The Costco Myth: Is Bulk Always Better?
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- čas přidán 25. 01. 2022
- Costco has become a bit of a paradise for the savvy bargain hunter but, is bulk shopping really all that affordable in the long run? Is the membership-based model a scam? And finally… Why do those Kirkland brand plaid shirts go so hard?
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Script: Holly Conklin
Editor: Kirsten Stanley
Animator: Zachary Kastrukoff
Project Manager: Lurana McClure Rodríguez
Host: Levi Hildebrand
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You underestimate my ability to eat a toddler sized jar of pickles Levi. I promise you, none go to waste.
Never waste a pickle, that's what we always say... lol
i mean pickles dont go bad
NL ate 1 gallon of pickles in one setting. This is what happened to his brain.
@@ginsederp czcams.com/video/gF69voHU_ys/video.html
@@ginsederp Best reference ever!
My family and I cracked the Costco code :
1. We split into 3 households what is perishable or too big for a single household (aka meat, vegs, fruits, bread etc)
2. We buy non-perishables in bulk.
3. We never buy what we still have left. eg: You have 1 box of pasta left? Leave that pasta box on the shelf, you don't need it.
4. DO NOT BUY SALE unless it's something that you wanted in the first place. Make a list and stick to it.
this helps with waste management but also helps with the ability to buy good products at a decent price.
Similar, meats, bread go in the freezer to be used when needed. Non perishable and household items bulk is also good. Almost all fruits and veggies come from the grocery to limit waste.
Last one is probably most important
Basically the fundamentals of grocery shopping. Our Costco is a 1.5 hr drive away so I'm never going to just pop in for eggs. All the electronics, jewellery, homewards, clothes etc are super easy to walk past. Grow up folks
Great tips. I do the same..I always say that I have a single tax because buying in bulk doesn't work for perishable for one person, so I split with people.
Do not buy what you still have left is something I've definitely been learning lately. It has been very helpful.
I grocery shop and cook solely for myself, which is already challenging when you're trying not to be wasteful, but for some reason friends and family keep telling me I NEED a Costco membership. Like dang, I love the eat, but there's nothing I love THAT much that I need to buy it in bulk. This video made me feel validated, haha
Ugh so many of my friends loveeee Costco and ironically I, as the one who cooks more than any of my roommates, am the one who least enjoys Costco. There are definitely things I would like to get in bulk - I bake a lot, so butter, sugar, flour, eggs, etc. One thing all my roommates all eat pretty quickly are bagels, so we can get a dozen at a time. Bread and bagels can also be frozen, which helps. And as a vegetarian, I love the frozen black bean burgers. But I hate when my roommates buy produce there when we could go to the farmer's market (also did I mention I cook and eat the most homemade food in my apartment) or buy stuff we would never get otherwise!
It's great for gas. I save hundreds of dollars on gas alone.
I know people who just use it for gas
@@NomNomGirl1 @Why Why yes the gas alone is worth the executive membership and credit card. It ends up paying for itself.
5kg sirloin cut and vacuum sealed and frozen. All frozen food.
Shopping at Costco without waste requires some careful planning and thoughtfulness...and a lot of freezer space. 😂 But if you plan accordingly, it is absolutely a great way to save money.
They really should sell chest freezers lol
Only buy frozen/freezable items, (with chest freezer) and constant use non- food items (laundry soap, paper products)
Deep freezers are the best.
You do need more freezer and shelf space.
Your average consumer statistically speaking may lose money shopping at Costco, but if you plan right and have self control and only buy certain things you actually do need a lot of, it can save you money. It's like a tool, it can be used correctly or incorrectly.
I do want to take a minute to say that Costco treats their employees extremely well.
They definitely contribute to food waste at an astronomical rate, but let’s also take wins for good employee benefits and pay.
So true! We found some information about their employee management and payment strategy, but couldn't end up fitting it into the final cut for this one. Do you think that's something you'd be interested enough in to merit it's own video? We'd love to know 😀
@@FutureProofTV I'd love a video about large companies that treat their employees the best. Also, similar to what you mentioned in your Patagonia vs North Face video, how do we as consumers contemplate supporting a large company that treats its employees well to promote more large companies doing the same, or not supporting these large companies because they are still really only doing the bare minimum of what we should expect. Would love to hear your take!
Yep yep - that's why we picked Costco over the other warehouse store in our area (owned by the big W).
Restaurants, buffets, cafes, bakeries, fast food places, food stalls and so on, all produce a lot of food waste. Think of all the food left on plates in restaurants and cafes which wind up dumped in bins. Bakeries and donut or bagel shops - if the fresh unpackaged baked items aren't sold within a few days (or in some cases, that day) they'll wind up in food waste bins or the trash. Same goes for expired or "older" unused foods such as old burger buns at McDonald's etc., fries not sold that day etc.
Supermarkets and large fresh produce stores also throw out lots of "imperfect" and ageing produce and packaged foods that are on or near expiration dates (unsellable, but in reality still perfectly edible sometimes for many months or longer!). Food waste, and waste in general, is everywhere.
I work at Costco in the US and have noticed a big increase in the number of products from B certified corporations. I would be interested in learning more from that perspective too.
I think there's another piece of the puzzle that's missing. Driving to the grocery store to buy all the groceries you need for the next 1-2 weeks is ingrained in our culture as a result of car-dependent city planning. In places where your nearest grocery store is a 10-20 minute drive away from the home that you live in, which is true for a very large amount of people in North America, grocery shopping is a dedicated and often inconvenient "trip" outside of your home. Thus, you have to buy in bulk for ALL grocery runs, it's just that costco is a lot more ludicrously bulky than all other stores.
