So we’re new again members at Costco, we took a year off and are now back in the saddle. You can read more about Why We Bought a Costco Membership and the Items I would NEVER buy at Costco. The following is a photo series of items I do buy and would suggest you buy at Costco – these items are rarely cheaper even with a good sale or coupon (if they even exist) and as of right now I think you’d be hard pressed to find a better deal. Plus I think the $1.50 hotdog/drink.com/bo alone may be worth the membership 
What are some items you think are consistently the lowest price at Costco?
- At $0.14 cents per ounce the honey at Costco is a no brainer.
- Unlike Peanut Butter, it’s friend Jelly rarely goes on sale for a great price. Since we go through it by the gallon each year I’ve found the price at Costco to be very fair.
- You can find coffee cheaper, but this is GOOD coffee and it’s a great price.
- We love this brand and also appreciate that is contains no corn syrup, at $0.05 per ounce it makes pancake breakfast even more delicious!
- So I’m sure this can me made cheaper at home, but I’m not so sure it can be made as tasty. $1.15 per pound is a good price and a quick ready to go dish for your next BBQ.
- We use a lot of EVOO, I’ve found it free after rebate – but on a regular basis it’s the lowest price at Costco. *Picture above is is the Pure Olive Oil*
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Great post! Yes, jam, good coffee, and olive oil are hard to find good deals, so Costco prices are good.
Nugget Markets had the Bonne Maman Preserves on sale this weekend at $2.50 each, which is the lower I have seen so far for my favorite jam (They are regularly priced at $5 or more). I know $2.50 is expensive for a little jar of jam, but it is the best, no other jam can even come closer…
We have a Sam’s Club membership (there isn’t a Costco in my area) and we buy our meat there often. It’s usually a lot less expensive and we just separate the packages and have it for months.
Thanks for this! I was wondering about the syrup myself because we have pancakes a lot – good to know! I also like going with my Mom and splitting things in half to cut the up front cost. She only has 3 people at home and I have 4 (2 of them under 3) so it’s nice to not have to get so much at one time.
I have always wondered about some of the bulk staple items like flour and sugar. I know they can be found at times at the .99 store, but if you can’t find it there and need some is it cheaper to get it at Costco?
We took a year break from Sam’s Club but I think we’re about to head back there. I find the dog food & powdered sugar to be unbeatable. I make cakes and go through about 100 lbs. of powdered sugar a year so that really helps! They also have great deals on fruit snacks… better than anything I can match up with coupons. The giant bins of animal crackers & goldfish are great too
Kirkland brand dog food and baby formula! You could get cheaper dog food, with not so good ingrediants, but the kirkland brand has almost the same ingrediants as Iams and is half the price $22 for a 40lb bag. The baby formula is $18 for two 25oz cans, thats by far the best price I’ve found and my baby loves it!
Costco’s brand dog food has NO corn – which is the #1 ingredient/filler in all other brands of dog food, even the better brands like Iams and Pedigree. It’s hard on your dog’s stomach and is cheap for the companies to include. So – I’d have to agree – you can’t beat Kirkland Signature dog food quality or price!!
Walmart brand formula use to be about 12.50 for 24 oz. It has been several years since I needed it but it might be worth a price comparison. Also Target was about 13.75 for the 24oz can.
I <3 their syrup, so good
These are my favorite posts. I love to know what are actual Costco deals. Thanks for putting this together!
Thank you so much for posting information on what is worth purchasing at Costco! These posts are extremely appreciated.
I’ve found that making my own jam is cheaper & taste a whole lot better & is easier to make than I ever thought. Thanks for your posts!
I to make my own jam! Until last year my kids had never had store bought! Looking forward to makeing it again this year. My plum tree is already starting to sprout!!
