Got a tip for us?
Let us know
Become a MacRumors Supporter for $50/year with no ads, ability to filter front page stories, and private forums.
Costco Dropping iPod After Being Left Out of iPad Surge?
- Thread starter MacRumors
- Start date
- Sort by reaction score
Costco uses your account number to track your purchases. If you ended up dealing with a return agent who gives you trouble, talk to the manager. It is not the agent's job to subvert the policies of the company.
No. They don't. You have no clue what you are talking about so please stop correct please while you talk out of your arse.
My understand is that Costco makes most of its profit from the membership fees. According to an article I read a year or so ago (I wish I could find it), costco sells most of its items as a set markup. This tends to run afoul of most electronic companies minimum pricing policies, so that may be why you don't get the deals on electronics you once did.
Do you work at Walmart? Do you know some one that works there? If your answer is no to both, then you have no clue then and you are talking out of your ares.. I know people that work there so I do you what I am talking about..
Also your last sentience makes no sentence lol...
Doesn't affect my membership one iota
I live in Albuquerque and am a fan of Costco. Each and every SAM's club I have been in as compared to Costco is a dump. They've always been a bit on the messy side and when I did have something I needed to take back at Sam's Club I was given quite the runaround by the staff. Granted - it was only once that I had to return something to Sam's and that might have simply been indicative of that particular person having a bad day - who knows. I've have to take back about 4 things since being with Costco and each time was the most pleasant experience I could have hoped for.
Does it matter to me that they don't carry iPods, iPads or some other (i) product? Not in the slightest. I like Costco and will continue to be a patron to their services.
I figure that between my Amazon Prime membership and my annual Costco membership with the Amex card that gives me a little cash back, I'm doing pretty decently. I make more than enough money back on not just Costco stuff to pay for the membership - and I get to see the same, happy, smiling people when I go there.
As a sidenote, I've know people including my sister who have worked for the "Walmart Famly" from Arkansas - and I've learned (albeit second-hand), that it's certainly a company I have very little respect for from a human-resources management standpoint. So even if they carried iPads at something of a discount, I probably still wouldn't buy anything there.
That said - if Costco stops carrying Apple gear - that's fine. I'm sure they have a good business reason for it. No skin off my nose. If that drives more people away from Costco and to Sam's club - I doubt their sales numbers will change much if at all for the decision. It's most likely a loss-leader anyway with the margins being as low as they are - and it's only used to get people in the store to buy their own branded stuff.
I for one would admit, I would take the Costco branded stuff over the Sam's branded stuff any day of the week. For years I was a member of both and was able to compare - and of about 2 years ago I no longer have a Sam's membership...
All of this is my opinion. I just think Costco is nicer looking, has nicer staff, has better self-branded items and has a great return policy. I also buy all my tires there, too. It's an awesome place...
I live in Albuquerque and am a fan of Costco. Each and every SAM's club I have been in as compared to Costco is a dump. They've always been a bit on the messy side and when I did have something I needed to take back at Sam's Club I was given quite the runaround by the staff. Granted - it was only once that I had to return something to Sam's and that might have simply been indicative of that particular person having a bad day - who knows. I've have to take back about 4 things since being with Costco and each time was the most pleasant experience I could have hoped for.
Does it matter to me that they don't carry iPods, iPads or some other (i) product? Not in the slightest. I like Costco and will continue to be a patron to their services.
I figure that between my Amazon Prime membership and my annual Costco membership with the Amex card that gives me a little cash back, I'm doing pretty decently. I make more than enough money back on not just Costco stuff to pay for the membership - and I get to see the same, happy, smiling people when I go there.
As a sidenote, I've know people including my sister who have worked for the "Walmart Famly" from Arkansas - and I've learned (albeit second-hand), that it's certainly a company I have very little respect for from a human-resources management standpoint. So even if they carried iPads at something of a discount, I probably still wouldn't buy anything there.
That said - if Costco stops carrying Apple gear - that's fine. I'm sure they have a good business reason for it. No skin off my nose. If that drives more people away from Costco and to Sam's club - I doubt their sales numbers will change much if at all for the decision. It's most likely a loss-leader anyway with the margins being as low as they are - and it's only used to get people in the store to buy their own branded stuff.
