If we are going to be pedantic, Costco doesn't subsidize anything with the membership fee, the average and median spending by a member in a month is way more th

If we are going to be pedantic, Costco doesn't subsidize anything with the membership fee, the average and median spending by a member in a month is way more than the annual membership fee. About half the stores near me have the food court outside the store - they don't care if one is a member or not at those stores. In addition, Costco doesn't use loss leaders according to interviews I've read.