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In 2005 my wife and I lived in a part of the USA that had no Costco within a half day's drive. We soon secured jobs in a part of the USA that had two (two!) Co

In 2005 my wife and I lived in a part of the USA that had no Costco within a half day's drive. We soon secured jobs in a part of the USA that had two (two!) Costcos in the same city that we would live. True story - before we even looked for housing, I went online and joined Costco. Years later my diabetic cat even had a Costco pharmacy account (best place to buy insulin by far) and received a discount for being without health insurance.

SOLAR_FIELDS 4y ago
I have a Costco account and a Sam's Club (Walmart's Costco equivalent) account. Even though I do something like 98% of my bulk shopping at Sam's club (due to proximity, the Costco is ~ 15 min drive away vs 5 mins for the Sam's club), it's still worth it for me to hold the Costco membership for specific purchases. Notably I've purchased (because there's no better place to buy these things and the vendor vetting is amazing) bedsheets, smart thermostats & a sauna from Costco over the last year and those have easily made back the $60 USD it cost me to buy the membership. I'll probably end up buying a gazebo kit from Costco sometime in the next year. I think for semi-big purchases ($USD 200 to $USD $20,000) as a consumer Costco has huge value. The vendor vetting thing may not be as important when it comes to a bag of chips, but when it comes to a $4,000 gazebo or some $2,000 appliance I have really come to trust Costco's vetting.
- Akronymus 4y ago
  > (due to proximity, the Costco is ~ 15 min drive away vs 5 mins for the Sam's club) this kinda makes me... sad, I guess? Just how embedded the need to drive is for america. (As in, having to drive, rather than being able to) Just such a different culture from what I know.
- cyberge99 4y ago
  Costco also works out deals to sell “special” revisions of major brand offerings. One example is a Sony Bravia that has a physical microphone disable switch.
  - alliao 4y ago
    wow. I'm sold.
  - 8ytecoder 4y ago
    Or the Sonos Arc SL that doesn’t have a microphone at all.
  - crooked-v 4y ago
    Though it's worth keeping in mind that they also have a lot of items with unique model numbers/SKUs that are actually entirely identical otherwise, to make it less obvious that the version at Costco is $X cheaper than the one available everywhere else.
  - anotherman554 4y ago
    If you are referring to the A80j model the Costco exclusive Bravia has a microphone disable switch because it has a microphone. The standard Bravia has no microphone at all.
- inferiorhuman 4y ago
  > when it comes to a $4,000 gazebo or some $2,000 appliance I have really come to trust Costco's vetting. How does that jive with selling Samsung (and LG) appliances? Samsung is easily the worst appliance manufacturer in North America across pretty much any appliance. LG's not too much better but supposedly their dryers and front load washers are decent.
  - rexf 4y ago
    Shopping for appliances is not easy. For my recent purchase, I looked at wirecutter as a starting point and bought from Costco. Also I got a 3rd party extended warranty (since you never know with water-using appliances). According to Wirecutter (NYT): "If you’re a member, Costco offers the cheapest delivery and installation of the big national chains, you’ll get an additional year of warranty coverage for many products, and it will help you make warranty claims with the manufacturer." https://www.nytimes.com/wirecutter/reviews/where-to-buy-appliances/#chains-with-the-best-policies-costco-and-lowes https://www.nytimes.com/wirecutter/reviews/where-to-buy-appl...