I’ve been a hard core Costco shopper for years and only recently discovered the power of combining coupons with great sales. But there are a few items at Costco that I think are hard to beat. We use real Maple Syrup and Honey a lot at home as I make my own whole wheat bread with the honey and lots of whole wheat pancakes/waffles for the kiddos. I also buy the generic laundry detergent that says for Institutions. It’s $13.99 for 200 loads or $0.07 a load. I haven’t been able to beat that price yet with coupons. And the Costco Baby Wipes. Although I am still trying to find a way to beat that price with coupons. Also, I have found that the frozen Boneless Skinless Chicken Breasts (Kirkland brand) are very high quality and doesn’t have all that extra rib meat you need to cut away with supermarket meat. So even though ti’s more expensive I think it’s worth it. Great post!
I know Sue Bee Honey sounds like a good deal, but Sue Bee Honey was found to contain the banned antibiotic chloramphenicol, an animal antibiotic. Some of the honey was imported from China, where they still use banned anti-biotics. The FDA banned chloramphenicol, an animal antibiotic, from any food product. A contaminated batch was found about once a month in Sue Bee Honey. 40% of Sue Bee Honey is imported from various places such as China and Vietnam. Most honey shipments are not inspected by the FDA. We have to think about the safety of our children versus saving a few cents. You can’t trust the labels on honey. It might say product of USA, but that means that only some of the ingredients come from the U.S.
You can find honey that it grown locally at Farmer’s Markets. By law, they can’t use banned antibiotics here.
http://www.seattlepi.com/local/394053_honey30.asp
Just an FYI, for those of us with allergies, you can’t beat local honey.
It helps build an immunity to some seasonal allergies.
Substitute a spoonful with your tea, coffee, toast, smoothies.
The down side is that it’s not as economical as massive produced honey.
We just got back from Costco and got romain lettuce (6 heads) for $3.49, tortillas 40 ct $3.49, doritos 50 ct $10. My hubby takes chips with lunch everyday and they are always $3.99 for 12 at the store….never on sale
so $10 for 50 is a great deal! Some prices are great and some are horrible lol. I would never buy their cereal, razors, salad dressing etc
You don’t need a membership for the $1.50 hot dog/soda combo! haha I don’t ever drink the soda so I just give it to someone in line but their hot dogs are the BEST! I always get one when I’m picking up a RX…and sometimes just cuz.
Some Costco require a membership for the hot dog and soda. If the Costco has the snack shack inside, they wont let you in without showing your membership. Their might be a way around this, but my inlaws have yet to find one.
I let my Costso membership expire since I’ve been couponing, and just go with my mom when I really need something they have. But I kept my expired card, that way I can just flash it to get in, whenever I’m craving their $1.50 hot dog/soda deal. I must confess, it is one of my guilty pleasures. LOL
All you need is a Costco Cash Card (so a gift card). And you can get in and shop. Don’t even need to pay with the card. Just pay with cash!
Really?? You don’t have to have a membership to purchase something? I would only go once or twice a year so I hate to buy a card.
I read this and called to verify it with my local Costco. It’s true! I can buy my gift cards thru the Scrip program at our school and then go without buying a membership! Very cool!
Thx for the thread on Costco buys. I too buy all my oil there. I haven’t tried that coffee brand, but will do so. I also buy a lot of their hamburger because it’s so lean. You can find ground beef on sale other places, but not consistently for the really lean stuff.
I bake a lot and find that their spices are the way to go.
One of the best things about Costco is their return policy! It’s great!
I recently learned something from our local butcher at one of our local supermarkets that was quite shocking about buying hamburger. Have you ever noticed that when you buy your hamburger pkgs most of the times you will find a discoloration(pink on the outside and blah on the inside) it is because they mix the old hamburger with the new meat that they are grinding so that none goes to waste. So my advisement is to buy the meat whole(ground chuck, sirloin or whatever you desire) and then ask your butcher/or meat dept whatever the case may be and have them grind your meat fresh, you are less likely to get a bad batch of burgers. Also alot of times lately the ground chuck and other meats have been cheaper than the burger, so check your prices first.
The red color is due to the air getting to the outside meat (where the darker color has not been exposed to the air). Costco has a 12% or less fat content policy (each batch of burger is tested, must have to have 2 signatures and paperwork kept on file for 3 months).
