How things have changed since I left Australia. Hopefully you guys now get to enjoy some of the competiveness I enjoyed when I was in Melbourne.

Glad you’re enjoying the site Amy, cheers.

Our Canberra store opened on Friday, unbeknownst to me who has had her card ready and waiting since March. I shall head on over tomorrow morning and pray the crowds are all at work.

Any one else out there? We welcome you with open arms. With our cost of living so high and farmers charging a ransom for bananas and the like, high time we had some good competition.

Yeah unfortunatley I can’t help being in Taiwan but maybe someone local can contribute.

(still probably faster calling/emailing I reckon).

I guess I could ring them but just wondering if anyone who shops there already knows the answer-frozen fruit for sale? Hoping/crossing my fingers…!!

And what do you mean by ‘open’? Anything bought in Costco must be bought a bulk buy, opening packages won’t mean you can buy units as singles.

Just came from Costco and I just wish that the customer service & support are much better. Besides, we are paying for the membership fees. Parking is disappointing.

I say Aldi is better with prices.

In the US, they have a rewards program where you get back a percentage (maybe 2-5%) per year of what you spend. They may or may not have this program there. In the US they also offer “Executive Membership,” which has a higher fee, but higher %age rewards. So, if you buy more, you save proportionally more with Executive. This may be the same with business.

Yeah definitely nothing like this on offer when I signed up. No real incentive to I guess, not like any of the other chains are offering anything similar.

With that said, I think it is actually cheaper, relative to other Australian stores. If you want to save money, just buy the things that a better priced. They have some excellent deals, and some not so good ones. Just look at the unit price and you’ll save. The best part is you know you can buy anything because it’s guaranteed to be good.

In the US, they have a rewards program where you get back a percentage (maybe 2-5%) per year of what you spend. They may or may not have this program there. In the US they also offer “Executive Membership,” which has a higher fee, but higher %age rewards. So, if you buy more, you save proportionally more with Executive. This may be the same with business.

If you want Costco to keep dropping prices, I suppose it would need more stores to have even more pull, which it is planning. So just wait a little for cheaper prices, but as it stands, it doesn’t seem that bad.

And with Australia’s agricultural base, I’m sure you’ll find plenty of yummy things to buy.

Anyway, the reason I care about this is because I may study abroad in Melbourne next year, and I’m a Costco member!

By the way, you guys probably have one of this nicest Costco’s in the world as of now, except I think in Japan or Korea they have a 2 story Costco.

Parting tip: Look at their coupon books. Sometimes they have awesome savings.

so does anyone feels their price are relatively the same with coles / safeway?, especially after you add their yearly fee?

The last few trips of mine I did notice prices on some things had quietly snuck up. For example the 1kg mixed salads were originally $3.50 a bag but were approaching $5. The 330ml slabs of coke debuted at $13.50 but were pushing $16-17.

Shopping for one I don’t have the broadest perspective but I assume it’d be a similar situation with other products. Still cheaper then Coles but things like travel time to and from the Docklands become more important factors.

I heard many people says Melbourne Costco not as cheap as in the US one…please correct me if i’m wrong…

Dollar for dollar, Costco Australia is definitely not as cheap as the US version. Even on a percentage scale vs. other store offerings I think our Costco is still on the higher side.

Of course this is largely due to the buying power Costco has in the US which it doesn’t really have here. It’s also due to the monopolised supply chain distributor systems we have in place in Australia too.

so does anyone feels their price are relatively the same with coles / safeway?, especially after you add their yearly fee?

I heard many people says Melbourne Costco not as cheap as in the US one…please correct me if i’m wrong…Thanks

Both will probably do pretty well I think, both QLD and SA have a much higher ‘families living in suburbia’ concentration then Melbourne or Sydney.

Terri:
Unfortunately to date the savings don’t seem so spectacular at Costco here. There’s nothing that has really caught my attention apart from cheap frozen berries? Everything seems to be on a par with the specials at all the other supermarkets but you have to buy more. Not helpful for many who don’t have additional freezer space, I’d have to say that I felt Costco US and Canada definitely offered better value.
Oz soapbox, is Costco’s meat not up to scratch?

The frozen berries are good value compared to off season fruit.

The Tri-tip 100 day grain feed beef roast at $9.99/kg is EXCEPTIONAL we have had it twice – after refusing to buy beef from the majors where it is easily dry and tough. And the Vic Market is too inconsistent. Don’t be scared by the fat marbling – it’s what chefs love. Each pack makes 3-4 meals for 2 – so not too large for many. Oz, the use-by is exceptionally short and cautious – which I admire – i had no problem using it a day or 2 later than stated.

Things we went to buy again – of which there was a pallet load on first visit; were gone because they were popular with only the lesser type remaining. So one has to question their restocking process.

Their fruit and veg needs much better quality control. We bought a bag of Oranges that had moldy ones when we got home in it and washed mesculan salad that went off the day after it was opened (the majors have gone away from pre-washed as it shortens it’s shelf life after opening) – on return 3 days later the same salad (useby) was still on the shelf and decidedly sus. Had no trouble returning the rotten stuff for a full refund. they don’t seem to do mark down to clear such items – so waste is an environmental concern.

One staff member told me the management attitude to staff is “our way or the American way” same difference? that’s the point!

The thing about matching the specials is Costco tend to have the same ballpark price all year round, whereas otherwise you’re at the mercy of the Colesworth catalogues. It’s funny how people might whinge about how far away Costco is, but then are happy to wait months for something to go on special just to stock up.

I’ve found their chicken thighs @ $9/kg are excellent. I bought some Beef Eye Round Roast to try, I’d normally buy the diced beef ($7/kg – which is the same as Vic market price) but they sell them in 1.3-1.5kg bulk lots. I buy my meats in 2kg lots (enough for one large dish) and freeze them.

The Beef Eye Round Roast was $10/kg and comes in 2kg trays, looks good and if the chicken is anything to go by should taste good too. I just realised putting it into the fridge though that its use by is in 4 days (9th September) which is a bit crap. I’ll be freezing it anyway but still.

The Whirlpool 445L fridge I was interested has dropped to $949 from $999 so I’ll probably be getting that soon. Someone was asking about top loader washing machines, they are $900 or so and the top loaders are $750′ish. I was off price wise when I went off memory.