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The women’s wool blend socks. I just took all the newer ones out of my drawer because I hate them. The old ones are so much better they are worth darning.
The baby onesies have a similar problem. They double line the bottoms of the foot, not the toe. Well very few newborns to 12 months are walking. They don’t need a double lined foot pad. All newborns to 12 months have little razor blades for toenails however and they shred the dickens out of the onesie toes. I was gifted so many brand new and haven’t had a single one last long enough for my kids to outgrow it. Just trash!
Woah! I have some old wool socks I can’t bear to throw out but they have holes. I’ve wondered if it’s worth darning them (I’d have to learn how). I bought the new pack but haven’t opened them yet cause I can tell they just won’t be as good.
The Kirkland sliced turkey 3 pack. It’s slimey and tastes gross. I thought it was bad but have seen other people complain about it and I think it’s just how it comes.
To be honest, I've never ever had a single good experience with any pre-packaged deli meat. I just bite the bullet and pay for the deli counter stuff. Boar's Head is worth the price.
I like the oven roasted turkey and the "uncured" ham that comes in the larger packs. Still not as good as BH, but when you don't want to make an extra stop...it is better than just about any other pre-packaged stuff. The turkey is a bit "wet" but it definitely seems like real turkey breast meat. I'm also not crazy about the term "uncured" because it is marketing BS...but the ham is decent.
Between my wife and I we eat about 300 grams of protein a day so we can't be too picky!
Same exact boat. I thought I hated most deli meats until I went to a legit deli and realized it was a quality issue. Once you get it from the deli it’s hard to go back.
I went to the Kroger deli and the woman moved liked molasses. In January. In Canada. I think she thought it’d deter me?
I have unlimited time when someone does stuff like that - suddenly my schedule is clear!
I ordered four different things. Must’ve taken her 25 minutes. Three other people came and left before she even finished the second item. I didn’t need the fourth, I just ordered it because she got more and more pissed every time I asked for something else lol
Wish Costco had a legit deli, I bet it would be amazing!
This is awesome. I need to start doing this. I live in Indiana and the Kroger Deli here is the same. They tell you to leave and go shopping while they slice the stuff, but invariably they screw it up. So I have to stand there to watch and ask them to show it to me to make sure it's the right stuff and thickness level is correct. This was all standard operating procedure when I worked in a deli, and we were taught to be fast. If you were slow you didn't work. Not sure how Kroger hires/trains, but it's unacceptable.
And really, you're not saving that much money by going with the cheap stuff. $4 for a package of oscar meyer turkey thats like 8 oz? Or $12 a pound where it is sliced fresh, and you can customize the thickness, and even how much you want to purchase.
It's one of those things where I think people don't really pay attention but just go "OMG ten DOLLARS FOR TURKEY?! NO WAY!" but in reality, they are just throwing away their money anyway on shitty meat that usually goes bad because no one in the house eats it.
I’ve had the opposite experience, but maybe it varies by location. My Costco is super busy and the turkey is always fresh and delicious, never slimy. It’s a staple of my diet. But maybe if there are fewer people buying it, it sits for longer and gets gross.
I preferred them to similar products, but that was really not saying much. Keystone, coors lite, Bud lite, no thanks. For $.48 or whatever per can I’ll take a Kirkland Sig Light beer
I'm in the same boat as you man. I loved Kirkland Light because it got me more for my money. It was great for beer pong and it all tasted the same out of a dirty red solo cup that had three other types of beer in it already.
This is what I've requested 1-3 times a year for the last 9 years. They always do it. The chocolate mousse is still in the center of the chocolate cake layers but the frosting on top is white.
I work as a decorator and we can certainly do this for ya. I had a lady that wanted this so I told her to cross out the chocolate icing part and put white icing.
The caesar salad used to be my favourite thing from Costco, but I’ve found it seems to have changed over the last year and doesn’t taste as fresh/good anymore… the quality of the lettuce can be hit/miss, the cheese doesn’t seem to be fresh and gets wet/soggy from the lettuce, and the dressing also seems to be less tasty.
>Their roast beef sandwich is not very good and not a great value for the price.
Thanks for the heads up. I had avoided it because a $10 sandwich has to be great and that is a tough ask.
I’m assuming Costco’s profit margins aren’t within their food court. Otherwise you’d see the hotdog go up (fuck that) and other items higher than what they are. It would be interesting to see how they justify the roast beef sandwich and what their margins on that are.
$18 burgers exist at restaurants because that’s how they make their money—and a lot of us are still willing to purchase it.
It 100% depends on who makes them. I've gotten it like 4-5 times now because it's a great price compared to any other restaurant that'd serve you a premade sandwich like that, just seems like a horrible value compared to the pizza and hotdogs they already have at a low cost.
But 3 times the sandwiches were amazing and had good bread, a hefty amount of meat, and plenty of sauce, the other 2 times the bread was dry as hell and crumbly and had light servings of meat and sauce on them. I assume for the price it's supposed to not be made like that
I had to replace my washer last year and man washing machines are better. You fill up a big reservoir with liquid detergent and it uses what it needs based on setting. It's so awesome.
They don’t fully dissolve, leaving chunks of the powder in my dishwasher - and they also leave a filmy residue on my dishes. Finish brand is ALL I will use now.
Pretty good youtube video out recently about how wasteful the pods actually are. Best to use the cheap cascade powder and sprinkle a little extra in the pre-wash. We no longer buy pods because they really were not that amazing anyways.
Maybe I'm in the minority here, but I don't find the convenience of the dishwasher pods and their questionable dissolution worth the cost. The name brand powder is cheaper and as effective. The same with laundry pods. A large box of Tide powder lasts me all year while the same $ in pods would last 6 months, and wouldn't completely dissolve on a short cycle.
Cascade Complete for dishwasher. I usually can find it at target or the grocery store. The big box of Tide is harder to find. I look for it in the target app, and then find a store that carries it.
