just because you can’t source everything locally or regionally and support local businesses, you say the hell with it? There’s more to life than savings a few cents (and I’m not sure how it works out if you’re driving from the wilds of Belconnen) and shopping in a warehouse. Encouraging these kinds of fringe outlets involving car travel and over-consumption seems completely contrary to other aspects of urban sustainability that are supposed to be on the agenda. This is not about extremes — either you buy everything local or you don’t — but it’s about doing what you can, when you can, and trying to get things structured so that meeting your daily needs inflicts the least damage overall.

…or people can just live their lives the way they want to and shop where they want to shop, free from interference and tut-tutting from folks like yourself who know what’s best for everyone else.

Lazy I said :

I really can’t believe you guys. It’s attitudes like that that explain why we’re up sh!t creek environmentally. So just because you can’t source everything locally or regionally and support local businesses, you say the hell with it? There’s more to life than savings a few cents (and I’m not sure how it works out if you’re driving from the wilds of Belconnen) and shopping in a warehouse. Encouraging these kinds of fringe outlets involving car travel and over-consumption seems completely contrary to other aspects of urban sustainability that are supposed to be on the agenda. This is not about extremes — either you buy everything local or you don’t — but it’s about doing what you can, when you can, and trying to get things structured so that meeting your daily needs inflicts the least damage overall.

I really can’t believe that you managed to spare enough time between chaining yourself to bulldozers and whipper-snippering GM crops to post this.

Have you considered how much coal was burned to make your post possible? What an incredible waste of a non-renewable resource!

Lulz.

But anywho I totally agree with lazy, Dacquiri if your so “environmentally friendly” why do you own a computer? Or a car? Or get supplied with electricity? How about getting your head out of your own ass and go piss off to the bush and live with the environment you love so much, and stop trolling people on the internet.

I really can’t believe you guys. It’s attitudes like that that explain why we’re up sh!t creek environmentally. So just because you can’t source everything locally or regionally and support local businesses, you say the hell with it? There’s more to life than savings a few cents (and I’m not sure how it works out if you’re driving from the wilds of Belconnen) and shopping in a warehouse. Encouraging these kinds of fringe outlets involving car travel and over-consumption seems completely contrary to other aspects of urban sustainability that are supposed to be on the agenda. This is not about extremes — either you buy everything local or you don’t — but it’s about doing what you can, when you can, and trying to get things structured so that meeting your daily needs inflicts the least damage overall.

I really can’t believe that you managed to spare enough time between chaining yourself to bulldozers and whipper-snippering GM crops to post this.

Have you considered how much coal was burned to make your post possible? What an incredible waste of a non-renewable resource!

screaming banshee said :

Brooklynite said :

Even I have to admit that the best maple syrup comes from our friends over the border in America Jnr;

You know maple syrup comes from Canada don’t you??

http://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=america%20jr
*cough, cough*

I really can’t believe you guys. It’s attitudes like that that explain why we’re up sh!t creek environmentally. So just because you can’t source everything locally or regionally and support local businesses, you say the hell with it? There’s more to life than savings a few cents (and I’m not sure how it works out if you’re driving from the wilds of Belconnen) and shopping in a warehouse. Encouraging these kinds of fringe outlets involving car travel and over-consumption seems completely contrary to other aspects of urban sustainability that are supposed to be on the agenda. This is not about extremes — either you buy everything local or you don’t — but it’s about doing what you can, when you can, and trying to get things structured so that meeting your daily needs inflicts the least damage overall.

I disagree. Assuaging your eco-guilt by doing “a little bit” is to my mind worse than folk who are honest about not bothering. I know wealthy “eco-sensitive” people who have used hessian shopping bags for years and years …. but who live in McMansions with ducted air conditioning and wear T-shirts indoors in the middle of winter. If you stack up a working-class family in an ex-guvvy in Watson with a Pajero, who shop once a week at Costco, and a middle-class family in O’Malley who drive a Prius, drive to shop at Mountain Creek Wholefoods twice a week and drive to the Farmer’s Market weekly (because they figure their Prius miles are OK), and holiday in Europe or South America each year, and attend concerts by jet-set rock stars twice a year – whose ecological footprint is greater? Intention or conscience and “trying” are totally irrelevant.

bigfeet said :

Do they stock vegemite?

