canceling memberships

[pinkytoe]

Have decided to not renew Costco or Amazon Prime. Although some benefits are there, the overall value doesn't seem to make sense. Anyone else?

[razz]

I did the same thing with Costco and Amazon Prime for the same reason. My memberships now are so few that it is easy to manage and stay current on the billing for each as some have auto-renew but do send notification well ahead of time.

[Teacher Terry]

I never found Costco to be worth the money and never had Amazon.

[sweetana3]

I would buy the Costco for my glasses, Mom's hearing aid batteries and hearing aids, maple syrup, cooked chicken, nuts in bulk, tuna, etc. And there are only the three of us. Husband got a free Sams Club membership and we do like the breaded flounder but on the whole, I do not like the store.

Amazon for prime videos and all the free shipping my husband uses for the tools and such he buys. He is a careful shopper and has several dealers that use Amazon. He even buys nails and screws in bulk with free shipping. I have bought enormous bolts of 40 yards of batting with free shipping.

But I tell everyone to think carefully about what they buy and to watch impulse buys.

[mschrisgo2]

I use Costco for dog food and dog meds, and some bulk buying of tuna, pasta, olives, etc for which my daughter reimburses me.

I haven’t decided if I’m renewing Prime yet, don’t think I broke even on it last year, I need to research it a bit. That, and 2-day shipping is really a thing of the past in my area, so getting something quickly is not an incentive any more.

[Simplemind]

We have enough Costco items that we buy on regular rotation (go chicken go!!!) along with gas that we would always keep it. I've never had Amazon prime but I purchase and never pay for shipping on so I wouldn't waste my money for a couple of days shaved off shipping. I'm retired... I can wait.

[happystuff]

No current memberships to anything.

[Gardnr]

Have Costco and will continue. Constant availability of organic produce and meats at good prices. Not being a shopper, they don't "get me" with impulse buys.

I' sitting on $200 gift cards to Amazon-cuz I'm not a shopper. So their Prime doesn't entice me in the least.

I wouldn't know what other memberships are out there. ??

[ToomuchStuff]

Costco and Sam's are provided to me from work. I have never quite understood the whole prime thing. They generally don't support my OS, so video's are out, or I have to use some other machines. Prime audio, uhg, yeah, I want my music on my machines so If someone takes out the cable pole, I can still listen.
I prefer physical books, and generally have found my books, used, for cheaper then a digital book.
Prime makes no sense.

[rosarugosa]

We save enough on kitty litter alone to pay for our Costco membership. We only have 2 cats, but no place else can come near Costco for price on this one item. We save a great deal on eyeglasses as well. We regularly buy nuts, olive oil, coffee beans, naan and wine for good prices (and high quality products).
I've never done Prime and agree that I can wait and bundle purchases for free shipping. My sister has Prime, so if I need something in a rush occasionally, I go through her.

[JaneV2.0]

I like Costco, love many of their products, and respect their business model. but I don't get there much lately--and their online selection seems meager to me, after Amazon. I should cancel, I guess.

I use Amazon on a heavy and near-daily basis; you can't beat their delivery service, their selection, their customer service. Prime is more than worth it to me.

[catherine]

I'm with Jane on both counts. We had a Costco pretty much around the corner from us in NJ, and we do have one up in VT that's quite convenient actually--right off the interstate on the way to Burlington, so while I don't get there as often as I used to, I still get there. My latest great purchase was a winter fake down winter jacket that is packable and good for any weather up to about 50 degrees. $29.95. And I love their curated offerings. They have a lot of stuff that I like. It's harder for me to buy in bulk these days, but I still do it for those things I use constantly.

As for Amazon Prime, yes, I like the simplicity of it, so I'm keeping that, too. I'm not a planner and do almost everything last minute, so I often depend on the one-day shipping.

[Gardnr]

I'm curious what regulars buy from Amazon to use Prime? Since most of us are not "shoppers". Am I missing the boat here?

[Simplemind]

I'm a regular shopper on Amazon because there are things that we buy that I haven't found locally and I'm not going to drive around looking for specific things. Due to the fact that I'm regular I would never buy prime because I am able to put $25 worth together and not pay for shipping. I don't mind waiting a week for it. I'm in no hurry.

[Teacher Terry]

If we didn’t have Winco we might use Costco. No one beats Winco’s prices overall.

[pinkytoe]

We don't shop at amazon that much anymore but are enjoying some of their streaming shows - that is the only reason for us.

[JaneV2.0]

Items I've bought from Amazon lately include: water color paints, Christmas gifts, Japanese curry, toiletries, dried whole milk, zipper pulls, kilt pins...anything I can't easily buy at local grocers, basically.

