Costco produce is expensive and mediocre.

Homesimpson wrote: ↑ For fresh fruits and veggies Costco maybe gets a C grade; and that's being generous.

Ultimately, to get all the things I need in life, I still need to shop at 6 or 7 stores. No one vendor can do it all, at least not yet.

death_hawk wrote: ↑ I'd love to hear how you rank Superstore/Loblaws/No Frills/etc and Walmart.
Better yet Asian grocery stores.

Honestly … this is a tough one to qualify … cuz of how Fresh Fruits & Vegetables are bought (sourced from) and then distributed across this MASSIVE Country

The ___ (fill in the blank … lettuce, tomatoes, oranges, plums, … whatever) ___ are not necessarily going to be consistent / the same … coast to coast … let alone city to city … even if it’s the same Chain

And Costco … is Canada wide … NFLD to BC

The RFD location for @Homesimpson says Ottawa
Others in this thread are from the GTA .. or Southern Ontario
Some are in BC … GVA
Or Quebec … Montreal area
So it’s gonna differ a lot coast to coast and which Costco you shop at

We are a household of two
We don’t buy Costco produce
Cuz we find it’s just too much to consume
And … it’s far from the cheapest option where I live …
And various Costco Regions that I can source from living in Eastern Ontario
Be that the Costcos on the West Island of Montreal
Costco West Quebec / Gatineau
Costco’s in Ottawa
Or Costco Kingston

There definitely are subtle differences
And no doubt cuz items are being sourced from different distribution centres
Some via Quebec / Montreal
And others Ontario / Toronto

This is true for EVERY NATIONAL GROCER in Canada.
Be it PC+ Loblaws Group … or Sobeys Group
Just not possible for the distribution of FRESH FOODS vs dry goods

Homesimpson wrote: ↑ The thing with Costco is that you'll never get an A+ experience with their fruit or veggies, but you'll pay like they are A+. That said, I do buy their onions. Also, their frozen fuits and veggies are fine.

I actually mostly disagree. Produce is fragile so sometimes you do get a box of fuzzy things due to damage, but generally speaking I'm far happier with Costco produce than produce practically anywhere else.
They do take steps like extra packaging (which is a different argument) but it does the job of protecting produce.
Apple pears for example come in a clamshell vs that foam netting. I've never seen larger specimens anywhere else that weren't a price(r) premium.

I definitely don't disagree you pay for it, but sometimes that payment isn't much more than a grocery store since Costco's stuff is larger per unit.

PointsHubby wrote: ↑ Honestly … this is a tough one to qualify … cuz of how Fresh Fruits & Vegetables are bought (sourced from) and then distributed across this MASSIVE Country

It really isn't though. You're right on the sourced from everywhere, but it's then sorted and graded and sold as such.

The ___ (fill in the blank … lettuce, tomatoes, oranges, plums, … whatever) ___ are not necessarily going to be consistent / the same … coast to coast … let alone city to city … even if it’s the same Chain

Because produce is seasonal and regional, I can't disagree with this comment, but some things are produced out of country and imported. This isn't really different because the origin is the same and is subject to grading as per above.

Now... if we're talking Okanagan peaches? You're probably not getting them in the center of the universe.
But for some reason you are getting BC crabs.

Costco is cheaper or the same price for better quality meat.

For example, fresh boneless chicken breast 6 dollars off a package im buying 10 and freezing it.

My costco items is pretty generic though.

Fresh chicken breast
Ground turkey
Ground beef
Steaks if im feeling it or on sale.
Rotisserie chicken
Broccoli
Chips
Diet coke
Prescription medicine
Supplements like vitamin c etc

If you don't like Costco produce then simply cancel your membership and go shop at the other stores where quality and prices are better.

Don’t buy produce at Costco. The quality sucks and goes bad quickly. Whenever I go to the returns desk to do a price adjustment, I always see people bringing back their mouldy or half eaten produce to get a refund.

I can't entirely agree with this statement. Some things are mediocre. However, some are excellent quality - avocados (Mexican ones), plums, mushrooms, rainier cherries and especially pomegranates are great.

Fruit is almost always good to great. They have fantastic apples at a great price.

Except bananas. Like wtf is with them.

Precut veggies can be terrible.

Produce is often a loss leader for grocery chains, as their cheap prices are there to get you into the store to buy other things.

Costco has their own loss leaders like their hotdog, rotisserie chicken and baked goods, which others stores can't really touch.

If you must find the cheapest prices, Costco may not be it for produce but seems unfair to say that people loading their cart with produces, didn't know better. May be some just didn't care, as they just wanted a one stop to get everything to save time which even money can't buy, too.