Best Costco Finds 2026?
7So, we finally got a Costco membership.
What’s the best/coolest/cheapest thing you’ve found there recently?
We finally picked up a Little Giant Ladder we’ve been eyeballing for about a decade on our first run through the store for about $100 less than it was selling for on Amazon that day.
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My parents have Costco, and we have Sam’s. I think they are complimentary. The 3 items that are permanent on the get-this-when-you-go list are: Tilapia loins, coastal cheddar, and organic strawberry preserve.
Everywhere that sells and serves tilapia uses fillets. Those are alright, but when you actually have a loin that can retain some moisture and flakes like nicer fish, it becomes a substitute and eats fancier.
The english white cheddar is 7.60 a lb, and sold roughly 2 lbs. It eats like cheese that is 4x the price.
The strawberry preserve tastes like real ripe strawberries. You will find huge chunks in it.
Obligatory buy your electronics and appliances through Costco because of the warranty. Oh, and if your state is not a liquor control state, and your Costco has spirits, those are great.
@KNmeh7 “eats fancier” lol quote of the day
I bought a Little Giant Ladder some years ago. However, I found it so heavy that I rarely use it, preferring the lighter (aluminum) extension ladders for most uses. (Also, I find it disturbingly easy to get a nasty pinch when trying to deploy/refold it.)
YMMV
Big fan of Costco, though - I make a monthly trip to stock up.
@macromeh Yeah, the Little Giant gets snappy from time to time. Use with caution.
@macromeh Our LGL is a lightweight model, easy to carry around, holds up to 300lbs. Not the heavy-duty model we were originally looking at, but will absolutely do what we need it to do.
They’ve been selling little Nutella stuffed beignets and mini pan Au chocolates in the two Costcos near us lately. They’re not overly sweet and are perfect with a good cup of coffee.
@sillyheathen They’ve got a good biscotti that’s been requested already at my house, too.
@Thumperchick I’ll definitely have to keep an eye out. I love biscotti with coffee or tea.
@Thumperchick
Breakfast of champions
@sillyheathen @Thumperchick
Okay, now I need to go to Costco when we get home…
@chienfou @Thumperchick if they’re baked the same day, they’re insanely dangerous.
@sillyheathen @Thumperchick
@chienfou @Thumperchick hahaha “it’s wa fer thin! get me a bucket!!!”
I took this photo in England when we were visiting because I couldn’t stop giggling.
@sillyheathen @Thumperchick
Such a classic bit…
I belong to all three warehouse clubs-BJ’s, Costco and Sam’s. Certain things I purchase at all three that the others don’t carry.
Became a Costco fan for life about 25 years ago when I bought a 42 inch plazma TV there for about 3k just after they came out. Worked for about 3 years and then broke. Company wanted $ 1,000 to fix it and contacted Costco not really thinking they could or would do anything. The told me they would take it back and refund all my money (when they still had basically an unlimited refund policy) and they sent a truck and men to pack it up and take it away. How could you not like that and become a fan for life.
Book cruises through them and get my hearing aids there. Am about to buy a bed from them which I estimate will solve me several thousand dollars. Like BJ’s as they have a full service deli for approx half the cost of what Publix charges and get enough delivered free from Sam’s to more than offset the Sam’s plus cost.
@Felton10
No BJ’s locally so just keep the other 2…
@Felton10 just FYI hear the return terms are changing due to all the rampant abuse. Which they should. Warranty is different
@unksol It changed some time ago for electronics as too many people were taking advantage of it.
@Felton10 the whole slickdeals posts about “buy a big tv for Superbowl and then return it” plus others resulted in some questions about peoples morals.
I have no idea why they have become so degraded /s
@Felton10 @unksol once saw somebody return a swimming pool at the end of summer – in big pile of liner and tubing
@Felton10 @walarney some people have no shame. Kinda get when you feel like you’re getting fucked. But costco is the wrong target
@Felton10 @walarney and like it if split down the seam and you installed it correctly and costco is going to do a warranty claim with the manufacturer. Fine. Very consumer friendly.
