5 ms·
The agony and ecstasy of Costco (2023)
- thelastgallon 2y agoCostco is great if you are poor and live on a strict budget, but as soon as you have disposable income, it sucks. You walk in to buy something under $10, always walk out with cart full ($300 - $600), because lots of products seem like incredible deals and nice to have. I am considering ordering everything for delivery, delivery costs more, but the tax of in store shopping is a lot more.
- polar8 2y agoSelf control and disposable income are mutually exclusive?
- NegativeK 2y agoIt's a joke.
- zamadatix 2y agoNot mutually exclusive just one situation the barrier is not having the money in the first place and the other the barrier is exercising the self control over the thought "I have the money, I can get this now". It's a common hurdle for those who've grown their income and a pretty decent problem to have (as far as problems go).
- ck2 2y agoApparently it's why the entire American economy cratered during the pandemic and so-called lockdown, if well-off people aren't allowed to waste massive amounts of money daily it destroys America. The whole post is some ridiculous first-world tears, just wow.
- fshbbdssbbgdd 2y agoIt’s true I spend a lot when I go, but then I don’t go to the normally grocery for weeks. I think it’s a net positive in money and time.
- jen20 2y agoI certainly don't find this. I swing by Costco to buy Coca Cola and imported British Cheddar for ~1/10th the price that any of the supermarkets have it, and basically never leave with anything else. Just those two things make it worth the membership.
- vl 2y agoWhat British Cheddar your Costco has? I don’t think mine has it.
- jen20 2y ago"Coastal" Cheddar [1] - Whole Foods sell it as "Seaside" Cheddar (but it's the same) - they sell it for approx 10x the price though. [1]: https://www.costcobusinessdelivery.com/kirkland-signature-coastal-cheddar-cheese%2C-2-lb-avg-wt.product.100424326.html https://www.costcobusinessdelivery.com/kirkland-signature-co...
- burningChrome 2y agoI've never used Costco as the one place I go for everything. I have a list of stuff I buy there and because its in large quantities, it lasts for several weeks. I have other stuff like fruit and deli meat I get at the local grocery store and some things I get at Aldi because its cheaper than both my local place AND Costco. You just have to know where to get the best prices for the stuff you regularly buy. Once you do that, you realize there isn't one store with all the best deals, you have to mix-n-match to really save money.
- bityard 2y agoWe have a costco membership, but use it mainly for the significantly cheaper gas. The cash back on the rewards credit card ends up mostly paying for the membership, which makes it a net win if you live or commute close to a Costco. People rave about the low prices, but I can only assume that is some kind of collective delusion. Where I live, the grocery stores across the street always have better prices on meat and dairy, usually fruit and veg too. For the non-food things they sell, you can usually get the same exact thing on Amazon at the same price, without having to drive anywhere or wait in line for the receipt-checking security theatre. I'm an avid comparison shopper and this this has been my experience anyway. YMMV.
- mikestew 2y agoWe have a costco membership, but use it mainly for the significantly cheaper gas. We have a Costco membership, and I never use it to buy gas even when I'm already at Costco. There's always a line, and at a $0.05/gallon savings on a 12 gallon tank (assuming that I sputtered my way to the pump as the tank runs dry), the most I'll save is $0.60. My time is worth more than that, I'll just swing by Chevron on the way home where the only time consideration is how fast the pump can shove gasoline into the tank. (Okay, maybe you save $0.10/gallon where you live: it's still only $1.20 savings in our car.)
- bonton89 2y agoGas obsession is fascinating to me since it isn't even the main expense of owning a vehicle in estimation. One of the execs at my company that has since retired once spent 2 hours waiting to fill up his BMW when the local gas station had a free $20 of gas promo. Always boggled my mind how that guy thought it was worth his time to do that, but I guess it deprived some poor person he edged out of $20 so it was worth it in the end, lol.
- mrguyorama 2y agoAmerican Gas price nonsense is a cultural trauma from the energy problems caused by OPEC sanctions in the 70s. Basically the BS of American exceptionalism ran up against the reality of us importing 80% of our energy needs from Autocratic middle eastern countries. We got cut off from that and it gave us a national crisis. We had two options going forward: Either we focus on independent energy solutions, like nuclear and renewables. It would take more effort but would clearly be a smart and forward thinking investment, making us into an energy independent nation that could afford to make hard choices in geopolitics because of that independence, and could be a center for energy tech moving forward. It would probably be difficult for a decade but we basically would have avoided the worst of climate change, and likely be on a stable climate path already. Or we could just turn ourselves into vassals of the oil states, throwing away any morals to the quick and cheap solution that would give us a rich 80s and immediately put us on a path to more future problems and burning cash in the desert trying to keep them pumping that black gold. We would sacrifice our future for slightly more success right here and now, and damn the consequences 50 years down the road, we will all be dead by then anyway. Guess which option we picked? What's funny is that we eventually got the energy independence anyway, thanks to fracking and conservation, but we already wasted trillions in the sandbox, but we STILL need to dedicate enormous national effort keeping the sandbox just stable enough to pump oil because even though we export a significant quantity of our oil, if the price goes up a few cents that apparently ruins the economics of owning a Bro-Dozer so much that people who haven't gotten a raise in 50 years get really upset that """the economy""" is doing poorly. Nevermind that the price of gas seems to suspiciously go up in November, regardless of the actual production figures, but only when there is a democrat in the white house.