Compare this with places that prioritize walkability and public transit over car ownership- There are parts of many large cities like Amsterdam that are like this. If your favorite grocery store is a 2-10 minute walk away from home, you are less incentivized to buy in bulk since it's easier to just pick up a few things you need for just one day (or the next few days)
There's lots of youtube channels that talk about city planning and how designing neighborhoods to be fully dependant on car ownership is not a good way to do things, but I recommend the channel Not Just Bikes which has a lot of videos on the topic. There's a short video on the channel called "Why Grocery Shopping is Better in Amsterdam". This video shows a better model for grocery shopping that other places in the world could benefit from if they copied Amsterdam style city planning, and reduce food waste.
Yes! This is a great point as well, thankfully Jason over at NJB has us covered there!
Yes ! As an european im always surprised to see in every movies these big packs of eggs, gallons of milk and pile of tins and jars. It is so rare here ! I really think its thanks to the proximity stores and maybe the more recent self-scanners and drive that help you realise what you purchased in Real time
Haha I live in Amsterdam and yes this is correct we have several supermarkets close to home. But also houses are smaller and therefore is not easy to store so much food 🤙
In India, we have these online grocery stores/apps which deliver groceries in 10 minutes. We don't even leave our house lol
I used to buy rice, specific ingredients or Asian herbs that can be frozen/defrosted in bulk when I lived in Amsterdam because the big Asian grocery store is rather far away. However I could still reach the store with bike and metro easily - for the rest of my groceries I bought them from the general supermarket. Now I don’t need to put much effort in going to the store because it’s right across the street. I do understand the need to bulk-buy, but it’s still appalling how far some people need to travel just for basic needs like food.
Costco also has the cheapest gas in the area so that’s why so many people have Costco memberships here in CA. The gas lines are so long!!
Part of the problem with the, "it's cheaper gas," one has to think about is, how much is your time worth?
How long did you wait in line?
How long did it take for you to get to the Costco compared to the regular gas station (if you weren't going there already)?
How many more miles did you drive compared to the regular gas station?
With all that considered, is the price difference justified?
@@confusedwhale "Is the price distance justified?" What kind of bourgeoise shit is this? Is this how people who have never been poor really think?
@@XiahouDun1225:
It's from someone who is more mathematically inclined and cognizant of the cost of things.
@@confusedwhale Bullshit. Driving an extra 2-3 miles to a costco for cheaper gas, and food, is not going to make it less worth it.
I love Costco very specific reason. It makes me able to avoid evil retail empires like Wal-Mart and Amazon. Costco workers are some of the best-treated retail workers in the world. Jelinek is a genius.
As for perishable goods, I only buy frozen bulk foods at Costco. Everything else I generally buy at Loblaws, Sobey's or Metro.
You really need a comma between "Amazon" and "and".
Costco is an evil retail empire just like the rest of them
@@soumya1524 You're making a false equivalency because Costco treats its employees better than ANY other retail chain and it's not even close.
For you to say something so ridiculous shows either ignorance, naivety, stupidity or arrogance. Which is it?
@@confusedwhale I did even better than that. I eliminated the extra "and" completely and put a period between Amazon and Costco. 😁
That is a VERY low bar to set, comparing Costco to every other shitty retailer. If you actually start looking to it, Costco is really only SLIGHTLY better. But hey, as long as you feel warm and fuzzy inside.
One thing that I really appreciated when moving to Germany is that they have a standard cost per 100 grams on the price tag of basically every item. It's almost impossible to make cost comparisons between most products in the U.S. when you have different items listed with per oz, per pound, or per liquid oz to varying degrees of consistency.
Never thought about that - I wonder if that's on purpose 🤔 Thanks for bringing that to our attention, Keegan!
@@FutureProofTV It must be some kind of regulation. It's really convenient as a consumer and I wish they'd do something similar in the U.S.
We have that in most grocery stores in Brazil too =)
Same here in Australia not too long ago
It’s because they are all on the metric system and we are the only industrialized nation that is not.
This is why I love how grocery shopping works in other countries. In Mexico, Thailand or Japan you usually shop for whatever you’re gonna cook daily. Usually on their way home because they made grocery shopping so easy and accessible. You can stop at a outdoor market or grocery store while you’re walking somewhere.
This is less about which country you are in but more about urban vs suburban/rural.
@@PointNemo9 totally but it was my personal opinion 🧡 I live in Los Angeles and grocery stores are pretty far from where I live.
As a kid from southeast asia. I rather buy food, cook it then repeat the process the next day. I never froze food or had a microwave growing up there. Less chance of wasting food. Now here in the states, there is no time so either I heat the frozen food I prepared (Doesnt taste like I wanted) or buy outside. 🤔
@@PointNemo9 facts. in my city there's a bodega or corner store on almost every block and I really only have a ~$25/week grocery bill because of it. buying fresh ingredients and cooking vs processed foods already made for convenience really works well...plus you're helping out the local community a lot more.
I am Mexican and I buy meat, eggs and dairy products for two weeks, some of them I freeze them and i buy vegetables and fruits every 3 days, you are right, for me is something that I have at a walking distance.
Most of food waste is from restaurants and businesses trying to keep shelfs stock or by cooking too much especially fast food industries. Families buying lots of food isn't causing anywhere near as much food waste
I did wonder where those numbers were coming from. Are they also counting waste from the food factories? I used to live near Cereal City, and when the cereal factory burned cereal, you could smell it on your way to school at the local community college. I can't imagine they didn't throw out the burned lucky charms. Are they counting that as food waste? Because technically this also is food waste.
I'm not going to say families buying too much food isn't a problem that's contributing, but I wonder whether they are the bulk of the food waste, or if it's coming from factories themselves.