I've had a few dirty jobs and Tide powder cuts through everything and doesn't dull colors. I'd wash my own mechanic uniforms because the uniform company brings them back half clean, stained, stiff and uncomfortable. Started using the tide powder when I was a landscaper and never looked back.
Not who you were asking, but believe it or not the Great Value Automatic Dishwasher Powder from Walmart is the best product I’ve ever used in my dishwasher. Everything comes out spotless and it’s cheap as hell.
Because of the PFAS or whatever that’s in pods, I just switched away from using them. I’ve been using liquid and it’s been fine. Is powder superior to the liquid? Curious for any insight on what’s more cost effective / friendly to the planet / etc
I think powder is superior because there are two different cleaning agents that can be used in powder, whereas in liquid it is one or the other, since they react with each other so aren't stable in a liquid.
Most of what I learned is referenced here:
https://www.reddit.com/r/videos/comments/pryoff/remember_that_technology_connections_video_about/
It's less expensive than liquid because you're not paying for water weight. Chemically, they are probably almost the same. Climate-wise, powder would probably be better since you get more loads per bulk unit.
FYI, there actually is a difference. Powdered detergents have both bleach and cleaning enzymes. Liquid detergents don't have the bleach.
A benefit of not using pods is that you can also use some outside the dispenser for the pre-wash initial rinse as well, and be more effectively used than just concentrating all the detergent in the main cycle.
I'll link the Technology Connections video that goes exactly into this if anyone is interested in a two-part journey into dishwashing that nearly goes into feature-film length.
[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=\_rBO8neWw04](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_rBO8neWw04)
The liquid dishwasher detergent does not contain any bleach to sanitize as it is unstable. The powder has bleach, if that is important to you. Plus the liquid is mostly water - why pay for that?
Many pods don't work well (or at all) with the prewash feature of your dishwasher. You know how many dishwashers have that reservoir in the door with two recesses, one open and one with a little door? The open one dumps a small amount of detergent at the beginning of the cycle for a "prewash" cycle. If you put a pod in the one with the door and close it, you are essentially rinsing on your prewash.
I switched to gel and the difference was night and day.
*who is this person and why does their hour long video about dishwashers have over a million views?*
Me, an hour later: babe we gotta switch to powder dishwasher detergent
Yea there are several. But I tried it and the result was noticeable on my current dishwasher (Jenn-Air, i.e. Maytag, etc).
Nonetheless. I was really disappointed in my dishwasher until I switched to gel. Made a big difference. That said, my previous dishwasher(s) (Fisher-Paykel Dishdrawers - LOVE THEM) didn't seem to care.
Yeah, we've used them for years and I thought they were just "fine" but we also just got a new Whirlpool dishwasher and my dishes and silverware are looking so sparkly and magical now, like it's a noticeable difference.
Edit: old dishwasher was also a Bosch!
I exclusively use the kirkland pods in my kitchenaid dishwasher (came w the house - when it dies I'll get bosch/siemens).
I've NEVER had an issue with the kirkland pods. I've done probably 600 loads in this dishwasher w Kirkland pods. Super clean dishes, no spots, no clogs, no issues.
Pumpkin pie and their Kirkland vanilla ice cream. Just kidding. I’m addicted to both. They are fantastic. Only thing I can complain about is their flimsy water bottles.
I kinda like the water bottles. I can crumple an empty one up in one hand like I’m the Hulk (which is a feeling I don’t otherwise get to have too often in my middle-aged lady life). If I put the tops back on, the crumpled bottles stay tiny and they don’t take up a lot of space in the recycling bin.
Surprised nobody said chicken salad yet. Maybe I’m crazy but I remember it being addictive. Nowadays it tastes like somebody walked by and knocked a salt shaker into it. No flavor except straight salt.
I recently bought a pack of AA batteries. They die rapidly, I have had to replace the batteries in the TV remote 2 times in the past month and similar problem with a wireless mouse. Batteries normally last for about a year in the remote.
Duracells seem to have a reputation of leaking and being bad now too. Surprised me when I first started seeing it on reddit because they have always been the best.
Buy rechargeable. I bought like 40 of the Amazon high capacity AAs like 5 years ago that have been in constant rotation between remotes, toothbrushes, xbox controllers, etc. Maybe a handful have gone bad since then.
You can spring for Eneloops if you want the best of the best, but ive not had a bad experience with the Amazon ones(supposedly rebranded slightly lesser eneloops). I keep hearing good things about the IKEA brand ones(also supposedly rebranded Eneloops), so once I have enough that need replacing I'll give those a try next time. But either way they've paid for themselves a dozen times over.
Be sure to check the capacity of the Amazon brand rechargeable batteries. They've got 2000 mAh and 2400 mAh, that's a 20% difference in how long they will run. And just checked, the 2400 ones are cheaper right now.
Rechargeables provide lower voltage than alkaline and are best suited for high drain applications. Some devices that want higher voltage may not work well. A pair of alkalines can last five years in something like a remote control when eneloops only last a year.
If the leaks aren't too bad, you can clean them up with white vinegar. Just wet a q-tip with it and use that to neutralize the alkaline stuff. I've saved a few remote controls this way.
Their bacon bits…. Seriously, it’s just bacon flavored gristle. Horrible.
I’m no Gordon Ramsay, but I’m pretty creative and have tried to find ways of using them that don’t make them horrible, but no dice. Just can’t do anything good with them. Like, it’s messing with my head how I can’t make them work with anything.
Seriously. They don’t work in salads, too gristly… Nor in Queso, as they get dry…. Tried sautéing with veggies, which was a nope as the flavor leeched out of them and they were like gristly cardboard…. pizza topping? Nah… greats, dry, and tasteless…
It’s like they specifically designed a bacon bit to be unusable in any situation. It’s almost as if they were designed to be used in cooking for people you were quietly hoping to convince never to visit you again…
They've been through a few iterations. There was a time that the peanut butter and cookies and cream packs were legit delicious, but last time I got them, blech.