Yes they do- an entire bucket of it. Off the top of my head it was $12 or something.

Do they stock vegemite?

I really can’t believe you guys. It’s attitudes like that that explain why we’re up sh!t creek environmentally. So just because you can’t source everything locally or regionally and support local businesses, you say the hell with it? There’s more to life than savings a few cents (and I’m not sure how it works out if you’re driving from the wilds of Belconnen) and shopping in a warehouse. Encouraging these kinds of fringe outlets involving car travel and over-consumption seems completely contrary to other aspects of urban sustainability that are supposed to be on the agenda. This is not about extremes — either you buy everything local or you don’t — but it’s about doing what you can, when you can, and trying to get things structured so that meeting your daily needs inflicts the least damage overall.

Absolute garbage. If i make 1 trip to buy washing powder and toilet rolls that will last me for 4 months and you make 16 trips, whose carbon footprint is bigger? Not to mention you are consuming more packaging. also Costco is supporting Australian producers and companies by buying from them. Do you really think they are getting better pricing from these companies? No, they are just putting a reasonable markup on them unlike the duopoly. Plus they are creating jobs for local workers, transport etc. Its called the free market.

screaming banshee said :

You know maple syrup comes from Canada don’t you??

I am indeed, you even quoted the part of my post that praises the syrupy goodness produced by my former neighbours in A-Jnr.

I’m not sure what you’re getting at? Did you not know that maple syrup is generally prodcued by the syrup gods of Canada?

Brooklynite said :

Even I have to admit that the best maple syrup comes from our friends over the border in America Jnr;

You know maple syrup comes from Canada don’t you??

Some of the specials listed are on par with what you might find at either Aldi or the duopoly (chicken breasts, squid, 24 packs of soft drink etc). Will probably go out for a look in a couple of months when the hype’s died down.

Sorry, but CostCo pushes all the wrong buttons for me. With heaps of imported products and requiring a drive to Majura Park, it’s the antithesis of trying to reduce ‘food miles’ (issues which have also been raised in relation to CostCo in Melbourne). Buying in bulk (multi-buys or large sizes) reduces the practicalities of public transport (if there is any from here to there) so everyone has to drive (altho I suppose you could get together with a friend and take 1 vehicle). The direct financial savings are probably good (although not always as good as you think, esp. for fresh food), but at the cost of your time and your carbon footprint.

Wow D, you don’t drink coffee or tea, then, and consume only sugar extracted from locally-grown beets?There aren’t any toilet paper manufacturers within 100k of Canberra – what do you use? There’s no milk, butter or cheese for sale in Canberra that’s local – Canberra Milk is sourced from 300km away. So you manage without dairy foods, or do you or a friend have a cow? I’d love to know how you manage to make your food interesting and enjoyable …

I also visited CostCo this morning. I was a member almost 10 years go in Japan (God, I feel old), but in any case the set-up here was pretty similar to how it was back then.

The building is slightly bigger than Bunning’s in Fyshwick, and as for its range of stuff, the best way I can think of to describe it is is if all of the following retailers were under one roof:

– Bunnings/Kathmandu/Super Cheap Auto/Target (or Kmart or Big W)/Specsavers/either large supermarket chain.

As noted earlier, most of the brands are familiar, and I noticed a pattern with that. Where Australian firms are good enough to lead their categories, well, they seem to show up in CostCo in larger sizes, but without too much of a saving – perhaps because in those products, the compeption is already pretty fierce, and margins quite tight.

On the other hand, there are some products that were a fair bit cheaper from overseas. Some,like the maple syrup, seem good value. I agree with Jessieduck that I’d much rather support the Farmer’s Market for the fresh stuff, and support our farmers here while the supermarket duopoly tries to cut their knees out from under them.

