Costco - Not So Cheap Afterall

LFlavourDeal on 27/09/2022 - 15:58
Last edited 29/09/2022 - 11:12

Costco has come out with some Introductory Offers. I think the offers are just not that great with other pricing in NZ being similar or even better.

Here are links to similar or better deals. More will be uploaded as found:

Better than Costsco: LG TV UQ80 = $1299 ($1099 Deal) which is a lesser TV than this UQ91 at JBHIFI for $1198 (Full price, not on sale)
https://www.jbhifi.co.nz/lg/lg-uq91-50-4k-ultra-hd-led-smart…

Similar to Costco Rexona Deodorant X6 = $28 ($22 Deal) which is more than similiar on The Market for $25
https://themarket.com/nz/p/rexona-men-advanecd-antiperspiran…

Similar to Costco Puma Womans Tee = $18 ($15 Deal) which is only a little better at Puma online $18. Also puma outlets do better deals if you are happy to wait. (This deal ended)
https://nz.puma.com/essentials-logo-women-s-tee-586774-04.ht…

General Discussion

Related Stores

Costco New Zealand
Costco New Zealand

Comments

  • kiwiicheapies on 28/09/2022 - 08:09
    +1

    I did a price comparison of BestFoods Mayo using the cheapest supermarket on grocer, comparing it to the 1.9L costco BestFoods Mayonaise, and it seems to be way cheaper.

    (The one on the top is Countdown which has it on special right now, the bottom one is Costco)

    • akrotohur on 28/09/2022 - 09:03
      +5

      They are kind of sneaky to make it hard to compare. The one Costco is selling is 1.9L not KG. I looked online, on Amazon Aus, the 1.9L one weights only 1.77 KG (with the jar).

      Assuming it's 1L = 1KG
      I did that same comparison yesterday, but with the 405g ones for $3.99 each at some PnS in Auckland. Costco is about $1 cheaper per "KG". But you'll have to buy that 1.9L jar at one go instead of multiple 405g ones. If 1L is less than 1KG, then the savings is even lesser.

      • felixfurtak on 03/10/2022 - 07:32

        A quick google of the density of mayonaise seems to be approx. 910g/L so 1.9 L would be 1.73 kg (not including the jar).

  • AleBeerenhoff on 28/09/2022 - 08:15

    I am not that surprised really; The novelty of buying in bulk at scale will be part of the frothyness around Costco.
    Maybe their buying power will get some things cheaper, but at the end of the day they too will be subject to the same profit squeezing environmental factors that others are (eg location/logistics, size of market, operating costs etc), so I would expect to see good prices, maybe some good specials, but on average stuff still needs to be evaluated along with the rest of the market to determine if it really is a good deal.
    Much the same with any other retailer imo. Maybe I am just pessimistic :D

  • akrotohur on 28/09/2022 - 08:34
    +1

    That lego 11717 is probably the best offer so far…haha

    I think Costco is good for people who don't like to compare prices and want to get everything under one roof. You know you'll not be getting gouged, but most of the time you're not getting the cheapest prices available if you compare prices and wait for specials.

    • Tmurder91 on 28/09/2022 - 09:14

      Where did you see that deal (11717?)

    • nzmax on 04/10/2022 - 02:21

      People seem to think that it will be teh cheapest by default, rather than actually shopping around and comparing prices. Some people are just too lazy to do that and they know this.

  • shapenz on 28/09/2022 - 08:55
    +3

    I think people got overly excited that Costco was going to be a carbon copy of the US version but the reality is they are just another store at the bottom of the world.

    For example on the TV Costco will be purchasing through LG NZ/AU same as the likes of Noel Leeming or JB HiFi…. In the US their volume is such that they actually have the TV’s manufactured specifically for them and delivered to their own warehouse in China - then they handle everything from getting them to the US to warranty claims and promo pricing.

    I worked as a buyer for a multinational for a number of years and the cost of landing equivalent product in NZ vs the US is just not even close.

    • The Hound on 28/09/2022 - 10:21
      +1

      Precisely why I'm not getting my hopes up when IKEA opens up here. It won't be the same overseas.

  • rkl on 28/09/2022 - 09:09
    +1

    Nothing great that I can see as yet.
    Was hoping the nappies would be cheaper, but at $68.99 for a bulk box (double the size of the large supermarket boxes) this is more expensive. With that Countdown discount yesterday I got it down to the equivalent price of $44

  • akrotohur on 28/09/2022 - 15:04

    https://www.facebook.com/photo/?fbid=1237906713445934

    Panasonic Eneloop Charger + 8x AA + 4x AAA - $59.98

    • Tmurder91 on 28/09/2022 - 16:15
      +1

      using Noel Leeming CSC pricing
      4xAAA=$17.53
      4xAA=$17.78
      $17.53+$17.78+$17.78=$53.09

      So you're paying $6.89 to get the charger, not too bad of a deal

    • scott on 28/09/2022 - 17:18

      Better than PB tech pricing for the batteries alone.