When purchasing meat at a local supermarket make sure you check the cleanliness of the cutting area. Costco has the meat department enclosed in glass so you can see everything (my husband is a meat cutter at Costco and has said it is like working in a fish tank). I often wonder what they are hiding when you can not see where the meat is being cut and wrapped.
No , the red on the outside is added to sell the meat. Would you buy the hamburger if it were all the same brown color as the inside?
Paula is correct. ‘Red’ meat turns red from exposure to oxygen, just like blood. The plastic wrap used to wrap meat is permeable to oxygen on purpose. If you kill a cow properly (drain its blood) and cut it open, it will find the meat is brown, like the inside of your ground beef.
My husband said if you purchase the 10lb tube of burger (just ask for it) it is very lean and cheaper.
Kirkland Pure Olive Oil costs $6.29 per liter.
Nugget Markets has a great deal coming up next week on their De Cecco Extra Virgin Olive Oil (1 Liter bottle) for $7.99 each. and we are talking De Cecco, and Extra Virgin, not Pure Olive Oil wich is a blend of virgin and refined olive oil and it lacks flavor…
Thanks for the post! I’m employee family of Costco and appreciate all the support other people provide of the great values and low prices – especially after becoming a coupon shopper and seeing that you just can’t beat prices on some of their items!
Another insider tip – if you want to be sure you’re saving even more – use the Executive Member coupons (Exec Membership required) to save on the essential items, stock up, and only buy them when they’re on coupon – the essential items usually show up on coupon at least twice a year. Also, if you EVER see ANYTHING with a price that ends in .97, it is a MARKDOWN/CLEARANCE item!! They don’t usually highlight the signs or tell their shoppers this, but it’s a little secret we employees know about
Costco never profits more than 10% above their cost on any of their items, so when you get a mark-down or use the coupons, you are probably buying your item at Costco’s buy price or lower!!
Garbage bags! Just bought some yesterday. A pack of 200 (!!) 13 gallon bags for $12, or $.06 each. I RARELY see high value coupons for Hefty or Glad and these Kirkland ones look just like the Glad ones with the diamond pattern on them. Great buy!!
Yes- I second the garbage bags!! I’ve never found them cheaper, coupons, store brand or otherwise. And they are good quality bags, too. Also agree on the jam and Log Cabin syrup. I buy a bag of frozen chicken breasts every time I go to Costco (did you know you can throw them on the grill and cook them frozen?), and they usually have the best deal going on pork chops, too!
Spices: for example Saigon cinnamon is 2.69 for 10.7 oz at Costco. At my local mega-mart, the McCormick brand is 4.29 for 1.87. That is 9 times the price by weight!!!
Nutella is also a bargain there.
Most cheeses-the fresh mozzarella is half the price per pound at Costco. Their prices on provolone, feta and jarlsberg, among others, are great.
The Jack’s salsa is also a great price.
And so many others.
While not every item is that much of a bargain, the list is pretty impressive.
And I agree with the dog food comments. The local rescue we got our dog from uses Costco dog food and we stuck with it when we brought our dog home.
And she is healthy, happy, active and her coat is just beautiful.
I’ve been a regular shopper at Costco. I hate shopping there because I don’t like buying by bulk and I don’t have the storage space at home. Plus I got tired of spending $150. every week at Costco so it pushed me to clipping coupons and now I’m sooo happy to be saving money. Costco was my convenience market…and I feel horrible for throwing away money all this time! Between CVS, Walgreens, Lucky’s and Safeway……..I love saving 30-65% on groceries!
Things I must buy there: Ground Beef, Cheese (fresh mozzarella, provolone, marscapone, goat, bleu) all WONDERFUL, Sugar, Garlic Bread, Romaine Hearts, Brownie Bites, Olive Oil, Garlic Bread (kirkland brand), Spices, Heavy Cream, English Muffins, Generic Claritin/Zyrtec, Premium Gas at their gas station, Christmas Photo Cards.
One thing we do have is their American Express Credit Card – we usually get back about $800 CASH a year because we charge everything to it (and pay our balance off every month).