    - deleted 4y ago
      [deleted]
  - kfrzcode 4y ago
    I've been happy with my Samsung range, fridge, dishwasher and TV It's been 6months. When should I expect issues?
    - greenthrow 4y ago
      The TV will probably hold up just fine, other than the ads it will show if connected to the internet. Samsung/LG appliances (washer/dryer, fridge, etc.) usually last 5 years or less. Whereas a quality appliance should last 10 years or more. My source on this is friends who work in the industry plus the experience of family members who bought LG/Samsung appliances anyway.
    - inferiorhuman 4y ago
gnicholas 4y ago
> Years later my diabetic cat even had a Costco pharmacy account (best place to buy insulin by far) and received a discount for being without health insurance. IIRC, you don't need a membership to: • shop at the pharmacy • buy alcohol • eat at the food court I believe the first two are due to govt regulations, and may only apply in certain states. It's also much easier for anyone to shop at Costco with a spouse's/friend's membership card now that they have self-checkout. You used to have to worry about the cashier flagging you if the cardholder wasn't there, but now there's no one who even looks at your card.
- legalcorrection 4y ago
  >It's also much easier for anyone to shop at Costco with a spouse's/friend's membership card now that they have self-checkout. You used to have to worry about the cashier flagging you if the cardholder wasn't there, but now there's no one who even looks at your card. Or how about don't be a liar/cheater and buy your own membership. It's not expensive and it pays for itself fast. Shame on whoever does this.
  - nwatson 4y ago
    Yeah. I almost think of Costco as a privatized utopian socialist mini-state. One should pay to be a good citizen. ... But then I've also thought it would be cool to build an app to help people organize trips to Costco from "food deserts" to split memberships and bulk-sized items and the bill. Also, once on a trip to Hawaii with my wife and extended family I had my arm around my wife in the Costco checkout line. I mentioned that "it feels so good and so right." My wife was at first flattered and then realized I was talking about the universality of the Costco experience.
  - wlesieutre 4y ago
    I don’t know about the food court, but alcohol is definitely true for legal reasons in some states. In Connecticut our local Costco had its alcohol sales in a separate entrance next to the main warehouse, on the opposite end from the tire department. To add another one, the same is true nationwide for their optometrists, you can get your eyes checked there without a membership but won’t be able to buy glasses. If you want a place to get your prescription without a hassle from the optometrist (who is legally required to give you the prescription but isn’t necessarily happy about that), Costco is a reliable option. https://customerservice.costco.com/app/answers/detail/a_id/8290/~/do-i-need-a-membership-to-purchase-glasses-or-contacts%3F https://customerservice.costco.com/app/answers/detail/a_id/8... https://www.ftc.gov/business-guidance/resources/complying-eyeglass-rule https://www.ftc.gov/business-guidance/resources/complying-ey...