I for one would admit, I would take the Costco branded stuff over the Sam's branded stuff any day of the week. For years I was a member of both and was able to compare - and of about 2 years ago I no longer have a Sam's membership...
All of this is my opinion. I just think Costco is nicer looking, has nicer staff, has better self-branded items and has a great return policy. I also buy all my tires there, too. It's an awesome place...
New member here at MacRumors! 
Been lurking here for awhile now and decided to post since I'm a Costco member and bought both my iPod Classic 160 GB and the latest iPod Nano (graphite) there. I only have 2 Apple devices so far and am considering getting a MBP 13 inch, though I would ask about that on a separate thread.
I remember being torn between getting a Zune and an iPod Classic, but eventually settled for the iPod Classic inspite of leaning towards the Zune because it was available at Costco and I love their generous return policy. I'm not the type to abuse that, but it's good to know that I have 90 days to use it and be able to return it should something go wrong on my device through no fault of my own, or should I decide that it's not for me and a Zune would be instead.
Prices at Costco are slightly cheaper too. I recently got my iPod Nano 6 which I really like and it was about $10 cheaper than retail. $10 might be chump change for some of the die hard Apple fans here, but in this economy I thought I could use that for something else, like maybe some Chinese or Mexican lunch or dinner with generous servings? ;-)
Anyway, I'm sad to see Costco stop carrying Apple products, but I understand their viewpoint about being given equal treatment when it comes to carrying the Apple line. I hope both Costco and Apple are able to salvage their business relationship to the benefit of the consumer.
Been lurking here for awhile now and decided to post since I'm a Costco member and bought both my iPod Classic 160 GB and the latest iPod Nano (graphite) there. I only have 2 Apple devices so far and am considering getting a MBP 13 inch, though I would ask about that on a separate thread. I remember being torn between getting a Zune and an iPod Classic, but eventually settled for the iPod Classic inspite of leaning towards the Zune because it was available at Costco and I love their generous return policy. I'm not the type to abuse that, but it's good to know that I have 90 days to use it and be able to return it should something go wrong on my device through no fault of my own, or should I decide that it's not for me and a Zune would be instead.
Prices at Costco are slightly cheaper too. I recently got my iPod Nano 6 which I really like and it was about $10 cheaper than retail. $10 might be chump change for some of the die hard Apple fans here, but in this economy I thought I could use that for something else, like maybe some Chinese or Mexican lunch or dinner with generous servings? ;-)
Anyway, I'm sad to see Costco stop carrying Apple products, but I understand their viewpoint about being given equal treatment when it comes to carrying the Apple line. I hope both Costco and Apple are able to salvage their business relationship to the benefit of the consumer.
No its apparent you still dont understand how costco works after a decade. If the 64GB touch isnt sold at costco that means costco cant sell them at a good price. A good price isnt retail. That's not what costco is about.
If prices aren't as good as they used to be (your opinion), then that just means that manufacturers have raised their wholesale prices, since the highest markup on anything at costco is 14%.. Second, costco is all about providing maximum value to costco members. The latest models almost always does not provide the best value. If you want the latest model electronics, shop at best buy. To complain that costco doesnt sell the latest models shows an ignorance of what costco is all about. It's like complaining the apple store doesnt sell PCs.
This is the most blatant display of blind, irrational fanboyism I have ever seen.
Don't let the Costco door hit you on the way out.
Exactly. You're mad at Apple, so you screw yourselves out of money? Nice. I'm sure Apple doesn't care, at all. They have many more places begging to sell Apple products. Screw Costco. Who goes there anyway?
Really? Do you really think we would get anymore discount from buying an iPad from Costco? - Hell, Walmart is selling the iPad for normal retail price. It is only there to offer an added convenience to the patrons. So was Costco planning to sell them less? Or package them with some other products to make it more enticing to buy it from them? I don't think so.
Aren't Walmart and Sam's Club owned by the same company, which is essentially Walmart? Who owns Target?
I know business is business, but with $40+ billion in the bank I'm slightly disappointed in Apple, Inc. Since Mickey Drexler joined the board after leaving GAP, Apple has been at the forefront of equality and equal rights as Drexler was while heading GAP. Drexler lead the forefront of equality in the retail industry by establishing new equal rights laws and helping to make them mainstream. Apple has continued his legacy by donating to many causes and pushing equality forward in the workplace, at times refusing to do business with companies that disagreed with or did not meet their own workplace standards. Doing business with Target during its recent support of bigotry as well as Bsstbuy and now SAMs Club and Walmart not to mention FoxConn disappoints me. It's business, but it's also life, maybe I should start voting with my dollars elsewhere....
