There's no denying that Costco has one of the most loyal customer bases of any retailer. Die-hard fans feel particularly strongly that the rotisserie chickens and food court hot dogs are the best deals going, that Kirkland products are often stand-ins for pricier name brands, and that the bulk buys are a bargain that can't be passed up. However, when it comes to this last point, not all Costco shoppers are convinced. In fact, many members of the warehouse club say they can get certain items for much cheaper at the grocery store.
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1. Soda
17 | SodaShutterstock
In a new Reddit thread, shoppers are answering the question: "What's something that Costco doesn't have the best price on that you get from some other store?"
One of the most cited items is soda, with customers noting that grocery stores often run buy-one-get-one and similar deals on soft drinks.
"Yup. I always wait for Kroger to have sales. b2g3 comes out to 33 cents a can (42 cents a can when it's b2g2), where Costco is 57 cents a can. And they have one of those sales seemingly every month," said one Redditor.
"I got 4 20oz 6 pk for $11.98 at Vons during a sale. It would have been $20 at Costco," shared another.
"Yes, and you can mix and match and get a variety of drinks vs Costco you’ll either have one flavor or just a few," pointed out someone else.
2. Meat and Chicken
1. Chicken breasts and thighsShutterstockNext, a lot of Costco members feel they can get better prices on meat and chicken at the grocery store.
"It's $14.99 a lb for Ribeye at my local Costco. Aldi has great tasting Ribeyes for $11.49. Chicken thighs at Costco are $1.79 lb. Aldi is $1.49," recounted a Redditor.
"And your forced to buy too much at once, I can't cook 4 ribeyes before the best-buy date. I'll have to freeze 1 or 2 of them. I don't like having to freeze my steak. I also get sticker shock at the $90 pack of steak from Costco," noted another.
As for chicken breasts, one shopper said, "Was in Wegmans this morning and it was $2.49/lb. Costco wants $3.49/lb," to which someone else agreed: "I find Wegman’s meat...to be both cheaper and higher quality than Costco."
However, some argued that quality meats are often cheaper at the grocery store only when they're running a promotion.
"But that's only when it's on sale. If it's something you need right this moment and no one else is on sale, Costco tends to be the cheapest for most meats," said one.
RELATED: 10 Kirkland Must-Haves Every Costco Shopper Swears By.
3. Diapers and Pull-Ups
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As any parent knows, diapers and pull-ups are an expensive part of raising a child—but many Costco shoppers say you can save by buying the essentials elsewhere.
"I got through three kids’ worth of diapers getting them all at either Target or Fred Meyer and saved a literal buttload compared to Costco," said one parent.
"Totally. Coupled with the frequent $20 off $100 diaper/wipes purchase coupons, Target is often half the unit price of Costco," agreed another.
"They are even cheaper at Aldi. My kids quickly grew into size 4 and never moved past that. Unfortunately, Aldi would be out of size 4s a lot. But I never bought diapers at Costco because they were not even close," said someone else.
One member said it's not just the price deterring them: "In addition to prices, Costco recently changed suppliers for their Kirkland brand diapers. In short, they’re 10x worse than the previous ones."
4. Avocados
89 | An Avocado Is a BerryShutterstockOne Redditor stopped buying avocados at Costco: "At basically $11 for a 5 pack, I'm better off going to Safeway or even Raley's where they're almost always on sale for around $0.80 - $1.50/ea."
"Our Aldi you can get a pack of 6 for 3 dollars," chimed in another.
While some shoppers argued that the avocados at Costco are larger or the quality Hass variety, another showed a screenshot on their Safeway app of medium Hass avocados on sale for $1 each.
And someone else pointed out an issue with the avocados ripening: "I don't want that many avocados to be ripe at the exact same time anyway, so I've never purchased Costco ones."
"I've given up on Costco avocados. They're either already too soft or they're super hard until the day they are already half-rotten," agreed another Redditor.
RELATED: Costco Just Made 2 Major Gas Station Changes—How You'll Save Time & Money.
5. Milk
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One of the biggest grocery staples may also be better priced at the grocery store.
"In my [area] Target has better prices on Milk than Costco," said one shopper, while another agreed that organic milk, specifically, is pricier at Costco.
Another said Aldi's milk "is cheaper and seems to last longer before spoiling."
Even non-dairy milk got called out in the thread.
"Trader Joe's organic almond milk is cheaper than Costco. And you can buy it in vanilla flavor too," said a shopper.
"I’ve also recently switched to to Trader Joe’s brand of oat milk instead which I think tastes way better. But it’s also cheaper," agreed another.
