Costco raising membership fees another 10%

[ponyo]

$55/yr for regular
$110/yr for Executive

I have been Executive member and Costco shareholder for years but Ive been thinking about downgrading my membership to regular and using the savings to signup for Amazon Prime. This increase might finally get me to pull the trigger. Ive shifted lot more of my grocery shopping to Trader Joe's and Super Target the past year.

So who else is thinking about downgrading or worse canceling their membership because of the fee hike?

Old thread about old price hike. There is a thread about the new price hike here: https://forums.anandtech.com/threads/crap-costco-raising-membership-prices-again.2500633/
admin allisolm

 

[Capt Caveman]

$5-10? Makes no difference to me.

Had to renew back in August.

 

[V00DOO]

I was charged $100 on October 1 for my Executive renewal. When does the increase take effect?

 

[Blieb]

Love the Costco ... we do the executive membership and the % back we get pays at least $50 --- so at worst it's a wash ... we usually end up paying $15 or so after the rebate ....

 

[BarkingGhostar]

$55/yr for regular
$110/yr for Executive

I have been Executive member and Costco shareholder for years but Ive been thinking about downgrading my membership to regular and using the savings to signup for Amazon Prime. This increase might finally get me to pull the trigger. Ive shifted lot more of my grocery shopping to Trader Joe's and Super Target the past year.

So who else is thinking about downgrading or worse canceling their membership because of the fee hike?

So, $10 means that much to you? That's like one junk food meal per year.

 

[CPA]

WTF! Those greedy, corporate bastards! Where is my sign? I'm marching today!

 

[SpatiallyAware]

As a huge HUGE costco fan I've been really disappointed in a couple of recent changes..

The product quality has changed and is now different from regular retail packages.. I've noticed this with Glad trashbags (easily 20% are torn on one edge, obvious factory rejects packaged for costco)

Another are the everybody's nuts pistachios... Very obviously not the same quality as the smaller normal bags.

 

[oogabooga]

Sucks, but $10 isn't too bad on the executive, I'm pretty sure my return each year still easily covers it.

WTF! Those greedy, corporate bastards! Where is my sign? I'm marching today!

How dare they!

 

[OILFIELDTRASH]

lol at anyone stupid enough to pay to shop somewhere

 

[Capt Caveman]

lol at anyone stupid enough to pay to shop somewhere

Rather pay to go to Costco then step into a Walmart. Heck, even if you paid me, I wouldn't step into one of those hell holes.

 

[SunnyD]

Does that mean product prices will go down by 5% in their stores?

 

[blinblue]

lol at anyone stupid enough to pay to shop somewhere

$55 for year membership at costco. Average gallon of milk price at costco $2.20 (from non-hormone treated cows too if that counts for anything). Average price at a regular grocery store, $3.20. Buy milk once a week, and you covered the cost.

Factor in all the other things you can buy cheaper at Costco than pretty much anywhere else (meat, flour, yeast, bulk snacks, alcohol, the occasional TV deal) and it suddenly makes a lot of sense for many people.

 

[Miramonti]

Considering what one spends on groceries and other products over the course of a year, this $5 should be considered irrelevant because it is such a small % increase of the cost of shopping there. I don't understand why anyone would consider reevaluating their membership status after this increase, based on this alone.

What really matters are the product's prices, and how much one saves over getting things elsewhere over the course of a year.

 

[Capt Caveman]

$55 for year membership at costco. Average gallon of milk price at costco $2.20 (from non-hormone treated cows too if that counts for anything). Average price at a regular grocery store, $3.20. Buy milk once a week, and you covered the cost.

Factor in all the other things you can buy cheaper at Costco than pretty much anywhere else (meat, flour, yeast, bulk snacks, alcohol, the occasional TV deal) and it suddenly makes a lot of sense for many people.

Also, add their warranty and customer support. I just wish the Costco near me offered gas b/c they sell it about $0.30/gal cheaper.