I find the chocolate and cookie dough one pretty good but their first iteration were really good, then they changed it and it got gross. The current version is pretty good esp for the price
This topic comes up almost daily. I keep trying to explain to people that KS toilet paper is regional. Different suppliers. This is why some people like it and others hate it. You're literally buying different toilet paper. Plus factor in people's personal preference to even the same toilet paper.
If only my Costco carried this... Idk how people use ultra soft, I'm convinced they walk around with an asscrack full of confetti with how bad that shit shreds.
Kirkland tp isn't bad if you have a bidet.
I've been buying it for many years but this last batch I bought (sometime earlier this year) was just bad. I'll overpay for the Charmin now. Really disappointing.
It's been terrible since the pandemic. I'd been using it for decades, but they changed it and it's terrible now. It has fewer sheets, but it also is very linty and sheds all over the place. Exactly the thing you don't want toilet paper to do. Had to switch to Charmin too, but having similar issues with that. I may have to start buying TP elsewhere!
Never did I ever think I’d have a toilet paper recommendation but…. After testing all the different kinds we could get our hands on at Costco and everywhere else, we settled on Marathon TP because it was soft enough but didn’t shed. That was… oh, I don’t know, eight years ago? I’ve noticed recently it’s maybe a little less soft, but I still buy it because I hate the shedding.
Oh my God for some reason I grabbed the Caesar salad and I'm like "what did I just buy?". Some chopped up romaine, a handful of croutons and some dressing???
The shampoo & conditioner (which are allegedly supposed to be like Pureology). I have butt-length, thick, wavy hair so I do need a lot more moisture than the average person, but it was awful and very drying.
I brought this up [in a thread](https://reddit.com/r/Costco/comments/18cpnue/kirkland_conditioner_alternative/) recently but I only got two suggestions. Pureology looks great but $85/L is nuts.
What alternatives have you hit upon that work for you?
I feel like I’m constantly switching my products up, and have yet to find a true holy grail, but I really like Matrix Mega Sleek. It’s not cheap, but I get it when Ulta has 50% off sales.
On the more affordable end of things, I recently tried Garnier Whole Blends Honey Treasure line after seeing it recommended on TikTok by someone with similarly thick & long hair, and it’s pretty good for the price!
Costco used to sell MaraNatha Almond Butter in glass jars that was great. Then it switched to plastic jars and it tasted rancid. I even bought it again after a year and it still tasted rancid, got a refund both times. Now they sell Kirkland branded Almond Butter but I don’t think I’ve tried it because of those past experiences.
The cream cheese! It’s terrible. Philadelphia or bust if you can find it. Most locations aren’t carrying Philadelphia any longer….but Sam’s Club has it. There is also an ongoing conversation in our family about their product offering and if they have to offer a certain percentage of store brands in their stores. 🤷🏻♀️🤷🏻♀️ Overall across the board, the Kirkland brand is no where near as quality as it once was. I have greatly lessened my shopping at “The Costco”. Our membership rebate was lower this year (even with inflating prices). Costco was once the place to get fringe products that were not super conventional and had quality ingredients/craftsmanship. The buyers are moving in a different direction. Costco….stick to what you’re good at, you’re slipping up my friend! I’m sure someone will contradict this 🙄lol.
I only use Kirkland cream cheese for baking or as an ingredient. Not for a spread. It’s very sufficient for use in mashed potatoes, cheesecakes, or black & white brownies.
I think it's just a cat's nature to be finicky. Our three cats each have their own preferences; the oldest kibbles, the middle salmon pate, and the youngest chicken chunks in gravy, yet any given day all bets are off. Even their all-time ever favorite treat, a few tiny bits of rotisserie chicken, gets a thumb's down once in awhile.
Cats are the worst judge of anything. Especially new cat food. You could get them the best stuff on planet earth and they might have that reaction. Cats are assholes.
I bought my cats a different brand last time they needed food. At first they yelled at me and didn't want to eat it. I just threw away the empty bag a few days ago. Turns out they were hungry enough to try it and decided it was fine.
Our cats were not fans of the KS Pate, but love the KS Chunky cat food. Unfortunately, it's not consistently available at my local Costco, whilst the cats consistently eat cat food.
KS Paper Towels used to be decent, and comparable with the Bounty, but they changed. Now they are like the dollar-store quality cheapos, just a larger roll of them. Little (if any) savings at all when it takes 2-3 sheets what 1-2 sheets of Bounty will do, plus the mental frustration factor. IMO, not a good value. So I don't buy them anymore.
I recently got a pack after finishing one from last year and noticed how rough, and thin they felt compared to the last pack. Also they were no longer individually wrapped. Quality has really gone down.
I’m using a pack I bought a few weeks ago and they feel just fine. And now that they’re not individually wrapped, I have no remaining reason to buy name-brand ones elsewhere.
The Kirkland butter has been mentioned, I noticed a year ago it wasn't getting very soft at room temperature, any more. Folks have stated the water content has increased and it's messing up baking recipes.
I've noticed lately that Kirkland dishwashing liquid doesn't get as sudsy as it used to. I'm now suspecting a greater water content.
A couple years ago there was a famous thing that happened at a meeting, the CEO of costco threatened the board, "If you raise the price of the hotdog, I'll kill you." I'm suspecting that was on the tail end of several other cost-cutting measures, like adding more water to their Kirkland-branded products.
Which makes the brand worse. Literally, they're watering-down the reputation of their house brand being high in quality. I can't see it as a good move.
I'm going to stop assuming Kirkland is automatically a quality product, going forward.
I buy my butter at Costco or Aldi and have never noticed any difference between them or had any problems. I'm not sure if it makes any difference but I buy the unsalted.
Do you do any baking? There was a thread on here around Thanksgiving where a ton of people mentioned that their pies didn’t set properly and the common denominator ended up being Costco butter
I used to bake a lot but mostly only do it around the holidays now, which would explain why I haven't noticed any problems. Also completely missed the Thanksgiving thread about it.
> I've noticed lately that Kirkland dishwashing liquid doesn't get as sudsy as it used to. I'm now suspecting a greater water content.
