^ Correct.

I checked Costco out because I live in the area and had never been to one before. Came away unimpressed.

I noticed that the sidewalks that exist are wider than they need to be, but they don't connect enough places.
 
Y'all are clearly not Costco fiends haha.

I get the complaints, and Costco holds a lot less value for single or 2-person households, but for families the large portions are great and it can represent substantial savings on a lot of things. Over the years I've bought everything from phones to vacations to toilet paper to furniture at Costco for very competitive pricing. It's more than just 6-packs of 1-litre ketchup bottles.

Costco is underrepresented in Toronto (thus the expansion), which is why they are often so crowded. In this case, it's also shortly after opening so everybody is "checking it out".. Hopefully it'll slow down a little as the store matures. Outside of Toronto the stores, while still busy, are often a little less "zoo like", especially on weekdays.

The issues with the site plan notwithstanding, I don't imagine a lot of people are walking to Costco given how challenging it would be to take your purchases with you. That's not an excuse for no sidewalks though as employees, and indeed some customers, will still be accessing the store via walking.
 
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innsertnamehere said:
Y'all are clearly not Costco fiends haha.

I get the complaints, and Costco holds a lot less value for single or 2-person households, but for families the large portions are great and it can represent substantial savings on a lot of things.

The issues with the site plan notwithstanding, I don't imagine a lot of people are walking to Costco given how challenging it would be to take your purchases with you. That's not an excuse for no sidewalks though as employees, and indeed some customers, will still be accessing the store via walking.
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Broadly agree, but would add, I'm not as convinced of the value proposition in most cases, even for large families.

When I look at prices, I look at per ml or per gram prices to establish value.

I remember going through Costco when I drove some friends there as a favour..... and they were happy to have me throw and item or two in their basket........in lieu of gas money.....

And I looked at the large olive oils and balsamic vinegars, I looked at the large packs of toilet paper and dish soap, ie. non-perishables where I, in a small household could simply sit on stuff and take a year to go through it.

I still found the value less than best in class.

I can afford to splurge on good quality food products and will; but I'm happy enough to buy low-cost toilet paper as neither the appearance nor the flavour affect by purchasing choice, LOL

But when I can get Royale TP, 2-ply, at .36c per roll at No Frills (30 roll pkg), and the comparable product at Costco is 50% higher, at least........the value isn't there.

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Alternatively, lets take Facial Tissue:

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I paid $3.33 for a 12 pack of tissue from NF just last week.

I swear the perception people have of value is skewed; not enough people read labels use the calculator function on their phones if need be.
 
Costco usually isn't best value for cheap goods - indeed. The value usually lies in the balance between quality and price.

Costco stuff is usually much better quality than what you would find at No Frills, from my experience.

But yea - not everything is competitive for sure. I'm far from the kind of person who does my whole grocery trip at Costco - it's a once every 2 months type of thing to pick up some stuff where they are competitive like Paper Towel, etc.

My go-tos at costco are cheese, toiletries (paper towel, etc), coffee (decent quality far cheaper than grocery stores), some times bread, things like ziploc bags, etc.

That and large purchases like furniture, electronics, etc. are also often very competitive. I redid my bathroom 2 years ago and picked up a bathroom vanity for an excellent price, for example.

as an FYI - Costco tissue paper boxes like that are far larger than what you will find at No Frills. Costco facial tissue is priced at $1.30 per 100 tissues for 3-ply - No Frills has 3-ply Presidents Choice brand facial tissues right now on their website for $2.22 per 100. Royale 2-ply goes for $1.25 per 100 though, so if you are willing to go for lower quality, it's definitely cheaper.. which brings back to the "best price for decent quality" proposition which Costco generally represents.
 
innsertnamehere said:
Costco usually isn't best value for cheap goods - indeed. The value usually lies in the balance between quality and price.

Costco stuff is usually much better quality than what you would find at No Frills, from my experience.

But yea - not everything is competitive for sure. I'm far from the kind of person who does my whole grocery trip at Costco - it's a once every 2 months type of thing to pick up some stuff where they are competitive like Paper Towel, etc.

My go-tos at costco are cheese, toiletries (paper towel, etc), coffee (decent quality far cheaper than grocery stores), some times bread, things like ziploc bags, etc.