 

[Miramonti]

$55 for year membership at costco. Average gallon of milk price at costco $2.20 (from non-hormone treated cows too if that counts for anything). Average price at a regular grocery store, $3.20. Buy milk once a week, and you covered the cost.

Factor in all the other things you can buy cheaper at Costco than pretty much anywhere else (meat, flour, yeast, bulk snacks, alcohol, the occasional TV deal) and it suddenly makes a lot of sense for many people.

Thinks like milk are very area-specific. Milk over here is sometimes $4/gal. while in grocery stores is <$2.50. I have assumed it's from local producers, which is a slight discount over local producer's milk in the grocery stores.

 

[Brovane]

$55 for year membership at costco. Average gallon of milk price at costco $2.20 (from non-hormone treated cows too if that counts for anything). Average price at a regular grocery store, $3.20. Buy milk once a week, and you covered the cost.

Factor in all the other things you can buy cheaper at Costco than pretty much anywhere else (meat, flour, yeast, bulk snacks, alcohol, the occasional TV deal) and it suddenly makes a lot of sense for many people.

Not to mention gas. Usually gas is about 10-15 cents cheaper at Costco. Usually by the end of the year I have shopped at Costco enough with my executive membership I get over $100 dollars back. Also gift cards I have found helpful either especially if they are for a restaurant you usually go to. For example I can get a $50 gift card to CA Pizza Kitchen for $40. So if you plan ahead you can save when you go out to eat.

 

[Brovane]

As a huge HUGE costco fan I've been really disappointed in a couple of recent changes..

The product quality has changed and is now different from regular retail packages.. I've noticed this with Glad trashbags (easily 20% are torn on one edge, obvious factory rejects packaged for costco)

Another are the everybody's nuts pistachios... Very obviously not the same quality as the smaller normal bags.

Did you take the garbage bags back to Costco? The Costco refund policy is top-notch.

 

[Miramonti]

Also, add their warranty and customer support. I just wish the Costco near me offered gas b/c they sell it about $0.30/gal cheaper.

Yep, their warranty/return policy is very value-adding imo. If a member doesn't like ANYTHING, they can return it hassle-free instead of eating the cost. Not to mention if something breaks down the line and you've lost the receipt (they will look up your purchase date.) Their return policy has saved me a lot of money.

 

[Thump553]

lol at anyone stupid enough to pay to shop somewhere

+1

At least twice a year BJ's sends me a free 90 day membership, that's more than enough to satisfy me need for enormous quanities of stuff.

 

[SZLiao214]

The amount of pizzas i buy from there will cover the difference.

 

[mizzou]

#stopcostco

Ive chained myself to the candy bar aisle, #fightingforfreedom, #eatingcandybarslivefeed

 

[BlahBlahYouToo]

As a huge HUGE costco fan I've been really disappointed in a couple of recent changes..

The product quality has changed and is now different from regular retail packages.. I've noticed this with Glad trashbags (easily 20% are torn on one edge, obvious factory rejects packaged for costco)

Another are the everybody's nuts pistachios... Very obviously not the same quality as the smaller normal bags.

the price of the pistachios went up 33%.
4 lbs used to be $15, went up to $20 and i guess it didn't sell.
it's now 3 lbs and back at $15.

 

[Blintok]

one walk thru a week for all the free samples = Lunch
that 5 bux = .9cents per week. best deal in town

 

[Evadman]

Did you take the garbage bags back to Costco? The Costco refund policy is top-notch.

In my entire life, I had exactly 1 return and it was denied, even when I asked the store manager. They lost me as a customer over roughly $3.

 

[Blintok]

In my entire life, I had exactly 1 return and it was denied, even when I asked the store manager. They lost me as a customer over roughly $3.

not enough information. what was it you were returning?

a 30 pack of pizza that you ate 29 of?
a bag of bones after you ate all the meat from their cooked chicken?
a box of burnt out/used batteries?

you may have a valid claim but there are 2 sides to every story.