This is why I typically only buy non-food items. The bulk is only worth it to me when I’m buying paper towels, tide pods, or shampoo. That makes it so I only have to go to Costco once every few months, but I save a decent amount of money on those kinds of items. I also don’t end up throwing anything away.
That definitely seems like the best way to go about it! Focus on the non-perishables and save in the long run. Thanks for sharing, Bjorn! 👍
Green leafyveggies,mushrooms and berries are the worst offenders when it comes to perishables from Costco. They go bad even if you look at them funny.
I used to have a Costco card just because the contacts i use were so much cheaper full price there, than the deductible on my eye insurance when I used to have it. But i also called it "the $75 store" because good luck trying to leave without spending at least $75 😆
Only $75? I consider sub-$200 a real win.
For me the average is 40. Yes i am single guy. there are big purchases sometimes when it goes to 70 but thats on a rare side
I have a costco membership and a dump freezer. When you grow up poor, one of the big purchases your family might make, is a chest freezer. Being able to freeze bread, meats, veg, etc. really helps you save money in the long run. Also, the toilet paper and paper towels are worth it too. I try to use regular towels when I can, but for some stuff, you need the paper towels.
I'm buying a lot of shelf stable things, freezing bread and they have great pierogi which are not easy to get somewhere else. And shopping once per month (plus local grocery every week for veggies) saves a lot of time. Even in a household of 2 you can make it work, but I never had a problem with buying too much.
If the bread I'm eating is not homemade, it's most likely purchased as a three pack and in my freezer.
When I lived in Canada I got into the habit of having a calculator with me at grocery store visits. Reason: On my 2nd or 3rd visit to the store I found the "value pack" next to the small one and the small one was about a third of the price while having just half of the weight. After that, I started to be curious if there were better-disguised steals out there. Bulk usually is cheaper if you get stuff like dry grains or really long expiration dates. But there are several times when several of the single-serving is the better option
Also, if you squint, there is a cost per unit in tiny print on the price label.
The trick with Costco is to use them properly, comparison shop while in the store and figure out how much you can use in a set time period (such as, don’t buy the milk if you won’t finish 2 gallons before your next shopping trip)
Also look at things like price per lb, fl oz, grams, etc. I use the Cascade Dishwasher Gel - 75 FL oz is $6.57 USD at Walmart or 0.088 cents a FL oz. The 125 FL oz version at Sam’s Club (walmarts version of costco) is $9.98 USD, but it’s cheaper per FL oz (like 0.078 cents). I’m spending more money the product, plus more on gas to go to the store more frequently to purchase said product. You can save money at costco/sam’s club - you just have to be diligent about it and research how much you’re paying per fl oz, gram, lb, etc.
I have a Costco membership mostly for gas. My car uses premium fuel and I can get it for $4.09 usd a gallon, which is how much regular fuel costs at non-costco stations in my area. The way I keep myself from spending a ton of money is by going in without a cart and only buying what I can carry on my own. I think I'm the only person that really does that.
Nope, I do that too. I remember one time I walked straight to the back with no cart, grabbed a rotisserie chicken for the week, and placed my receipt on top of the only item in my hands as I walked out: a chicken.
If everyone did that they would stop selling the gas for that little
Been a costco employee for over a decade. One thing that boggles me is the dedication shoppers have to this place. Never have I seen so many people fawn over a grocery store. People LOVE costco it is quite disturbing.
move to texas and see how people feel about H-E-B, then you will change your mind
I used to work for costco and the first day on the job my boss walks me around the store and we just find the samplers and eat the food for an hour or two until the next shipment came in. It was pretty cool
Have you noticed that Costco is like a Trader Joe’s warehouse when it comes to packaging?! Large bags or boxes of individually wrapped items-double packaging! Stay away from single servings to minimize packaging waste.
Great tip - hate to see all that extra packaging for seemingly no reason!
@@FutureProofTV oh i know why they do that! Small bodegas and corner stores tend to buy their merch from places like cotsco. They then sell the products individually. Can't have cross contamination. The bodegas dont have access or the funds to the same kind of wholesale that the big grocery chains do. Gotta make do with what you can. Especially in food deserts.
That's cause Costco is wholesale. It has both a B2C and B2B business model
The apples at Costco are infuriating, each one comes in their own little plastic holder thing in a large plastic shell for no reason
Kroger and Safeway throw away the first layer of packaging before you get there, Costco keeps it on.
Worse, the bulk means you need to have a car to transport it and the space to store it.
I'm lucky to live somewhere where getting something from the grocery market takes less than 15 min.
I am car & bike free & shop at Costco for produce. I’m fortunate to have transit available AND the ability to walk a half mile from the stop/station with a loaded backpack & an additional reusable grocery bag in each hand. Even brought home two large watermelons with regular purchases one week-integrated workout😉 Tips: if not damaged, let air out of bag to compress space; put heavy stuff in backpack & lighter stuff in hand bags.
Oh no I need to use my car to go grocery shopping for the next 2 weeks groceries and save money so that we can survive because I can't spend $5 on a small bag of rice every time I need it. Real life isn't that simple. large families and long shelf life items are very Common poor communities. Bulk is very helpful and why I wasn't taken away by CPS when mom had $20 and empty cabinets.
@@ttopero why not buy a grocery cart? It's like a suitcase but for groceries
@@aesyamazeli8804 right now my strength is good enough & carting it around is a hassle. At some point I’ll get one, & probably wonder why I didn’t get it sooner😉
there's a very nearby store (2 minute walk, closer than the nearest parking lot lol) that sells packages of 1-5 servings of a lot of decent food, but at the checkout line they have a pair of shelves full of HUGE bulk-sized boxes of candy and snacks, individually wrapped. I never buy them because I know that eating 250 servings of candy is not good for my wallet or my health.