Along those lines, other products, like the 2kgs of sun-dried tomato from the USA, don’t seem good value to me. Why on earth would I eat something that we can grow ourselves, and encourage all of those food miles into the bargain? I’m not anti-trade, and I appreciate the honest competition that CostCo will bring – which is why I joined. But I’m only going to buy things there that are either:

a) much better value (and by value I mean not only the financial side) than the same thing elsewhere
b) stuff that I can’t buy elsewhere

Something about the place must have worked, anyhow, because I spent more than I’d intended to…hahaaa :). Mrs Ryoma had a good laugh at me when I got home….

Woolworths is selling 24 packs of Kleenex for $9. Perhaps as a defensive manouever?

Nonetheless, most of those prices don’t actually seem that amazing. You might be saving $1-2 per unit, but have to buy 4 or more units up front. I have the feeling lots of people will end up spending more than they otherwise would.

Just dropping a line to say thanks for a very informative post.

Henry82 said :

Wharrgarbll said :

I’ll point this out from Costco’s website:

On Merchandise: We guarantee your satisfaction on every product we sell, and will refund your purchase price..

90 days on electronics. Its written on the site too.

Their return policy is great. In the US we have purchased laptops, and returned them a month or 2 later because we weren’t happy with it. No questions asked. It used to be a 6 month return policy a few years ago, but they reduced it to 3.

BenMac said :

Can you enter the store without membership? The website says membership is checked at the door. Cause I’d rather see the prices/items first before paying $60 for something I might not use.

You have to show your card at the door. best bet is to hope a friend gets membership, and get them to take you as a guest.

I’m amazed people bitch and moan about “driving all the way out there”. FFS, it’s maybe 10 minutes from the city, certainly no more than half an hour from anywhere in Canberra.

Can you enter the store without membership? The website says membership is checked at the door. Cause I’d rather see the prices/items first before paying $60 for something I might not use.

Sorry, but CostCo pushes all the wrong buttons for me. With heaps of imported products and requiring a drive to Majura Park, it’s the antithesis of trying to reduce ‘food miles’ (issues which have also been raised in relation to CostCo in Melbourne). Buying in bulk (multi-buys or large sizes) reduces the practicalities of public transport (if there is any from here to there) so everyone has to drive (altho I suppose you could get together with a friend and take 1 vehicle). The direct financial savings are probably good (although not always as good as you think, esp. for fresh food), but at the cost of your time and your carbon footprint.

Time and carbon footprint?

Worst p*ss and rant ever. Stay at home and leave it for the non-miserable of the planet

Wharrgarbll said :

I’ll point this out from Costco’s website:

On Merchandise: We guarantee your satisfaction on every product we sell, and will refund your purchase price..

90 days on electronics. Its written on the site too.

Great post! We also were there this morning at 7:45, and posted some pictures on our blog:

http://www.canberrafoodies.com/2011/07/21/costco-canberra-opening-day/

Great post and effort JessieDuck – well done.

Sadly, of course, because of your excellent work, it appears that myself and Mrs. Frots are now headed to CostCo over the weekend.

I owe you……………………………!!!!

@Sammy, I guess what I like is that you don’t have to wait for it to be on special at Costco.
@Sheridan- I’ve just had a quick look at what I got and it’s all in order- no stress on the using things by their use by dates. The Korma sauce has over a year, the bread and meat are fresh etc. It’s not cheap because it’s about to turn.

I’ll point this out from Costco’s website:

On Merchandise: We guarantee your satisfaction on every product we sell, and will refund your purchase price.

In the US, this meant you could return anything, for any reason, at any time. Even if the thing were a barbecue you’d been using for the past decade and were no longer satisfied with its’ performance, or a mattress that wasn’t so comfortable anymore. Looks like the policy applies here in Australia too. Just remember to save the receipt.

Kirkland is Costco’s own private label; their maple syrup is real, but it’s not the greatest. Even I have to admit that the best maple syrup comes from our friends over the border in America Jnr; well my old border (that comment should read).

Hi jessieduck,

Thanks for the post, the level of detail is appreciated.

Can you please comment on the length of time until the expiry date of foods?

I have seen items from Campbells Cash and Carry that seem like a bargain (again, bulkish purchases required) but the time left until the expiry date is not very long – maybe a month or two at a stretch, so the items are quite poor value unless you can consume them really quickly.

