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tx 3 putt

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Here in Fort Collins they don't open the doors even a minute early. I arrived early by mistake one day and learned the hard way - they cue to enter. That sucks though the line is by-passable if you want to use the customer service desk door. They do however have free nitrogen for tires via 2 awesome machines in the parking lot. Pro tip, if you move to snow country, based on the crazy line at the tire section that I walked by on Thursday, don't wait until December to buy winter tires. Also, the bison polish dogs are always in-stock here and they're excellent. They've had San Marzano tomato sauce in stock a couple of times this year. Always, always great deals on hard liquor and wine.

 

 

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Not sure if it's true or not, but I've read that the most they ever mark up their products over cost is 15%.  
Might have been this article, with some other Costco tips as well:
https://www.mashed.com/158143/the-truth-about-costcos-really-low-prices/

I can’t speak for every category but I can confirm that the max margin they can make on wine is 14%. Most of the category leaders are in single digits though, due to price competition
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2 hours ago, Chopper said:

Here in Fort Collins they don't open the doors even a minute early. I arrived early by mistake one day and learned the hard way - they cue to enter. That sucks though the line is by-passable if you want to use the customer service desk door. They do however have free nitrogen for tires via 2 awesome machines in the parking lot. Pro tip, if you move to snow country, based on the crazy line at the tire section that I walked by on Thursday, don't wait until December to buy winter tires. Also, the bison polish dogs are always in-stock here and they're excellent. They've had San Marzano tomato sauce in stock a couple of times this year. Always, always great deals on hard liquor and wine.

 

 


I’ve bought those bison dogs before, very good

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8 minutes ago, Bateshorn said:

If you are a regular Costco person and you haven’t upgraded to executive membership and gotten the credit card, you are just leaving money on the table, particularly on gas: it’s a 4% rebate on the card, plus you get the 2% across the board kicker on the executive level. 

When our kids were home we had the executive membership. Now that they are gone we don't spend enough to for l get more back than what it would cost. 

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Not sure if it's true or not, but I've read that the most they ever mark up their products over cost is 15%.  
Might have been this article, with some other Costco tips as well:
https://www.mashed.com/158143/the-truth-about-costcos-really-low-prices/

These articles often confuse markup and profit margin, which is how retailers price their goods.

Costco is like any other large retailer and different categories have different profit margin requirements. They lose their ass on the $1.50 hot dog and coke and that pricing causes more heated arguments in their boardroom than any other topic. Computers are mostly single digit.

No one should doubt the power of their clientele. Most years their demographics have an average income that Nordstrom is envious of.
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I like free samples as much as anyone,  but I kindof wish they’d do away with them on the weekends. All that jamming up at every other end cap is a beating.  I guess no samples during the Covid years spoiled me. 
The Cedar Park location has been sampling Ruta Maya coffee again for the last few weeks. The sample guy puts out little bags of coffee to take home and people are practically yanking them out of his hands. We’re talking golden ticket in a Wonka Bar levels of stupidity. 

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2 hours ago, Mo Horn said:

5 to 10 cents a gallon in this area

Yup.  In my general area (N + NW Austin), Costco is the cheapest today at $2.43, but a nearby Exxon is $2.49 (assuming GasBuddy is correctly reporting prices).

You can generally beat CostCo with the GasBuddy fuel card, which rebates $0.15/gal, but you do have to find the best options (and Exxon/Mobil is not on the program).

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Yup.  In my general area (N + NW Austin), Costco is the cheapest today at $2.43, but a nearby Exxon is $2.49 (assuming GasBuddy is correctly reporting prices).
You can generally beat CostCo with the GasBuddy fuel card, which rebates $0.15/gal, but you do have to find the best options (and Exxon/Mobil is not on the program).

If you have Walmart+ , you get a discount of $0.10/gal with Exxon/Mobil.
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The one in S. Austin.  They don't even have gas.

It’s hard /expensive to put in a gas station anywhere in south west Austin because of the aquifer being an environmental sensitive area.

That’s the Costco I go to anc don’t mind it at all. The one on 183 is more of a shitshow

Will have to try the shrimp. I’ve always wondered about those and the previously mentioned fish.
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Costco has absolutely saved my ass moving to Maui. It’s only the two of us and it’s still the only place we shop pretty much. Prices barely higher than at home whereas at a Safeway here you’re looking at $8 loaves of wheat bread and $6/dozen eggs. 