Ugh you had to hit me with this video literally hours after I went to Costco… I did only purchase 6 items but they are all accounted for I’m my Feb monthly meal plan so no waste!
No worries, Liz. Any store is what you make of it. He should have mentioned more positives, like larger sizes having less packaging. Typical groceries stores don’t work for everyone that’s why there’s variety in the world!
We went somewhere that had a small shopping cart. My kids were laughing at how small the cart was. I told them that huge carts encourage you to buy more. Look at Costco carts.
I've done that too!! If I am going for a grocery trip I grab the little half cart, when its getting full ive probably gotten enough items. if im running in for a small couple of items I grab the hand basket, even if I'm getting a heavy item like a gallon of milk because I'm only gonna wanna lug that heavy hand basket around so long and won't stand there browsing and when it's full it's full. Sometimes I will see something with my little hand basket and go back and grab a cart but I definately pause when thinking about taking a trip back to the front entrance of the store if the item I need the cart for is worth it. Sometimes I won't grab anything, if I need a can of baby formula I'm using my arms to carry it so I can't pick up more than I can hold. I'm not super impulsive anyways but I'm definately a bargain shopper and sometimes they'll put a lot on clearance at once but I still have a budget to stick to.
I feel so old because I actually remember a time when the whole point of buying bulk was to get a better price. Left Costco today with my jaw to the floor. It's the total opposite now. EVERYTHING was over retail price. You're actually over paying at Costco AND you have to pay them for a membership???? WTF. I'm never going in there again.
My experience at Costco is that items tend to be cheaper than the surrounding grocery stores if it is non-essential (beer, meat, cheese, food you wouldn't normally buy.) When the food items are essential (milk, eggs, etc.) The prices are comparable to the surrounding grocery stores.
The day I found your channel, without looking at the subscriber count I would have guessed that you at least had over a couple hundred thousand subscribers but I was shocked to see how underappreciated your videos are. You're doing great work. Love the videos!
Wow, this means a lot. We're working hard to provide something educational and entertaining for our viewers - stoked to see people enjoying it! Thanks for taking the time to join us here!! ✌
The OG channel had a lot of followers. They recently split the channels to focus more on these topics.
@@MementoVivere. what is the original channel?
Last time I was at Costco I price compared the cost by weight for a bunch of items I wanted to buy, and I literally didn't buy anything because vs my local grocery stores everything was more expensive. And no joke, I was comparing to places like Whole Foods and Sprouts which are notoriously more pricey. But I live in a major city, so I realize that I'm lucky to have broad access to many different options within a short drive. Plus, super easy access to specialty shops and ethnic grocery stores.
They're a good company who treat their employees well. When you're a member you get some stuff just above cost. The essentials you can really affordable,. I really like having a membership and I live alone. They also have instacart so you don't have to go into the store.
For my house, it is better to buy ONLY the non-perishables at Costco because of the bulk. We only go once a month with a budget for the essentials, and then don't go. But that works because the grocery shops we have access to are WAY more expensive for like, 6 rolls of toilet paper instead of the 30 at costco.
Did you find anything about how Costco makes their money through membership fees? A great strategy to minimize waste while still taking advantage of deals is to split orders w friends. I’d also like to hear more about how companies treat their workers, Costco is very good to their employees which is one reason I choose to support them. I’m privileged to be able to choose where I shop.
If it's considered "widely" as one of the most underrated chips is it still underrated?
You make a good point... 👀
I’m best reminded of the mistakes that can be made at a shopper’s club bulk buy place by that episode of “Seinfeld” where Kramer bought so much food it barely fit in his old clunker of a car and he was desperate to eat/get rid of it all before it went bad.
“Sunk Cost Fallacy” is exploited by so many companies (from mobile games to these stores.)
That's a great episode! We should've used that clip in this one 🤔 Keep an eye out for Seinfeld refs in the future haha
Went dumpster diving in my area, brought home about $50 in food value or more. Saved me a month of supplies, I can imagine the food that Costco throws out could easily fill that quota faster with their large packs.
This man is taking 5 second rule to the next level.
@@EffectedEarth the cold winter days keeps spoilage to a minimum, once you get around the basics it's pretty much a buffet.
actually costco likes to donate as much food as it can before it throws it out
They donate a lot of the food before throwing it out lol. Remember that dumpster diving is illegal in a lot of places in the US (not to mention nasty)
@j - k i mean if u got time to watch and comment on vids about costco on youtube, youre probably not homeless and if you're broke its by choice lol
This is why we only go to Costco for: laundry stuff, cooking oil, most spices, coffee (online), Tetley tea, balsamic vinegar, razors, shampoo/conditioner/soap, garbage bags, ziplocs, paper plates, foil, food wrap, parchment paper, pam, TP/paper towel, some canned chickpeas, brown sugar, butter, cheese sometimes, every like 2-3 months, ~$350-450 at a time. Reg groceries are done at like a Freshco or Zehrs or Metro or whatever.
Definitely the kind of place for non-perishables and trips every other month or so... You seem like you've got it down to a T! Thanks for sharing 👏
When it comes to shelf stable items there is no "buying more than you need" there is only buying what you need for a longer period.
I lived in Ontario for half a year and I was flabbergasted by the giant Costco hauls my housemates would bring home every fortnight. They legit took their biggest suitcase and took a 30 minute busride to get there! Meanwhile I walked to our cornerstone and, as a brave dutchie, would bike to our nearest supermarket a mere 20 minute bikeride away. It was wild!
