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Apple and Costco

I have been a Apple user for several decades and go to Costco weekly. I am sorry to see them part ways. If Sams carries Apple products I cannot see the sense of Apple denying Costco access to sell Apples.
 
No big loss... Love Costco, but no need to have Apple there. Too bad though, Costco will loose out. :p

Apple will lose out in this deal. Costco could have helped push a ton of ipads,etc. A 90 day no questions asked return policy and a decent discount. Apple is slowly shooting itself in the foot.
 
I think Apple is blowing it by ending sales at Costco. They don't realize that Costco has the type of customer demographics that will MORE likely buy an Apple product, not less.

I do think that in the longer run, Apple will reconsider and don't be surprised that the iPods and possibly the iPhone 5 will be available at the fall of 2011.
 
What the heck is Steve thinking? Is he behaving like a spoiled tween?

Hell, Sam's Club is reportedly selling the iPad at a discount. I've bought discounted iTunes cards before too.

Is this a dig at Costco because they are unionized? They have been compared, unfavorably, to Sam's Club and Wally world in general because they pay a 'living wage' and are profitable where Sam's Club and wally world pay a pittance and are religiously non-union.

With Jobs/APple making deals with noted foreign terrorist Rupert Murdoch as well, I have to wonder what Steve's beef is with truth and a living wage.

His rank hypocrisy is showing...
 
No Big Whup

Apple products are pretty reliable but I'd rather buy that kind of thing at the Apple store or a reputable dealer and have the service which I think is always better at a prime store. We go to Costco for sugar, olive oil, paper towels... good store. :)
 
Apple products are pretty reliable but I'd rather buy that kind of thing at the Apple store or a reputable dealer and have the service which I think is always better at a prime store. We go to Costco for sugar, olive oil, paper towels... good store. :)

Like a Best Buy?!?!?! They have the WORST service imaginable and carry Apple products.. Costco is the Best retailer for Customer Service PERIOD. If your product doesn't work, Costco will take care of you, unlike Best Buy or other electronics retailers.

Heck, even the Apple stores are very poor for customer service lately. There is a real attitude (in the Toronto locations at least) where Apple is perfect and that there can't be a problem with the product, leading to the customer wasting time and getting the runaround when they have a problem with an Apple product.



This is a bad move by Apple
 
I don't really think apple needs Costco & vice versa. Costco will be fine long after apples products are gone from it's inventory. I'm pleased with Costco's line of products and it's impeccable customer service. That is what drives customers to a business not an ipad.
 
Some of us are not restaurant owners shopping at Costco for our daily / weekly supplies - or the head of a family of eight. I have gone in to buy just one product. It depends on how convenient it is to shop there, but the self-check lanes help.

Wow, you guys have self check lines?
 
I buy quite a bit at Costco. I had a Sam's Club card but never really liked most of what they offered compared to Costco, so quit renewing.

I've bought several ipods and many itunes cards over the years and prefer to buy my electronics at Costco (assuming they have what I want). They were one of few discounting the ipod touch 4 when it first come out and I bought mine there.

Both Apple and Costco are very successful companies with business models that work extremely well and probably neither was going to change for the other. I think most shoppers are informed enough to know what they want and went to Costco for an ipod not just some mp3 player because of Costco 90 day return and customer service.

Walmart is probably more a winner than anyone here. They have pretty much reach the limit of saturation in the US, hence their possible overpaying of South Africa's Massmart. They need to go somewhere to expand and even that's getting limited. What would Walmart sell in China? Also I'm sure Walmart looks at Costco and what like to capture some of the bit more upscale demographic. Apple products help them do this, or appears to do this.

To say a successful company doesn't target a demographic and know exactly what that demographic would be a bit uninformed. Does the person who shops regularly at Mont Blanc, Tiffany's, and fill in any high end designer store name here also shop at Walmart? Sure, but only the high-end stores are targeting that person.

One other small point about Costco's return policy on electronics. It doesn't apply to all of them. My Garmin GPS is not limited to 90 days and is basically lifetime. I took one back recently after almost a year since it seemed to be malfunctioning and Costco was much easier to deal with than Garmin. I also bought another one from them.

A couple of people thought Costco was "loosing" to Apple. Maybe they need to tighten up on their negotiating skills?;)
 
Returns

The real sticking point may be the COSCO return policy. I don't shop there but am told that for most electronics, customers can return them months later for full credit. It's the very reason some people buy gadgets there.

Reverse obsolescence would essentially allow consumers to purchase iPhones or iPads year end, return them when the new version comes out next year. Perhaps COSCO wanted Apple to eat the cost for the out-of-date merchandise.
 
Never seen a Mac?

I've never seen a Mac in a Costco - only iPods and iTunes cards. I don't ever recall the iPods being more than $10 off "normal" retail pricing. I don't see any huge loss from a consumer standpoint.