Cottage Cheese, Sugar, Wine, Meat
Costco is unique compared to other retail stores for two reasons – they have a standard markup on all products and require a minimum weekly sales volume with the option of making the manufacturer take back their unsold merchandise if weekly minimum sales are not generated.
This is why some items are extremely well priced while others are not. Traditional retailers don’t have a standard markup that applies to all products sold.
We love Costco for meat & produce! Apples & berries are sooo expensive at the grocery store & I often feel like I am getting a “steal” on these at Costco! They do vary in price, so sometimes we pass them up, but for the most part, these prices can’t be beat!!!
Their roasted chickens are wonderful! $4.99 vs $6.99 at Safeway, etc. and bigger! And much tastier. They have make-your-own Chinese Chicken Salad that is great, too. Includes everything but the lettuce. It has two separate servings and I love it! Their meat is excellent as well.
As for the rest…it depends. With coupons, I often do better at Luckys or Safeways. And since there are only two of us, I don’t need giant sizes of most items–except toilet paper and paper towels and cat litter. But I always manager to find about $75 of items there that I can’t live without everytime I go! Wish there had been a Costco near us when my kids were living at home!
Gas and milk are my Costco staples. Gas is at least $.10 cheaper per gallon than anywhere else in the area, and milk is consistently often 30% or more cheaper than the grocery store, with no added hormones.
Wanted to let you know that about every 6 weeks Walgreens has there brand of Honey (32 oz.) for $3.99. If you purchased 3 you would pay $11.97 for 96 oz. vs. 80 oz at Costco for $11.49.
My absolute favorite items at Costco are:
1.) Organic Spanich 3.99 per pound.
My 2 1/2 year old daughter loves my spanich, banana, apple and hemp seed smoothie.
2.) Ultragrain Flour…comes out to .30 cents a pound (10lbs for $5.99)…awesome deal and my bread/crepes/pancakes!
Thanks so much for posting this info. We don’t have a COSTCO near us, but we do have a SAM’S CLUB. I love Sam’s but I never have time to figure prices when I’m there. This gives me a few items my family uses to check prices on. Thanks a bunch!
I’ve heard there is a way around buying the costco membership. All you need to do is go in and buy a Costco gift card with the amount you plan to spend and then go through the line and pay with that. I haven’t tried it but a co-worker said it worked for him. It’s worth looking into. The next time I go I think I’ll give it a shot.
You can also buy the gift card online with a visa card. The only in-store payment options are cash/debit/check/amex, so if you want to use a visa card buy online.
Cindy – you have to be a member to buy the gift certificate, I think, but it would be worth checking.
Hmmm..about the gift card idea..sounds like a great idea to have a friend with a membership to get you a gift card for amount you would want to spend. Otherwise, I would think they would charge you a percentage fee for the total amount (which would be the same amount if you bought items outright!) But hey, let us know if it works!!!
I am a Costco addict for their milk and butter. I love real butter and I rarely (maybe occasionally when there is some sort of crazy super sale) can find it cheaper than at Costco. Their produce is usually priced well and is of very good quality. Almost weekly we purchase our spinach for salads, bananas, onions, and usually tomatoes (as the ones at the grocery store unless really on sale are usually much lower quality) while shopping at Costco. I agree with the previous posters on the Kirkland pet food, one can find it cheaper elsewhere, but for a similar quality the price is unbeatable.
Just a quick comment on the gift card idea. I don’t know if you can purchase one without a membership, but I would be surprised if you could. You could have a friend with a membership buy your Cash Card for you. However, I know you can use one without having a membership. I was just at Costco and couldn’t find my membership card, but I had a Costco Cash card from something that I had returned, so they rang me up anyway.
On another similar note, if you are the type who likes to use their visa or mc to earn miles, which they don’t accept at Costco stores, you can buy yourself a Costco Cash Card on Costco.com using a visa or mc then spend it at your local Costco. I have done this also, you just need to estimate how much you plan to spend. Of course, since it’s Costco, I always go over my Cash Card amount. =)
Thanks for this post. We just let our membership expire b/c we were so busy moving and we weren’t sure if we really needed it.
Now, I have read the posts, there are a few things I really do like from there and think it will be worth the membership to go back.