It it’s the more likely scenario where they used it for the entire summer, posted a video to social media cutting it open then bragging about returning it. Um. No
A little late now but over summer they were selling Harvest Right small freeze dryer setups. Don’t recall the original price but they had units on clearance at my costco until early September at $999. That’s about 40% off. I dearly want one but in our townhouse there is no place to run it (vacuum pump is noisy). This is the second or third time they had them in the store in the last few years.
If your house has toilet paper holders designed for original width TP (about 4.5") they still carry Charmin and their own brand in the wider rolls; almost everywhere else has dropped to 4 inch wide or even less.
If you prefer grass fed beef they have 1/3 pound patties, pack of 15 available. They also have good prices on larger selections of cheese snack sticks in addition to the ones mentioned above; we go through those a lot.
Their bacon is decent and fairly priced
They have been carrying “Kevin’s” brand keto friendly package that consist of sous-vide beef or chicken with various sauces (Bulgogi, basil, Hawaiian, others) and they go on special periodically. Very tasty, serve on rice or appropriate veggies.
@duodec
/youtube technology connections freeze dryer
I keep both a Costco and a Sam’s membership (I’m also a VMP here if that tells you anything!)
Costco is a great source for King Arthur flour if you bake bread. Their Kirkland equivalent to free and gentle laundry soap is also very good. If you need them, hearing aids are a reasonable price. They frequently have seasonal plants at excellent prices mums, poinsettias. And yes, their liquor prices are terrific. The Kirkland brand for their anejo tequila, gin and vodka are pretty solid.
Sam’s is where we’ve generally bought our tires over the years. They’re a little better distributed and the warranty is good at any store across the United States. They also have a headlight restoration service which costs 40 bucks for the pair and is warranted for 3 years. They look amazing when they’re done.The cat flea drops (equivalent to advantage) are also pretty reasonable. Large bags of baking soda for the pool as well as pool salt and occasionally garden soil are frequent purchases here, as well as their close out clothing when the seasons change.
Raspberries, compari tomatoes, and other produce comes from whichever we happen to be in at the moment
@chienfou wish I had known about the $40 headlight restoration. I paid nearly $200 for that on my 17 year old minivan earlier this year. I had gotten a membership at Sam’s for $19 when they had a sale. It is expiring later this month. Debating what to do as their food quantities are just too big for one person even with a extra freezer (which I don’t have) to buy a lot of stuff. And now their cat litter has dropped from 42 to 38 pounds where Costco is still at 42…
@Kidsandliz
Yeah. I was amazed at that deal! Definitely $40 extremely well spent. I know what you’re saying about the quantities. Even with two of us sometimes it takes a while to work your way through some of these things. Bottom line is it’s still cheaper than buying smaller quantities more often even if I had to throw a third of it away. Which I never do.
This could not have appeared at a better time. I am helping my SIL with cat food for her many rescues. Currently using Sam’s for that purpose. I need the best quality cat food, etc. at the best price. Will return to get the flea treatment recommendation. We are buying large amounts of everything. The parents of my kid’s friends swear by all of their current Costco/Kirkland brand purchases. We are also helping our oldest get set up in their own place. I purchased some items from Sam’s since we were already there for cat food. I am currently comparing furniture at the warehouse clubs. Looking for a decent quality and comfortable sofa for his place. He has purchased a bed but we are also looking to replace our own mattress. So many choices now.
@SilentMedina
My go to recliner/loveseat in the den is our TV room furniture. It’s from Costco and very comfy.
@SilentMedina
If I remember right the flea treatment works out to about $5 per cat per month…
@SilentMedina I have a Costco membership/go once a month kinda because of their dry cat food. it’s well reviewed and well priced. 3 bags/75 pounds lasts a month. It is like a 45 minute one way drive but it’s basically no traffic when I choose to go and i don’t dislike driving. There is a Sams there too but. Costco has other good stuff and there’s a Walmart 10 minutes away so. Eh.
Can combine with other stuff I need to do. Picked up a prestained door from menards. Meijer/other things.