The Gateshead Store (In the UK) has MacBooks, MacBookPro's and IMac's on sale at a hefty discount too. They are not always on sale every week though.But are now!
 
Apple needed Costco far, far less than Costco needs Apple. While I am not privy to how many devices Costco sold that had the Apple logo on it...to simply banish them from their premises due to a pricing issue with Apple is shortsighted on their part.

Arguably, the ones who should arguably be worried are those Costco vendors who sell Apple-related products (e.g. systems designed for iPods/iPhones, whether in home or auto, etc).

In my Costco, at least one aisle is dedicated to 3rd-party device manufacturers (e.g. Griffin) that are designed for use with Apple products, alone. Only Costco knows how many purchases of such after-market devices depended on the buyer also purchasing an Apple device, but odds are good that the sales of these other devices will migrate elsewhere, too.
 
I don't really think apple needs Costco & vice versa. Costco will be fine long after apples products are gone from it's inventory. I'm pleased with Costco's line of products and it's impeccable customer service. That is what drives customers to a business not an ipad.

Yeah, I'm a longtime customer/user of Apple (since the SE days) AND Costco, and was a bit surprised when Apple products showed up there, in the first place. The Apple product selection was slim (usually just iPods), and an attempt to introduce desktops (was it iMacs?) seemingly failed, as they made a brief appearance but weren't restocked (which Costco users know: buy an item you want while it's there, as it may NOT be in stock the next time you visit).

Thinking back, I've never bought ANY Apple product there, as they didn't sell anything I wanted to buy (e.g. they don't sell Apple peripherals). The price wasn't different than elsewhere, and the better return policy wasn't a factor: if buying a gift where the recipient was not likely to reject it (i.e. an iPod was requested for X-Mas), then there's little benefit of an extended return period without restocking fee...

So basically, this dissolution of agreement between Apple and Costco is basically a "meh, OK..." from me, as it was incompletely implemented, a non-starter, in the first place. Both will do quite well without the other, as it was never a big money-maker for either, in the first place. Apple's doing just fine with their retail stores...
 
The real sticking point may be the COSCO return policy. I don't shop there but am told that for most electronics, customers can return them months later for full credit. It's the very reason some people buy gadgets there.

Reverse obsolescence would essentially allow consumers to purchase iPhones or iPads year end, return them when the new version comes out next year. Perhaps COSCO wanted Apple to eat the cost for the out-of-date merchandise.

Nice theory, but unlikely: who returns iPods?

On the other hand, I've seen PLENTY of 40"-52" Samsung and Sony HD TVs being returned to Costco after a few years, when the owner realized they could return them and purchase a cheaper model nowadays. You think Costco expects Sony to eat the cost of Costco's expensive return policy, and Sony isn't going to tell Costco to go pound sand, and just change THEIR policy?
 
Costco sells pallet junk.

Everyone who doesn't know what they are talking about re: retailing and marketing: shut it.

The posters mentioning that Costco has differentiation by product quality, return policy and lastly cost are totally right. They have a target, which they achieve, of a higher end consumer, with more disposable income. Specifically, than Sam's (and there were other, mostly regional cost clubs when they started).

This is well-known in business and marketing circles. Look it up.

What do we mean by quality? That the Costco buyers pick stuff that meets their target audience. Then the supplier has to sign a contract that the products delivered will continue to meet the quality of the samples. First few years I shopped there, products were a lot more transient, because (and aside from Business Week interviews, I've talked to a Costco buyer) suppliers would slip, or try to pull one over. That only works at Walmart/Sams, and Costco would happily drop them.

The return policy is not just to satisfy customers, but a way of /judging/ customer satisfaction. They log why the product was returned, and look at the results, I believe, twice a week. If there's a regular problem with a product, they fix it.

Apple, by dropping them, is missing out on this high customer-service model, and an audience that buys a surprising number of $800 items essentially on whim. Costco will not notice one whit, which is why they have the ability, during negotiations, to walk away when someone won't meet their basic markup, quality and return policies.
 
Costco.. eh. Never loved the idea of having to pay a membership just to shop.

Ditto. A paid membership to even WALK INTO the store. Ridiculous. And sheep actually pay that extortion fee. Should be: Anyone can shop, but you can only get max discounts with a paid membership.


Well, that's awful. I mean, that's like a free rental service. I never understood how Costco survives with people doing that all the time.

Especially given the entitlement of some that believe such a "free rental" is the way it should be. Quite frankly I think 30 days is a bit too much except around Christmas. 14 days is more than adequate to know if the device isn't what you want, warranty support thereafter.


Apple will lose out in this deal. Costco could have helped push a ton of ipads,etc. A 90 day no questions asked return policy and a decent discount. Apple is slowly shooting itself in the foot.

Costco and a "free rental" policy is a waste of money. Costco is the biggest loser. Apple already made their money from the wholesale.
 
I don't think my local Cost Co. has MacBook Pros anyway. Also, my uncle gave me his membership card so I get in for free. :D
 
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