Costco's fresh food and great prices puts it above the rest (Costco)

Member Name: buckhysen

Product:	Costco
Date:	23/03/09 (699 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Fantastic fresh food, great prices, huge product range

Disadvantages: Watch out for the VAT, most items you have to buy in bulk

Despite not actually being a member of Costco, I have found myself going to the Reading store about once a fortnight recently as my best mate joined up just before Christmas when he opened his new Salad Bar.

The fact that we even travel around 35 miles to go to our closest Costco (Despite having Cash & Carry stores in Swindon) is a huge indication as to just how good and cheap this store can be.

I must admit I'd never heard of Costco until we first went in November but have since read that it is one of the biggest and was the fastest growing business in America, and I think became the first company in American history to be worth over £6m from nothing.
And now has over 550 Worldwide warehouses (23 in the UK), so it's obviously a big company.

Back in November their website did state that you could sign up for a card as a trader and a private customer (With different opening hours), but they seem to have taken this information down from their site.
It costs £20 per year (Including guest member) for a membership card, plus £12 per additional card (Up to six), with each card allowing 2 people into the store.

When I spoke to one of the staff members late last year they did tell me you could walk in and purchase a membership card even if you were not a trades person, although as they've now taken this down from their website I'm not sure if this is still the case. It might be worth asking though.

I say that as the prices on bulk and even non bulk items within Costco are hugely impressive. Not every single item in the store will save you money, and in some cases you have to buy a lot to save enough money to make it worthwhile, BUT there are a lot of items that you can save money on without spending a fortune.

In Swindon we have a few Cash & Carry stores but they are mainly catered for small newsagents, so although you do save money on some items, you only save money on the cost of these items in a small local store, rather than in a supermarket.

The first thing I noticed with Costco is that not only do they have a huge range of branded items... from Stamps to Easter Eggs, Electrical items to food & drink, but they also offer extremely good prices, even when you do take into account the VAT.

Although I'm not a trade customer I do find that I can save a small fortune from the items I purchase.
Through my business I get through a lot of stamps and this alone saves me more than the cost of a membership card (Should I ever get one and not be able to get in on my mates card) :o).

I've only ever been to the Reading warehouse but what first strikes you is the size of the place.
In the Reading store you walk in and immediately come face to face with around 30 LCD & Plasma TV's. Ranging right up to 50" screens, the cheapest being £699.

As you walk around the outside aisles, this mainly consists of Electrical items, garden items, household furniture, etc, etc.
The middle aisles mainly consist of clothing, books and toys & games. whilst the aisles on the far side are full of food and drink.

One section which I've not seen in any other cash & carry store before is the fresh food section. This is seriously impressive, both quality wise and price wise.
i.e. You can pick up huge Birthday and general cakes at around half the price you'd pay in a supermarket.
I bought my youngest daughter's Birthday cake here in December and paid £8.99 for a cake twice as nice looking, twice as tasty and almost three times the size as the cake I bought in Tesco for 50p less a month before.
The carrot cake and Victoria cakes are even less and I honestly have never tasted cakes so delicious. My friend sells them in his salad bar and they are hugely popular.

Also in the fresh food section you can purchase fresh smaller cakes, buns and croissants, fresh meats, cheese and poultry, as well as fresh ready meals, etc, including Pizza's, Shepherds Pie, Lasagna, etc. All at remarkable prices considering the size.
Put it this way, I bought one of their huge Pizza's for £6.99 and it wouldn't fit in my oven.

What I like about Costco is that with most items you don't need to buy much to save money.
i.e. You can purchase bags of salad, fruit, large packs of frozen foods, packs of drinks, etc, etc.
Most of these are bigger packs as you'd find in Supermarkets but not so big that you wouldn't have room to store them.
i.e. 2.1kg Chicken Pieces, 2kg Hash Browns.
Food items like these are more than double the size you would buy in a supermarket, but at around the same price for the most part.

This is a great compromise by Costco as fresher items that need to be consumed quicker you can buy in smaller quantities, compared to longer lasting items like tins, washing powder, etc which you will have to buy more of.

As I said, not everything in Costco is cheaper than supermarkets, especially if you only ever buy branded items, but what I have found is that a lot of everyday items (In particular) such as fresh food, drinks, frozen foods, meats, cheese, salads, fruit, etc are around the same price or less, for twice as much.

Some people might frown at having to pay £20 a year for a membership card but I'd pay that every year if it meant I could save so much money on most things in the store.
Yes you may have to buy in bulk with most items, but then most items have a long 'Best before' date as long as it's not fresh, so items can be kept and stored... It's certainly worth it to save the extra money on items.

The only caution is that if you are not a trades person then you do have to take into account the VAT, but Costco do list the price with and without VAT on all items it is applicable for, so you can easily see what you are paying.

Checking out and paying is quick and easy. You simply go to the till and the check out person will scan everything, mostly on the trolley, which saves unloading large items, and then you simply take it to a member of staff on the way out to double check your receipt... but in all honesty they barely check this.

(I'm assuming) All Costco's also have toilets inside, and on certain days they offer free samples, tea, coffee, drinks and snacks within the store.

If you are in the area it's also worth going in just to eat as they offer extremely cheap food and drinks.
i.e. Jacket potato and fillings from £1.22
Huge slice of Pizza/Hot dog/Burger/etc and unlimited re-fill of fizzy drink for £1.47.

This may be standard in larger City's, where huge cash & carry stores offer extremely high standard, cheap items, toilet facilities, food & drink, free samples, etc.
But I've been to Brookers, Macro's and many other cash & carry's in the past, in many towns and city's yet never seen a place so cheap and impressive as Costco. And I'd certainly recommend it to anyone who can get a card or who can go and have a look around with someone who has a card.

Yes you have to pay a £20 a year membership fee (Or £12 if you can get an extra card on someone else's membership) but you will save that and more in one visit, so it's certainly worth it.

Costco gets a huge thumbs up from me.

Summary: The best Cash & Carry store I've seen