It’s worldwide. From the website…
A Costco membership is valid anywhere in the world . If you go international you tell the cashier it is an international card and we input a special code for you to use your card.
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They’ll refund the full fee, but you have to say that you were “unsatisfied” with the membership. IIRC you’ll also be “blacklisted” from having a Costco membership, temporarily if this is your first time, permanently otherwise.
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The full fee I believe. Note @yam’s answer below though - might not be worth it if you’d later want to sign up somewhere else.
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Keep in mind Costco memberships here are cheaper than abroad (half the cost of the US membership, if I recall. No idea about Australia), so if you’re here til November and you’ll be using it, it’s kind of a wash. (And it does work abroad)
- Milk is much cheaper from Costco than other places, and tastes way better (~USD12/gallon (4 liters) vs. USD7+/gallon at Costco) so if you do cereal for breakfast, it adds up quickly
- selection of cheese and baked goods is fantastic (bagels have become a thing here in Taipei but they are bastardized. Costco bagels are basic, plain/wheat/blueberry and cost like NT$140/dozen vs. one gross weird bagel made of chemical flavoring for NT$75 elsewhere.
- a lot of stuff (cream cheese, cinnamon rolls, chocolate chips) have been MIA for the past year ish, so be aware of that if those are things you planned on buying regularly.
- regarding cereal: it’s like 3x more expensive here than in the US (yes, I know you’re from Oz. I’m going off my experience), but Costco still has better prices except when Carrefour has it on sale.
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Mine’s always had cream cheese, both Raskas and Zanetti, and chocolate chips, and cinnamon rolls have been recently discontinued.
I got a grape juice at Costco and it came with stickers covering some information.
They seemed to be on there in purpose as it was the same position in both sides of every bottle.
What’s the reason for that? Can’t “100% grape juice” be written on the package in Taiwan?
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Likely doesn’t meet Taiwan’s definition of 100% and/or they don’t want to go through the certification process here.
Looking at the ingredients on their website it appears they may not even meet the US definition as it seems to use some sort of concentrate and water.
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WOW, that’s not even close to 100%.
Here, I buy Raisin rougue du Languedoc in Carrefour. Although I didn’t find it last two times I went to Zhishan.
https://www.carrefour.fr/p/jus-de-raisin-rouge-du-languedoc-reflets-de-france-3560070900497
Or mosto, Juver brand. This can be found online too.
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I had a cereal box from Costco that covered the German labeling with a white sticker but left the French. I’d love to know the logic on that one…
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It is saying that the grapes are 100% grape. No half breeds, mixed bloods, no pear/grape crossbreeds.
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I don´t understand. How can a grape not be (100%) a grape?
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Bad joke. That is the point. The grapes inside are indeed 100 percent grape.
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NooooooOOOOooooOOooOOooOOooOOooOOOoooOOoooo. . . .
Dehydrated, then rehydrated? Plus vitamins, oh no! Oh well.
I was wondering something similar a few weeks back, when I bought baking soda and stock cubes in one of the ASEAN stores. They’d blacked out “baking” and whatever Knorr’s promise is (turns out it’s “Made with real beef”). I just assumed it was something to do with import restrictions.
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I find them useful in that it is something I may overlook in the store.
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Oh, I didn’t realize beef stock cubes were available at all here! (I half-recall there’s some kind of import restriction on processed beef products). Cool, I need to have a look in one of those stores.
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Yeah, you’re right I believe, and the ASEAN stores are the only place I’ve seen them, so 
. I’m pretty sure you and I have had this conversation before, actually! (Edit: Yup, we did!)
The store is the EEC Global on Zhongshan Bei Lu (or possibly the other one next to it, not 100% sure).
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Ha. I frequently reply to new questions with links to old threads. I may soon reach a stage where I could reply to most of my own comments with links of times I’ve said something identical. If I’m not at that stage already.
(At least now I don’t need to re-ask which specific store.)
Last summer I wound up getting vegetarian beef stock cubes from iHerb.
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Inquiry: so has anyone seen the cinnamon buns at Costco in the past few weeks? (Also curious about canned diced tomatoes, especially at Beitou-Guandu branch.)
Your answer may determine whether I head to Costco or Carrefour for shopping today! My fate is in your hands!
I thought I read recently that they’d stopped stocking the cinnamon buns (not 100% sure, and have never looked for or tried them).
I usually buy canned tomatoes from this baking supply store. They seem like higher quality than the Kirkland ones, and only slightly more expensive (I think NT$50-55 per can). Probably less convenient for you though.
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