Spin out shopping at COSTCO.

My girlfriend is a member of Costco & took me with her today to their Auburn store.

I was gobsmacked - I have never seen anything like this warehouse in Australia. Maybe in the US, but never Down Under.

Things are finally moving forward....

We arrived at 11 am on Sunday.
The car park was 2/3 full.
90% of people there were Asian - very few "Aussies" and Europeans.

So we grabbed a trolley & off we went...

On the right is the entrance - here, on the left, we see those leaving...

The journey starts...

This is only ONE of the flatscreen aisles

The bling was at the front of the store too....wow!
All real & with plenty of security guards to watch the cabinets....

My fave. No diamonds, metal band, classic shape, quality brand. 

Here it is again....

This is real. 

I think this was $9K...

I ADORED both these babies...

The electrical goods were at the front & when I saw this (& the flat screens) I assumed they would be the high value items. Wrong!!!!!

One item on display, & a gazillion to take below it.

One item on display & a gazillion below it ...like a sewing machine!!!!

Then you look above eye level & you see two - three palettes more. 

OK, these are cute.

More cute. 

I love any supermarket that has packs of 48 coloured pencils. I love colouring in.

Grosgrain, satin & chiffon ribbons for $8.99. Too cute.

Yes, it works and is for sale.

This was massive. Still is.

I'd rather buy this than Ikea stuff...

I wish they had this in funky fabrics.

We saw plenty of cars with the mattresses on their roofs!!!

Aaawwww, cute.

This was $300. It was quite nice & a steal.
You can move the drawers around so the graded colours sit differently.

Fancy a rug?

Tucker box, anyone?

The fresh food Costco brand is Kirkland. For hot & cold. Yummy. <My friend said their meats are terrific.

I have eaten Costco deli products (salads, meats, cheeses & pies) at my friends place many times.  All I can say is they taste great & the prices are reasonable.

The engine room.

Freezer items are sold in the same quantities as our Aussie supermarkets - but b/c the volumes sold are so huge, the items are stacked in their boxes rather than as single items.  

I've never considered buying freezer bags in packs of 216. until today.

Havent noticed 500gram packets at the local supermarket....

Stacking by the carton, not by the tin. 

I thought these were a terrific buy. Great on feet & legs when you have to stand for long periods - ironing, washing etc.

Another print of these mats. & many more available.

These Star Wars dolls were about $33. Yoda I love.

Recent release books

Oh, here he has popped up again!!!!

Couldnt resist going back to the bling.....

From memory, this is the normal retail value for this....

Just one of the Swarovski cabinets...

Gorgeous Longchamp bags - great price.

Another good price.

Heading to the checkouts where you have to show your membership card to pay.

This photo was taken when we walked in around 11 am.
When we went to pay at around 1, it was so crowded at the register area
 that you couldnt see the floor. 

Snack time.......Costco has a large cafeteria area, this is only a small part of it...

We watched the service at the cafeteria - the servings are BIG. The prices are terrific.

From now on I am going to call my Diet Coke, a diet soda. I LOVE Americans....

This followed us home for  $15. It was 18" diameter...

I buy these identical product from Coles in boxes of 12 for about $5.
Costco had boxes of 40 for $13.80. 

I would imagine that if you expressed dissatisfaction with the membership after 11 months, you  would probably go on a black list so that you couldnt be a member the next year....just a thought...

I have never seen car parks where there are dedicated spaces against all the walls for the empty trolleys. No more dinged car panels!!!

The VERDICT:

My friend has been shopping at Costco since it opened. 
She say that they are cheaper on maybe half their stock compared to the Aussie supermarkets. On the other half, they are more expensive.

She uses Costco to complement her other grocery shopping.

The moral is that you need to know prices & check specials in the other stores before you fill your trolley up at Costco.

Also I can honestly say that Costco has to be the weirdest Australian shopping experience I have ever had. But good. Weird, but good.

We also had an arrangement whereby we would go to Coco Republic (my fave furniture store) just down the road, afterwards.

But we were so hungry, tired & happy to go home, that we skipped yummy furniture. 

All I can say is Costo must be pretty good to make me forget about CR....

What's your experience with Costco?