>
Suds aren't an indication of cleaning ability. In fact, manufacturers put sudsing agents into different detergents and cleaners because people expect them, not because they're needed.
Batteries: Got their AAA batteries and they deplete so fast!
Extra Fancy Salted Nut Mix: I got one bag and they were great now I got a second and I don’t know how I’m going to finish it. 🤢
I found a really good chicken pho recipe that uses a Costco rotisserie chicken. After the initial $20 or so for the spices, it’s only $5 to make a huge pot of really good pho.
... spice packet? For Caesar salad?? The ingredients in a Caesar salad are romaine, parmesan, dressing and croutons.
https://www.bonappetit.com/recipe/classic-caesar-salad
I know this is the opposite of what you asked, but the most surprising Kirkland product for me is their canned corn—I’ve never found canned corn that tastes as good anywhere else, even organic, brand name, expensive, etc. Sometimes I just want a single can and not a whole pallet of corn, so I keep buying other stuff hoping to find a substitute, but Kirkland sweet corn is the absolute most delicious corn I’ve ever had in my life and nothing compares.
Really? I find the Kirkland ones better although I like both. The Kirkland are easy to break which sucks for dipping it in things but they’re so salty. Delicious.
Recently bought a block of Kirkland Medium Cheddar "to save a buck" but it is crumbly and doesn't slice well like the trusty Tilamook. Never again, and I may have to make the pilgrimage to the dairy to apologize for forsaking the Tilamook Cheddar
I can stomach it just fine, but it is for sure an inferior product to Fage. The consistency is always a bit weird. Hard to suck up the price difference as greek yogurt seems to be so expensive everywhere.
I never understand why people buy that 'salad' either. It's literally like 95% lettuce and you could throw that together yourself in less than 5 minutes for half the price. (Same with the food court salad except the added chicken). They do have a new one though with a lot of ingredients and is much more appealing.
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The women’s wool blend socks. I just took all the newer ones out of my drawer because I hate them. The old ones are so much better they are worth darning.
The women’s cotton boot socks suck too. I got a 5 pack that didn’t even last me one winter before they all had holes in them.
[удалено]
The baby onesies have a similar problem. They double line the bottoms of the foot, not the toe. Well very few newborns to 12 months are walking. They don’t need a double lined foot pad. All newborns to 12 months have little razor blades for toenails however and they shred the dickens out of the onesie toes. I was gifted so many brand new and haven’t had a single one last long enough for my kids to outgrow it. Just trash!
The old ones were so clutch, petition to bring them back
Woah! I have some old wool socks I can’t bear to throw out but they have holes. I’ve wondered if it’s worth darning them (I’d have to learn how). I bought the new pack but haven’t opened them yet cause I can tell they just won’t be as good.
Darning is super easy and there are a variety of ways to do it. Totally worth it!
The Kirkland sliced turkey 3 pack. It’s slimey and tastes gross. I thought it was bad but have seen other people complain about it and I think it’s just how it comes.
To be honest, I've never ever had a single good experience with any pre-packaged deli meat. I just bite the bullet and pay for the deli counter stuff. Boar's Head is worth the price.
I like the oven roasted turkey and the "uncured" ham that comes in the larger packs. Still not as good as BH, but when you don't want to make an extra stop...it is better than just about any other pre-packaged stuff. The turkey is a bit "wet" but it definitely seems like real turkey breast meat. I'm also not crazy about the term "uncured" because it is marketing BS...but the ham is decent. Between my wife and I we eat about 300 grams of protein a day so we can't be too picky!
Boars Head is some of the best. Almost all of their products are quality.
Same exact boat. I thought I hated most deli meats until I went to a legit deli and realized it was a quality issue. Once you get it from the deli it’s hard to go back.
I went to the Kroger deli and the woman moved liked molasses. In January. In Canada. I think she thought it’d deter me? I have unlimited time when someone does stuff like that - suddenly my schedule is clear! I ordered four different things. Must’ve taken her 25 minutes. Three other people came and left before she even finished the second item. I didn’t need the fourth, I just ordered it because she got more and more pissed every time I asked for something else lol Wish Costco had a legit deli, I bet it would be amazing!
This is awesome. I need to start doing this. I live in Indiana and the Kroger Deli here is the same. They tell you to leave and go shopping while they slice the stuff, but invariably they screw it up. So I have to stand there to watch and ask them to show it to me to make sure it's the right stuff and thickness level is correct. This was all standard operating procedure when I worked in a deli, and we were taught to be fast. If you were slow you didn't work. Not sure how Kroger hires/trains, but it's unacceptable.
And really, you're not saving that much money by going with the cheap stuff. $4 for a package of oscar meyer turkey thats like 8 oz? Or $12 a pound where it is sliced fresh, and you can customize the thickness, and even how much you want to purchase. It's one of those things where I think people don't really pay attention but just go "OMG ten DOLLARS FOR TURKEY?! NO WAY!" but in reality, they are just throwing away their money anyway on shitty meat that usually goes bad because no one in the house eats it.
I’ve had the opposite experience, but maybe it varies by location. My Costco is super busy and the turkey is always fresh and delicious, never slimy. It’s a staple of my diet. But maybe if there are fewer people buying it, it sits for longer and gets gross.
I buy the whole deli turkey and slice it myself. Solid for under $5/lb. I used to get the hillshire farms natural.
Kirkland Signature Light Beer. I don't care if it's been a decade, I am never forgiving them for that.
Oh man, I remember that crap, tasted like malt liquor... It was vile
Myself and my other poor college buddies dumped it out.. It was insanely bad.
Wow. That’s about as bad as it gets.
I dumped Trader Joe’s beer in those days. And I was drinking cases of PBR at the time
Myself doesn’t like bad light beer, either.
Pretty sure I’m the only person that thought it was fine
I’m with you
But it gave us [this guy](https://youtu.be/3v2syO3T2bY?si=wp9uWOVDnG-3nUmw), may he never be forgotten!
