2016-01-12

We all know my love for all things Costco.  When most people think about Costco, they think about buying toilet paper and paper towels in bulk.  However, that is seriously just a fraction of what my favorite Costco buys are all about.  I rank the powerhouses of the world, Amazon as number one and Costco as number two.  Even though sometimes with Costco’s customer service, they can edge out Amazon on days.  Here are a few of my favorite Costco buys, most of them you probably had no clues about but I’m going to introduce you to my favorite underground buys.

Want to know my other favorite thing about Costco?  Their return policies.  If you bought it there and they can find it on your account. You are golden.  They took my Keurig back, out of the box when I upgraded to the Nespresso, without even a peep.  They gave me the full amount back to my American Express.  Thank you very much.  This post is in in no way sponsored, even though hello Costco can you hear me?  I’d love to be a spokesperson!  

Top 10 Favorite Costco Buys

My Camera

Mark bought me the Canon Rebel T4i three Christmases ago.  It came with two lens, a bag, cleaning kit and a ton of other add ons. Naturally, I did my research and they always have their cameras priced lower and with the best bundles.  Plus, they stand behind their products.  Any problems, you know how to return.  I have upgraded my lens after using the camera for over three years.  A lot of you have been asking what I’ve been shooting with lately.  I used to shoot with this one but you have to be so far away to get the full shot. It is great for blurring (or bokeh) if you are taking an up close shot of an item and need to haze out the background.  I added this wide angle lens and that is pretty much what I leave on now for all fashion shots.

Our Mattress

Always check out their mattress sales in the back.  We got ours on major discount.  The only point I will make is that we had to transport it home.  At the time we didn’t have a truck.  I am kicking myself for deleting the picture of it string tied around my roof…….so there is that.  However, my Aunt and sister both ordered their mattresses online.  They delivered the mattresses and carted away the old ones. Also, if you sleep on it and then hate it.  No worries they will pick it up and refund you no problem.  Our new mattress is a dream.  This morning I had the most perfect ratio of cold room temperature to heavy warm comforter weight….you know what I’m talking about.  It was almost impossible to get out of bed!

Furniture

While we are on that train, have you seen their furniture?  It’s amazing.  My Aunt fully furnished her new Florida home and purchased her couches, mattresses, beds and tables by Costco.  They arrived with white glove delivery.  What the entails, they bring all the furniture in and place it where you want it to go.  They unwrap and assemble everything.  As opposed to a lot of furniture companies that will curbside deliver and it’s up to you to assemble and place where you want.  Costco then called afterwards to check to see if she was happy.  There were a few rub marks on the couch from most likely the packaging.  Costco offered to either take a discount credit off the purchase or send someone out to clean the scuff marks.  The next day someone was out there touching them up.  They would have exchanged them but the scuffs were minor.  When we upgrade to a King, I will be purchasing this.

My Hunter Boots/Clothing

I know this is no secret now but I got my Hunter boots in the store two seasons ago.  I mean look at that price point, they are selling for $150 on Nordstrom currently.  So basically these are half off, major win.  I’ve gotten Glamglow masks for the $40 range and they sell at Sephora for $69.  I got an Andrew Marc leather coat there for $59 on clearance.  Seriously, you never know what you are going to stumble on.

Ink Refills

Did you know you can get your printer ink refilled there?  When you put it back in the printer it will give you a hate message about not being genuine HP ink but you know what?  A 10 dollar refill is much better than a new 50 dollar cartridge.  I thank Mark for that little gem.  That was total news to me.

House Updates

We are not into a house yet but my sister and Aunt (can you tell a family theme here?)  My sister had her garage doors installed by Costco and my Aunt recently redid all the blinds/shades in her home.  All amazing prices and the best customer service.  Speaking of things for the house.  My two favorite recent purchases, these hangers will give you one third of your closet space back.  This shoe rack is sturdy and wide enough for mens shoes.

The Bakery

Do you need a cake for your next party?  Well, volunteer to bring one if you have a Costco membership.  The last time we went to our friends 30th bday, we brought the cake to feed the entire party.  It not only fed the party but the staff at the restaurant.  The cake was less than $20 and they even customized it for no additional charge.   Plus, Costco cakes seriously taste the best right?  I mean have you had the cupcakes before?