- lasereyes136 2y agoI prefer the set of trade-offs in shopping at Costco vs. a lot of other places. I also prefer the trade-off of getting stuff quickly without leaving home when buying from Amazon. I can see why some people would prefer other trade-offs, that doesn't make Costco worst or better, just a set of trade-offs I can live with.
- redmajor12 2y agoCostco is the American version of communism, from the $1.50 hotdogs to the high employee satisfaction, to the drab industrial-scale warehouses, to the two-or-three items in each category available.
- mikestew 2y agoYou might do well to, like, read a Wikipedia page on communism or something. OTOH, Costco does treat its employees well, so maybe it is a worker's paradise? (But I'm pretty sure where the comparison stops. EDIT: sibling points out that Costco actually has shelves with stuff on them.)
- hobotime 2y agoWith one huge exception to communism: the shelves are stocked.
- sdwr 2y agoHonestly true. Diamond rings right next to Tupperware next to golf clubs. No class envy, no scams. Abundance without excess.
- boc 2y agoCostco gets at a core American value, but it's not communism. It's the DIY, bootstraps attitude that Americans love. You get a deal but you basically shop from a warehouse that was built for forklifts, not customers. The displays are just pallets with a price board set on top. Costco does an amazing job of delivering a product (quality food and merchandise) without any of the additional frills that would lead to markups, like nice ambiance or displays. That is a huge deal for millions of Americans who are happy to shop on bare concrete floors if it means saving money.
- sdwr 2y agoIt's way more communist than it is frontier spirit: - there's only one choice for each item. The Company chooses for you - the emphasis on (relatively) flat pay structure and high starting wage - their logo is a big red C
- EricE 2y agoBuying clothes at Costco is amazing - you just get a few of different sizes, try them on at home then return the ones you don't want later. Costco's return policy is one of the best things about them.
- mikestew 2y agoThe return policy is one of the reasons we bought our new all-in-one washer/dryer combo there. If this whole new-fangled "all-in-one" thing isn't all that, back it goes. (Turns out it is all that: runs on 120VAC, doesn't need a vent for the dryer; awesome. Downside: you have a single pipeline, so if you're washing then you can't be drying at the same time. Oh, and get the GE instead of LG: filters are easier to get to, among other advantages.)
- thijson 2y agoI buy things from there too because of the return policy. I went through a few car chargers (EVCE) from Amazon, they all went bad. After that experience, I found one from Costco with the assumption I could use the return policy if it inevitably went bad. Actually, it's still working, haven't had to return it yet. In fact, thinking about it, maybe Costco screens products for quality BECAUSE of the return policy. Also, if you're travelling to Hawaii or Iceland, it's a cheap place to eat for the family.
- Ramiro 2y agoThe most significant value I get from Costco is that the quality is consistently high and the options are well curated. I like not having to go through 100s of brands of basic staples like yogurt, toilet paper, milk, etc...
- _manifold 2y agoPersonally I've found that "well curated" sometimes becomes a double-edged sword in Costco's case. Mainstream brands can be expected to be available perennially; however, smaller/niche items and brands will often get cycled out or replaced by something else which may or may not be comparable. Many times I've found products at Costco that I enjoy, only for them to suddenly stop carrying them a week or a month later.
- professoretc 2y agoA typical grocery store will carry on the order of 40,000 unique products. Costco is hard limited to a max of 3,700 unique products. If a store wants to bring a new product in, something must be rotated out. This also means that if a product wants to stay in Costco, it has to sell a certain minimum number of pallets, per month, to be worth it.
- lazystar 2y agothe best example of this can be seen by comparing the experience buying a treadmill on amazon, to the experience buying a treadmill from costco.
- slowmovintarget 2y agoThat used to be the case under the founder. Not so much any more.
- hobs 2y agoThe delivery stuff is a sleeper, especially standing desks and other mid range expensive appliances.
- bdcravens 2y agoI like the selection at Costco more than Sam's Club, but the shopping experience isn't nearly as good. I love being able to walk into Sam's and checkout without ever getting in line. Of course, Walmart has always been ahead of the curve in terms of technology.