I definitely avoid weekends though. So many people. But maybe that’s your thing/samples
Also if you just can’t go that month… They will give you free shipping on 3 bags. It’s cheaper in store and you get to go to Costco and I don’t want to annoy the UPS guy… But I have just ordered 3 bags and had them delivered when I didn’t wanna deal with it/needed to feed the cats
@SilentMedina @unksol
My Costco is about 30 minutes, Sam’s 35.
Don’t generally go just for one stop. If I “go to town” it’s usually several stops (Home Depot, Lowe’s, Office Depot, Harbor Freight, Aldi (maybe both stores), UPS drop off, Kohl’s and/or LifeSouth blood donation center.)
Generally try to time it with gas fill up since they are (way) cheaper than the local stations in my small town.
@chienfou @SilentMedina kinda the same but kroger is only 10 minutes and you know. Fuel points. A dollar off gas for normal shopping and 4x fuel points for home Depot etc gift cards.
I tend to combine Costco run. But if I wanted to go to something a 40 minute drive is meh. The people driving an hour to work… I feel bad for.
@unksol
No Kroger’s here. So that’s out…
Best I can do is fuel rewards from Shell via TMO Tuesday
@chienfou yea. Everything is relative. I get those tmobile ads too cause home Internet but for a long long time it was 8/1 DSL.
Shame they won’t treat internet as a public utility. Granted they sold our utilities to private companies and the regulators are not good so… Whatever
@unksol
Guess you could say the same for cell service. Personally I’m glad they don’t.
@chienfou it took government to run electricity everywhere. The postal service. There is no reason the same should not be true of fiber. And is in many countries. Not everything can or should be done for up front profit. Public good is a thing.
The postal service by law delivers to places UPS won’t. Do you want those people cut off?
@unksol
Never said there was no use for public utilities or mail service. Not sure where you got that idea.
And again. Are you advocating for a single cell phone carrier? Why not?
@chienfou no one said a single carrier. This is infrastructure. But in places where it’s not profitable the government should build and own the infrastructure and rent it to the carriers.
You still obviously know that what we do now is tax and give it back to the carriers and those laws are written as incentives for them to build out and provide service to areas that don’t have it. And for decades they have pocketed the cash and done nothing. That clearly doesn’t work
Do you think it’s ok for people to not have any cell service or Internet?
@unksol
Sorry. Choices are made. No one has said cell service and Internet is a universal right… And satellite service for both is available.
Water lines don’t get run to every possible dwelling in the US for a reason … And water is WAY more of a necessity.
@chienfou everywhere we ran electricity we can run fiber. If we chose to. Right next to it. And pop up a cell tower.
Comparing it to water is a very obvious falsehood. Most rural properties have a well and septic system. I have one.
I get your point about if you choose to build on the top of a mountain. You made a choice to build a house in that location so as part of your build you’re going to have to pay to connect to the electric grid. Maybe miles of cable. Or you could choose onsite solar and satellite
I’m talking infrastructure to rural areas to even let them pay that last mile(s) buy also just… We did it with electricity.
Water comes out of the ground. Come on. Be serious
@chienfou I’m just saying we did it before we could do it again.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rural_Electrification_Act
“These member-owned cooperatives” is why it worked
Water is a very different thing but hey. The EPA they are trying to destroy and rivers that were on fire. Regulation is for the people to stop abuse
I was just there a little more than an hour ago. It’s only the business centers that carry this:
https://www.costcobusinessdelivery.com/p/-/wills-fresh-foods-homestyle-potato-salad-5-lbs/4201092293
@narfcake Are you holding a big dinner or BBQ or something?
@Kyeh Potato salad + pasta + veggies + protein = all-in-one lunch. It’s going to be 100+ all this week again; hot food is out of the question.
Will’s is lighter on the mayo versus Reser’s, which I haven’t seen in the regular Costco stores for a little while now anyway. The Costco tubs do not contain sodium benzoate (preservative); the Reser’s salads sold elsewhere usually do.
(That’s been another aspect on why I’ve leaned more towards Costco; they tend to carry more foods that are organic/non-GMO. Even for foods that aren’t, they are less likely to be laden with preservatives and artificial stuff.)
@Kyeh @narfcake
Personally I would have to lean heavily on the preservatives since 5 lbs of potato salad would last me well over a month!
