3 ms·

Actually this isn't a good comparison. You should be comparing cost per sheet. The Kirkland SKU you linked to is cheaper than the Walmart one. But this is a s

by bane 12y ago

Actually this isn't a good comparison. You should be comparing cost per sheet. The Kirkland SKU you linked to is cheaper than the Walmart one. But this is a shitty fight, if I wanted the cheapest toilet paper in town, I could drive an hour across town and buy some from Big Lots. It's not like we only go there to buy toilet paper, that's a dumb pedantic argument to make. With the toilet paper are six or seven bottles of wine, $5-$15 cheaper than anywhere else in town for the same, several pounds of meats, about 30% cheaper than any local grocer, bulk milk, again cheaper than my grocer (and without the troubling safety issues the plague Super Walmart grocery sections), maybe a hard-drive at reasonably cheap prices. And 0-minutes spent shopping around, instead of hours spent finding the best possible price for each item. My time isn't free, why is yours?

maxerickson 12y ago
I think they were responding to your hyperbole. You did say something very specific about the membership fee being covered by what you save on toilet paper in a year. I realize that people have different communication preferences, but I understand where they are (apparently) coming from, I too find hyperbolic emphasis tiresome.
- bane 12y ago
  Right. But he's decided to turn this into a pissing contest of "who has the cheapest possible toilet paper" But that's not the comparison at all that people make. The comparison is, based on what normal people buy... Toilet paper is cheap enough that people just buy it whenever they see it. Like at their local grocer. Where places like Costco win is that almost everything is cheaper than your local grocer... And for things that aren't strictly a better buy, it's more convenient than running all over town to find a better price. The fact that they are competitive at all on price with an ultra cheap retailer like Walmart is amazing. But they definitely offer better quality than Walmart on just about everything. The reasons I hear from people who don't have a membership even though they live within spitting distance of one is that they think the membership isn't worth it. Or the selection is bad or whatever. But my point is that the membership almost doesn't matter because you'll probably recover the cost inside of two or three trips and the selection, while isn't fantastic, and doesn't always have the absolute highest quality on the planet, are usually of high quality and thoughtfully made. It's clear after doing there for years that the buyers who work for Costco really try to hit a good price to quality ratio and that's where all the value comes from.
  - maxerickson 12y ago
    It is literally the comparison you made. I get your point that people shop at Costco because they think they save on normal household items, but I don't think you should be flabbergasted that someone on the internet decided to be pedantic about a point that was designed to be a sound bite more than it was intended to be, uh, accurate.
    - bane 12y ago
      > It is literally the comparison you made. If only we had some other concept that could be used in common conversation. Something where people use words to draw concepts and ideas, using various language devices to create or drive home some desired concept. Some kind of concept around representation or metaphorical speech. But alas, all we have to work with is literalism and pedantry. It makes conversation feel kind of limited and poor, fact checking every statement down to some measure of significant digits, or splitting hairs to show that a claim is correct, but not quite as correct as it could be, feels like not fun or entertaining conversation, but we have to work with what we have and I guess that's the way we're required to speak to one another. I'm surprised we use words at all, Hacker News should really just allow for formatted tables of figures.
      - maxerickson 12y ago
        I don't think it is obnoxious to call people out on statements that have 0 significant digits. Such a statement isn't "entertaining conversation", it's boring manipulation (it's boring because it is so flimsy).
        bane 12y ago
        Okay fine, let's do this. You seem to want to grind an ax with me on this and be an internet asshole. Your job now is to take the following omissions and come up with comparison down to the fractional cent. Because it's so important to you if I buy my asswipes at Walmart or Costco. 1) He literally showed that Costco was the cheaper option. 2) He failed to include savings from cash-back using an Amex 3) He failed to include savings from rebates, sales or other promotions 4) He failed to include savings from gas, vehicle wear and tear, from driving to another store to buy these ass wipes 5) He failed to account for the fractional wear and tear on shoes and clothing used for extra movement to the other store 6) He failed to account for caloric expenditure in the time spent going to Walmart to buy said toilet paper. What's the cost differential in buying a meal because I have to go to another store across town? 7) He failed to account for the cost of time-saved in not having to drive across town to buy this shit paper.

by bane 12y ago

maxerickson 12y ago

I think they were responding to your hyperbole. You did say something very specific about the membership fee being covered by what you save on toilet paper in a year. I realize that people have different communication preferences, but I understand where they are (apparently) coming from, I too find hyperbolic emphasis tiresome.

bane 12y ago
Right. But he's decided to turn this into a pissing contest of "who has the cheapest possible toilet paper" But that's not the comparison at all that people make. The comparison is, based on what normal people buy... Toilet paper is cheap enough that people just buy it whenever they see it. Like at their local grocer. Where places like Costco win is that almost everything is cheaper than your local grocer... And for things that aren't strictly a better buy, it's more convenient than running all over town to find a better price. The fact that they are competitive at all on price with an ultra cheap retailer like Walmart is amazing. But they definitely offer better quality than Walmart on just about everything. The reasons I hear from people who don't have a membership even though they live within spitting distance of one is that they think the membership isn't worth it. Or the selection is bad or whatever. But my point is that the membership almost doesn't matter because you'll probably recover the cost inside of two or three trips and the selection, while isn't fantastic, and doesn't always have the absolute highest quality on the planet, are usually of high quality and thoughtfully made. It's clear after doing there for years that the buyers who work for Costco really try to hit a good price to quality ratio and that's where all the value comes from.
- maxerickson 12y ago
  It is literally the comparison you made. I get your point that people shop at Costco because they think they save on normal household items, but I don't think you should be flabbergasted that someone on the internet decided to be pedantic about a point that was designed to be a sound bite more than it was intended to be, uh, accurate.
  - bane 12y ago
    > It is literally the comparison you made. If only we had some other concept that could be used in common conversation. Something where people use words to draw concepts and ideas, using various language devices to create or drive home some desired concept. Some kind of concept around representation or metaphorical speech. But alas, all we have to work with is literalism and pedantry. It makes conversation feel kind of limited and poor, fact checking every statement down to some measure of significant digits, or splitting hairs to show that a claim is correct, but not quite as correct as it could be, feels like not fun or entertaining conversation, but we have to work with what we have and I guess that's the way we're required to speak to one another. I'm surprised we use words at all, Hacker News should really just allow for formatted tables of figures.
    - maxerickson 12y ago
      I don't think it is obnoxious to call people out on statements that have 0 significant digits. Such a statement isn't "entertaining conversation", it's boring manipulation (it's boring because it is so flimsy).
      - bane 12y ago
        Okay fine, let's do this. You seem to want to grind an ax with me on this and be an internet asshole. Your job now is to take the following omissions and come up with comparison down to the fractional cent. Because it's so important to you if I buy my asswipes at Walmart or Costco. 1) He literally showed that Costco was the cheaper option. 2) He failed to include savings from cash-back using an Amex 3) He failed to include savings from rebates, sales or other promotions 4) He failed to include savings from gas, vehicle wear and tear, from driving to another store to buy these ass wipes 5) He failed to account for the fractional wear and tear on shoes and clothing used for extra movement to the other store 6) He failed to account for caloric expenditure in the time spent going to Walmart to buy said toilet paper. What's the cost differential in buying a meal because I have to go to another store across town? 7) He failed to account for the cost of time-saved in not having to drive across town to buy this shit paper.