Hey, have you ever been driving down the freeway on a road trip of at least a couple of hours and seen a Costco near an off-ramp when it's close to lunch or dinner time, preferably on a Saturday or Sunday? And your stomach is growling?

Did it yesterday. The economy is clearly sputtering as there were FEWER people in the store on a Sunday at about 4 pm and FEWER tasting stands. If you are unobstrusive, you can manage 2 tastes at any station you like. It will fill you up some and you can sample foods you may not ordinarily buy or find something you will eventually buy.

Obviously, I also look at their latest electronics to see if there is anything I need. I also usually pick up the $1.50 hot dog and drink on the way out.

Have you done this? Or thought about it? Don't lie.

When I'm not working on an apartment, this is my usual Sunday afternoon brunch. I make no bones about being a cheapwad. Scrooge lived luxuriously in my opinion.

No, but only because the local Costco is kind of a bitch to get to and all the bottom of the barrel members of society like to congregate there.

However, we do have a few local furniture chains which offer similar gimmicks that I have taken advantage of on numerous occasions!

I do the designer version of it- one of the "gourmet" grocery stores near me does that and usually leaves the samples relatively unattended. A free lunch is a free lunch.

Sadly there isn't a Costco near enough to me to make it worthwhile. Otherwise, sure I'd graze. They're offering after all...

I have done it before. And will again.

What's the exact logistical situation at these 'sample stations'?

No time to wander around discretely scarfing free cheese cubes.

There's only 1 store near me- never been in it.

Edited August 5, 200817 yr by balthazar

What's the exact logistical situation at these 'sample stations'?

No time to wander around discretely scarfing free cheese cubes.

There's only 1 store near me- never been in it.

pretty much at the end of every food isle, there is a little old lady handing out something.

Tried that a few times at Sam's Club....

I go to Costco almost weekly, but I've never done any sampling there. Maybe someday I'll sample something if I'm considering to buy a product.

On the other hand, I go to new housing developments and get free lunches all the time.

I'm not down with the Costco...they don't take Visa or Mastercard.

I go there every so often, and sample the cuisine, before parking my ass in front of a big 60" plasma TV to watch Transformers in High Def. The hot dog and soda rocks too.

I was a member of Costco for the first year I lived back in PA... but it dawned on me quickly that I didn't really save any money with the membership dues, when I don't have any use for a 20 lb barrel of cashews, or a 100-roll pack of Charmin that comes with wheels, it's so huge. At those package sizes, I'd be going once a year!

Edited August 5, 200817 yr by ocnblu

On the other hand, I go to new housing developments and get free lunches all the time.

And they probably put on a complete lunch, almost like a picnic! As for credit cards, Moltar, they used to only take Discover and then, fortunately, switched to Amex. Unless you go for volume purchases, it's not that great, really. I only go in there to buy an electronics item or a $20 pair of brand-name jeans...that's about it.

Never been to a Costco...is it the same idea as BJ's Wholesale Club or Sam's Club?

Never been to a Costco...is it the same idea as BJ's Wholesale Club or Sam's Club?

Same concept. I've never been to a BJ's, but I find Costco to be half a step better than Sam's Club. My biggest purchase at Costco is gasoline. I have the Costco AMEX Card and the $100 Executive membership with 2% rebate, and I get a couple hundred dollars back every year.

I buy their sheet cakes a few times a year. It's hard to beat at around $16. I also buy a lot of frozen food there.

Today Price Cutter (ironically named, as it is about the priciest place to buy non-organic groceries in the area) had some chick dishing out wine samples. I had one, she flirted with me, I bought a bottle.

BJ's Wholesale Club

BJ's wholesale on the corner of 5th and Main.

Not the same, but I do stop in after work at IKEA once in a while for dinner in their cafe...love the Swedish meatballs and lingonberry jelly.

Not the same, but I do stop in after work at IKEA once in a while for dinner in their cafe...love the Swedish meatballs and lingonberry jelly.

I had the non-IKEA ones in Stockholm the other week and they were quite good!

Sooo... are they blond down there, too?

Wouldn't dream of it

Not the same, but I do stop in after work at IKEA once in a while for dinner in their cafe...love the Swedish meatballs and lingonberry jelly.

Wife loves the stuff...

The closest Costco to me is 114 miles away, and that one didn't open until recently, so I've never been to one before.

When I was a kid, there always used to be at least a couple sample ladies at Fareway, which is a Midwestern grocery with a very 50's vibe. Every Saturday, I'd get my filling of bratwursts and crackers with cheese.

I got in fairly early on the Wholesale Shopping thing... Parents always had a business and so we started going to BJ's and Sams sometime around 1986 or so. Loved it... nothing could touch the prices, not real crowded. Sometime in the meantime, they started relaxing the requirements for membership, and they started to get crowded and the Walmart/Target has nearly the same prices... so wholesale shopping lost its luster in my eyes... so I never went into a Costco until recently.

OMFG! The place is a madhouse EVERY DAMN DAY. You can't move... 15 registers open and everyone has 15 people in line.

I've sworn off Costco for the time being. The Costco food is nowhere near enough to lure me in.

Actually, I've sworn off shopping anywhere between 5am and 9pm to stay away from the crowds, as well.

Not the same, but I do stop in after work at IKEA once in a while for dinner in their cafe...love the Swedish meatballs and lingonberry jelly.

Moltie, have you ever gone for their free breakfast? That coupon shows up every other month or so, with an asterisk saying "except Houston" or some other city.

At any rate, I went once. The line was absurd, but I endured it. Then I figured out that the cost of gas to get there did not offset the "savings" in the free breakfast, but at least I experienced it.

The only thing I've bought at IKEA were some cost-efficient fluorescent bulbs. I hate the sterility of the place and their merchandise.