[iris lilies]

I'm with Jane on both counts. We had a Costco pretty much around the corner from us in NJ, and we do have one up in VT that's quite convenient actually--right off the interstate on the way to Burlington, so while I don't get there as often as I used to, I still get there. My latest great purchase was a winter fake down winter jacket that is packable and good for any weather up to about 50 degrees. $29.95. And I love their curated offerings. They have a lot of stuff that I like. It's harder for me to buy in bulk these days, but I still do it for those things I use constantly.

As for Amazon Prime, yes, I like the simplicity of it, so I'm keeping that, too. I'm not a planner and do almost everything last minute, so I often depend on the one-day shipping.

wait, do you mean -50 degrees? Because at +50 degrees I am wearing a light sweater outdoors. I have lots of natural padding, tho. :)

[catherine]

wait, do you mean -50 degrees? Because at +50 degrees I am wearing a light sweater outdoors. I have lots of natural padding, tho. :)

haha! Yes, my point is, you can use it like a winter parka or for warmer weather without looking like you're all bundled up.

[JaneV2.0]

I haven't worn a coat for years; the weather is moderate here and getting more so.

[ApatheticNoMore]

The only membership I have is a gym membership and I go about twice a week without fail and do weights. Could go more, but I'm obviously capable of at least keeping this schedule up despite all other claims on my time.

[iris lilies]

I got lazy in recent weeks and ordered shoelaces, glue dots, and a couple of other things thru Prime.

But mainly, I use Prime daily for streaming videos. I also have HBO and Netflix.. Those last two services can be turned on or off at will, there is no one-year commitment. This reminds me, though, that it is probably time to drop HBO, at least dor a while.

[NewGig]

Re cheap chicken, I pay $2.50/ lb for organic, bone in, skin on, thighs at my coop. Cat litter is $10 for 25 lbs at a auto parts store, buy oil dry. I have considered trying Costco, but never have. It’s as far away in the other direction as my coop, and we don’t go that way often.

I've never bought anything from amazon, and I still manage to find deals and free shipping most of the time.

We get our organic veggies from a farm csa. That runs 26 weeks a year. I freeze and put aside almost enough to get us through winter.

We eat meat usually 2x a week; we eat a lot of veggies! I plan to grow more in 2020, so our costs will hopefully go down. We spend around $50/week on cat food and other stuff. I use an average 5 lbs of chicken a month. I keep few pieces of beef and pork in the freezer, also from the coop, on sale. We had the steak for Christmas. I don’t know what we’ve got for New Year’s, I should go look!

no other memberships here, just the coop and csa.

[pinkytoe]

Just returned from what will probably be my last trip to Costco and didn't buy anything. Just a lot of curious looking and wondering about the psychology of shopping there. It is only four miles away so remains a temptation. It was a virtual madhouse with shoppers filling their baskets, clogged aisles, traffic jams trying to get in and out...I always get a queasy feeling about over-consumption when I go there. I guess times are good.

[Teacher Terry]

PT, I hate the crowds, long lines and checking the receipt. Ugh!

[iris lilies]

Funny, today I am attacking all of the “memberships” for cultural institutions that come up for our household. I know that is not exactly what we are talking about here, but it kinda/sorta is.

I decided not to renew Art Museum membership. I am writing checks for various plant societies, and will have to renew two bulldog organizations for both of us (Rescue requires we be members.) Two public park memberships. Neighborhood org and historic house memberships already paid up.

[Simplemind]

I will say that we have a gym membership under my husbands name which he gets a discount on because his dr prescribed it after his stroke and heart attack. He hasn't used it in about two years but I go religiously M-F. I would give up Costco before the gym.

[jp1]

We don't use costco that much for personal stuff since we started buying all our meet from the corner butcher who sources everything local and provides enough detail that we know exactly where it comes from and how it's raised. But SO buys about $30,000 worth of stuff at costco for work and with their "executive" membership the rebates more than pay for the membership.

Amazon prime is a more dicey proposition. I like the fast delivery because I buy most of my random purchases there and don't want to wait for stuff or wait until I have enough to get the free non-prime shipping.

Other than that the only other membership/subscription I have is pandora. Now that I work from home I definitely get my money's worth out of that. 40 hours a week of streaming music for $5-something a month is a great deal.

If it were up to me we would rethink our cable/internet. SO LOVES tv so he's fine with spending over $200/month on it. I personally think that's obscene, but I'm not paying for it so I don't really have the right to complain.

My favorite membership of all is our public library. And it's free! They buy 95% of the current books that I want to read, and they've recently stopped charging late fees, so the $5-10/year that I used to spend on that is not a part of my budget anymore! A couple months ago I read about a library that included on the checkout receipt a cost breakdown of how much it would've cost the patron if they'd purchased those books, as well as a yearly running total of all the money saved. As much as I use our library I'm sure a receipt like that for me would show more than a thousand dollars saved every year.

[rosarugosa]

NewGig: Costco charges 7.99 for 42 lbs of clumping kitty litter. The tricky part is carrying the box.

[NewGig]

I don’t know if I could carry that much, but thanks for the info!