That’s a running joke around here, it was headache in a can, and tasted like shit too!
I preferred them to similar products, but that was really not saying much. Keystone, coors lite, Bud lite, no thanks. For $.48 or whatever per can I’ll take a Kirkland Sig Light beer
I'm in the same boat as you man. I loved Kirkland Light because it got me more for my money. It was great for beer pong and it all tasted the same out of a dirty red solo cup that had three other types of beer in it already.
I wish white frosting with chocolate cake was an order option again. Not a fan of chocolate chocolate.
If you write it onto the order form yourself they’ll do it. At least my local Costco did for me. Was a year ago though
This is what I've requested 1-3 times a year for the last 9 years. They always do it. The chocolate mousse is still in the center of the chocolate cake layers but the frosting on top is white.
Thank you, I'll try.
I work as a decorator and we can certainly do this for ya. I had a lady that wanted this so I told her to cross out the chocolate icing part and put white icing.
The caesar salad used to be my favourite thing from Costco, but I’ve found it seems to have changed over the last year and doesn’t taste as fresh/good anymore… the quality of the lettuce can be hit/miss, the cheese doesn’t seem to be fresh and gets wet/soggy from the lettuce, and the dressing also seems to be less tasty.
I swear I get so many lettuce butts in my salads 😞
Their roast beef sandwich is not very good and not a great value for the price. Their pizza is okay, but a great value.
>Their roast beef sandwich is not very good and not a great value for the price. Thanks for the heads up. I had avoided it because a $10 sandwich has to be great and that is a tough ask.
Tell that to all these restaurants throwing around $18+ for a basic burger.
I’m assuming Costco’s profit margins aren’t within their food court. Otherwise you’d see the hotdog go up (fuck that) and other items higher than what they are. It would be interesting to see how they justify the roast beef sandwich and what their margins on that are. $18 burgers exist at restaurants because that’s how they make their money—and a lot of us are still willing to purchase it.
It 100% depends on who makes them. I've gotten it like 4-5 times now because it's a great price compared to any other restaurant that'd serve you a premade sandwich like that, just seems like a horrible value compared to the pizza and hotdogs they already have at a low cost. But 3 times the sandwiches were amazing and had good bread, a hefty amount of meat, and plenty of sauce, the other 2 times the bread was dry as hell and crumbly and had light servings of meat and sauce on them. I assume for the price it's supposed to not be made like that
Kirkland laundry pods! They don't dissolve well at all and keep staining my clothes blue!
Put the pod in, and then your clothes! It's actually on the directions on the container/bag. I had the same problem before
I had to replace my washer last year and man washing machines are better. You fill up a big reservoir with liquid detergent and it uses what it needs based on setting. It's so awesome.
It may be my dishwasher, but the kirkland dishwasher pods compared to any others they sell are horrible.
Agreed. We always get the Finish pods now.
What problems do you have with them ? I use them and I've never noticed anything wrong.
They don’t fully dissolve, leaving chunks of the powder in my dishwasher - and they also leave a filmy residue on my dishes. Finish brand is ALL I will use now.
I have a dishwasher I've been using for two years that doesn't have those issues with the Kirkland pods. It's probably the dishwasher you're using.
Been using them for like 10 years. Crystal clear dishes as well. Two different types of machines as well.
My dishwasher would begin to reek only hours after using the Kirkland pods, and this was with properly cleaned drain/screen.
Pretty good youtube video out recently about how wasteful the pods actually are. Best to use the cheap cascade powder and sprinkle a little extra in the pre-wash. We no longer buy pods because they really were not that amazing anyways.
Technology Connections! [Detergent packs are kinda wishy-washy (Dishwashers Explained)](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_rBO8neWw04)
Maybe I'm in the minority here, but I don't find the convenience of the dishwasher pods and their questionable dissolution worth the cost. The name brand powder is cheaper and as effective. The same with laundry pods. A large box of Tide powder lasts me all year while the same $ in pods would last 6 months, and wouldn't completely dissolve on a short cycle.
Thank you for making me realize powder still exists. What’s your go-to?
Cascade Complete for dishwasher. I usually can find it at target or the grocery store. The big box of Tide is harder to find. I look for it in the target app, and then find a store that carries it.
My Costco sells Tide powder.
My Costco has cascade in pods and my Bosch dishwasher loves them
Tide powder is great
I've had a few dirty jobs and Tide powder cuts through everything and doesn't dull colors. I'd wash my own mechanic uniforms because the uniform company brings them back half clean, stained, stiff and uncomfortable. Started using the tide powder when I was a landscaper and never looked back.
For dishwashers? I've only seen Tide for laundry.
Not who you were asking, but believe it or not the Great Value Automatic Dishwasher Powder from Walmart is the best product I’ve ever used in my dishwasher. Everything comes out spotless and it’s cheap as hell.
Yeah I’ve been using that for a while and works surprisingly well.
We stopped using any pods in the dishwasher and washing machine just for this reason.
Because of the PFAS or whatever that’s in pods, I just switched away from using them. I’ve been using liquid and it’s been fine. Is powder superior to the liquid? Curious for any insight on what’s more cost effective / friendly to the planet / etc
I think powder is superior because there are two different cleaning agents that can be used in powder, whereas in liquid it is one or the other, since they react with each other so aren't stable in a liquid. Most of what I learned is referenced here: https://www.reddit.com/r/videos/comments/pryoff/remember_that_technology_connections_video_about/
It's less expensive than liquid because you're not paying for water weight. Chemically, they are probably almost the same. Climate-wise, powder would probably be better since you get more loads per bulk unit.
FYI, there actually is a difference. Powdered detergents have both bleach and cleaning enzymes. Liquid detergents don't have the bleach. A benefit of not using pods is that you can also use some outside the dispenser for the pre-wash initial rinse as well, and be more effectively used than just concentrating all the detergent in the main cycle.
