As economic issues hamper the country, many have turned away from big supermarkets and their high prices in favour of bargain shopping around, at stores like Aldi or Lidl.

But what if there was a way to save even more money on your big shop by buying in bulk? This is where wholesaler Costco comes in.

Relatively unknown about in Britain, Costco, allows members to buy in bulk on anything from cakes to car tyres in a warehouse aimed at business owners.

The firm has recently reported growth in its revenues, as people hunt for a bargain and find one of its 28 warehouse stores across the UK.

So with a Costco warehouse sat in Derby, less than 30 minutes away from Burton, is buying in bulk really cost effective?

It is fairly well known that if you buy lots of products, then the individual unit cost tends to go down.

For example, a packet of two toilet rolls might cost £1, so each roll will be 50p each. But a pack of four might be £1.50, cutting each roll down to less than 38p.

Costco runs with a similar ethos. It is normally used by retailers to go and stock up on goods, but members of the public can also take advantage of the massive savings.

Our sister title, the Mirror has investigated to see if Costco really saves as much money people might think.

There is a Costco warehouse in Derby, near to Pride Park
There is a Costco warehouse in Derby, near to Pride Park

By comparing some examples, using MySupermarket it compared Costco’s prices against those that are found at everyday supermarkets.

So, a giant box of Fairy Non-Bio washing power will cost £19.99 at Costco which will be good for 130 washes.

There are not boxes this big at Tesco, but the biggest will do 65 washes and two of these will set you back £24, while at Sainsbury’s it will cost £21.

A box of Pampers Baby Dry Pants size 6, which holds 76 nappies costs £10.39 at Costco, 14p per nappy.

But to buy that many nappies at other supermarkets, you would need to be multiple smaller packs of nappies. Tesco’s deals work out at 25p a nappy, while Asda and Morrisons costs 15.6p a nappy.

Finally, a big pack of 1610 PG Tips tea bags come to £19.29, the equivalent of 12p for every 10 tea bags.

But the big supermarkets are charging at least 14.6p for every 10 tea bags according to MySupermarket.

Although these savings seem quite small, with most being mere pennies between the offers, but across the course of a year these will add up to a significant amount of extra cash in your bank account.

Membership costs

While there are big savings to be had a Costco, you must remember to account for the annual membership fee that has to be paid just to be able to shop in store.

Individual membership costs £33.60 including VAT, while executive membership costs £74.40 including VAT, with the latter tier including a 2 per-cent ‘reward’, cashback, on your spending.

It is important to note that not everyone can get a Costco membership. You will need to be a current or retired employee of the firms that fall within the following groups:

  • Banking or finance;
  • Local government;
  • Fire and rescue services;
  • Post Office;
  • Airlines;
  • Education;
  • Police force;
  • Civil service or armed forces;
  • Medical and health services;
  • Insurance.

Or, you will need to be qualified as one of the following:

  • Qualified, certified or chartered accountant;
  • Doctor, dentist, optician or pharmacist;
  • Solicitor, barrister, magistrate or advocate;
  • Chartered architect;
  • Chartered surveyor;
  • Chartered or civil engineer.

You will need to prove this too, by having an employee ID card to hand, or an old payslip or pension statement.

If you are one of the unlucky ones and do not qualify, you can still shop online, but there is a surcharge of five per-cent plus VAT on top of your spending.

This fee can be avoided by agreeing to an online subscription, which costs £15 including VAT.

Don’t forget that VAT

While wondering around the Costco warehouse or browsing online, remember that the large displayed prices do not always include VAT, so may not be the final cost of the item.

So, even though a product may appear to be a huge bargain, that may not be the case, so check exactly what it is going to cost you before sticking it in your trolley.

Only buy what you will actually use

Knowing that you are saving cash can be an exciting feeling, but it can be a very slippery slope.

Do not buy more than what you actually need or will use, just because it works out a bit cheaper.

If you are buying in bulk, try and pick items that are not going to go off and that you will actually have room for at home.

If you end up throwing away some of the items you buy, then you have actually wasted money.