[Gardnr]

PT, I hate the crowds, long lines and checking the receipt. Ugh!

I learned long ago Friday afternoon between 3-4 is virtually empty. And I've never once in 30y had an error on a recent. (yes, I check).

[Gardnr]

NewGig: Costco charges 7.99 for 42 lbs of clumping kitty litter. The tricky part is carrying the box.

Rosa, how "dusty" is this litter? I can't stand the dust so right now we're paying for "World's Best" from Petco. We got tired of trying brands......

[NewGig]

I closed my yahoo account a few days ago. It was my original email and I used it for the store, but the store has been closed 15 years now, so why keep it? I’m sure there are things I’ll regret losing from it, but mostly it’s like becoming a butterfly after being an earthbound caterpillar!

[Teacher Terry]

Our Costco’s are never empty. The parking lot is always packed and sometimes you have to wait in line to show your card to get in.

[Rogar]

I discontinued Costco a few years ago. A lot of their bulk food items were good deals, but my smaller house doesn't have a lot of kitchen storage space and some would take forever to consume. It was not a pleasant shopping experience due to the crowds, parking, and rambling warehouse. They do carry a few quality household items, but can probably get similar deals from Amazon. I'm guess I'm just not a store shopper fan. I think it would make good sense for an average or larger sized family.

I've had Amazon Prime 30 day free trials a couple of times. It is sort of nice but not worth the price. They still offer me free trials and I may sign up again. I currently on their free 90 trial of Amazon Music Unlimited. It's probably similar to Spotify and an upscale from the music you get with the regular Amazon Prime membership. It is rather nice also, but not worth the monthly fee. They send a reminder email when the free trials are about to expire and you start being charged, so it's pretty easy to cancel when the time comes.

[rosarugosa]

NewGig: I've been using it for a long time so don't have much basis for comparison, but I think it is pretty dusty. Two of our littler boxes are covered, and the covers get pretty dusty looking.
Can you please tell me more about you e-mail transition? I've been using the same Yahoo email forever and I know I should switch over to Gmail but the thought overwhelms me!

[kib]

NewGig: Costco charges 7.99 for 42 lbs of clumping kitty litter. The tricky part is carrying the box.
Does Costco have different items and prices depending on location? Ours has 42 pounds for $12.96, occasionally on sale $3 off. I feel a bit indignant!

My favorite Costco item lately - beyond the roast chickens which can provide a week's protein for 2 for $5 - is the boneless skinless salmon. $10 a pound isn't super cheap but it's perfect for homemade sushi, and that is a huge bargain compared eating out.

[Teacher Terry]

Our Walmart’s has different prices depending on the neighborhood. I was shocked the first time I realized this.

[rosarugosa]

Kib: That's a good question. I just double-checked my receipt, and it wasn't a special deal, so I have no idea why the price is so different between MA and AZ. I guess that's a tiny offset to our otherwise very high COL!

[kib]

the brand they offer here is scoop-away, it's in a big plastic purple bag.

[happystuff]

the brand they offer here is scoop-away, it's in a big plastic purple bag.

The purple bag (inside a cardboard box) sounds exactly like our store brand. I can't remember if it is 40 or 50 pounds for 9.99 - regular price. But it is REALLY dusty!

[SteveinMN]

Our Walmart’s has different prices depending on the neighborhood. I was shocked the first time I realized this.
Ours did, too -- and, interestingly, the prices were higher at the Walmart within city limits than they were at the Walmarts in the first-ring suburbs. (I wrote did because the city Walmart closed; it was an older smaller store and their lease prohibited them from adding a real supermarket to it since that shopping center already had a supermarket).

[rosarugosa]

The kitty litter we buy is Simply Purrfect, which comes in a green box. I believe they offer another more expensive brand too.

[klunick]

No current memberships to anything.

Same here. Used to shop BJ's Wholesale when my boys were little for bulk diapers, formula, etc. We don't really have anything around us that requires membership and there has never been anything I needed so fast that I signed up for Amazon Prime.

[happystuff]

Same here. Used to shop BJ's Wholesale when my boys were little for bulk diapers, formula, etc. We don't really have anything around us that requires membership and there has never been anything I needed so fast that I signed up for Amazon Prime.

Not an Amazon person myself any more either. I have great success getting what I need from ebay, 98% of the time with free shipping and lower price than Amazon. But, then, I'm not much of a shopper to begin with.

[klunick]

Not an Amazon person myself any more either. I have great success getting what I need from ebay, 98% of the time with free shipping and lower price than Amazon. But, then, I'm not much of a shopper to begin with.
I am not a bricks and mortar shopper. If I have to go into a store, I get in and out as quickly as possible. I do most of my shopping online as they have a better selection.

[ToomuchStuff]

Our Walmart’s has different prices depending on the neighborhood. I was shocked the first time I realized this.


Locations do have different prices, different tax rates, etc.