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Is it worth joining Costco? We show how its prices compare to supermarkets


COSTCO is the place to go for bargains and bulk buys – but is a membership really worth the price?

The wholesale warehouse chain is an alternative to your typical supermarkets with 28 locations across the UK.

 Costco charges customers to shop - so is it worth the membership fee?

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Costco charges customers to shop – so is it worth the membership fee?Credit: Alamy

But unlike your local Tesco or Morrisons, you can’t just stroll in and have a browse – you need a membership card to shop in Costco.

The majority of Costco’s customers are traders but a third of shoppers buy for themselves.

A “full warehouse” membership – meaning you can shop in-store and online – costs £26.50 a year for traders and £33.60 for members of the public.

This includes a complimentary card for a spouse or partner.

 If you've never been to a Costco, here's what one looks like inside

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If you’ve never been to a Costco, here’s what one looks like insideCredit: Andrew Styczynski – The Sun

Not everyone is eligible for membership though, as you need to have – or be retired from – a certain type of job to get accepted.

This includes public-sector workers – such as the NHS, education, emergency services, local government – or a qualified professional such as an architect, solicitor, engineer or accountant.

If this isn’t you, you can still shop at Costco, but only online – and you’ll be charged a five per cent surcharge unless you pay £15 for an annual online membership.

Finally, an “executive membership”, which pays 2 per cent cashback on most purchases, costs £67.20 for a trader, or £74.40 for ordinary shoppers.

All membership cards have your photo for identification so you can’t hand it over to friends and family – but you can take up to two guests with you on each shopping trip.

But is the membership money really worth it? We take a look at the pros and cons of shopping at Costco.

You can also read about all the membership options on the Costco website.

How to cut the cost of your shop

MONEY.CO.UK has shared some top tips with us to help you keep your supermarket spend down to a minimum.

  • Write yourself a list – Only buy items that you need. If it isn’t on your list, don’t put it in the trolley
  • Create a budget – Work out a weekly budget for your food shopping
  • Never shop hungry – You are far more likely to buy  more food if your tummy is rumbling
  • Don’t buy pre-chopped veggies or fruit – The extra they’ll charge for chopping can be eye watering
  • Use social media – Follow your favourite retailers to find out about the latest deals
  • Be disloyal – You may want to go to different stores to find the best bargains
  • Check the small print –  It’s always worth checking the price per kg/lb/litre when comparing offers so you’re making a like for like decision as a bigger box won’t necessarily mean you get more
  • Use your loyalty cards – Don’t be afraid to sign up to them all. They all work slightly differently – work out what bonus suits you better and remember to trade in your points for additional rewards

Most items must be bought in bulk

The majority of products you’ll find at Costco come with a minimum spend, meaning you’ll need to buy more than one to get the offer price.

So if you’re tempted by a deal, make sure you have the cupboard space and cash for multiple buys.

If you go to supermarkets, you may find the same item at a slightly higher price but you won’t be restricted by how many you need to purchase.

Bigger also isn’t always better if you don’t really need everything you’re buying, or don’t plan on using food products before their expiry date.

This means shoppers who truly benefit from Costco are business owners who know they’ll make use of bulk buys.

Find products in bigger sizes

Business owners will benefit from larger sizes that you wouldn’t necessarily find in regular supermarkets.

For example, Costco sells a 105-pack of Fairy dishwasher tablets – whereas the biggest size you’ll find in Waitrose is 75 tablets.

It isn’t the only retailer to stock big products though, as Amazon also stocks large sizes of popular brands.

Bulk buying goods is what makes Costco prices low, but again, just make sure you have room to store all your items and that you really do need everything you’re purchasing.

Costco can be cheaper – but shop around for the best deals

While you might instantly think Costco always works out cheaper, you might be surprise to know this isn’t always the case.

We compared prices for several popular everyday household items and found the same items can actually be found at a lower price elsewhere.

 This is how Costco compares to the major UK supermarkets and Amazon

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This is how Costco compares to the major UK supermarkets and Amazon

For example, you can buy a pack of 480 Yorkshire Everyday tea bags from for £9.79 at Costco, but the same amount would cost you £9 at Tesco and Asda.

You’d also need to buy four boxes at Costco.

It was the same for 1kg of Nescafe Original coffee, which cost £20.59 with a minimum buy of six jars at Costco.

Tesco has an offer on 200g jars of Nescafe, costing £3 each, which would make 1kg worth only £15.

However, Costco was cheapest on a couple of items we looked at – including Pampers baby-dry size four nappies, which cost £11.79 for 120 nappies with a three-pack minimum spend.

The cheapest we found the equivalent of 123 Pampers nappies being sold elsewhere was for £13.50 in Asda and Morrisons.

Felix as good as it looks was also cheapest in Costco, totalling £21.49 for 80 pouches with a minimum spend of two boxes.

The same number of Felix pouches would cost you at least £22 in Tesco and Asda.

As always, we’d recommend comparing prices before handing over any cash to make sure you’re getting the best value for money.

You can use MoneySupermarket or Idealo to set up price alerts and track prices across all the UK supermarkets.

Prices don’t include VAT

If you’re shopping in-store, keep in mind that most products don’t include VAT.

This means that some deals can, at first glance, look cheaper than they necessarily are.

Look just below the advertised price for the full amount you will be expected to pay at the check out.

So is Costco worth the membership?

It all depends on how often you’re going to shop there and if you’ll benefit from bulk buying.

If you’re going to be browsing regularly, then the answer is probably yes – if not, you’d maybe be better saving your cash and keeping an eye on supermarket deals.

We’d suggest having a browse of the Costco website to work out what you’d by, how often, and see if this saving is worth more than the membership price.

Be honest with how often you’d actually go to Costco and what you have space to buy.

Some previous Costco deals include this GIANT 2kg Quality Street which cost £8.40 last month.

And here’s what deals Costco had during last year’s Black Friday sales.

Alternatively, Asda is opening a new Costco-style cash and carry warehouse – but you won’t have to pay a membership fee.

‘Hot’ dad goes to Costco for the first time and cannot believe how cheap it is





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