@chienfou @narfcake Yeah, 5 lbs sounds like a lot to me, but I guess if it’s your whole lunch it goes faster than it would as a side dish. Do you have to be an Executive member to shop at the business center?
@chienfou @Kyeh No; regular membership is all that’s needed. Also I’m definitely not eating it as a whole meal, but as an all-in-one salad. Still, I’ll be done with it within 2 weeks.
@chienfou @narfcake Huh. I just looked up the business centers; they’re like the Costco of Costco! There’s one not very nearby but I can’t imagine ever needing to shop at one either.
@chienfou @Kyeh @narfcake the “regular” stores had a decent potato salad this summer too but it wasn’t always in stock. Was definitely on the mayonnaise side of things vs mustard.
I may have sometimes added some and Sriracha.
Slickdeals.net users like Costco so much that “Costco” is one of the most popular automated search terms users set up.
There ought to be some ideas there.
also there is a very active Costco sub Reddit with more than 1 million weekly visitors
And some more specialized Costco sub, Reddit specializing in locations such as Canada or the UK or Australia
Or in the returns process
Etc. etc. so Reddit can be a pretty good source
@f00l I mean yeah… but I like
our weirdosforum peeps and their strange finds…@Thumperchick
I get that. I’d also start here in your shoes.
Eyeglasses are a good deal. With brick and mortar, Luxottica has almost a monopoly…controlling about 80% of the brands. They own retail chains like LensCrafters, Sunglass Hut, Pearle Vision, and Target Optical, alongside vision insurance provider EyeMed.
Two main brick and mortar stores are outside of their realm……Costco and Walmart.
Costco’s price is probably half of the Luxottica stores. You do have to wait maybe a week to 10 days for them to be made and go back to the store for a fitting.
I have also had luck with online eyeglass places….Zenni in particular. I do prefer to get my everyday glasses at Costco and sunglasses / backup glasses at Zenni.
@bookerttt
When I was buying glasses (pre-lasik surgery 30+ yrs sgo) we used Payless (?) a lot. Frames on display in the store were the one you got. They did the lenses off site in 7-10 days. $29 a pair, $59 for regular bi-focals if memory serves. Not sure they are still around (probably not…)
@bookerttt @chienfou yea lol payless was a thing till I had to burn some money in a FSA when it couldn’t rollover. So lasik. We will probably need some again if we live long enough.
In my mind, I’ve always thought Costco was generally a bit more upscale/more like Target, Sam’s more like Walmart (not unexpectedly).
@chienfou I agree, and I think the executives would agree. However, that is strictly speaking about the products. Here in Columbus, give me a packed Sam’s over packed Costco, if you are talking about experience.
Anecdotal, yes, but perhaps it is the learned defeatism of the Walmart/Sam’s or the immigrant-heavy community-minded actions, but people at Sam’s seem to accept they are in a Warehouse like everyone else there and let’s get on with it. The Costco lot, filled with pavement princesses that contain Karens and people who have well-accepted the hierarchical structure of the dollar and heaven fucking forbid other people be shopping at the exact time they are.
Sam’s TP is nicer, imho. Costco is definitely higher end on the whole.
@KNmeh7
That’s been my experience as well. And yes, Member’s Mark TP Rocks!
@chienfou @KNmeh7 IDK. I specifically try not to go when I know it’s going to be crowded. But just cause of work that’s basically 7PM on a weekday. And if hitting multiple stores you have to be mindful of closing times for each store.
If you go on the weekends it’s just gonna be packed.
Line halfway to the back of the store to get to the checkout. But ya know. Everyone is chill/trying to stay out of the way/keep paths open to cross the aisles. Let people past I don’t like crowds at all and it’s… Fine.
I’d expect Sams to be the same.
IDK maybe we have low Karen density.
Also apologies to everyone named Karen who is perfectly nice. That’s a bad draw.
@KNmeh7 @unksol
Since I’m retired I can go during the day. That’s especially important for the blood donation site.
Sam’s tends to be a bit more crowded during the day then Costco, mainly because they are a larger source of product for a lot of convenience stores/smaller markets locally. Costco sales are generally more tailored to an individual than a business, I believe.