1. Generic Zyrtec—around $7 for a year’s worth. We just ran out…darn!
2. Diapers–not that we need them now, as he is potty training, but WAY cheaper for the 2 years he was. Pull-ups are also a great deal. We do like the wipes there too.
3. Contact solution–can’t remember the price, but it’s like 3 bottles for less than $10…lasts me the whole year. (unless the two yr old decides to get into it. LOL)
4. They have the tortillas you have to cook there for twice as much for the same price as the grocery stores. A must have for our house!
5. The rotisserie chicken! Awesome! I get several meals out of one.
We’ll be going back this week for our membership.
Just reading your Costco section, and one thing I always purchase from costco is their meet chubs. It is in the frozen section, next to the ready made hamberger patties. It is only 9%fat, and since I do not like ground turkey it is a good way for us to eat a little healther. It comes frozen in 1lb tubes and that makes it easier. It USE to be about 2.39 lb, but when I purchaced it last week it had gone up to 3.11! I am looking for it cheaper, but have not found it.
Also sometimes if your carefull you can find pretty good deals when their coupons are out. Note I said some items, not all. I also get the contact salution their. It’s about 7.80 for 3 16oz bottles. I have noticed that sometimes you find coupon match ups for the salution a lot cheaper, but cant seem to stock up on it so Costco is my back up.
I will buy their bagels. I don’t have any decent bakery outlets where I live. I don’t care for the refrigerator ones, that you might be able to get much cheaper.
Great list. We buy many of the things others have mentioned. A BJs recently opened that is much closer, but I prefer Costco for their prices and their return policy.
I appreciate that you took photos – I tend to do that as well. A friendly tip on the photo front — try turning off the flash and turning on the macro setting.
thanks for your list!
The dog food they sell there pays for the membership. My dogs have food allergies. Costco sells a GREAT dog food that is made by blue buffalo and is the exact same food but you will pay double for it elsewhere. There snack shop is a great deal too imo.
NUTELLA! Can’t beat the price.
Used to buy milk there, but it skyrocketed (here in FL) the past 6 months. Hopefully it will go back down. I can now beat the price of milk at Aldi.
Gas, of course.
Coffee.
Sometimes meat.
Oh, and chocolate chips when they are on sale w/ coupon.
I gave up my Sams Club membership a few years ago and love not paying big $ there evey month. I originally went there primarily for diapers but found that each trip cost well over $100. I find that between dollar stores, rite aid (with my 10% discount for milk), my local grocery store with coupons and amazon mom for diapers (along with using cloth) I am saving tons. My husband hunts and I am a vegetarian so our meat bill is negligable. I also recommend trying to make dog food if you have a cheap meant supply. Since I began making my dog’s food out of deer meat, beans, veggies and grains she has been a million times healthier, thinner, acts younger, and has less vet visits. I whip it together in my pressure cooker once a week. I like to share this with people, I am in shock at how healthy she is now and how cheap it is for us to make it.
The garlic olive oil at costco is delicious! I would pay almost anything for it!
The Kirkland dog food is made by Diamond. Blue Buffalo is also co-packed, although at this time I am not sure by who. Blue buffalo doesn’t make their own dog food, very few dog food companies have their own plants.
I’m not a Costco fan, at all. I have a membership because it was paid for by a client. I price match everything we buy weekly and get much better deals. We have started buying a dog food from there, but it isn’t the Kirkland brand.
Diapers are cheaper on Amazon. I use their pharmacy if I have to , if Walmart won’t price match it. I can’t figure out what the draw of Costco is and I’ve tried hard.
just a question … any way you could tell us what is in all the photos ? Please – no pix are showing up and I’ve refreshed the page. Hard to tell what you’re posting about with only photos that don’t show up.
Thanks in advance – other than that, your post is greatly appreciated by our large family who frequents Costco for a multitude of items you simply cannot get for a better price elsewhere. Kirkland dog food, organic sugar, honey (though we also buy locally), agave nectar, and some of the cereals are much healthier, too.
Working on it! I have to find the originals and re-upload them – hopefully today.
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