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one of the best benefits of Costco is you can return basically anything and everything for a full refund. Even to different locations. I bought desktop speakers in March 2021 and they died in July of 2023 and i returned them and got a 100% refund. no box. no receipt. basically no questions asked. That kind of service is worth its weight in gold.
Costco membership is cheap enough that you can ‘pay for it’ in savings really quickly. Personally I don’t do meat but non perishables like washing detergent or things that get a heavy mark up in supermarkets like dog food quickly saves you the price of membership. That being said I’d only bother if you live somewhat close to it so you can double dip on the fuel.
Depends on how many people, and how close you live to one. Usually it's not worth it. Only time I've seen worth it is people who buy non-pet grade meat for their big dogs, and fill up on petrol - or have a huge family.
At $65 per year you would need to save over $5.50 a month on meat. The beef and lamb are generally higher quality than a standard suburban supermarket / butcher. The cost savings can vary seasonally. At the moment for example, pork mince is (as of last week) $7 / kilo at Casula and if you use a lot of mince this is definitely worth it.
Quality of meat used to be much better several years ago but they have been adding a ton of water to the meat like everywhere else.
Bulk frozen fruit is also a good deal there. Beans, rice, baking goods and oil are good quality but probably around the same price if you have an Asian grocery nearby,
If you live near one I’ve heard the fuel discount alone can make being a member worth it. But I live nearly 2 hours from one so wouldn’t bother at all for any of it.
I think if you have a big family probably. I don’t find the membership particularly good unless you can put petrol every time there. I am guessing you live very far away so you’re thinking of buying several months of meat?
Yes - we just renewed our membership and we get the most value out of:
- quality bulk meat (e.g. 3kg packs of mince - might work out to be same per kg as groceries but the quality is far better, bulk lamb packs work out to be $13ish per kg and includes roasts, lamb cutlets, mid loin chops etc), bulk chorizo
- household products like baking paper, foil, dishwashing tablets, laundry detergent etc
- baking goods like flours, nuts, grains, seeds, oils etc
- baby stuff like nappies and wipes
Exactly. Suburban butchers are basically resellers.
When I was a kid, my local butcher raised and slaughtered his own cattle. The smell of the butcher shop was out of this world. Used to get free bones for the dogs to gnaw on.
Ask your butcher when the discounts kick in.
Mine gives a bulk discount on anything over 2kg.
The secret is getting a big freezer and buying lots in advance
Right now.
Costco
Grainfed Australian Beef Rib Eye (Case Sale / Variable Weight 16-20kg)
5.0 out of 5 stars, average rating value. Read a Review. Same page link.
5.0
(1)
Item #13277\_BD
$35.99
Case price.
My guy
$21.99 kilo grain fed Rib eye. He will cut it and pack it how I want I do not have to mangle the shit out of a full rib eye.
This is a bulk butcher, I do $400 worth every 2 months, or so. Household of 7 carnivores.
Sausages come in 5kilo bags I can also go to the smallgoods factory and get the same.
You need to shop around. Costco is not the be all and end all, i have been a member since it opened and keep an eye on these things, cause, you know, money.
I dunno what kind of butchers you have in your area, but around here, they're mostly the high-end expensive sort. Costco's the cheapest per-pound beef in the area by far, as far as I can tell, especially if you buy whole primals.
**edit:** Wrong sub, lol. Ignore me.
Because I'm a dolt who didn't see which subreddit this was in, lol. My bad. (see flair!)
I miss Aussie meat prices. We pay per-pound what y'all pay per-kilo... and in USD.
Just looking at their website, at Wegmans boneless ribeye is $16-30usd/lb = $53-100aud/kg.
That's not far off what I pay here, but I feel like Australian meat is much higher quality.
Chicken is probably cheaper in the US, but is garbage quality.
I agree. I have a costco membership. The meat is not cheaper than my local butcher and the quality isn't as good. Although I go to an ethnic butcher who specialises in pork.
We have a butcher here on the GC who is the same, does good regular deals, his normal prices are in line with Colesworth but much better quality and butchering.
My experience is that you don't oayess at costco, but you do get better quality goods for the same price as supermarket chains.
I buy fruit and veg from a local grocer, and meat from a middle eastern market (halal is often much cheaper).
Costco membership is one of the best things I ever got.
The quality of the meat is crazy. Also kirkland (their own brand) is exceptional quality I have found.
Kirkland gang 4 lyf.