Riding your bike to the supermarket is one of life's little joys, so rewarding!
Oh biking in Canada feels so suicidal. I guess it's better in Ontario, but here in the prairies you always feel the jacked up pickups are going to make it your last ride. During summer times I try to bike to work as much as possible, its only a 10km ride but man it feels so uncomfortable sharing pot hole rich road with speeding drivers.
You'd have to be stupid not just brave to go biking anywhere in America. I am glad no one crushed your bicycle with their car tire out of malicious intent.
@@nunyabusiness3786 uh okay thanks for nothing.
and your wasting way more $$$$
Good advice here most of it is stuff I already do. I have been a Costco member since 2018 and I’ve thrown away more food that I’ve bought from regular supermarkets than Costco. The reason is I’ve been very selective about the groceries I buy from there. I’m not feeding a huge family so I buy very few perishables from them for obvious reasons. And the ones I do occasionally get are things I know I can eat before spoilage and are at a good price. Where I live we have the weight per kg labeled on all grocery prices and it’s been great as it saves me having to get my calculator and work it out, plus I can easily access the prices of equivalent products from competing major supermarkets online while I’m in Costco to know if what they’re offering is really a good deal and if so by how much. And the cherry on the cake is I hold out for items that have been reduced because Costco needs to clear them out to make room for new stock. It’s rarely more than 25% off but if the normal price is less than supermarkets and the item has a long shelf life then I’m getting good value.
For most of my perishables I get them from a particular supermarket chain that discounts them drastically if you happen to be there at the right time. They get to claim their losses off their tax paid so they don’t seem to mind and the majority of shoppers prefer to get non discounted stuff because it is further from expiry and they’d rather shop once every two weeks than shop twice every week and pay a tenth of the regular price.
I am on my parent's costco membership since we realized that only my mom ever goes to costco and not my dad. The main reason why we have the membership is because for a really long time in my area, it was the easiest way to get certain things that we couldn't get anywhere else. Recently that has flipped so we end up only really going there for toilet paper and paper towels.
We don't have Costco where I live. But when I go, which is very rare, it's a real treat! I find a lot of items that I can't get at my regular supermarket, and being a baker it's nice to find ingredients that I could use.
costco not having signs saying where things are is a nightmare. i shop for grocery deliver and the one time i picked up a costco order i was late when i had a full two hours to do a ten item list because its impossible to find anything... including employees! and none of the ones i asked even knew where anything was either, so i just had to wander more and more frantically until i either found everything or assumed they didnt have it
I ordered instacart from Costco one time, for baby formula only, because I had like a half off instacart deal from a past mistake with my order and it worked out cheaper from there. Its stupid expensive if you just go there though so i wouldnt even normally go there otherwise but they had the amount i needed and it was already hard to find. I was kinda surprised they were even on there as I imagine it would be annoying to get several large items for people. It took about 12 hours from placing my order to receiving it, and I've done bigger orders elsewhere that were faster. I've done big instacart orders but stopped and switched to walmart because instacart doesn't keep updated stock levels and I honestly felt bad for the shoppers who get paid nothing but instacart charges me like 30% of my order. At least walmart shoppers are paid by the hour and then my tip covers their drivers. When it's warm out I just walk to the store myself but I'm always wondering how the shoppers feel.
People throw away food? That's hard to believe tbh. I have absolutely no problem using every last bit of the bulk items I get from Costco and we don't even have kids yet. If anything I wish the portions were bigger so I wouldn't have to go to the store so often. I think it's important to consider that buying in bulk saves on gas too.
I shop at Costco for myself and there are a few rules for me to follow to avoid 99% of the time, waste.
1 - Frozen fruits or vegetables. These are often more nutritious than regular "fresh" produce simply because fruits and vegetables are generally flash freezed moments after being harvested meaning it'll retain the majority of its nutrients for a long period of time. "Fresh" produce goes through shipping and in which case, it'll have to go through shipping time and that in itself already starts reducing the nutrient content by the time it gets to you.
2 - I buy non-perishables like toilet paper, trash bags, etc etc.
3 - Protein powder and such items that has a shelf life of 1+ year minimum
4 - Buy one order of anything perishable because I'm sure as heck coming back at some point next month and I end up rebuying these so no need to buy a crap ton right now. Anything else with a longer shelf or fridge life, I tend to buy again every second or third visit.
5 - And a final general rule, eat before going and make a list. No seriously, make a list so you know what your list is. A non-list is going to be an ever expanding list based on what your stomach or eyes feels fits the list.
costco actually saved my household lol. between california rent and student loans we didn’t have the money to buy basic essentials. after finally trying out costco, with a strict list and budget and food prep plan in hand we’ve managed to stay afloat and even cut down on some debt thanks to the savings. if you are working class, live paycheck to paycheck, or something else along those lines where money is always tight, costco can be a lifeline where as the upcharging at safeway is literally an eviction sentence.
We ran the numbers and for our household, and our food costs went down 40% by switching over to Costco... The average bulk item is the same price if not cheaper than the regular sized item at our local grocery store (which is normally more expensive than whole foods). The largest sized container of cottage cheese is normally around $9 and at Costco it's ~$3.50.
You made me realize that they have the more expensive electronics and jewelry items at the front of the store to anchor your mind around that price range, so when you do spend $500 you feel like you got a deal cause you saw the first price of $1200 for a TV.
Generally speaking, I only go to Costco to purchase food IF I'm doing a large dinner, or a party. That's the only time I think it makes sense. I also find that the stuff they have, like vacuums or canned goods, is great to get. I never get fresh produce there.
I always get my produce there because I with the large amount of food you get it forces you to eat it faster to not waste it
Side note: I’m super happy to see this channel doing so well. I’m excited for you and Leah.
