Costco in Reading??

...... my current gripe is the teeny boxes of laundry detergeant that they sell here. .......

Hopster!  Hopster! Noooooooo!  British washing machines don't take kindly to laundry powders/flakes, they clog up the mechanism - just like the hopper you put the detergent in gets gungy, but through all the pipes inside.  

Go for a liquid detergent instead and your machine will last much longer.

Well I never knew that! Liquid is better eh?

I have been to the new Made in America shop. The small shop is actually buried at the back of the warehouse so you have to rather bizarrely walk thru a couple of admin offices, then thru the warehouse, and finally to the room with the goods.And they made sure to point out that they're not open on the weekends. But hey, I walked away with some Skippy Peanut Butter and Aunt Jemima syrup so i'm happy again.

Well I never knew that! Liquid is better eh?

'Fraid so.  A friend of my parents, who is a plumber, and knows people "in the trade" told us that liquids were much better for machines (this was when liquids first came on the market at the end of the 1980's) as the gungy flakes/powder clog up the pipes and pump, and builds up to reduce the diamemter of the pipes, making the pump work harder too.  

Just my two cents:

APPLY OR RENEW ONLINE WITH THE US ONE!

I let my US membership lapse in January and naively showed up in Reading last week, ready to sign on the dotted line.  Unfortunately, they wouldn't let me.  UK trading laws require that Costco limit their membership to bona fide businesses or individuals of certain professions.  As an archaeologist, I don't qualify.  I checked with a Costco over here, and they assured me that it's totally kosher to renew with the US and use it here - it's valid, and you can use it over here freely.  I'm in the process of doing it this way.  I'm having my new card sent to my mom, who will forward it to me.  Also, it's a tad cheaper to do it this way.  I'm a big Costco fan, so this was high priority for me (once I found out they were here).  MUCH fewer hoops to jump through in the US.

As an archaeologist, are you not attached to a university at all? If so, you'd meet the education requirement. That's what my husband did, though I was eligible as well under another allowed profession.

Lucky for me, I live right near the Costco in Manchester. Its a lifesaver for us,we drink tons of diet coke and beer (the husband does anyway) so we are there all the time. THey also have a great return policy, and at this time of year they had Birkenstocks for soooo cheap! Its also a great connection to home for me, I love Ziploc bags! And When I go into our local Costco, I always feel like I could walk out at the one near my parents house in NY.

I freaking love Costco!!!

No, it's a bummer.  I work in commercial archaeology, not for a university.  Technically it's an educational charity, but since I'm not in management it won't work that way either.

I would certainly love to be able to buy peanut butter in large supply but my current gripe is the teeny boxes of laundry detergeant that they sell here.

I hear ya!  They're all so far away and we don't have a car (bit difficult to shop in bulk on the bus  ) but I would love me a heeeeyuge box of Playtex tampons!     I feel like I'm forever buying them - in the states I just bought a big box once every 4 months or so!

 

Go for a liquid detergent instead and your machine will last much longer.

Do Costco do large sizes of liquid detergent I wonder?  That's all I used in the States anyway - I've only switched to powder tablets since I've been here.  Has anyone else noticed that Brits get screwed on the price of a hotdog there?  They're $1.50 in the US and £1.50 here; twice as much at the current rate of exchange.  I've noticed this with a lot of companies that operate in both places though, to be fair.