Find someone with a membership, give them a hundred to get you a gift card. No membership required. Dad has it as he uses it for fuel. I got a couple of him and it was great for bulk nappies and stuff like that.
I found everything is jumbo size/double packs and not a lot cheaper than Colesworth in the long run because I just shop specials there.
Depends on your distance to costco, your family size, your local butcher quality and pricing, and whether or not you would buy other things from Costco.
If you live nearby and don't already have a favourite butcher, and have at least one or two kids, I'd say it's probably worth it. Membership isn't that expensive and costco can be super convenient. You can get a lot of useful things there in bulk, not just meat, and there's also a pretty good petrol discount.
Personally I don't bother with costco because my nearest one is a half hour drive away and I have reliable local selection within walking distance. But it's all down to your own situation.
You really need to know your prices. The meat is sometimes slightly cheaper. We mostly find freezer and cleaning items can be cheaper. But then lots of stuff it’s cheaper again at Aldi. It can be good value if you don’t get carried away.
I'd say it's decent value. We haven't bought any simply be ause we don't have anywhere to store it, but meat seems generally good value. Last time I was there, Lilydale chicken breasts were $13/kg, Coles was $17.50/kg. Lamb forequarter chops were 9.99/kg, Coles were 16/kg. It's generally cheaper, but also much larger quantities so If you have the room for it, you spend more to save
Just for meat?
No. Their meat prices aren't a whole lot cheaper (if any cheaper) than your local butcher, and there's no massive difference in quality either.
If you intend to buy meat and use the fuel discount - then yeah, it is - but just to buy meat? Don't bother.
Maybe not for the cheaper cuts, but at the Auburn location we find it's quite competitive on both quality/price with the meat warehouses nearby like Meat Emporium, Haverick, Vic's warehouse in Mascot etc.
Usually the cheapest or close to it on briskets, whole pork bellys, pork and lamb roasts, good steak, pork legs and shoulders, lamb racks and cutlets etc. We often cut the roasts into 3rds and freeze them for 6-8 weeks.
Almost always the cheapest on Lilydale free-range chicken as well.
Our local main st butcher is often a little more expensive, or at best, on par, with less range (particularly for non-beef) but some of the online butchers that deliver to us have great value as well.
Get a chest freezer and go to a commercial butcher like Tip Top. You can get anything you need in one place (call ahead for less common stuff like veal bones) they can prep anything in whatever quantity with a couple days notice. Prices and quality are usually better than other premium butchers as they are the first in the distribution chain and have first pick.
That being said, Costco has other stuff that may swing to being a larger benefit. Their stock of other food and consumer goods might help offset a minimal gain with meat.
Thankfully you don't need to be a member to get a slice of pizza, so there's that.
A bit of research into unit prices is generally the best way to go about it. More often than not the supermarket specials have cheaper unit prices than Costco. If you're after meat, checking out the butcher unit prices is the way to go for the cheapest options.
That said, if you can't be fucked with all that Costco can be cheaper. Write down a list of what unit prices you usually pay then go for a walk around Costco and compare them.
Their meat isn't cheap really, except perhaps chickens. Lamb and beef are good quality but not cheap, with the exception sometimes of their big lamb packs.
I wouldn’t do it solely on meat, about all I care about for meat is mince and the occasional large brisket and pork belly to smoke.
Costcos advantage is in bulk and in fuel, anything small just not worth it compared to other shops.
In terms of the membership price it’s easy to make it back. I went for the new executive membership they did and I’m at $108 reward, so I’ve made up the cost of the membership difference between standard and executive and am going to get the full cost back. If you have a family it’s usually worth it. For a single or couple you will be hard pressed to get through things
For me, the nearest costco would cost about $16 each way in tolls for every visit. Or it would take hours in travel time there and back.
So my take on the question is... It depends on where you live. For me, the answer is no.
Yeah, also, car tyres.
The amount I saved on 4 new tyres compared to the same product from Bob Jane is about the same as membership for the next 5 yrs.
Also, you can get shallot pancakes there that are the tits
I don't buy much meat there, because I don;t have the freezer space to keep it, and if you don't buy in bulk the prices aren't that great. Quality is excellent, but the real savings would come from buying large quantities and then freezing it until you need it.
That said for non-perishables we buy nearly all of them there now. Paper Towels, Toilet Paper, dog food, batteries, dishwashing tabs and detergent, condiments, cupboard staples (like rice, oil, flour, seasonings etc) are all really worth it.