Thank you so much!!
It was easy to shop once a week (if that) during the pandemic and it has limited my trips to the grocery store. I have found gluten free items in bulk and love the quality of the food.
Every store has their own ways to hook and bait you in, wasting your money, wasting your time.
I've been training myself like a carriage horse, nothing in these stores has got that could interest me so much to make me buy more than i intended to
As someone who comes from a small family, Costco never appealed to me. My partner loves Costco and he always ends up buying a bunch of junk food that wouldn’t have been bought at a regular market.
As a single person who shops at Costco, this store is a godsend. Before I moved out of my family's house, my appetite made up half of the food budget in a family of 4. I'm not overweight or out of shape by any means, either. I'm just a young dude who built enough muscle as a teenager that his appetite never slowed down as an adult (yet).
If you shop at Costco, the freezer is your best friend. I only have to buy perishables (bacon, lunch meat, croissants, other freezer friendly stuff) once a month because I freeze 3/4ths of it the moment I get home.
Do it this way and you will actually save money.
I love cucumbers and I will buy 2 packs of cucumbers for 1 week for my family because we go through them.
I think with Costco you just have to really understand what your family eats and the timeline for products to stay fresh and edible. So maybe only buying a couple vegetables in bulk that week and switching it up next week, or prepping your food and freezing meals, or using food that's about to go bad up in some other way (making stock, inviting friends over to help finish up food, canning it). I think one of the biggest issues with overconsumption and overbuying is simply not understanding where food comes from, how many resources, time, and energy it takes to grow something, and also not knowing how to store food correctly for it to last.
Yeah it's definitely all about understanding your family's consumption habits and yes! proper food storage! So sad when food goes to waste just because it was put in the wrong place or wasn't frozen before it went bad. Happy to hear your family goes through the cukes haha thanks for sharing Mariel! ✌
My parents used to have a tall, standalone freezer. We had an old fridge before that for many years, which had a very small freezer compartment (for a family of 4 that is) and constantly needed regular defrosting which meant turning off the whole thing and letting the ice melt - which was always a huge chore as we had to use up whatever was in the freezer, or else cook soon afterwards, and pile all the stuff in the fridge into big tubs or the kitchen sink along with bags of ice to keep them cold and prevent spoiling whilst the fridge defrosted.
Once we got the tall freezer, which was self defrosting/frost free, my mother would pile in lots of food to be frozen in there. Unfortunately this meant we'd eventually eat a lot of frozen foods which had gotten freezer burn, and didn't taste as good as they'd been in there so long. Sometimes she'd forget about stuff and from time to time there'd be a purge of the big freezer. The foods remained edible - if not so palatable - so we didn't throw them out.
What I've learned is that management is key. We ought to have kept better lists stuck on the freezer, and better labeling and maintained separate areas for specific foods. Also, she didn't package them correctly, leading to freezer burn on some foods.
A smaller freezer would probably have been better for our family of 4, but if you package them correctly, a lot of foods can be stored well in a freezer, and leads to less waste than a fridge with only a small freezer compartment.
The real savings is their online store. They offer mortgages with closing costs limited to $500 instead of the normal 1% of the mortgage. That was enough to save me $150 a year or enough to pay for 30 years of Costco membership
LOLOL!!!! My wife and I refer to Costco as the $600.00 an hour store.
I love Costco for many reasons. The membership allows me to get cheap fuel for my cars. That in itself is worth paying the membership for. I only buy non-perishable goods in large quantities. It's good for stocking up our pantry due to product shortages at local supermarkets. That also applies to things I can freeze like chicken breasts, beef, salmon, egg tarts, croissants). I find that the foods they sell have higher quality compared to common brands sold at supermarkets. And lastly, during the lockdown, I couldn't go to any shops that weren't essential. That means I couldn't buy clothes, socks, shoes, etc. at the mall. I also started working from home and needed a comfy office chair (to sit on 8+ hours/day). I couldn't go anywhere to try out the chair before buying. But I could get all those things from Costco. I do agree though with the food waste. That's why I wouldn't buy fresh produce there because it's just too much. I'd make a separate trip to get those things somewhere else.
As a college student the only thing I truly buy in bulk at Costco is pizza rolls😂
sometimes it more cos effective just to buy a smaller size, cuz the bigger size might only be a few cents more but your likely to throw half of it when you inevitably don't eat it. effectively throwing half of that money you spent on it away too. things to buy in bulk : dry goods, canned goods, items you can freeze, shelf friendly stuff.
I finally broke down and got a Sam's Club membership last year. I gotta say, it is not worth it at all. The Walmart is right down the street, and when it comes to $/lb or $/oz, almost everything is cheaper at Walmart in smaller packages...
Funny story Levi. So about two months ago I found this and Macy gray puma sweatpants, and I can successfully say that I was one of the first ones to wear them at my school and now entire School is wearing them. So I can really see your point about that😀😀
Not if they charge you more then somewhere else, for the product by weight.
Learn how to do that and you will be able to tell if ur getting a good deal or not.
maybe math just like meat doesn't exist to the vegans
@@jmwloup5110 I never mentioned vegans in my comment.
I was talking about buying in bulk. Which is something many people do. Including those who are not vegans.
Like myself. I don't see the relevance of your comment.
In Iceland stores are actually legally required to show the cost per weight/volume on the pricing label next to (or below) the cost of the item itself. Most people I know could tell you immediately whether or not 20 dollars for a 1 kg block of cheese is a good price. Or if 1.5 dollars for a 2 liter bottle of coke is cheap or not. This is such a fundamental skill that I can't imagine not thinking about cost per weight/volume when trying to decide whether to buy something.
i can tell this channel is a bomb, waiting to blow up at any moment. You and whoever you work on these videos with (good on you if you’re some kind of solo gig) are going places!