I know business is business, but with $40+ billion in the bank I'm slightly disappointed in Apple, Inc. Since Mickey Drexler joined the board after leaving GAP, Apple has been at the forefront of equality and equal rights as Drexler was while heading GAP. Drexler lead the forefront of equality in the retail industry by establishing new equal rights laws and helping to make them mainstream. Apple has continued his legacy by donating to many causes and pushing equality forward in the workplace, at times refusing to do business with companies that disagreed with or did not meet their own workplace standards. Doing business with Target during its recent support of bigotry as well as Bsstbuy and now SAMs Club and Walmart not to mention FoxConn disappoints me. It's business, but it's also life, maybe I should start voting with my dollars elsewhere....
I agree. Apple are babies.
Seriously, what's the difference? Apple refuses to let Costco carry the iPad. How is that ANY different from Costco now refusing to carry the iPod? It's EXACTLY the same. It's only different in the minds of fanboys who always side with Apple on everything no matter how hypocritical the actions are. Unfortunately, this forum is full of them.
I was just trying to fit in
Lol, I love Costco. My apartment literally goes there twice a week and buys 99% of our food/stuff there.
Typical pick up:
8 gallons of milk
double stack eggs
bags of chicken
turkey burgers
tortillas
cheese
bread
skinny cows
vegetarian refried beans
Costco was always the best place to buy iPods (not because of a discount) because they had the best guarantee in the business, far better than the Apple store. And you didn't have to wade through a bunch of mindless "gapers" and try and get some Apple employee's limited attention span to sell you one. I would certainly have bought my ipad there if they carried them, but Apple in their continued wave of being short-sighted decided to screw Costco. This is a shame and an epic fail for Apple. I certainly would never buy an Apple product at Walmart as I loath their stores and Sam's club is little better. I would go to Target though buying technology there is a pain in the ass. Why would a company like Apple screw up with sales partners like that? That is just incompetence. People who shop at Costco are in a far more lucrative demographic than people that shop at Walmart. Apple makes no sense sometimes.
The variety of opinions here is interesting and amusing but at the end of the day there is only one believable reason Costco isn't selling the iPad and may be (speculation at this point) not carrying iPods anymore.
Apple won't sell them to Costco because Costco intends to sell them for less than Apple will allow.
All other retailers, Wal-Mart/Sam's (same company), Target, Verizon, etc. will sell the iPad at the price Apple wants. Costco won't play ball because that doesn't provide a good enough value to their members.
I applaud Costco for doing this, it shows that they actually have their customers best interests at heart and in the business world, that's a very rare trait indeed.
Caveat: It just occured to me there could be one other reason Costco is showing Apple the door. If Costco found out that another retailer was getting Apple product for a better price than Costco. I know for a fact that Costco and Sony had a falling out for years for this very reason. Costco demands the best price from its merchants and if it doesn't get it, it will take its business elsewhere.
Apple won't sell them to Costco because Costco intends to sell them for less than Apple will allow.
All other retailers, Wal-Mart/Sam's (same company), Target, Verizon, etc. will sell the iPad at the price Apple wants. Costco won't play ball because that doesn't provide a good enough value to their members.
I applaud Costco for doing this, it shows that they actually have their customers best interests at heart and in the business world, that's a very rare trait indeed.
Caveat: It just occured to me there could be one other reason Costco is showing Apple the door. If Costco found out that another retailer was getting Apple product for a better price than Costco. I know for a fact that Costco and Sony had a falling out for years for this very reason. Costco demands the best price from its merchants and if it doesn't get it, it will take its business elsewhere.
From what I understand Costco did discount iPods quite a bit, or at least as much as Amazon does. I am guessing Apple doesn't like this and doesn't want to sell to them. A manufacturer can refuse to sell to any retailer they want to if the retailer is not keeping MSRP on its products. I am guessing that is what is happening here. Or as another person said, Apple doesn't like Costco's return policy.