      But that charger suck's.

  • thefirstgambit on 28/09/2022 - 17:19
    +5

    I don't even get why people are buying their 48pk 3ply toilet paper Kirkland Brand for $40. When Purex 24pk 3 ply is available at the warehouse for $14. Seems like everyone was purchasing them

    • akrotohur on 28/09/2022 - 17:28
      +1

      Costco's group of loyal fans seem to assume that everything they could buy in Costco is "cheaper" and of higher quality, no need to compare prices with other brands/stores. eg. 908g of butter for $8.49.

      • flembots on 28/09/2022 - 18:57

        Definitely. It's nice that they have clearly displayed unit pricing/per kg pricing for comparisons. Lots of 😮 emojis on Facebook for prices higher than the supermarkets.

      • FlavourDeal on 29/09/2022 - 11:06
        +7

        I got kicked out of the Costco NZ fb group for posting a cheaper price elsewhere

        • akrotohur on 03/10/2022 - 09:03

          Yeah, only say things a "fan" is supposed to say in their "fans group", that group is heavily censored…haha

        • Plug on 04/10/2022 - 00:54

          That group is disturbing, it's like they view Costco as Mecca

      • felixfurtak on 03/10/2022 - 07:36

        Cheaper in The Warehouse with Market Club then ($8/kg The Warehouse vs $9.13/kg @ Costco)

        • akrotohur on 03/10/2022 - 09:04

          Maybe it's cheaper when you don't have to drive 3 minutes across the road from Costco, find another parking, shop again, etc, and also risk it being out of stock at TWH…haha

          • ace310 on 03/10/2022 - 09:17

            @akrotohur: Westgate TWH is mostly out of stock. Atleast I haven't seen them except 1 time.

            • akrotohur on 03/10/2022 - 09:22

              @ace310: Maybe that's why they need a Costco there. TWH stores I have been to (mostly around central AKL) have improved and are now quite well stocked with butter, milk does go OOS occasionally.

    • Eureka on 28/09/2022 - 21:15

      Isn't Purex 2ply? Kirkland is also 270 sheets per roll so similar to the "long rolls" that you can get here.

    • thefirstgambit on 29/09/2022 - 14:17
      +3

      So I went to the costco today. Some of the boring items definitely are a good deal
      * Laundry detergent - Persil 9kg for $45 (1kg in PnS is $6-7/kg)
      * Coconut milk — 6pk 400ml - $15 (normally $3/pk)
      * Dried chickpeas - 3kg - $10 ( Indian supermarkets have it for $4-5)
      * Croissants 12pk - $12 (Similar price and quality in New world)
      * Coconut water
      * Calcium and vit D tablets for the wife 400 capsules - $40 (Chemist Warehouse has it for $20 for 150 capsules)

      Meat I don't believe is very cheap. My dad got some new balance shoes for $50 which he liked

  • Madao on 28/09/2022 - 18:13
    +1

    Post on Reddit shows someone picking up a Masterbuilt Gravity Series 800 BBQ smoker for $1299. Thats on Container Door for $1999 currently and Mitre10 for $2299.

    Wonder if that's going to be their standard price or cunning opening day loss leader they were hoping someone would buy and post on the internet to help drive further traffic in to the store.

    • Plug on 29/09/2022 - 01:22

      Probably one of their "treasure hunt" items

    • akrotohur on 29/09/2022 - 19:14
      +2

      On a separate reddit post, someone asked Mitre10 to price beat that and got it for $1004.

      • Madao on 30/09/2022 - 15:33

        Yeah, I saw that this morning and clearly Mitre10 are running scared as it's been pulled from the website, get an error when clicking the product now

        • akrotohur on 30/09/2022 - 16:16

          LOL, not sure whether they are losing money by giving that 15% discount or not. Coincidentally, Costco claim their mark ups are less than 15% on most products. I believe many retailers must be looking at updating their price promise T&C now.

        • wowbigdeal on 30/09/2022 - 16:17
          +1

          M10 T&C's will be updated to say something along the lines of "Club only memberships excluded from price beat."

          • The Hound on 30/09/2022 - 19:52

            @wowbigdeal: There is one Mitre10 just opposite Costco. They can try to make it difficult price beating and risk going bankrupt.