The Liquor Store + Wines

Have you ever tasted the Kirkland brand liquors?  They are pretty much identical to the high end brands at a major discounted price.  They also come out with a scotch for the holidays that is teamed with an extremely expensive brand that usually sells for a couple hundred a bottle but the Kirkland price is around $60-70, I buy that for my parents and inlaws every year.  Plus, make sure to keep an eye on the wine sales.  This bottle of champagne tastes just like Veuve but half the price.  It was just on sale for $5 off, you know we stocked up.

Restaurant Gift Cards

When we know we are going out to dinner, we make sure to swing by Costco and pick up the giftcards.  For example, they have at least 20 restaurants to choose from including one of our favorites which is Flemings steakhouse.  You get $100 worth of giftcards and pay $79.99 for them, that’s an automatic 20% off.  For the holidays, we picked up a bunch of these and distributed them out to our staff and friends.  They also have iTunes giftcards for discounts as well.

My Number One Favorite Costco Purchase to Date

Drumroll please……

Our honeymoon trip to Greece

Yes.  You read that right.  I seriously will write an entire blog post for any of you that are interested in our experience with Costco Travel for our honeymoon.  My husband hasn’t travelled outside of the country for at least 10 years.  Getting him to agree to Europe was a HUGE stretch for our honeymoon.  Once I showed him how detailed and precise the Greece itinerary was from Costco, that is the only reason why he said yes.  I am not kidding, the trip was FLAWLESS.  Not one single mistake was made.  Let me give you a quick rundown.

We flew from Tampa to New York, had a layover and then flew New York to Athens.  Delta was the airlines which I adore them.  The economy plus was well worth the extra upgrade.  We landed in a foreign country, walked out and once we cleared customs and hit the baggage claim, there was a guy holding a large Costco sign with our names on it.  He gave us a welcome packet and everything we needed to get ahold of him if we had any problems in Athens.  He spoke perfect English.  He then handed us off to our local taxi driver who also spoke perfect English.  We walked out and in his cab was an official Costco logo in the dash.  He drove us to our hotel.  Which if you remember from this post, was insanely luxurious.  Cab included.  With each stay we had Costco membership perks, the first hotel it was high tea and welcome drinks.  Full Athens review here.

Then, we had a taxi driver waiting for us the next morning at 6am to take us to the ferry.  He was there at 5:55 and drove us to the ferry.  Included.  The ferry tickets were already purchased and in our welcome packet from the airport.  Once we arrived to Santorini, there was our Costco representative waiting with the sign and transportation.  This time was a Mercedes sprinter.  They dropped us at our amazing hotel, remember my full Santorini review from here.

When we left, once again, hotel pickup to the ferry.  We arrived to Mykonos, pickup there.  Then transportation to and from the hotels. Cavo Tagoo is the most luxurious hotel I’ve ever stayed in full review here.  Then from the ferry back to the airport, included.

So let me say this.  Traveling to a foreign country can be so daunting/intimidating.  How are you going to arrange your transportation, taxis, travel within the country?  Are you going to be scammed or taken advantage of?  I can honestly say that traveling with Costco was the best experience I’ve ever had with traveling and I travel all the time.  I have been out of the country a lot.  Every transport, taken care of.  We never had to wait.  I never felt like I was being taken advantage of or that the language barrier was preventing me from getting the best deals.  We are going back to Europe in September and you better believe who we are booking it with.  Also, we aren’t big cruise people but the deals that Costco has for cruises are unreal.  The onboard credits and credit spending credit back to the store are unrivaled.

10 best Costco buys that you probably were never even aware of!
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Bonus Pointer….Rental Cars + Tires

Did you know that you can also rent cars through Costco and the majority of the times they are the lowest for the best car?  Also, the tire center is the best!  Free rotations, balancing, checks & flats repair, as well as road hazard warranty.  I had a nail in my tire and I have run flats.  Nobody would patch it for me.  I brought it my local Costco and they totally took care of me.  He took the nail out and even though he thought it wouldn’t hold, he patched the hole (in a run flat oh the horror) and knock on wood it has been running strong with no problems.  You can look up your make/model online and have your tires ready for you.  Just make sure to get there first thing in the morning if you try to go on the weekend.

So there are my favorite Costco buys.  Honorable mention also goes to the gas.  It is always the cheapest in the area and one of the best for low additives.  Were you aware of most of them? Did you know about their travel?  If you have any questions, I would be happy to give you more reviews or the packages that we actually used.  I hope you learned something new about my favorite store today!  If you did, I’d love if you would pin this post or tweet about it!  Thanks loves!

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