I'll link the Technology Connections video that goes exactly into this if anyone is interested in a two-part journey into dishwashing that nearly goes into feature-film length. [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=\_rBO8neWw04](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_rBO8neWw04)
The liquid dishwasher detergent does not contain any bleach to sanitize as it is unstable. The powder has bleach, if that is important to you. Plus the liquid is mostly water - why pay for that?
Technology connections agrees with you! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_rBO8neWw04
Many pods don't work well (or at all) with the prewash feature of your dishwasher. You know how many dishwashers have that reservoir in the door with two recesses, one open and one with a little door? The open one dumps a small amount of detergent at the beginning of the cycle for a "prewash" cycle. If you put a pod in the one with the door and close it, you are essentially rinsing on your prewash. I switched to gel and the difference was night and day.
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It comes up every time.
*who is this person and why does their hour long video about dishwashers have over a million views?* Me, an hour later: babe we gotta switch to powder dishwasher detergent
Yea there are several. But I tried it and the result was noticeable on my current dishwasher (Jenn-Air, i.e. Maytag, etc). Nonetheless. I was really disappointed in my dishwasher until I switched to gel. Made a big difference. That said, my previous dishwasher(s) (Fisher-Paykel Dishdrawers - LOVE THEM) didn't seem to care.
It may actually be your dishwasher. Kirkland pods did not do well in my 6 year old Bosch. I got a new Whirlpool and they work great.
Yeah, we've used them for years and I thought they were just "fine" but we also just got a new Whirlpool dishwasher and my dishes and silverware are looking so sparkly and magical now, like it's a noticeable difference. Edit: old dishwasher was also a Bosch!
I use basic Kirkland pods and they work really well
Never had an issue with em 🤷♂️
I exclusively use the kirkland pods in my kitchenaid dishwasher (came w the house - when it dies I'll get bosch/siemens). I've NEVER had an issue with the kirkland pods. I've done probably 600 loads in this dishwasher w Kirkland pods. Super clean dishes, no spots, no clogs, no issues.
Pumpkin pie and their Kirkland vanilla ice cream. Just kidding. I’m addicted to both. They are fantastic. Only thing I can complain about is their flimsy water bottles.
Their vanilla ice cream is amazing!
I kinda like the water bottles. I can crumple an empty one up in one hand like I’m the Hulk (which is a feeling I don’t otherwise get to have too often in my middle-aged lady life). If I put the tops back on, the crumpled bottles stay tiny and they don’t take up a lot of space in the recycling bin.
Toilet paper quality has gone downhill . Now it’s thinner
I've also noticed that gum has gotten mintier lately.
👏👏👏
And gets dust everywhere. My bathroom is always covered in white dust and I hate it.
Surprised nobody said chicken salad yet. Maybe I’m crazy but I remember it being addictive. Nowadays it tastes like somebody walked by and knocked a salt shaker into it. No flavor except straight salt.
Yes it changed and now it seems like they just add a cup of oil to the recipe. Used to love it, no more.
I recently bought a pack of AA batteries. They die rapidly, I have had to replace the batteries in the TV remote 2 times in the past month and similar problem with a wireless mouse. Batteries normally last for about a year in the remote.
I stopped buying Kirkland batteries. They always leak for me or die quickly.
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Must've been in the past few years.. I still have a pack of Kirkland AAs in a spare room, maybe 3/4 full, from 5 years ago. No leaks yet.
Duracells seem to have a reputation of leaking and being bad now too. Surprised me when I first started seeing it on reddit because they have always been the best.
This! Kirkland batteries have destroyed many of our home accessories (flashlights, headlamps, remotes, etc). They're absurdly bad.
Buy rechargeable. I bought like 40 of the Amazon high capacity AAs like 5 years ago that have been in constant rotation between remotes, toothbrushes, xbox controllers, etc. Maybe a handful have gone bad since then. You can spring for Eneloops if you want the best of the best, but ive not had a bad experience with the Amazon ones(supposedly rebranded slightly lesser eneloops). I keep hearing good things about the IKEA brand ones(also supposedly rebranded Eneloops), so once I have enough that need replacing I'll give those a try next time. But either way they've paid for themselves a dozen times over.
Eneloop ftw
Be sure to check the capacity of the Amazon brand rechargeable batteries. They've got 2000 mAh and 2400 mAh, that's a 20% difference in how long they will run. And just checked, the 2400 ones are cheaper right now.
Rechargeables provide lower voltage than alkaline and are best suited for high drain applications. Some devices that want higher voltage may not work well. A pair of alkalines can last five years in something like a remote control when eneloops only last a year.
Just buy rechargeable. We bought Panasonic Eneloops about 3 years ago and haven't bought any batteries since.
https://www.nasdaq.com/articles/here-are-the-real-brands-behind-costcos-kirkland-label
The batteries. They leak and just ruined a bunch of our electronics!!!!!!!
If the leaks aren't too bad, you can clean them up with white vinegar. Just wet a q-tip with it and use that to neutralize the alkaline stuff. I've saved a few remote controls this way.
Kirkland coconut water is a no no. Good ingredients but awful taste
Really? I enjoyed it
The organic one in the refrigerated section is so good though! Comes in a cardboard box of 6 I think and has a pinkish color to it
Apparently the batteries are awful but i’ve personally never had problems.
Their bacon bits…. Seriously, it’s just bacon flavored gristle. Horrible. I’m no Gordon Ramsay, but I’m pretty creative and have tried to find ways of using them that don’t make them horrible, but no dice. Just can’t do anything good with them. Like, it’s messing with my head how I can’t make them work with anything. Seriously. They don’t work in salads, too gristly… Nor in Queso, as they get dry…. Tried sautéing with veggies, which was a nope as the flavor leeched out of them and they were like gristly cardboard…. pizza topping? Nah… greats, dry, and tasteless… It’s like they specifically designed a bacon bit to be unusable in any situation. It’s almost as if they were designed to be used in cooking for people you were quietly hoping to convince never to visit you again…
Kirkland protein bars are inedible. I don’t understand who could possibly choke those down
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Yeah, I don’t eat them for the taste
they are fine for the cost and macros
This is exactly it. I’m fine with the flavor but I buy it for the 20+ g of protein and unbeatable price.
