Five Ways to Save Money Using a Warehouse Club Membership
07. May, 2009 
8 Comments
Back in November, I signed up for a Costco membership. In the months since, I have saved tons of money using my warehouse club membership. How did I do it? Here are just five ways that I have saved money shopping at Costco.
Shop for Seasonal Items
Back at Christmas time, my fiancée and I were doing some Christmas shopping. At a bookstore in our local mall, we found a beautiful book that she thought would be perfect for her mother. The problem was, it was about $80. She asked me if I thought she should get it, and I hesitated for a bit, and told her to think about it. Later that week, we were at Costco, and what else should we find except for the same book – for $30 less. We bought our membership for $55, and two weeks later we saved $30 on a Christmas present (which her mother loved, by the way).
Warehouse clubs have a rotating cycle of seasonal items. They’re there one day, and gone the next. Before buying Christmas presents, wet suits, planters, patio furniture, do yourself a favor and check to see if your local Costco (or Sam’s Club, etc) has it for cheaper. Even if it is the same price, I guarantee you Costco will give you a better return policy on the item.
Return Food That’s Gone Bad, Broken Items, Non-Fitting Clothes, etc
Costco has a fantastic return policy. In the last couple of years they’ve become a little more strict about returning TVs, Computers, and some other electronics, but on pretty much everything else, you have a lifetime 100% satisfaction guarantee. My aunt told me a story about some patio furniture that she bought. Apparently something happened to it years and years after they bought it. I think the glass top cracked after they left it out all winter. So she went to Costco and asked if they had a replacement that she could get. Well, because Costco only ever keeps certain items for a month or two, and never again, of course they didn’t. So instead, Costco replaced the entire set for free. My aunt didn’t even have the receipt, and couldn’t prove that she bought it at Costco!
With clothes, feel free to buy them, try them on at home, and return them if they don’t fit. Costco doesn’t have any change rooms, so please don’t attempt to change in the store. They expect you to return it if it doesn’t fit, or if the son/husband/father you bought it for doesn’t like it. Just try to keep the tags on, and bring it back.
In terms of food, did you know that if a bakery item goes bad before it should, or wasn’t made properly, you can return the item, get it replaced for free, and get your money back? Please, don’t abuse the system so that the rest of us can continue to enjoy it, but if the milk you buy spoils the next day, bring it back. If the gigantic amount of tomatoes goes rotten two days after purchase, bring it back. You’ll save yourself a ton of money.
Buy Staples in Bulk
Most of the time, buying in bulk can save you money. It is worth double checking the cost per weight against your local supermarket, but the majority of the time, your local Warehouse Club will have them beat. Personally, because there’s only two of us eating here, there are some things that just don’t make sense to buy in such gratuitous amounts. The majority of the produce, for example, would go bad long before we could work our way through the two dozen peppers or sixteen bananas. Instead, we try to buy things that will keep for as long as we need them to.
- Pickles
- Banana Peppers
- Peanut Butter
- Cereal
- Milk
- Cheese
- Frozen Meat
- Tortellini
- Ciabatta Buns
- Pitas
Purchase Magazines
I don’t really read magazines, and I’ve always found that Costco has a terrible selection, but for my fiancée buying a magazine or two at the Warehouse Club is significantly cheaper than buying it at the supermarket. Costco sells their magazines at 25% off the cover price, giving you a decent deal without having to subscribe.
Now, obviously, subscribing to a magazine that you’re going to be buying every single month is even cheaper, and I would recommend that over making Costco your subscription hub. However, if you want to test out a magazine, or only want one particular issue, then why not save yourself a couple of bucks when you’re going to be dropping the cash on the magazine anyways?
Eat Free Samples
My work office is close to a Costco. So sometimes after work I’ll stop by Costco to pick up a thing or two or just to kill some time before I head home. Of course, I try to eat every single sample there. There’s usually one by the granola bars, two or three along the food isle, and one or two in the deli area. I don’t know if I could eat enough in a year to make up for the price of the membership, but it definitely is a nice little snack before I head home to dinner.
Buying a warehouse club membership isn’t guaranteed to save you money. You have to be smart about your purchases there, especially because the size and quantity of the items can very quickly drive up your total bill. Generally speaking, if you buy 10 items, it’ll cost around $100. 20 items, $200. So be careful, be wary, and you too can save money using a warehouse club membership.
Related posts
- Receiving My Tax Refund
- Saving Money On Our Cell Phone Bill
- Saving Mistake: Saving Without a Purpose
- Are You Ready to Tackle Your Personal Finances?
- Maximizing your Savings
- 5 Ways to Save Money
- Saving on Banking Fees
- Planning Ahead Saves You Money
- Reaching the Savings Goal
- Reasons Why We Fail to Save Part 2
Matt Goulart
I agree, for the most part.
But I always buy those monstrous ice cream jugs. And then proceed to eat more ice cream every night. WOOPS.
But I dooo love ice cream
[Reply]
Hmm, I didn’t know Costco gave discounts like that on magazines. But like you said, probably not much selection. My main problem with Costco is that they’re usually located in isolated areas that are hard to get to by public transit and you need a car. I don’t have one, so I’ve only ever been inside one Costco. And the amount of the membership put me off for the amount of times I’d be there considering how hard they are to get to wherever I am, or so it seems. Maybe I’ll revisit at some point.
[Reply]
I think you are showing a complete lack of effort if you can’t use tow dozen peppers before they go bad….I’m sure someone has a peanut butter and pepper sandwich recipe out there ?
[Reply]
I’ve found good deals on printer ink at Sam’s Club. They were undercutting the people on ebay (for my particular ink, anyway)
[Reply]
@ MFD – You’re right! I should start eating peppers raw. Carry one around in my pocket to snack on. Eat them with my cereal in the morning, and in my icecream at night!
@ Kosmo – That’s right! I forgot about their paper/office supplies aisle. Ink is always so overpriced, a warehouse club would definitely be able to give you a great deal – provided you use all the ink!
[Reply]
I chose not to renew my membership in March as I wasn’t getting the mileage out of it. To me, it’s really only for businesses are those that like to buy in bulk.
There is another no membership club around, I think it’s called Wholesale Club or something to that effect. I don’t know how good they are. There’s also the Super Walmart and Zehrs that sell in bulk as well as the bulk barn =)
Just a rhetorical question, do you think what draws people is the fact that you have to pay for a membership? Maybe they like to feel exclusive.
[Reply]
I know that some people like to be a "member" because they like to feel entitled. I know of some members who have taken it a little too far and threatened Costco cashiers because "they own the store" with their membership. There is definitely more of that attitude at a warehouse club as opposed to a supermarket, for sure.
[Reply]
lol. That’s funny about the entitlement. I’ve always considered the membership fee to be a necessary evil, not a tool for a Napolean complex
[Reply]