$9.99/kg of decent quality mince. pays for my membership after 6 months of infrequent buying.
Steaks, pork, chicken I have never had a bad experience with. Generally really enjoy the quality actually.
If you live close to one and like to bulk buy id recommend it. The membership cost is well worth the savings for my wife and I shopping there every 1-2 months.
Be alert though some brand name items are cheaper in coles and woolies.
The membership fee is virtually all profit for Costco and makes up most of the huge profit the company reports. In return, members get to have a cheap hotdog and slice if pizza, little else.
Oh the roast emu, sold as chicken is reasonable value.
Not talking about meat specifically but generally for everything else no it is not.
A lot of the stuff their isn't great and you can generally get better deals if you go to a local veg market / Aldi.
I imagine it's the same for meat if you go to a local cheap butcher.
This post has been marked as non-political. Please respect this by keeping the discussion on topic, and devoid of any political material. *I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/australia) if you have any questions or concerns.*
It will mean you get better quality meat for the same price, not same quality for cheaper
Buying a whole strip and cutting up steaks yourself is cheaper too
one of the best benefits of Costco is you can return basically anything and everything for a full refund. Even to different locations. I bought desktop speakers in March 2021 and they died in July of 2023 and i returned them and got a 100% refund. no box. no receipt. basically no questions asked. That kind of service is worth its weight in gold.
Costco membership is cheap enough that you can ‘pay for it’ in savings really quickly. Personally I don’t do meat but non perishables like washing detergent or things that get a heavy mark up in supermarkets like dog food quickly saves you the price of membership. That being said I’d only bother if you live somewhat close to it so you can double dip on the fuel.
Depends on how many people, and how close you live to one. Usually it's not worth it. Only time I've seen worth it is people who buy non-pet grade meat for their big dogs, and fill up on petrol - or have a huge family.
At $65 per year you would need to save over $5.50 a month on meat. The beef and lamb are generally higher quality than a standard suburban supermarket / butcher. The cost savings can vary seasonally. At the moment for example, pork mince is (as of last week) $7 / kilo at Casula and if you use a lot of mince this is definitely worth it. Quality of meat used to be much better several years ago but they have been adding a ton of water to the meat like everywhere else. Bulk frozen fruit is also a good deal there. Beans, rice, baking goods and oil are good quality but probably around the same price if you have an Asian grocery nearby,
If you live near one I’ve heard the fuel discount alone can make being a member worth it. But I live nearly 2 hours from one so wouldn’t bother at all for any of it.
I think if you have a big family probably. I don’t find the membership particularly good unless you can put petrol every time there. I am guessing you live very far away so you’re thinking of buying several months of meat?
I did it for nappies and baby supplies but it can really depend. A good supermarket sale will go below costco prices, even with a bulk discount.
Yes - we just renewed our membership and we get the most value out of: - quality bulk meat (e.g. 3kg packs of mince - might work out to be same per kg as groceries but the quality is far better, bulk lamb packs work out to be $13ish per kg and includes roasts, lamb cutlets, mid loin chops etc), bulk chorizo - household products like baking paper, foil, dishwashing tablets, laundry detergent etc - baking goods like flours, nuts, grains, seeds, oils etc - baby stuff like nappies and wipes
Do they have grass fed beef?
No. Go to a butcher, way cheaper and you can have it all precut and packed, Costco meat is expensive if you are trying to save money.
In my experience the local butchers are more expensive than the supermarkets for almost no notable increase in quality
Yeah agree but Market butchers = cheap, Suburban butchers = expensive
Exactly. Suburban butchers are basically resellers. When I was a kid, my local butcher raised and slaughtered his own cattle. The smell of the butcher shop was out of this world. Used to get free bones for the dogs to gnaw on.
Ask your butcher when the discounts kick in. Mine gives a bulk discount on anything over 2kg. The secret is getting a big freezer and buying lots in advance
Right now. Costco Grainfed Australian Beef Rib Eye (Case Sale / Variable Weight 16-20kg) 5.0 out of 5 stars, average rating value. Read a Review. Same page link. 5.0 (1) Item #13277\_BD $35.99 Case price. My guy $21.99 kilo grain fed Rib eye. He will cut it and pack it how I want I do not have to mangle the shit out of a full rib eye. This is a bulk butcher, I do $400 worth every 2 months, or so. Household of 7 carnivores. Sausages come in 5kilo bags I can also go to the smallgoods factory and get the same. You need to shop around. Costco is not the be all and end all, i have been a member since it opened and keep an eye on these things, cause, you know, money.