  • kiwiicheapies on 28/09/2022 - 18:54

    yeah im starting to agree with you now.. after seeing all the items & pricing coming through, i dont see many things that are cheaper, and those that are cheaper are only minorly cheaper. I still want to check it out and try some items that are highly rated however I think we may stick to just getting the fuel from costco.

  • kiwiicheapies on 28/09/2022 - 22:35
    +6

    Just got back from Costco, gonna make a big spreadsheet comparing prices of costco and cheap supermarkets on grocer, because some things were quite cheap but on the other hand, some things were a bit more expensive than the rest of the competition

  • Avantime on 29/09/2022 - 00:22
    +7

    All the TVs on sale at Costco:
    https://imgur.com/a/DPSEDTo

    Some random groceries:
    https://imgur.com/a/SpZITwx

    • Plug on 29/09/2022 - 00:43

      That Listerine is a pretty good deal, and it looks like it might be a good place to grab the Christmas bbq meat.

      Do they sell the jalapeno poppers?

    • Zyo on 29/09/2022 - 07:24

      That Sony x90k 65 inch is more expensive than Sony official website.

      Guess I wouldn't be going to Costco for a TV.

    • kiwiicheapies on 29/09/2022 - 07:29

      good to see you were finding the same deals as us. last night, we got it just before cut-off. due to the uncertainty about some items being cheaper we mostly took photos of items we liked so we can see if they do actually work out cheaper.

      We didnt go around the full store, mainly only around the isles surrounding the main part.
      Was slightly disappointed in the small range of some items.

    • stevarja on 29/09/2022 - 09:43

      I need prices on them caskets

      • bigcheese on 29/09/2022 - 09:47

        Wonder how the warranty works on those! 😂

        • ace310 on 29/09/2022 - 09:52
          +3

          Lifetime warranty lol.

    • FlavourDeal on 29/09/2022 - 11:11

      Yeah tv prices seem to be same as other stores not on sale. That one TV it seems like their price got reduced further

  • jackvdbuk on 29/09/2022 - 07:46
    +1

    Queued up at 8pm still managed to get in , only decent thing was 8 dollar chickens everything else comparable to your average pak n save for me. That align with not needing to buy 3x 1l mouth wash as well.. Fast food counter doing pizza and hot dogs etc was decent prices but closed at 9pm.

  • stevarja on 29/09/2022 - 16:04
    +5

    I think the point of Costco is providing competitions, which is utmost important for smaller markets such as NZ. Once the market rife with competitions, price war will happen eventually, down the line, sooner or later.

    Also whats nice about Costco, to give access to more suppliers/products. I love Kirkland brands, usually cheaper and above average quality at least. Beyond that there are many niche items like dried fruits, nuts, and processed meat that just not carried by big 2 supermarkets.

    • mikenz on 01/10/2022 - 11:48
      +3

      hopes & dreams: price war
      reality: duopoly threesome

      xd

      • Alan6984 on 01/10/2022 - 12:11

        I think your incisive analysis is spot on - no way having additional competition in the market can help even slightly.

  • Loading on 01/10/2022 - 13:38
    +3

    Ordered in some Michelin pilot 4S for a Nissan Qashqai the tyre size is 225/45R19. We paid just under $470 a tyre and this includes tyre fitting and balancing. Compared to Hyper Drive the same Michelin tyre is $642.99 including 30% discount and you still have to pay for fitting $111. 96 in west Auckland. We also went went to our local and they weren't able to match the Costco price. Compared with Hyper Drive for this specific tyre we get a saving of $804.

    • Alan6984 on 01/10/2022 - 13:49

      Tony's Tyres seem to advertise that they will beat any cash price by $10 - did you ask them too? If so, what was their response?

      • Loading on 01/10/2022 - 14:24

        Hi , havent asked Tony for a price match on the Michelin.Tony have quoted me 3 different Bridgestone Tyres. From their TandCs one of their bullet point says :
        -for the same or similar quality new tyre in the same size as stocked by Tony's Tyre Service (stocked brands include Bridgestone, Firestone, Supercat and Dayton).
        Would be interesting if to see if they would match a Michelin product?

        • Alan6984 on 01/10/2022 - 15:41

          Yes - might be able to save $10 per tyre = $40, plus the $60 membership fee for Costco, so $100 further savings.

    • akrotohur on 01/10/2022 - 15:13

      Wow, that's 13+ years of membership fees, great value!

    • sonyxperiageek on 04/10/2022 - 01:23

      Does a Qashqai really need Michelin PS4s lol

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