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| - I'm going to assume that you already know what Costco is, and whether or not it is appropriate for you. Personally, I save enough money on their coffee alone to justify the annual fee. That may or may not be true for you, but this review is going to focus on Costco's Tyvola Road store, not the entire corporation.
Arriving at the store from that enormous parking lot, it is immediately clear that you are in for some savings. They stick some big ticket items up front: impressive TVs, and some seasonal goods (heaters in the winter, fans for the other 10 months of the year). That gives you a warm and fuzzy feeling right off the bat, even if you aren't going to buy them. You are then funneled into their enormous food section. Food, for the uninitiated, makes up about 70% of the store. The packaged stuff is generally great, but the fruit and veggies are a mixed bag. Nothing sucks more than finding out your 16-pack of apples are all rotting from the inside out. After several bad experiences, I rarely buy anything perishable from here anymore.
That said, there are still some unbelievable bargains to be had. Most notably, a generic version of Claritin that goes for about $8 per 100 doses, versus $10 for 20 doses of the generic at CVS, or $10 for 10 doses of the name brand. But I said I wasn't going to review the disgustingly good deals.
My main beef is that the store never feels clean. I understand that warehouse-style shopping will always be conducted in a warehouse, but maybe I don't want to buy my food off a grimy pallet. Again, packaged goods are fine, but the "fresh"-ish stuff... not so wild about it.
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