This also reminds me of the ‘battle’ that is going on at the moment with Woolworths and Coles, how you can purchase 2L of milk for $2.00 or whatever the deal is. I have heard that it can be cheaper to purchase 2L of milk and let some of it goes to waste, rather than to spend slightly more to purchase less milk and have no waste.

There’s nothing spectacular in most of those prices that couldn’t be had on special at Woolies or Coles. Both regularly have premium bog roll around the 50 cent per roll mark, and Huggies wipes are currently $12 per 240 at Woolies, which is only a little more than Costco.

If you’re adopting the mentality of buying in bulk, then just buy in bulk from your local Woolies/Coles when the things you use a lot of are on special.

My only hope is that this furthers competition and drives Woolies/Coles prices down even further.

@Threepaws- It’s Skippy Peanut Butter, I think they had a few other brands including an organic one but the Skippy is the only price I snapped.
The maple syrup is real and I’ve had it in Canada so I can vouch that the Kirkland brand is nice.
The chicken is Steggles and comes in a vacuumed sealed pack, it’s good. And lastly, the beef looks fresh and lovely and we’ll be eating some of it tonight.

I am wary of overspending at Costco to “save money” so I treated today as a bit of a recon mission. I got what we needed but I didn’t go craycray.

I also recorded some prices… please don’t take this as a record of my shopping habits haha, I was there doing research for a small business owner rather than shopping for a family, as well as just browsing at some random stuff, hence the focus on soft drinks etc! I thought it would be great to join for anyone with a family, anyone organising parties or events, sporting clubs, small businesses and groups bulk buying to run fundraisers etc. Was quite impressed (and wasn’t expecting to see so much good food, juices, cheeses etc, thought it would all be junk or weird American stuff made out of corn and HFCS. Lots of familiar brands too.).

500mL bottled water 35 pack $7.99
Slab 24 cherry Coke cans $19.79
V energy soda 24 cans $35.99
Coca cola 24 cans $13.99
2kg mayonnaise whole egg $8
Ayam brand sweet chili sauce 2L for $5.79
1kg crushed garlic $4.87
Frozen mozzerella sticks 1.2 kg $15.50
Mini Dagwood dogs 2kg $22.29
Bundaberg Ginger beer 12 pack $11.99
24 pack mixed 390mL coca cola bottled drinks $27.49
1kg calamari frozen $9.39
Birds eye potato gems 2kg $6.29
3TB external hard drive $169
Komachi knife set $35.99
Canon Ixus 220HS $279
LG l11 series HD computer monitor $349 (I think it was 27 inch, can’t quite remember?)
Toshiba touch screen all in one dx1210 PC $1599.99
3 pack Eco coffee mug $19 (those ceramic keep cup things for coffees)
Bulmers Pear Cider 12x 500mL $39.99
Be Natural Nut Delight museli bars 15 pack $17.99
Soignon Goats Cheese 300g log $9.69
1.3kg spinach and ricotta ready meal canneloni $8.99
300g smoked salmon $9.89

Thanks for taking the time to report jessieduck, appreciated.

Out of curiosity – what brand is the peanut butter (husband is fussy)? And the maple syrup that you mention, is it the real stuff or maple flavoured syrup? Do the chicken and beef look like they are good quality?

I’m a total sucker for a (quality) bargain, and really appreciate the discounted places like Aldi as I think some groceries are WAY overpriced. I also hate fighting crowds at stores and have a tendency to blow the budget on ‘bargains’, so a visit to Costco will be a carefully considered outing 🙂

Thanks again!

I was glad to find that a small family could find value at Costco with normal, good quality food. I was a bit worried it was going to be all about huge bags of chips and high calorie food but there is something in there for everyone.

1.8 kg of Quinoa for $11?? Amazing.

Thank you for reporting back, I think I am going to visit later when the hype has settled down more out of curiosity than bulk buys. I am interested to know what the non food items carried are. Great for large families but not for us 🙂

nom nom nom

Hey thanks for the informative post. 1kg of bocconcinni! crazy

http://www.dailytelegraph.com.au/news/breaking-news/dancing-squid-bowl-could-you-eat-this/story-e6freuyi-1226099586112

48 rolls of bog roll. Yikes, I’d be seeing a doctor about that, haha!