Plus you get Costco bourbon unlike those of us in Texas where we can’t have nice things…
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8 hours ago, FirstTimeCaller said:

How much is the gas at Costco? I never see a price sign and the lines are outrageous. Say gas is $2.50 at the normal station, how much less at Costco?

25-30 cents for most stations around here, 15 cents cheaper than the heb across the street, and with the card giving 4% back it's another ~9 cents off.  sams is generally about the same price.  one of the murphy stations nearby has matched that right now though that doesn't seem usual.   central houston.

based on my experience with costco gas lines there's plenty of people willing to take 15 minutes to get cheap fuel so if they can get enough superfast chargers built somewhere, this whole electric car thing might work out

Edited by elfenix
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3 minutes ago, jimmyjazz said:

Isn't Murphy the Walmart-aligned gas station?  Seems like that's where I see them.

i think that's the case.  rarely see one elsewhere.  think that might be why its the same price as sams and costco when nothing else is within 15 cents

Edited by elfenix
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6 hours ago, jimmyjazz said:

Yup.  In my general area (N + NW Austin), Costco is the cheapest today at $2.43, but a nearby Exxon is $2.49 (assuming GasBuddy is correctly reporting prices).

You can generally beat CostCo with the GasBuddy fuel card, which rebates $0.15/gal, but you do have to find the best options (and Exxon/Mobil is not on the program).

We shop at the same Costco. People are really waiting in that line for 6 cents a gallon?! Lol.

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In Arlington Costco today is $2.55 and everything around is $2.71.

Sams in east Ft Worth is $2.44 today with Murphy next door $2.69 and everyone else is $2.91.

Everyone should have the GasBuddy app. It will save you money even without using their program and it’s perfect when traveling to find savings off the Highway.

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Get the beer advent if you haven’t. 24 0.5L import variety. Bonus is you’re 10 days behind so you get to play catch up

When I went to the one on Richmond to get my starter cheap hearing aids cleaned and checked (still very happy with them, Philips, $1,500, ) my wife had me pick up the wine advent box. Christmas relatives are gonna have fun with that.

They have the 20 pack of 16.9 oz Topo Chico which is nice, and those salty as hell almond flour crackers.

I’m about to go hardcore Keto for 2023 and will be crushing their meats and cheeses soon.
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7 hours ago, Godzillatron said:


Plus you get Costco bourbon unlike those of us in Texas where we can’t have nice things…

Yep, made by Barton and it is indeed the tits for $16.

 

and gas is $1+ cheaper at the Maui Costco than everywhere else. Obviously an outlier but it’s amazing.

Edited by Hank_Hill
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The variety of stuff that I buy in a Costco trip always cracks me up. I don't do big shopping trips for groceries (too little storage, not enough mouths to feed), but go there when I need this or that. So I end up getting a 6 pack of tiramisu, a new office chair floormat, and a pair of shorts. 

Also, the low-country jalapeno pimento cheese is a winner. Awesome for those days when you want an easy lunch without having to cook anything.

Edited by FirstTimeCaller
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On 12/6/2022 at 6:22 PM, NeverMarryAStripper said:

I'm a creature of habit, and the problem with Costco is that as soon as I find something there I like they quit carrying it.

There is a whole code to the price tags that you can google.  The main one that you need to know is if the tag has an * on it, they are going to stop carrying it soon.

 

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On 12/11/2022 at 10:37 PM, BearSchlong said:


When I went to the one on Richmond to get my starter cheap hearing aids cleaned and checked (still very happy with them, Philips, $1,500, ) my wife had me pick up the wine advent box. Christmas relatives are gonna have fun with that.

They have the 20 pack of 16.9 oz Topo Chico which is nice, and those salty as hell almond flour crackers.

I’m about to go hardcore Keto for 2023 and will be crushing their meats and cheeses soon.

Glass or plastic?

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My wife got a membership last year.  We live over 60 miles from the nearest one, but that's a town we have to go to every couple weeks anyhow, so we make use of it.

