My family has been shopping Costco since the Price Club days! Yes, I may have dated myself a bit, but I can clearly remember the excitement in our neighborhood back in the day when the Price Club Warehouse opened. It was a massive place with a food court, a photo shop, and it was filled to the gills with enormous boxes or crackers, giant-sized packages of toilet paper, and sacks of potatoes larger than I was!

Well, not much has changed since those early Club days, except maybe the name! Costco still sells those ginormous toilet paper packages and those yummy all-beef hot dogs, but now there’s even more I love about shopping Costco.

Everybody will find their own value in what Costco has to offer (my dad absolutely loves his Costco credit card and the service and the deals at the tire center), but here are The Top 15 Reasons I Will Forever Be A Costco Shopper!

• THE GAS. Many Costco warehouses have a gas station out in the parking lot and you need a current Costco membership card to purchase gas. The prices are always a bit cheaper than getting it in town so it’s a huge savings for us especially when we’re traveling.  Tip: The gas lines can get crazy long during the day and on the weekends, so the best time to fill up is before the store actually opens. Station Hours: M-F 5:30 a.m. – 9:30 p.m.; Sat. 6 a.m. – 8 p.m.; Sun. 6 a.m. – 7:30 p.m.
• THE FREE SAMPLES. And that’s all I have to say about that. Really, the samples are the best. Walk up and down the aisles (sometimes there are sample stations hidden in the middle of the aisles or at the very end towards the walls) and if you’re lucky you may get a complete meal. And if you’re super lucky, the samples will all be chocolates and cookies and pie and cakes and….

• THE FOOD COURT. A buck fifty for a huge all-beef hot dog and a (refillable) fountain drink? Yes and yes. Sandwiches, churros, smoothies, frozen yogurt parfaits, or grab a freshly-baked large cheese, pepperoni, or combination pizza for just $10 (there is also a ready-to-bake variety in the refrigerated cases). I personally prefer the pizzeria at Winco, but the boys always gobble it up when we shop. You can get single slices for a couple bucks, or order a bunch of pizzas for your next party. Tip: The food court at many Costco warehouses is located outside – so no membership is required to stop in and eat! But beware – the lines are always long (especially at lunch time or on the weekends), so order your food as you checkout (the cashier will ask if you want to order anything from the food court and add it to your total) or call in your pizza order before stopping by to pick up.

• THE ROTISSERIE CHICKEN. Costco has a good deal on whole fresh rotisserie chickens, just $5! Always fresh, really tasty, and much larger than supermarket birds. Grab a loaf of french bread and some salad and you’ve got a complete dinner ready to eat!
• THE BULK MEAT. Yes, it’s true the majority of the grocery deals at Costco are in massive bulk quantities. This can often be a negative though (unless you’ve got hungry teenagers at home) as the item goes bad before you even get half way through the package. But I think the prices on the bulk packages of meat are great! Ground beef, steaks, chicken, deli meats – divide the portions up (maybe even split some with a friend) and toss it in the freezer to get the most value from your purchases.
• ORGANICS, MEDIA, BAKERY, HOME, SEASONAL. All my favorite must-shop at departments. Okay, impulse buy departments. Costco has a really nice selection of books and movies (I was able to find the complete series of The Magic School Bus for just $29.99 a couple of years ago) and at a competitive price. The bakery items are always fresh and worth the caloric price (seasonal items like pumpkin pie and pumpkin spice muffins are real treats). Lots of great seasonal items as well (Back to school, summer, etc.). Christmas often brings a slew of toy deals and you can really catch a bargain as they are marking items down after the seasonal sales end.
• THE KIRKLAND SIGNATURE BRAND. Costco’s store brand products are very high in quality (we loved the Kirkland diapers and found they were comparable to Huggies) and often come from popular name-brand factories. Never had a bad experience.
• DISCOUNTED GIFT CARD AND TICKET BUNDLES. Everything from movie tickets to retail gift cards, tickets to local restaurants and attractions and at a 10-20% discount. You can often find many of these deals online, there is even a LEGOLand package available right now.

• THE MONTHLY COUPON BOOK. Costco does not take any manufacturer’s coupons, but never fear. There is always something on sale at Costco (and if you miss the sale, it will be back on sale in a month or two). Every month Costco mails out a coupon book filled with the current sale items. The prices and discounts are valid for several weeks and the sale amount is deducted automatically at checkout, no need to clip anything!
• THE SERVICE DEPARTMENTS. Pharmacy, optical, car rentals, hearing aids, the tire center…it’s all good. My dad even got a great deal on his new heat pump this winter!
• THE CUSTOMER SERVICE. Costco treats its employees very well, and that comes through in the way the customers are treated. Staff members are always happy to find a product for you or answer questions.
• THE AWESOME RETURN POLICY. Costco has an ah-maze-ing return policy. If you are unhappy with your purchase, for whatever reason, all you have to do is bring it back. I had milk that had gone bad way before the expiration date, had no receipt, and brought it back for a cash refund without any kind of a hassle. Costco will even refund your membership fee in full at any time if you are dissatisfied. Can’t beat that kind of service!
• THE CONCIERGE SERVICE. Costco offers Free Technical Support for electronic gadgets, appliances, cameras, etc. purchased online or at the warehouse. You can chat with expert technicians to get help with set up, product use, or troubleshooting. Costco also offers a 2nd Year of Warranty on televisions, computers, and major appliances.
• THE ONLINE WAREHOUSE. As a Costco member, you can also shop online at Costco.com (non-members are charged a 5% surcharge). Costco carries so much more than what is available in the warehouses (you’d be surprised!), and I have even been able to find discontinued warehouse items online!

• THE COSTCO CASH CARDS. Costco only takes American Express (and will take only Visa come summer 2016), cash, check, or debit cards at the checkout. If you are leery of using your debit card or like to stick to a cash only budget, you may want to grab some Costco Cash cards. These can be used to shop in the warehouses, at the gas stations, online at Costco.com, and they make nice gifts!
• THE EXECUTIVE MEMBERSHIP. If you know you will be spending quite a bit per year at Costco, then you may want to choose the upgraded Executive membership ($110/year) and take advantage of even more perks. Executive members can earn 2% back on qualified purchases ($20 for every $1,000 spent – as much as $750 per year). But (here’s where that awesome customer service comes in) if your end-of-year rebate amount is less than $55 (the added cost of the upgraded membership), Costco will refund your Executive membership and give you the option to renew at the Goldstar level, making it risk-free to try it out. The Executive membership was a huge benefit for us when The Boy was smaller – all those cases of diapers, wipes, and weekly gallons of milk really added up!

(photo credits: * / * / * / * / * / *)