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> relationship that they have with third party sellers There are no third party sellers at Costco, it’s only Costco.
by nkrisc 6y ago
> relationship that they have with third party sellers
There are no third party sellers at Costco, it’s only Costco.
- awillen 6y agoCostco buys products from third party sellers. That is a relationship with third party sellers.
- deleted 6y ago[deleted]
- nkrisc 6y agoNo, those are Costco’s suppliers which are completely invisible to the customer and completely different. Costco purchases the items from the suppliers, generally. They then resell them to you for a markup. With few exceptions, every single item in Costco is sold by the first party seller: Costco. So my point stands: third party sellers are generally not a part of the Costco experience.
- colejohnson66 6y agoNot always true. Usually, Costco/Target/Walmart/etc. pay for it before it sells, but it’s not always like that. “Vendor” products like Frito Lay, Bimbo, etc. are sometimes given the ability to just put product on the floor at no cost to the retailer. When it sells, the retailer will send money to the vendor.
- gamblor956 6y agoConsignment sales represent less than 1% of retail sales at these stores, and generally only are required for new products that the retailer will not purchase in bulk before the distributor proves market demand. Generally, for the sales you have described, the consignment sales are paired with marketing efforts by the distributor to demonstrate customer interest. If the test succeeds, the store will purchase future lots from the distributor. If the test does not, the product disappears from the shelves and the distributor stops selling it.
- nkrisc 6y agoI know, but I deliberately didn’t mention that because it’s the exception, not the rule. If you pick up a random item in Costco, it’s paid for and sold by Costco.