Costco blog/discussion forum

Costco warehouse is selling this moving kit, Scotch Premium Moving Kit (Costco item #280375, $49.99 in June 2008). This is a great buy, if you need boxes for moving or just storage.

The moving kit includes 25 boxes of three different sizes and an assortment of other packing materials:

• 5 Large boxes, 23x23x16 inches
• 8 Medium boxes 20x20x14 inches
• 12 Small boxes 18x12x12 inches
• 5 rolls of bubble wrap, each 12 inches by 10 feet
• 3 rolls of packing tape
• 3 tape dispensers
• 24 bubble pouches
• 1 marker for labeling your boxes

For comparison, I checked on the U-Haul prices for boxes. They sell large boxes for $3, medium for $2.35, and small for $1.70. In all cases the U-haul boxes are slightly smaller than the boxes in this kit. Just buying the boxes from U-haul will cost you $54.20. U-haul sells a packing tape dispenser for $10! So once you add those extras in, your cost is going up significantly. Budget sells a similar moving kit for $79., but this has 15 small boxes and 10 medium boxes, with no large boxes.

If you have to move soon, pick this one up a Costco.

The Space Bag 10 Cube bag set (Costco Item 200395) seems like a great idea, especially if you see it on TV. You put pillows, comforters, sweaters, blanket, and all sorts of bulky seasonal items into a giant plastic bag, suck all the air out them and use only one quarter of the storage space you needed before.

I purchased this Space Bag set from our local Costco Warehouse for $24.69. This is a great price. You can get it through an Amazon vendor for $37 plus $7 shipping, or you can get it through Ebay for $33.50 plus shipping. You can get a 7 bag set direct from SpaceBag for $19.99 plus about $7 shipping.

Although, you can get it from all these places, don't. It just doesn't work like they say. I tried it. I got out my vacuum cleaner and sucked all the air out of the bag, watching my blankets and pillows shrink down into a nice small size. I put the cap back on the bag, just following the instructions. I put the bag in the closet, on a shelf. The next day I looked at it, and the air had gone back in. The bag was bloated like a dead whale. I put this one into my "return to Costco pile."

Conclusion Don't waste your time on this. However, if you really can't resist the commercials, buy it from Costco and not anywhere else. You'll get the best price and you can easily return it if you are not satisfied.