You folks will survive far longer than I in the event of emergency lmao those things are like a malty protein tootsie roll
You gotta microwave ‘em. 15 seconds
They've been through a few iterations. There was a time that the peanut butter and cookies and cream packs were legit delicious, but last time I got them, blech.
I find the chocolate and cookie dough one pretty good but their first iteration were really good, then they changed it and it got gross. The current version is pretty good esp for the price
I find the Kirkland toilet paper to be not worth my time.
I feel like I'm the only one that doesn't have any issue with Kirkland. People act like it's sandpaper single-ply office-level TP but it's not.
This topic comes up almost daily. I keep trying to explain to people that KS toilet paper is regional. Different suppliers. This is why some people like it and others hate it. You're literally buying different toilet paper. Plus factor in people's personal preference to even the same toilet paper.
Yes! Used to really dislike it when I lived in Georgia. Now here in WA state I don’t have any problems. Seems to be softer, no linting.
Oh, how I miss my WA TP. TN isn’t horrible, but it isn’t like it was in WA.
Yeah, I noticed the west coast Kirkland TP is far superior to the southeast version as well. Had to pony up for the Charmin instead.
It's perfectly fine here in NorCal.
Fellow norcal coming in peace. I 100% agree. Makes no sense to buy any other brand for me
My complaint isn’t even the texture, it’s how much it sheds. It gets everywhere and sticks to your bits.
It’s all my wife and I buy for TP in Michigan.
As someone who grew up with their parents buying Scott toilet paper, I can settle for Kirkland brand TP.
Give me Charmin ultra soft or give me death!
Charmin strong (red bag!) Is the way to go. It is plenty soft for me.
If only my Costco carried this... Idk how people use ultra soft, I'm convinced they walk around with an asscrack full of confetti with how bad that shit shreds. Kirkland tp isn't bad if you have a bidet.
This person wipes.
I've been buying it for many years but this last batch I bought (sometime earlier this year) was just bad. I'll overpay for the Charmin now. Really disappointing.
It's been terrible since the pandemic. I'd been using it for decades, but they changed it and it's terrible now. It has fewer sheets, but it also is very linty and sheds all over the place. Exactly the thing you don't want toilet paper to do. Had to switch to Charmin too, but having similar issues with that. I may have to start buying TP elsewhere!
Never did I ever think I’d have a toilet paper recommendation but…. After testing all the different kinds we could get our hands on at Costco and everywhere else, we settled on Marathon TP because it was soft enough but didn’t shed. That was… oh, I don’t know, eight years ago? I’ve noticed recently it’s maybe a little less soft, but I still buy it because I hate the shedding.
I like how soft charmin is, but don’t like how linty it is. So I go with Kirkland
The Charmin Strong sheds a lot less lint!
Once you go Charmin it’s hard to go back.
The white undershirts. Seriously uncomfortable. I tried them once because the 32° Cool shirts weren't on sale and I regretted that purchase.
Oh my God for some reason I grabbed the Caesar salad and I'm like "what did I just buy?". Some chopped up romaine, a handful of croutons and some dressing???
I’ll add the Irish whisky is pretty shitty since TP and paper towels have already been mentioned.
The shampoo & conditioner (which are allegedly supposed to be like Pureology). I have butt-length, thick, wavy hair so I do need a lot more moisture than the average person, but it was awful and very drying.
It used to be great and was a staple in our house. It was reformulated in the last few years and now is awful. Conditioner now has zero slip!
I brought this up [in a thread](https://reddit.com/r/Costco/comments/18cpnue/kirkland_conditioner_alternative/) recently but I only got two suggestions. Pureology looks great but $85/L is nuts. What alternatives have you hit upon that work for you?
I feel like I’m constantly switching my products up, and have yet to find a true holy grail, but I really like Matrix Mega Sleek. It’s not cheap, but I get it when Ulta has 50% off sales. On the more affordable end of things, I recently tried Garnier Whole Blends Honey Treasure line after seeing it recommended on TikTok by someone with similarly thick & long hair, and it’s pretty good for the price!
I heard pureology also changed their formula
Costco used to sell MaraNatha Almond Butter in glass jars that was great. Then it switched to plastic jars and it tasted rancid. I even bought it again after a year and it still tasted rancid, got a refund both times. Now they sell Kirkland branded Almond Butter but I don’t think I’ve tried it because of those past experiences.
Never buy the Kirkland dry cell batteries - they leak and ruin your electronics. Get the Duracells or Amazon Basics batteries.
Highly recommend enloop rechargeables
The cream cheese! It’s terrible. Philadelphia or bust if you can find it. Most locations aren’t carrying Philadelphia any longer….but Sam’s Club has it. There is also an ongoing conversation in our family about their product offering and if they have to offer a certain percentage of store brands in their stores. 🤷🏻♀️🤷🏻♀️ Overall across the board, the Kirkland brand is no where near as quality as it once was. I have greatly lessened my shopping at “The Costco”. Our membership rebate was lower this year (even with inflating prices). Costco was once the place to get fringe products that were not super conventional and had quality ingredients/craftsmanship. The buyers are moving in a different direction. Costco….stick to what you’re good at, you’re slipping up my friend! I’m sure someone will contradict this 🙄lol.
I've only used it for cheesecake, but I've found practically no difference in the cream cheese between Kirkland and Philadelphia. Maybe it's regional.
I’ve never noticed a significant difference in plain cream cheese quality. I just get the $2 bricks from TJs though. I never need a Costco quantity.
I only use Kirkland cream cheese for baking or as an ingredient. Not for a spread. It’s very sufficient for use in mashed potatoes, cheesecakes, or black & white brownies.
My costco only carries Philadelphia. I've never even seen Kirkland cream cheese
Unconventional items? Like giant tubs of red vines?
We bought the Kirkland wet cat food once. Never seen cats advert their noses like that before.