And yes, by and large people are pretty good about leaving paths that you can cross when they are in line at both places. I must admit, I use Sam’s scan and go pretty regularly if I’m in the store (and always at the gas pump). I can scan everything in my cart and pay for it and just walk out without having to stand in line, sometimes even at the exit.
Also very handy when there is a line at the food court section. When I’m “stuck” at Sam’s for an extended period of time (tire rotations etc) it’s nice to be able to sit in the food court and order from the table without have to negotiate a long line.
@chienfou @KNmeh7 @unksol I make a Costco run about once a month. It’s almost an hour drive to the nearest one. I usually go mid-week and time my departure so I get there right at opening (10AM), so usually not too crowded (and usually an older - read: more civilized - crowd
).
When I was still working, it was only about a 10 minute drive away and I usually went during lunch break, as needed. Much easier to just drop in for incidental items then.
@macromeh
I rarely make a Sam’s or Costco run as my primary stop. Most of the time we run through while we’re in town doing other things anyway, or grab gas as we are passing through town on our way somewhere. I have enough refrigerator/freezer/pantry/closet space that I can easily store most of the things I buy in quantity. When we get down to the last few (of whatever) I will add that to the list of things to pick up when we are “in town” next. My wife does private ACT tutoring so she has been going to town much more regularly of late. But, TBH, she pretty much hates shopping at Sam’s or Costco due to the size of the store as well as the things she has to pick up and load into the cart (and then the car)! I will occasionally go with her (if she only has one two or three hour session to do), drop her off, then run all the errands that need doing in the “big city” before picking her up to come home.
I’m constantly amazed by the number of people I know in the town I live in that will drive 30 to 45 minutes to go shopping in Montgomery just to pick up a few items, only to go back a couple of days later! With my RAV at the current gas prices that’s about a 12-dollar trip… each time.
Woozoo fans are fantastic. We have driven like an hour to find a Costco that had them in stock and bought enough to ply other people with fans.
We do buy our dog food there, coffee is generally a better deal there than elsewhere. Alcohol, if that’s your thing, can be a great deal, but you have to be willing to skip it if there isn’t a deal at the time.
And then the food court. Always good to grab a cheap meal.
@mschuette
We bought alcohol at a Costco in Hawaii on one visit. I don’t know if it’s their tax structure but it would almost be worthwhile for me to fly to Hawaii with an empty suit case and back compared to local prices.
Of course…YMMV
@chienfou @mschuette I was kind of bowled over by Kauai’s Costco. I don’t think I went to the one in Maui when we were there for my sister’s wedding. I thought everything was going to be an iteration of Spaceballs with prices at ludicrous speed but I was pleasantly surprised. And because we were staying in a very large house with a fantastic kitchen, I was able to cook most of the meals for three families. We all chipped in on the grocery side and it meant we could do more with our money for excursions etc. I still have a bottle of Glenlivet 14 that was cheaper there than it is here.
@mschuette @sillyheathen
I went to the one on the big island…
@chienfou @mschuette was it amazing? I was in love with the amount of Asian offerings. The sashimi trays had us both jumping for joy.
@mschuette @sillyheathen
Pretty much. But i was most shocked by the alcohol prices. About 60‰ what i have to pay …
Pretty sure this was here before, but here it is again
https://costcodle.com/
No one has mentioned how well Costco treats their employees and shareholders-most companies do well with one but not the other.
They pay the highest wages of any warehouse club-their employees could be your neighbors where as Sam’s employees look like they just came to work from a homeless shelter.
Bought Costco stock about 17 years ago and it has gone up 2,000%. Their special dividends over the year has more than exceeded my original cost per share.
Most of their revenue comes from membership fees and their markup on merchandise is no more than 14 to 15%.
Macadamia nuts.
Costco chips (I think 2 huge bags in a box) are great.
Also walnuts.
@f00l We definitely grabbed a bag of walnuts.
@f00l @Thumperchick
Pecans as well, and pine nuts are crazy expensive everywhere but less so here.
Costco is kind of bad for me because I love their pastries too much. And the giant bags of Boom-Chicka-Pop! I also buy clothes there sometimes just because they’re such a good price, even though I don’t really need them. It’s a good thing they’re farther away than Safeway or King Soops.