SOLAR_FIELDS 4y ago

I have a Costco account and a Sam's Club (Walmart's Costco equivalent) account. Even though I do something like 98% of my bulk shopping at Sam's club (due to proximity, the Costco is ~ 15 min drive away vs 5 mins for the Sam's club), it's still worth it for me to hold the Costco membership for specific purchases. Notably I've purchased (because there's no better place to buy these things and the vendor vetting is amazing) bedsheets, smart thermostats & a sauna from Costco over the last year and those have easily made back the $60 USD it cost me to buy the membership. I'll probably end up buying a gazebo kit from Costco sometime in the next year. I think for semi-big purchases ($USD 200 to $USD $20,000) as a consumer Costco has huge value. The vendor vetting thing may not be as important when it comes to a bag of chips, but when it comes to a $4,000 gazebo or some $2,000 appliance I have really come to trust Costco's vetting.

Akronymus 4y ago
> (due to proximity, the Costco is ~ 15 min drive away vs 5 mins for the Sam's club) this kinda makes me... sad, I guess? Just how embedded the need to drive is for america. (As in, having to drive, rather than being able to) Just such a different culture from what I know.
cyberge99 4y ago
Costco also works out deals to sell “special” revisions of major brand offerings. One example is a Sony Bravia that has a physical microphone disable switch.
- alliao 4y ago
  wow. I'm sold.
- 8ytecoder 4y ago
  Or the Sonos Arc SL that doesn’t have a microphone at all.
- crooked-v 4y ago
  Though it's worth keeping in mind that they also have a lot of items with unique model numbers/SKUs that are actually entirely identical otherwise, to make it less obvious that the version at Costco is $X cheaper than the one available everywhere else.
- anotherman554 4y ago
  If you are referring to the A80j model the Costco exclusive Bravia has a microphone disable switch because it has a microphone. The standard Bravia has no microphone at all.
inferiorhuman 4y ago
> when it comes to a $4,000 gazebo or some $2,000 appliance I have really come to trust Costco's vetting. How does that jive with selling Samsung (and LG) appliances? Samsung is easily the worst appliance manufacturer in North America across pretty much any appliance. LG's not too much better but supposedly their dryers and front load washers are decent.
- rexf 4y ago
  Shopping for appliances is not easy. For my recent purchase, I looked at wirecutter as a starting point and bought from Costco. Also I got a 3rd party extended warranty (since you never know with water-using appliances). According to Wirecutter (NYT): "If you’re a member, Costco offers the cheapest delivery and installation of the big national chains, you’ll get an additional year of warranty coverage for many products, and it will help you make warranty claims with the manufacturer." https://www.nytimes.com/wirecutter/reviews/where-to-buy-appliances/#chains-with-the-best-policies-costco-and-lowes https://www.nytimes.com/wirecutter/reviews/where-to-buy-appl...
  - deleted 4y ago
    [deleted]
- kfrzcode 4y ago
  I've been happy with my Samsung range, fridge, dishwasher and TV It's been 6months. When should I expect issues?
  - greenthrow 4y ago
    The TV will probably hold up just fine, other than the ads it will show if connected to the internet. Samsung/LG appliances (washer/dryer, fridge, etc.) usually last 5 years or less. Whereas a quality appliance should last 10 years or more. My source on this is friends who work in the industry plus the experience of family members who bought LG/Samsung appliances anyway.
  - inferiorhuman 4y ago

gnicholas 4y ago

> Years later my diabetic cat even had a Costco pharmacy account (best place to buy insulin by far) and received a discount for being without health insurance. IIRC, you don't need a membership to: • shop at the pharmacy • buy alcohol • eat at the food court I believe the first two are due to govt regulations, and may only apply in certain states. It's also much easier for anyone to shop at Costco with a spouse's/friend's membership card now that they have self-checkout. You used to have to worry about the cashier flagging you if the cardholder wasn't there, but now there's no one who even looks at your card.

legalcorrection 4y ago
>It's also much easier for anyone to shop at Costco with a spouse's/friend's membership card now that they have self-checkout. You used to have to worry about the cashier flagging you if the cardholder wasn't there, but now there's no one who even looks at your card. Or how about don't be a liar/cheater and buy your own membership. It's not expensive and it pays for itself fast. Shame on whoever does this.
- nwatson 4y ago
  Yeah. I almost think of Costco as a privatized utopian socialist mini-state. One should pay to be a good citizen. ... But then I've also thought it would be cool to build an app to help people organize trips to Costco from "food deserts" to split memberships and bulk-sized items and the bill. Also, once on a trip to Hawaii with my wife and extended family I had my arm around my wife in the Costco checkout line. I mentioned that "it feels so good and so right." My wife was at first flattered and then realized I was talking about the universality of the Costco experience.
- wlesieutre 4y ago
  I don’t know about the food court, but alcohol is definitely true for legal reasons in some states. In Connecticut our local Costco had its alcohol sales in a separate entrance next to the main warehouse, on the opposite end from the tire department. To add another one, the same is true nationwide for their optometrists, you can get your eyes checked there without a membership but won’t be able to buy glasses. If you want a place to get your prescription without a hassle from the optometrist (who is legally required to give you the prescription but isn’t necessarily happy about that), Costco is a reliable option. https://customerservice.costco.com/app/answers/detail/a_id/8290/~/do-i-need-a-membership-to-purchase-glasses-or-contacts%3F https://customerservice.costco.com/app/answers/detail/a_id/8... https://www.ftc.gov/business-guidance/resources/complying-eyeglass-rule https://www.ftc.gov/business-guidance/resources/complying-ey...