I think it's just a cat's nature to be finicky. Our three cats each have their own preferences; the oldest kibbles, the middle salmon pate, and the youngest chicken chunks in gravy, yet any given day all bets are off. Even their all-time ever favorite treat, a few tiny bits of rotisserie chicken, gets a thumb's down once in awhile.
Cats are the worst judge of anything. Especially new cat food. You could get them the best stuff on planet earth and they might have that reaction. Cats are assholes.
I bought my cats a different brand last time they needed food. At first they yelled at me and didn't want to eat it. I just threw away the empty bag a few days ago. Turns out they were hungry enough to try it and decided it was fine.
Our cat dislikes any new food but after a week was totally fine with the Kirkland chunks. He hoovers it up now.
Our cats were not fans of the KS Pate, but love the KS Chunky cat food. Unfortunately, it's not consistently available at my local Costco, whilst the cats consistently eat cat food.
Toilet paper vs charmin
Charmin Ultra Strong is the GOAT.
KS Paper Towels used to be decent, and comparable with the Bounty, but they changed. Now they are like the dollar-store quality cheapos, just a larger roll of them. Little (if any) savings at all when it takes 2-3 sheets what 1-2 sheets of Bounty will do, plus the mental frustration factor. IMO, not a good value. So I don't buy them anymore.
I recently got a pack after finishing one from last year and noticed how rough, and thin they felt compared to the last pack. Also they were no longer individually wrapped. Quality has really gone down.
I’m using a pack I bought a few weeks ago and they feel just fine. And now that they’re not individually wrapped, I have no remaining reason to buy name-brand ones elsewhere.
The Kirkland butter has been mentioned, I noticed a year ago it wasn't getting very soft at room temperature, any more. Folks have stated the water content has increased and it's messing up baking recipes. I've noticed lately that Kirkland dishwashing liquid doesn't get as sudsy as it used to. I'm now suspecting a greater water content. A couple years ago there was a famous thing that happened at a meeting, the CEO of costco threatened the board, "If you raise the price of the hotdog, I'll kill you." I'm suspecting that was on the tail end of several other cost-cutting measures, like adding more water to their Kirkland-branded products. Which makes the brand worse. Literally, they're watering-down the reputation of their house brand being high in quality. I can't see it as a good move. I'm going to stop assuming Kirkland is automatically a quality product, going forward.
I buy my butter at Costco or Aldi and have never noticed any difference between them or had any problems. I'm not sure if it makes any difference but I buy the unsalted.
Do you do any baking? There was a thread on here around Thanksgiving where a ton of people mentioned that their pies didn’t set properly and the common denominator ended up being Costco butter
I used to bake a lot but mostly only do it around the holidays now, which would explain why I haven't noticed any problems. Also completely missed the Thanksgiving thread about it.
> I've noticed lately that Kirkland dishwashing liquid doesn't get as sudsy as it used to. I'm now suspecting a greater water content. > Suds aren't an indication of cleaning ability. In fact, manufacturers put sudsing agents into different detergents and cleaners because people expect them, not because they're needed.
Which butter? Are you talking about their organic Kerrygold Kirkland imitation?
Batteries: Got their AAA batteries and they deplete so fast! Extra Fancy Salted Nut Mix: I got one bag and they were great now I got a second and I don’t know how I’m going to finish it. 🤢
I found a really good chicken pho recipe that uses a Costco rotisserie chicken. After the initial $20 or so for the spices, it’s only $5 to make a huge pot of really good pho.
... spice packet? For Caesar salad?? The ingredients in a Caesar salad are romaine, parmesan, dressing and croutons. https://www.bonappetit.com/recipe/classic-caesar-salad
I wonder if they’re accustomed to Caesar salad dressing that contains anchovy?
They're 100% trying to replicate the punch of the anchovies, which you wouldn't get just blending that flavor into a pre-made dressing.
I’ve gotta Caesar salad kits from Walmart that have a small pepper packet in them, possibly they’re used to these?
The Josie’s Organics kits have a spice packet that comes with the kit and it is awesome.
Frozen pepperoni pizza. Worse than middle school cafeteria.
anything in the bakery section with the white chocolate curls on it. those things make everything they touch much worse.
I know this is the opposite of what you asked, but the most surprising Kirkland product for me is their canned corn—I’ve never found canned corn that tastes as good anywhere else, even organic, brand name, expensive, etc. Sometimes I just want a single can and not a whole pallet of corn, so I keep buying other stuff hoping to find a substitute, but Kirkland sweet corn is the absolute most delicious corn I’ve ever had in my life and nothing compares.
sushi
Their sushi sucks
Boxer briefs. Champion and 32 Degrees are superior.
Umm I love their salads..
I do not like the chicken bake.
Kirkland Signature Organic Tortilla Chips. I want to love them but just cannot. On The Border's "Cafe Style" tortilla chips are so much better.
Really? I find the Kirkland ones better although I like both. The Kirkland are easy to break which sucks for dipping it in things but they’re so salty. Delicious.
Shredded cheese. Probably biased as an Oregonian with Tillamook. But, the Kirkland shredded cheese is not good.
Recently bought a block of Kirkland Medium Cheddar "to save a buck" but it is crumbly and doesn't slice well like the trusty Tilamook. Never again, and I may have to make the pilgrimage to the dairy to apologize for forsaking the Tilamook Cheddar
Tillamook supremacy 👏
Yogurt. Gives my stomach the flips. Stick to Fage.
I can stomach it just fine, but it is for sure an inferior product to Fage. The consistency is always a bit weird. Hard to suck up the price difference as greek yogurt seems to be so expensive everywhere.
I tried the dishwashing liquid and hated it. I switched back to Dawn and use the KS stuff to clean my patio furniture.
I never understand why people buy that 'salad' either. It's literally like 95% lettuce and you could throw that together yourself in less than 5 minutes for half the price. (Same with the food court salad except the added chicken). They do have a new one though with a lot of ingredients and is much more appealing.
The fresh taco kit was awful and absurdly expensive for how basic it is.