We don't have costco in my area but I can tell you that a lot of people buy iPods from Sams club, A LOT of people. Its definitely a place people go to buy Apple products especially around the holidays.
My cousin bought an iPod from the apple store and it broke 3 times. I bought my iPod from amazon and its perfect.
We don't have costco in my area but I can tell you that a lot of people buy iPods from Sams club, A LOT of people. Its definitely a place people go to buy Apple products especially around the holidays.
My cousin bought an iPod from the apple store and it broke 3 times. I bought my iPod from amazon and its perfect.
taget returns can be horrible. I say that the only reason to go through them would be to use the 10% you get off when you open a new account
i loved buying our ipods from sams. ours would crap out and they would hand you a new in the box ipod with no questions.
Oh well. I guess now you can only get an iPod at
Apple Store
Best Buy
Target
Walmart
Sam's Club
Fry's
Darn!
Apple Store
Best Buy
Target
Walmart
Sam's Club
Fry's
Darn!
Costco won't carry iPod
Hi All,
In all due respect, most of you know nothing about Costco.
I've been a Costco member before they merged with PriceClub and became PriceCostco for a while.
Anyway, they have the unequivocal, best return policy in the retail industry.
They give 90 days on ALL electronic and a two year warranty on all new electronics they sell. THis was changed a couple of years ago where they had a 2 year satisfaction warranty on everything.
If I'm buying anything electronic, I shop there first.
I've bought multiple TVs and other things there. I had a 1.75 year old TV die on me. I took it back and got no hassle. They gave me a credit for my whole purchase including the shipping since I had bought it online.
Costco dropped all iPods as a negotiating tactic. At some point we will see them back at Costco. Costco did the same thing to Coke a year ago. Coke wanted to raise the prices and Costco told them to "go away" and take the product with them. Coke came back licking their wounds. In addition Coke lost the lucrative Costco fountain business.
I say way to go Costco. I don't pay for membership. I have a premium membership that rebates a portion of my purchases. At the end of the year I get a check that covers my membership.
Costco treats their employees well. The stores are clean. The CS is great.
Compared to Walmart. Employees get treated like crap. They systematically set up employee hours so they don't have to pay benefits. The CS sucks.
Only in desperation do I go into a Walmart. Quite frankly, I think they suck!
Hi All,
In all due respect, most of you know nothing about Costco.
I've been a Costco member before they merged with PriceClub and became PriceCostco for a while.
Anyway, they have the unequivocal, best return policy in the retail industry.
They give 90 days on ALL electronic and a two year warranty on all new electronics they sell. THis was changed a couple of years ago where they had a 2 year satisfaction warranty on everything.
If I'm buying anything electronic, I shop there first.
I've bought multiple TVs and other things there. I had a 1.75 year old TV die on me. I took it back and got no hassle. They gave me a credit for my whole purchase including the shipping since I had bought it online.
Costco dropped all iPods as a negotiating tactic. At some point we will see them back at Costco. Costco did the same thing to Coke a year ago. Coke wanted to raise the prices and Costco told them to "go away" and take the product with them. Coke came back licking their wounds. In addition Coke lost the lucrative Costco fountain business.
I say way to go Costco. I don't pay for membership. I have a premium membership that rebates a portion of my purchases. At the end of the year I get a check that covers my membership.
Costco treats their employees well. The stores are clean. The CS is great.
Compared to Walmart. Employees get treated like crap. They systematically set up employee hours so they don't have to pay benefits. The CS sucks.
Only in desperation do I go into a Walmart. Quite frankly, I think they suck!
Wirelessly posted (Mozilla/5.0 (iPhone; U; CPU iPhone OS 4_1 like Mac OS X; en-us) AppleWebKit/532.9 (KHTML, like Gecko) Version/4.0.5 Mobile/8B117 Safari/6531.22.7)
Not going to read all the posts on my phone. But I am totally with costco on this one. I see their point and Costco has always been great for member and workers. They don't draw a huge crowd with iPods anyway.
Don't hate apple any either but why nit get the ipads into all major retailers and clubs.
Not going to read all the posts on my phone. But I am totally with costco on this one. I see their point and Costco has always been great for member and workers. They don't draw a huge crowd with iPods anyway.
Don't hate apple any either but why nit get the ipads into all major retailers and clubs.