Costco taps into the efficiency paradox, where in a product become more efficient you end up using way more and your total consumption goes up.
Exactly!! Great point 💪
what
Your cause & effect is as tangled as your logic. The mark-ups are lower than regular retails stores. So, you're basically saying limit warehouse purchases to non-perishable items, and you'll be ok. I'm not a Costco defender. If it went out of business, I'd just shrug and go "Oh, well.". But I do like that my paper towels won't run out for 6 months.
Sorry to say after watching many of their interesting videos I agree his logic is pretty off. It shows when he doesn’t back up his generalizations with hard facts. Yes Costco pushes consumerism but buying more doesn’t mean you aren’t saving just because you are spending MORE money. Levi, you can do both! Spend more AND save. He then flips the narrative and says you CAN save money except on things like produce. Make up your mind for crying out loud, Levi.
But why do you use paper towels?
You nailed this! took me 3yrs of Costco membership/shopping to work out exactly what you are laying down here. Stopped membership 4 yrs ago and will never go back!
Future Proof: Dude, your videos are awesome. I just discovered your channel randomly in my feed this morning and now I'm binge watching all of them to catch up. 🤠
pretty sure costco doesn’t make much from products. rather, all their savings come from the fact that they save so much on transport.
what about all the fuel savings since they don’t have to distribute to smaller stores? the store is literally the warehouse. no transport. no extra carbon emissions from extra buildings on top of warehouses, i.e. walmart.
rather than a company problem, it’s a customer problem. it’s up to the individual to know how they’re shopping and know their limits.
if you’re dumb enough to fall for the marketing, that’s on you.
At Costco you're buying two things. Stuff that goes through your body and down the shitter or in 2 years landfill.
@@thecrowfliescrooked that describes everything every store sells. what’s your point? i don’t quite grasp what you’re getting at
@@MCatwar exactly
Such a good video on consumerism 😍😍
Glad you think so! Thanks for taking the time to tune in ✌
We like that we can get frozen foods in larger packaging than our bulk store carries. We never buy fresh foods there, learned that quickly. Hate to say it, but organic flour is $2 per pound at the bulk store and Costco has paper packaged organic flour for 59 cents a pound. We make all our baked goods at home. The bulk store near us is still our favorite. When we moved, being closer was a definite pro when choosing a house.
Whole Foods has organic flour at $1/pound and it’s the same price for whole wheat flour
Juice produce before it goes bad to minimize waste; can be frozen & added to smoothies, soups, etc. Greens & other things not supposed to be frozen can be when juiced.
We raised a large family of boys by watching the deals at local stores. Been to Costco, Sam's Club and BJ's. Never found their prices saved us anything in comparison to the local grocer literally down the street. You know the place.... the smaller grocer that doesn't require hours of our time and gas.
At least you get deals at your local stores - mine never have them anymore. :(
Don't mind me just intracting for the algorithm
We appreciate you!! 🥰
Ah Costco, home of the $100 rotisserie chicken. You come in for a $5 chicken and leave with a cartfull
I'm single and I buy at Costco, but I tend to reduce my waste a few ways. 1) I buy mostly shelf stable products- canned food, clothes, prescriptions, etc. 2)when I do buy produce, it's normally stuff that I can easily freeze or emulsify excess - unused bananas are frozen, same with greens, tomatoes become part of frozen homemade chili, etc. 3)most of my costco purchases are really gas - I live really close to a few costcos and you can't beat the gas prices, especially with the extra 4%. It pretty much pays off the membership, which negates me feeling like I need to over buy as much.
Also, one great positive with Costco - during winter 2020 and through 2021 I had to take some cross county trips to help take care of my parents with cancer. Thankfully Costcos are generally placed EXACTLY within one gas task between each other so I had a place to rest, fill the tank, grab a bite to eat, not worry about a messy bathroom and get on my way. I appreciated that SO much.
You're doing it the right way!
Many baked goods like breads and muffins can be frozen and later thawed out and still taste good. They just have to be frozen correctly, wrapped properly etc.
Same goes for large jugs of spaghetti sauce - freeze them in smaller containers.
Produce such as apples and potatoes, carrots, onions etc. are better stored outside of a fridge, such as in boxes of dry sand in a cellar or dark but cool and ventilated area.
Leafy greens and veg such as celery can be stored out of the fridge in containers of water, changing the water daily.
Many people just don't understand how to properly store and keep fresh a lot of fruits and vegetables.
Eggs don't need to be kept in a fridge, in many cooler climates. You can also freeze egg yolks and whites.
Actually, you comment about Costco relying on people buying is wrong. Costco relies on membership. They do not make much money on what they sell. It’s all in the membership.
Right! Do you listen to Snacks Daily too?
Loving the host of these videos!
My entire extended family in the same city shares my uncle's membership.
He buys a crap ton of stuff for 3 households and then we distribute it all amongst ourselves.
Zero waste there lol
While I do shop at Costco, I don't buy everything I need there because there are some things that I cannot possibly consume in bulk without it either going bad or taking up valuable pantry real estate in perpetuity.
I will not stand for Costco slander!
We knew this would come 😅😂
Thank you!! I hate Costco. It’s so wasteful.
This channel makes high quality videos, I was surprised to see how small it is. I can see this channel getting large quickly, hope it does!