I got drug in a couple of weeks ago and just wanted to get out ASAP, so I didn't really scope it out well, but my wife's been bringing me home tubs of this:

image_2022-07-28_163559507.max-784x410.p

On the plus side, it's delicious and quite healthy.  On the downside, my wife hates the smell of it and has the nose of a blood hound.  If I wake up before her and have some kimchi, she wakes up (our bedroom and kitchen are on different floors) and yells at me.  On Sunday, she came home from getting groceries and it had been 3 hours since I had eaten kimchi and she could still smell it when she walked in the door.

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I have literally never waited 20 minutes to buy gas in 40 years.  20 minutes is a long time to save like $6. My time is worth more than that. 

In Portland OR, where it’s still illegal to pump your own gas, the Costco fuel lot looks like it would take forever but it moves fast. Especially considering they don’t have typical convenience store gas stations spread every few blocks like here in Texas.

I thought I had pics but I’m talking 10 bays times 15 cars in line at each when we pulled in. ‘‘Twas a sight.
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In Portland OR, where it’s still illegal to pump your own gas, the Costco fuel lot looks like it would take forever but it moves fast. Especially considering they don’t have typical convenience store gas stations spread every few blocks like here in Texas.

I thought I had pics but I’m talking 10 bays times 15 cars in line at each when we pulled in. ‘‘Twas a sight.

I am surprised Oregon hasn’t made plugging in your EV at home an illegal act. They can’t stop the gas pumping as it’s a make work law. Their unemployment rate would skyrocket.
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1 minute ago, tx 3 putt said:

Damn that looks good 

Bottom layer is chocolate cake. Then you have chocolate mousse and white chocolate mousse with chunks of brownie in it. Then another layer of chocolate cake. It's topped off with a layer of chocolate ganache. It slams and runs about $15. I'd put it up against most bakery made cakes that go for  3 or 4 times the price. 

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21 minutes ago, Seasick Sailor said:

Bottom layer is chocolate cake. Then you have chocolate mousse and white chocolate mousse with chunks of brownie in it. Then another layer of chocolate cake. It's topped off with a layer of chocolate ganache. It slams and runs about $15. I'd put it up against most bakery made cakes that go for  3 or 4 times the price. 

That’s $40 at heb and half the size 

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12 hours ago, Al_4_ISU said:

My wife got a membership last year.  We live over 60 miles from the nearest one, but that's a town we have to go to every couple weeks anyhow, so we make use of it.

I got drug in a couple of weeks ago and just wanted to get out ASAP, so I didn't really scope it out well, but my wife's been bringing me home tubs of this:

image_2022-07-28_163559507.max-784x410.p

On the plus side, it's delicious and quite healthy.  On the downside, my wife hates the smell of it and has the nose of a blood hound.  If I wake up before her and have some kimchi, she wakes up (our bedroom and kitchen are on different floors) and yells at me.  On Sunday, she came home from getting groceries and it had been 3 hours since I had eaten kimchi and she could still smell it when she walked in the door.

 

You don't need the nose of a blood hound to be able to smell that shit. It may be the best tasting thing in the world but I'll never get past that aroma.

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9 hours ago, Wally Pryor said:

 

You don't need the nose of a blood hound to be able to smell that shit. It may be the best tasting thing in the world but I'll never get past that aroma.

At this point I'm going to have to eat it outside.  There are single digit highs forecasted for next week.

4 hours ago, tx 3 putt said:


zero point zero interest in that 

I can only imagine the gas it would induce 

That's a fair point.  You have really high quality shits though, so that seems worth it.

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Kimchi continues to be one of those culinary mysteries to me. I've tried it about a dozen times. I don't like it. I keep trying it. On it's face, it's thinks I fucking love: fermented food, spices, cabbage. I fucking love sauerkraut. But nope, every time I try Kimchi I don't like. It's frustrating and mildly irritating. 

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Homemade kimchi is way better than anything I have bought from a store. 

 

Cut up and thoroughly rinse a napa cabbage

Brine in saltwater overnight.

remove from saltwater and lightly rinse.

Coat in 

Amazon.com : NOH Korean Kim Chee Base, 1.125-Ounce Packet, (Pack of 12) :  Gourmet Sauces : Grocery & Gourmet Food

and

Huy Fong Chili Garlic Sauce 8oz : Target

 

Let mother nature do her thing in sealed bowl for 2 weeks.  Stir every couple days.

Pack into a glass canning jar and refrigerate.  

 add carrots, daikon, peppers.....to enhance flavors you like

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