Troy P.
Yelp
I've been a member of Costco since it was called Price Club. I was disappointed when I first moved to Omaha to find that there was no Costco here, and then extremely pleased when this store opened.
Costco usually has excellent prices, however their selection tends to be extremely limited. Their stock also tends to be rather fickle, a product they carry one week may suddenly disappear and never show up again. While their prices are USUALLY lower than supermarkets, Costco does not accept coupons (other than their own) and does not often have sales, so some products are actually cheaper elsewhere if you shop around or clip coupons.
Their bakery goods and meat have always been fresh, but their produce can be wildly variable. Sometimes it's great, sometimes it's awful. I've purchased bags of salad that stayed green for over a week, then a short time later seen bags in the store that were already turning brown.
They have a gas station out front which is usually one of the cheapest in town (though HyVee and Super Saver often have cheaper gas IF you have coupons).
This particular location has a pharmacy which will special order pretty much anything if they don't have it in stock, a 1 hour photo department (actually about 20 minutes for digital prints), a bakery, optical department, hearing aids, a tire center with excellent prices and the ubiquitous food court featuring a hot dog and soda with unlimited refills for $1.50.
Membership is required to shop at Costco, which costs about $50 a year for a standard or business account, or $100 for an "Executive" membership which gets you a 2% rebate check once a year on all Costco purchases (except gas). The Executive membership pays for itself if you spend at least $2500 a year at Costco. They also offer an American Express card which gets you an annual rebate of 3% on gasoline (4% for business accounts), 3% on restaurants, 2% on travel and 1% on everything else, and no annual fee as long as you maintain a Costco membership.
Costco does NOT accept Discover, MasterCard or Visa. They only accept American Express, PIN-based debit cards, cash and checks. Checks are only accepted from the membership holder.
Purchases made with a Costco Cash Card do not require a membership, however only members can purchase these cards.
Costco has the best return policy of any store. You can return any item for any reason at ANY TIME for a full refund. Changed your mind about that book, take it back. The color of that sofa doesn't match your drapes, take it back. Allergic to those muffins, take them back. The exception is televisions, projectors, computers, cameras, camcorders, MP3 players and cellphones, which can only be returned within 90 days.