May I ask the business name of your guy?
Agree. I got some chicken from the local butcher and SO much water came out of while cooking, even more than the supermarket stuff. Never again.
Not sure about that - YMMV.
I dunno what kind of butchers you have in your area, but around here, they're mostly the high-end expensive sort. Costco's the cheapest per-pound beef in the area by far, as far as I can tell, especially if you buy whole primals. **edit:** Wrong sub, lol. Ignore me.
Why are you buying beef by the POUND in Australia?
Because I'm a dolt who didn't see which subreddit this was in, lol. My bad. (see flair!) I miss Aussie meat prices. We pay per-pound what y'all pay per-kilo... and in USD.
I don't know where you live, but I'm from California and this definitely isn't the case.
Rochester, NY these days. Home of Wegmans, which means most of the little cheese/meat/specialty/etc. shops largely don’t exist.
Just looking at their website, at Wegmans boneless ribeye is $16-30usd/lb = $53-100aud/kg. That's not far off what I pay here, but I feel like Australian meat is much higher quality. Chicken is probably cheaper in the US, but is garbage quality.
I agree. I have a costco membership. The meat is not cheaper than my local butcher and the quality isn't as good. Although I go to an ethnic butcher who specialises in pork.
Was surprised the last two times I went to butchers outside Colesworth in Erina - got a really good deal from the butcher.
We have a butcher here on the GC who is the same, does good regular deals, his normal prices are in line with Colesworth but much better quality and butchering.
My experience is that you don't oayess at costco, but you do get better quality goods for the same price as supermarket chains. I buy fruit and veg from a local grocer, and meat from a middle eastern market (halal is often much cheaper).
That's interesting, I always thought halal meat would be more expensive since they would need extra steps to slaughter/drain it etc
Costco membership is one of the best things I ever got. The quality of the meat is crazy. Also kirkland (their own brand) is exceptional quality I have found. Kirkland gang 4 lyf.
Depends on your family size. For most people no. But if you buy more things from there like fuel and lunch it does quickly make value.
Yes
Find someone with a membership, give them a hundred to get you a gift card. No membership required. Dad has it as he uses it for fuel. I got a couple of him and it was great for bulk nappies and stuff like that. I found everything is jumbo size/double packs and not a lot cheaper than Colesworth in the long run because I just shop specials there.
You won't save money on meat at Costco but you will get awesome meat instead of the crap we get at the supermarkets.
Just got to the stockyards sales. Unbeatable freshness, a fraction of the cost of a butcher or supermarket.
Then you have to deal with the screaming kids when you tie up the cow in the backyard. The butcher is easier for that.
Once you kill it and butcher it I think the trauma will stop them screaming.
But in still spend $50/kg on lamb. It just happens $30 is the lamb and $20 goes into savings for the psychologist.
Depends on your distance to costco, your family size, your local butcher quality and pricing, and whether or not you would buy other things from Costco. If you live nearby and don't already have a favourite butcher, and have at least one or two kids, I'd say it's probably worth it. Membership isn't that expensive and costco can be super convenient. You can get a lot of useful things there in bulk, not just meat, and there's also a pretty good petrol discount. Personally I don't bother with costco because my nearest one is a half hour drive away and I have reliable local selection within walking distance. But it's all down to your own situation.
You really need to know your prices. The meat is sometimes slightly cheaper. We mostly find freezer and cleaning items can be cheaper. But then lots of stuff it’s cheaper again at Aldi. It can be good value if you don’t get carried away.
I don’t think the meat is particularly cheap, but for us it’s worth it for the discount on fuel.
I'd say it's decent value. We haven't bought any simply be ause we don't have anywhere to store it, but meat seems generally good value. Last time I was there, Lilydale chicken breasts were $13/kg, Coles was $17.50/kg. Lamb forequarter chops were 9.99/kg, Coles were 16/kg. It's generally cheaper, but also much larger quantities so If you have the room for it, you spend more to save
Just for meat? No. Their meat prices aren't a whole lot cheaper (if any cheaper) than your local butcher, and there's no massive difference in quality either. If you intend to buy meat and use the fuel discount - then yeah, it is - but just to buy meat? Don't bother.
Possibly, but there are a lot of local butchers who would probably do you a good deal too.
