Recently in Costco Membership Category

From what I've read and my own shopping experiences, the prices are pretty similar.  According to a recent study in a local magazine, in my area you can save around 36% off retail grocery store prices by shopping at either warehouse store. Costco has an optical department that was highly rated by a leading consumer magazine for product quality, so in my myopic family we use them for prescription glasses and sun glasses.  Between the two stores located near me, Costco has by far the quicker check out lines, though the lines at Sam's Club aren't bad if you go during the off hours. Both stores have very similar product lines, though the Costco near me has a lot of organic items while the local Sam's Club has few, if any, organic products.

The big advantage to my local Sam's Club is their Click and Pull service.  It allows you to select products online and then send your list to your nearest Sam's Club with the click of a mouse.  Sam's Club employees put the items on your list in a cart. (I guess "pull" is warehouse lingo for putting items in your cart.) They email you when your cart is read for pickup, usually within a day.  They also create one sheet with a scan code for your entire order so you don't have to have each individual product rung up at the register, which also saves a lot of time. 

I think it is great.  It is like having concierge shopping service with warehouse prices.  I can't believe more people don't take advantage of it.  I asked recently at my local Sam's who used the service and they said it was popular with business owners.  I'm surprised more soccer moms and other people like me don't make use of it.  I'm trying to spread the word because I love it and I want them to keep the service going. By using my online shopping list, I can check at home which items I need so I don't order too much of any one item or not order something I'm out of.  It save me hours of going through their store putting items in my cart.  I think it saves money, too, because it cuts down on impulse buying.  The only additions I make to my cart when I get to the store are freezer and refrigerator items. Other than that, there is no shopping required anymore.  It is more like an order pick up instead.

Ebates currently has an offer on Costco memberships.  It expires 12/31/2009. It costs $50 to join Costco.  This offer is good if you either join Costco as a new member or upgrade a current membership.  Ebates is free to join and they give you cash back on your online shopping.  Basically Ebates has an affiliate program with different merchants like Costco and they share their commissions with their customers.

If you join or upgrade your Costco membership through the Ebates offer, Ebates will give you cash back of $1.75.  The catch is that you have to have a minimum of $5.00 in cash back for Ebates to cut you a check, so this offer only works if you use Ebates for other online purchases.

Beside the cash back from Ebates, Costco will give new or upgrading members coupons worth more than $50 including:

1. A free rotisserie chicken.
 
I don't usually buy this item at Costco but I'm guessing this is worth about $5.

2. Free photo processing.

We just print our own pictures on the PC printer, except for one of my kids who is taking a photo class, but he has to develop his own pictures anyway as a part of the class.  So to me free photo processing isn't worth anything.

3. A two pound bag of coffee.  The brand is Cosco's house brand, Kirkland signature.

We only drink instant, organic coffee so to me this isn't worth anything. I don't normally even buy ground coffee, but I would guess this is worth about $7 to people who like to drink generic ground coffee.

4. A 48 pack of AA batteries.

Name brand AA batteries go for around $1 a battery at warehouse prices, but the house brands are usually considerably less.  I couldn't find a price for a Kirkland AA batteries online, but the Member's Mark brand AA batteries at Sam's Club sell for around $10 for a pack of 48 single use batteries.

Then they offer the nebulous "and more" which could be more of the above or totally worthless stuff.  Who knows?  They also say they will give you multiple certificates to give as gifts, but they don't say what the certificates are for.

So is this s good deal?  If you were going to join or upgrade your membership anyway, then sure, anything extra that is free is worth it.  

If you are a current member, is it worth it to upgrade?  Maybe.  The Executive membership costs $100, $50 more than the standard membership, and gives you 2% back each year, so if you spend a lot at Costco, then the upgrade can pay for itself even without the free coupons. Personally, I've started buying more at Sam's Club, because they have this new service called Click N' Pull. This service allows you to place your order online and then they assemble and put everything in the cart for you.  You get an email when your basket is ready for you. So you get warehouse prices with a concierge shopping service. That is a neat feature that is hard to beat, and as far as I know Costco doesn't have anything comparable.

I still keep my membership at Costco because I like their optical department, and we have enough myopic people in my family that the Costco membership fee is worth it just for that, if nothing else.  Other than that, these days I'm personally a Click N' Pull shopper at Sam's Club.