That and large purchases like furniture, electronics, etc. are also often very competitive. I redid my bathroom 2 years ago and picked up a bathroom vanity for an excellent price, for example.

as an FYI - Costco tissue paper boxes like that are far larger than what you will find at No Frills. Costco facial tissue is priced at $1.30 per 100 tissues for 3-ply - No Frills has 3-ply Presidents Choice brand facial tissues right now on their website for $2.22 per 100. Royale 2-ply goes for $1.25 per 100 though, so if you are willing to go for lower quality, it's definitely cheaper.. which brings back to the "best price for decent quality" proposition which Costco generally represents.
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I'd be interested in the specific best deals you have in mind.

I like Reggiano-Parmiano cheese.

While the designation does ensure a minimum quality standard, there are aging variations.

That said, I went and looked at Costco's site, and just to be silly.............what if I bought the whole cheese wheel?

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So that works out to $36.81 per/kg. This compares favourably to the average price in a conventional supermarket which would be in the range of $49-54 per kg.

But Longos and Metro both have deals more often than not of $29 per kg if you buy at least 1kg (500 grams at Metro)

Metro goes as low as $28 per kg on promo, no minimum size.

When I consider that vs the hassle of Costco, and the small matter of hauling my 83lbs of cheese............
 
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Costco pharmacy is a great value - their prescription fees are significantly lower than Shoppers, or anywhere else I believe. I go there for propane too; harder to find places that fill tanks anymore and it's less than half the price as those tank traders.

We're only 2 in our household, so we don't do a ton of shopping there otherwise, but I agree there's also a quality element for price. They have some decent grocery items, snacks and even household stuff that we grab when we're there. There are some specialty items whose price you won't beat or even find at places like No Frills; Balzac's whole bean coffee (907g for $15) and Fairmount bagels from Montreal (3 x 6 packs for $13) are a couple recent ones we've been enjoying. Oh and those tamari almonds - worth the membership for those alone.

Going to Costco is a nightmare though, I usually dread the actual visit lol.
 
Now that the thread is about Costco pricing, the online pricing is always higher vs the in store pricing due to them baking in “free shipping” into the prices
 
egotrippin said:
Costco pharmacy is a great value - their prescription fees are significantly lower than Shoppers, or anywhere else I believe. I go there for propane too; harder to find places that fill tanks anymore and it's less than half the price as those tank traders.

We're only 2 in our household, so we don't do a ton of shopping there otherwise, but I agree there's also a quality element for price. They have some decent grocery items, snacks and even household stuff that we grab when we're there. There are some specialty items whose price you won't beat or even find at places like No Frills; Balzac's whole bean coffee (907g for $15) and Fairmount bagels from Montreal (3 x 6 packs for $13) are a couple recent ones we've been enjoying. Oh and those tamari almonds - worth the membership for those alone.

Going to Costco is a nightmare though, I usually dread the actual visit lol.
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Never in my life had I pictured you visiting ex-urbia except to visit a distant relative due to some pressing social obligation. LOL
 
Northern Light said:
Never in my life had I pictured you visiting ex-urbia except to visit a distant relative due to some pressing social obligation. LOL
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Haha, well not only do I visit but I live in ex-urbia these days. How things change in life... Still work in Scarborough and visit the city frequently though, hence my continued interest in what goes on in the GTA.
 
Just awful. Massive parking lot (lucky I was here when it was closed) surrounded by the stores. All the buildings look into the parking lot. The frontage on both Islington and Rexdale are massive blank walls. Suburban at its worst. The one road into the complex must be a nightmare on busy days.

The corner of Islington and Rexdale.

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I noticed in the plans they removed a large section of retail spaces to make more room for parking... And there are also a certain % of ev parking spots in the plans, there are no chargers present anywhere on site. Is this usually something that gets added in afterwards? Seems odd.
 
Edward Skira said:
Just awful. Massive parking lot (lucky I was here when it was closed) surrounded by the stores. All the buildings look into the parking lot. The frontage on both Islington and Rexdale are massive blank walls. Suburban at its worst. The one road into the complex must be a nightmare on busy days.

The corner of Islington and Rexdale.

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That Sleep Country has lovely windows.. yet look what they did to them. All covered up by a false wall and insulation. What a classy move!
 
Looks like crews have begun the second phase of development. Machinery is in levelling the ground.
 
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