Warehouse Versus Grocery Store: Which is Cheaper?

ATLANTA -- The Costco store on Peachtree Dunwoody Road is packed every weekend with shoppers who don't mind hauling large quantities of meat, diapers, electronic items, clothing and a staggering array of other items out to a packed parking lot with no help and no bags.

"Shopping at a warehouse club is definitely the way to go if you have one near your home," said one shopper.

11Alive checked out the price of a sampling of household items to see who had the best prices: Kroger or Costco. Here's the breakdown:

· Bananas: Costco: .42 per ounce. Kroger .64 per ounce. (The Costco bunches of around a dozen bananas may be more than most families can go through before they rot, however)

· New York Strip Steaks: 6.99 per pound at both stores.

· Skinless Boneless Chicken Breasts: 2.00 per pound at both stores.

· Ground Turkey: Costco 2.69 per pound, Kroger 2.99 per pound.

· Cheerios: Costco: $2.16 per pound, Kroger $4.00 per pound. (Costo sold the cereal in a double pack consisting of two large bags, so they might need to be transferred to an airtight container after being opened.)

· Extra Virgin Olive Oil: Costco: $0.18 per ounce for Kirkland Brand. Kroger: $0.48 per ounce for Colavita Brand (Again, the Costco Oil was a 2 liter size which could turn rancid after about 6 months if not used.

Although we did not survey Publix prices for this story, this week Publix has Crisco Olive Oil on sale. It comes out to $0.20 per ounce, or $0.15 if you use a coupon for $0.75 off.

· Mott's Applesauce: Costco $.04 per ounce, Kroger $.05 per ounce

· Tide Laundry Detergent: Costco: Both stores had the same size jug for 22.99, Costco says its jug is more concentrated and will wash 100 loads, so the cost per load is $0.21 cents per load compared to $0.23 at Kroger.

We chose the items at random, first at Kroger, then priced similar or identical ones at Costco.

Using coupons and buying items during weekly sales at both Kroger and Publix can bring prices lower than Costco but some bulk items are still consistently lower at warehouse stores.

You should also factor in $50.00 per year you will pay to shop at Costco.