rewrite this title My First Time Shopping at Costco and What I Bought for $67

Published: by Crystal Paine on April 8, 2026  |  This post may contain affiliate links. Read my disclosure policy here.

We recently bought a Costco membership for the first time ever because there was this great deal available. When I announced to Instagram that we were getting a Costco membership, let’s just say they were pretty excited (be sure to watch this video!)

We were laughing so hard in this picture because I pulled my camera out to take a picture and then tripped and almost fell while I was taking the picture.

Also, we had to laugh because we had a hard time figuring out where to go to get our membership set up (we had purchased it online, but we still needed to get it activated in store). We ended up walking around the building pushing a shopping cart and looking like we were absolute Costco newbies! We finally figured out we had to go in the exit to get to customer service.

(Speaking of walking around the building, people were not wrong when they told me Costco is usually packed. We went on a Friday morning — which I thought would be pretty quiet since we’d gone to Sam’s Club then and it was quiet. Nope, the parking lot was buzzing with cars and it felt like a holiday weekend with how busy it was. I honestly can’t imagine what it’s like on an actual holiday weekend!! Lots of people have since said to get there within the first hour of opening or to go on a Monday through Wednesday.)

The customer service people were fantastic! They were so helpful and kind and it really felt like they love their jobs — which I was impressed with!

After we got our Costco cards, we started perusing the store. I’m going to be honest: it reminded us a LOT of Sam’s Club. We felt like the layout and offerings were very similar. (I’m so sorry to everyone who told me that Costco was going to change my life. I wasn’t disappointed; it just wasn’t this over-the-top WOW factor experience.)

That said, we did find some great deals! And we also felt like they had more options, more name brands, and more natural and organic products than Sam’s Club. Jesse said it felt like Sam’s Club is for restaurants and businesses and Costco is more for every day families.

We were excited that they carried Zevia at a really fantastic price as Sam’s doesn’t carry it and we go through a 12-pack every week as a family! We also picked up some strawberries for $1.49 per pound, oats for $7.89 for 10 pounds, butter for $2.23 a pound, milk for $2.38 a gallon, and I wanted to try the Kirkland Chicken Nuggets people have told us are as good as the Just Bare Chicken Nuggets and less expensive.

The checkout line was very busy and we probably waited 10 minutes… again, on a Friday morning! Sam’s Club definitely has Costco beat with their Scan & Go option — where you can scan items on the app as you put them in your cart and then just walk out!! But, once again, their employees were incredibly helpful and cheerful.

Here’s what we bought for $67! I was really happy with these purchases.

The one thing I was disappointed in was that they don’t stock yeast (right now? Some people are telling me it’s seasonal?) and Sam’s Club was out so I had to pay $4.19 at Kroger for a little thing of yeast. Hoping one of the stores gets it back in soon!

Oh and also? They don’t have $1 pretzels like Sam’s Club does. I know that sounds so silly, but I was looking forward to getting one as a treat after our shopping trip and was like, “What?? No pretzels??”

Overall, we had a great experience and are excited to go back and explore more! I don’t think it’s going to change our life, but it will be fun to have both Sam’s Club and Costco memberships this year and to compare and contrast them and see what we think at the end of a year of using both!

Do you have a Sam’s Club or Costco membership? If so, I’d love to hear your thoughts!