I’ve gotten really good at grocery shopping. I utilize Costco for a lot! I live alone, but I definitely buy in bulk and freeze things to save money. I also get my contact lenses, tires, and gas there. I never purchase anything more than I intended to buy. But I also shop at Aldi for a lot of things too. Not everything at Costco is cheaper than Aldi, so it takes knowing what I generally cheaper at both stores. I’m not easily swayed by the other stuff for sale at Costco, and love their food court. If you tend to spend more than intended, a membership isn’t for you. But I think it works for me and my eating and living habits.
These videos are so cool
Thanks so much for joining us here!! 😜
Costco has the best quality merchandise at the lowest possible price. They treat their employees better than any other retailer in the industry and Costco invests in Feeding America’s local member food banks to help feed neighbors in need. In regards to Costco's waste management they work very hard to divert 80% of waste generated within their global operations. This entire video is miss information and opinion based. I expected better research out of this channel.
Joshua I agree 100%. This video is complete misinformation for the facts you stated. This channel is the dumbest on CZcams but I feel like I need to be here to correct it like this.
I one made a wedding cake thing for a friend. Thought I would get my ingredients from Costco but once I costed it out I went to Superstore.
I live in a rural area and my Costco is an hours drive, we typically buy in bulk because we don't go to Costco/Sam's more than once per month. Tbh its really great saving time and money when you take care of disabled adults and are getting ready for a little one.
How does Costco compare to ordering everything with Amazon Prime and never having to leave your house or set aside a large chunk of shopping time? When I switch my VPN to the US and see how all-encompassing Prime is, I imagine that I would just order everything online if I lived in the US.
And congratulations on the little one on the way!
You are awesome and everything you said is true… but I love Costco, My kids can eat the 3 huge cucumbers in a sitting. Pinky promise to eat all my food every time before going back for more 😊
Haha that's awesome! Costco is definitely a good alternative for big families and people who know how to keep a strict grocery list + keep their food from spoiling. If I could eat the three cucumbers trust me I would! 😂
Am I the only person in the world who has never been in a Costco? Since I am single, it never made any sense to me to buy food in bulk. I'm not even tempted to join Costco. 🙁
I'm single but don't like covid so I'm following federal guidence to make larger less frequent trips to promote staying at home more often
Costco is fun to walk around. Who knew I needed a velour leisureware set?
I felt that when you said "they are in the back" the mapping of stores is such an awesome topic. Hopefully you have seen wendover productions videos on this but he does and awesome. Btw great job on this video and keep up the great work. I really enjoy the memes and subtle self comments. You have very good comedic timing which I am still working on for my videos so I hope to learn from you!
Hahaha we're big Wendover fans! Thanks for the positive feedback, we're still learning here too. You've just gained one more subscriber here - good luck on your YT journey!! 👏
I appreciate your work, but you say literally A LOT my dude, and mostly incorrectly.. Thank you sir
What did he say that was incorrect
@@jhvnhjifgvbv8126 that eating meat is bad
hahaha I meant the word "literally" 1:35 "a literal ton of shit."
My gf and her friends say it all the time and I've started noticing so many people say it incorrectly.
David Cross has a beautiful skit on it too.
It is so weird to hear about a shop like this. Like damn this is the definition of American capitalism lol
Costco and similar shops exist all over the world
@@electrictactical Never seen one in Germany, France or the netherlands
@@electrictactical we don’t have Costco or any bulk warehouses in my country either. We also don’t have MacMansion houses to store bulk items in. We have apartments for a family of 5 in 100 m2 which is about 1000 ft2. No yard. No driveway. No garage.
@@papalpatte What about Metro?
Just because the brands aren't the same or you don't personally use them doesn't mean comparable entities don't exist.
My favorite Future Proof so far! So relatable and hilarious, well done y’all!!
Haha, thanks Alexis!!
MAN I subscribed to this channel last friday and it was at 33k subs, it grows by the minute. To the moon lol
Lets go!!!!! 🚀🚀
I've seen people walk out of costo with 100s of dollars worth of stuff and wondered if they ever finish it all. I'm lucky I stick to a pretty simple diet of meats, rice and frozen vegetables, if I don't use all the meat while meal prepping I just freeze it for the next weeks meal prep. for meat I pretty much eat my weight or more in grams everyday so I go through a lot of protein in a week
Mmmmm....spam. 🤣. I am happy to say that what we buy at our local Cost-U-Less is usually always eaten. Milk, soy milk, cereals, etc. I try t stick to only the basics but sometimes the other aisles get you. I laughed out loud when you asked where are all the fresh stuff. Yup - at the back of the store. The same could be said for all grocery stores though. Lol.
I lived in San Francisco from 1795 to 2005 and during that time there were no Walmarts or Costcos there. All of my shopping was done via a tiny corner store in my building owned and managed by a Korean immigrant family. I may have been aware of Walmart or Costco, but I had never been to one, until I moved to Portland OR. One day a neighbor was going to Costco shopping and wanted to know if I would give them a hand ( which I thought was odd, why would they need a hand bringing in two bags of groceries ). We drove, and drove, and drove and finally ended up in some out of the way suburbia, parked the car a half mile away from the store, and we walked in, .........I don't know if I can express the first impression I had, but "Shock" was probably the best word. Shock at the scale, shock at how overweight everyone was, shock at the volume of what they were purchasing, and shock at the scale of the things being purchased, EVEN the shopping carts were the size of small Japanese trucks. I was a "Stranger In A Strange Land". In some ways too it was disturbing, and very Only-In-America, which was disturbing as well in its own way as well
What’s the secret to your extraordinary longevity?
My experience with Costco was as a kid through late teen years and going shopping with my parents. Got a cup of frozen yogurt or a slice of pizza, and then I'd browse the books, find one the display seats, an just comfortably read until it was time to go. Was always a good time.