- Workaccount2 2y ago>Walmart has always been ahead of the curve in terms of technology. I'm sure they'll even figure out contactless payment any day now!
- scintill76 2y agoWell, there's "Walmart Pay", a QR-code based payment system. It seems pretty clear they're refusing to adopt the normal contactless payments, not that they are incapable.
- open-paren 2y agoMy headcanon is that Walmart pay 1) avoids or circumnavigates traditional credit-card payment processing fees and 2) is accessible for lower income and unbanked/under banked customers.
- bdcravens 2y agoMy understanding is that it's not a matter of figuring it out, it's a choice to not support it.
- dbrueck 2y agoThe best value at Costco is the slice of pizza + fountain drink combo while my wife wanders around shopping. Everybody wins!
- Animats 2y agoThe article is more about the author's self-control problems than about Costco. My main use of Costco has become non-prescription pharmacy products. CVS and Walgreens have marked up basic items too much. I don't buy much else there, except tires every few years. Unfortunately, they're into the overpriced mattress racket. Look on Alibaba to see what mattresses really cost.
- buildsjets 2y agoAlibaba mattresses smell like cancer.
- davekeck 2y agoMy main beef with Costco is exiting the store, where they insist on checking your receipt as a loss-prevention measure. The presumption of guilt irks me way more than it probably should.
- aidenn0 2y agoCostco has 95% lower shrinkage compared to retail average; hard to say how much is due to the receipt checks though; some of it probably comes from lower employee turnover as well since a non-trivial amount of retail shrinkage is from employees.
- nojito 2y agoThe receipt check is to make sure you’re not over charged(charged more for accidental scans)
- davekeck 2y agoI’ve heard that explanation a few times but I find it very hard to believe that's the primary reason. I can't imagine Costco would devote two workers full-time to that -- it’s simply against their lean philosophy. That's the second reason I find the practice so irksome: on top of requiring customers to wait in line to prove their innocence, they pretend that the practice is for their customers' benefit. And people believe them!? Maddening.
- skynetv2 2y agoAs I understand it, it is not about shrinkage but to make sure the customer is not overcharged or charged for items they did not buy. https://www.tasteofhome.com/article/why-does-costco-check-receipts/ https://www.tasteofhome.com/article/why-does-costco-check-re...
- dahinds 2y agoYour link says "To prevent shoplifting" as the first reason.
- 2y ago
- CostcoIsMeh 2y agoEh. I had a costco membership for one year in order to get cheaper tires. I shopped there for food once. It's fine if you only eat shelf-stable heavily processed food. I prefer fresh produce. It really puts you in the mindset of high consumption. If I had four kids I would probably shop there more often, but since I don't I prefer the grocery co-op down the street that stocks produce from local farms and has bulk bins for almost everything so I can buy small quantities of really fresh food. I used to live in the north Texas food desert and I can imagine it would be a much more attractive retailer there because fresh, local food doesn't really exist in north Texas. My main memory of Costco is seeing tons of products that were presented as bulk, but were actually regular. Like a bottle of 200 Tylenol (normal size that every small pharmacy carries) but at Costco it was in a quart-size bottle and each individual bottle was placed in a giant cardboard tray and shrink-wrapped to make it physically take up as much space as possible. And it was selling at an above-average price.
- uslic001 2y agoI have never had the pleasure of going to Costco as there isn't one in my town.
- insane_dreamer 2y agoEverything that we buy at Costco, i.e., organic vegetables and fruits, bread, cheese, nuts and dried fruit, pasta and pasta sauce, coffee beans, dog food, vitamins, etc. (notably not meat as the quantities are too large for us), is considerably cheaper at Costco than local grocery stores for the same item or of the same level (i.e., organics). (You can get really good deals on wine too if you don't care about variety.) Certain other things, milk, eggs, meat, we buy only local as much as we can. Yes, the selection is limited but it works great for us because we are 1) focused on a limited selection of higher quality raw foods; 2) avoid processed/pre-made foods as much as possible; 3) buy larger quantities less frequently. Not to mention the gas. With a Costco credit card, total savings are substantial. It's always at least 50 cents cheaper per gallon than other gas stations, and if you know when to go there isn't a huge line. Edit: Besides meat, we also don't buy paper products at Costco, as a few years ago we switched to bamboo-based toilet paper and paper tools (reelpaper.com though there are others). It's definitely more expensive but it's just the choice we made. Same thing for switching from plastic to compostable garbage bags (not available at Costco), and absolutely no bottled water or soda cans (another Costco favorite for many) - we use DrinkMate for seltzer (besides, soda, i.e., Coke etc., is strictly verboten in the house along with sugary snacks--the kids gripe but are healthy, and that's another reason we buy lots of fruit).