@Kyeh their bakeries are pretty on point. Definitely not the same as a small niche bakery but well it’s Costco. It’s definitely better than any of our local chain bakeries apart from Market of Choice or new Seasons but those are local chains and still much smaller than the other guys by comparison. I portion all of our large snack options into smaller snack bags that the kids can grab. If freshness is an issue, than maybe put them into canning jars and use a vac seal. Also not doing those things is obviously fine. I’m not trying to be a Costco pusher.
@Kyeh @sillyheathen While most made-on-site items at Costco are pretty good, I have been really disappointed by the bagels at our nearest store. And they are priced about the same (or more) than comparable grocery store items. (So I always just grab the croissants.)
@Kyeh @macromeh I used to LOVE the bagels. They’ve started using a new distributor or making them in house because they have definitely changed in the last year or two. And I concur on the croissants. I’m currently about to tuck into one I toasted a few minutes ago.
@Kyeh @macromeh @sillyheathen Yeh-their bagels are the worst. They recently changed and only required you to buy 1 six pack rather than 2. If anyone thought they were any good, 2 six packs would fly off the shelves.
Rather than go over to Panera bread on Tuesday at 7:00 am get their special pricing on Tuesday or call in a preorder a day before (I refuse to do that), I get my bagels at BJs. Also at Whole Foods who has the highest rated store baked bagels-pick the up when ever I go over there on Friday for their $1.00 per raw oyster special.
@Felton10 @macromeh @sillyheathen I hardly ever buy breads at Costco & I don’t like their muffins or cookies that much. But the croissants - especially the almond ones, or the Danishes - those are what I can’t pass up.
As for the Boom-Chicka-Pop, that’s always long gone way before it goes stale! The nut mixes are great too.
I have been getting their big packs of La Croix or Waterloo, that’s pretty nice.
@Felton10 @Kyeh @sillyheathen
For a short time the Costco I frequent offered “eggnog” bagels around winter holiday time that were pretty good. But I haven’t seen them for a while now.
Their Kirkland dry cat food, the chicken and rice flavor, is in the top 5 for dry cat food with the least amount of heavy metals, etc. in it.
@Kidsandliz
Haven’t tried their dry food. My concern is that the kitties are used to their current kibble and if I change it I may be stuck with a huge bag I’ll end up having to donate somewhere.
@chienfou I had switched my 4 over due to cost. Initially they preferred what they were used to but i figured they’d eat it if they got hungry enough and now there is no issue. I do know some cats are stubborn and won’t but luckily mine are far less picky.
@Kidsandliz
That’s my thoughts (and how we raised our kids!)
I’ll have to do the math next time i am there. Currently they eat (and like) purina complete (salmon). Both seem to be doing fine on that
@chienfou @Kidsandliz We are down to only one cat now (her brother died about a year ago). I used to buy the bags of cat food at Costco, but our (remaining) cat is old and pretty picky and loses interest before the big bag is done (waah… it’s not fresh
).
So now we just get smaller bags of various brands from the local Grocery Outlet and she seems to be happy enough with that.
@macromeh
Don’t know if she likes wet food, we were using the Special Kitty from Walmart but recently found large cans from Salty Cat. There’s a ton of gravy in each can and my cats really seem to like it. Bandit, in particular, was constantly just licking the sauce off of his wet food. This suits him much better, and whatever small bits of stray kibble get left behind Smokey will police up when she’s done… often by nudging him out of the way!
At one point it was available in a 12-pack of assorted flavors, one of which was duck! Damn kitties eat better than I do…
When to BJ’s today to stock up for our daughter’s visit and bought everything I need even though at a slightly higher price rather than going to both Costco and Bj’s. Like it better at BJ’s where you can use your accumulated reward dollars immediately rather than getting two checks a year at Costco (one for being an executive member and the other for having a Costco Visa CC.)
@Felton10
Sam’s has a similar thing with Sam’s cash. I NEVER let them apply mine to my current purchase. Running it through my credit card generates 2%. Paying cash does not generate that.
#The beauties of compound interest…