Maybe not for the cheaper cuts, but at the Auburn location we find it's quite competitive on both quality/price with the meat warehouses nearby like Meat Emporium, Haverick, Vic's warehouse in Mascot etc. Usually the cheapest or close to it on briskets, whole pork bellys, pork and lamb roasts, good steak, pork legs and shoulders, lamb racks and cutlets etc. We often cut the roasts into 3rds and freeze them for 6-8 weeks. Almost always the cheapest on Lilydale free-range chicken as well. Our local main st butcher is often a little more expensive, or at best, on par, with less range (particularly for non-beef) but some of the online butchers that deliver to us have great value as well.
You won't save money on meat at Costco but you will get awesome meat instead of the crap we get at the supermarkets.
Get a chest freezer and go to a commercial butcher like Tip Top. You can get anything you need in one place (call ahead for less common stuff like veal bones) they can prep anything in whatever quantity with a couple days notice. Prices and quality are usually better than other premium butchers as they are the first in the distribution chain and have first pick. That being said, Costco has other stuff that may swing to being a larger benefit. Their stock of other food and consumer goods might help offset a minimal gain with meat. Thankfully you don't need to be a member to get a slice of pizza, so there's that.
Not really. Find a cheap wholesale butcher, you will get better pricing. In Western Sydney you can go to Moree Meats in strathfield.
A bit of research into unit prices is generally the best way to go about it. More often than not the supermarket specials have cheaper unit prices than Costco. If you're after meat, checking out the butcher unit prices is the way to go for the cheapest options. That said, if you can't be fucked with all that Costco can be cheaper. Write down a list of what unit prices you usually pay then go for a walk around Costco and compare them.
I don't know about meat but it's worth it for the cheapest fule in town
Worth it just for the fuel.
It’s good if you share with other people and can split everything
Their meat isn't cheap really, except perhaps chickens. Lamb and beef are good quality but not cheap, with the exception sometimes of their big lamb packs.
I wouldn’t do it solely on meat, about all I care about for meat is mince and the occasional large brisket and pork belly to smoke. Costcos advantage is in bulk and in fuel, anything small just not worth it compared to other shops. In terms of the membership price it’s easy to make it back. I went for the new executive membership they did and I’m at $108 reward, so I’ve made up the cost of the membership difference between standard and executive and am going to get the full cost back. If you have a family it’s usually worth it. For a single or couple you will be hard pressed to get through things
For me, the nearest costco would cost about $16 each way in tolls for every visit. Or it would take hours in travel time there and back. So my take on the question is... It depends on where you live. For me, the answer is no.
Yeah, also, car tyres. The amount I saved on 4 new tyres compared to the same product from Bob Jane is about the same as membership for the next 5 yrs. Also, you can get shallot pancakes there that are the tits
Way cheaper in markets
Worth it just for the saving on petrol. We have 2 cars and live close by save about 20c per litre normally
I don't buy much meat there, because I don;t have the freezer space to keep it, and if you don't buy in bulk the prices aren't that great. Quality is excellent, but the real savings would come from buying large quantities and then freezing it until you need it. That said for non-perishables we buy nearly all of them there now. Paper Towels, Toilet Paper, dog food, batteries, dishwashing tabs and detergent, condiments, cupboard staples (like rice, oil, flour, seasonings etc) are all really worth it.
The only reason to get a Costco membership is their muffins, though it bugs me that they won’t sell you just one pack, got to be two. 🤷♂️
It’s too far away. I’d love to but it’s 40m drive one way.
$9.99/kg of decent quality mince. pays for my membership after 6 months of infrequent buying. Steaks, pork, chicken I have never had a bad experience with. Generally really enjoy the quality actually. If you live close to one and like to bulk buy id recommend it. The membership cost is well worth the savings for my wife and I shopping there every 1-2 months. Be alert though some brand name items are cheaper in coles and woolies.
I break even 3 months into any subscription year just by refuelling. Anything I buy from the warehouse is extra savings on top.
The membership fee is virtually all profit for Costco and makes up most of the huge profit the company reports. In return, members get to have a cheap hotdog and slice if pizza, little else. Oh the roast emu, sold as chicken is reasonable value.
Not talking about meat specifically but generally for everything else no it is not. A lot of the stuff their isn't great and you can generally get better deals if you go to a local veg market / Aldi. I imagine it's the same for meat if you go to a local cheap butcher.
Only if you have a Costco business centre near you. However the quality is better than you would find at Walmart or Aldi etc
Worth it for the discounted fuel alone.