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I rely on Costco for a host of products, whether it’s paper towels, vitamins, or muffins (which my family enjoys every Saturday — it’s just our thing). But on occasion, I’ll buy some of my usual Costco purchases at another store because of a sale. 

That said, there are certain items on my list I pretty much only buy from Costco. You may want to make these three purchases a Costco-only thing on your end, too.

1. Milk

The price of milk at Costco is generally cheaper than what my local supermarket charges. Sometimes, it’s more than $1 cheaper. Other times, there’s a more narrow savings margin.

But the big reason I’ll only buy milk at Costco isn’t just the price — it’s the staying power. For some reason, Costco’s milk lasts way longer than the milk I buy at the supermarket. Not only does Costco milk tend to come with much longer expiration dates, but I find that the milk tends to stay good four days or more beyond the printed sell-by date.

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Part of the reason could boil down to the way Costco stores it. If you’ve ever purchased milk at Costco, you’ve no doubt experienced the brutal tundra that is the room it’s kept in. Those ultra-cold temperatures may be unpleasant for a minute or two while you’re fetching your milk, but I’ll take the end result. 

2. Eggs

Eggs are another staple item in my household. Sometimes, they’re a meal by themselves. Other times, they go into a meal.

But I prefer to spend as little as possible on eggs, which is why I buy them at Costco in bulk. Right now, the price for 24 eggs via same-day delivery is $5.84, or about $0.24 per egg. At my regular supermarket, the price per egg is about $0.40.

And to be clear, the above same-day price for eggs at Costco is far more expensive than the in-store price. In-store prices can vary, but I usually don’t spend close to $5.84 for two dozen eggs when I buy them in person.

3. Snack bags

It’s generally more cost-effective to buy a large-sized bag of chips or pretzels than to buy individual bags. But when you need snack bags to send with your kids to school and your schedule is hectic, sometimes, you forgo a bit of savings for convenience.

I refuse to buy snack bags anywhere other than Costco, though, because they’re expensive enough as it is. At Costco, I can at least save money compared to other stores. 

Costco’s online price for a 54-bag Frito Lay variety pack is $23.99. In stores, it’s usually a bit cheaper. On Amazon, a 50-count Frito Lay variety pack is $29.20.

There are many items beyond these three that I buy from Costco regularly. But these products in particular are things I can’t imagine purchasing elsewhere. I just don’t see another store beating the price or, in the case of milk, the price combined with the quality.

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