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Costco fans thread

SHNXX said:
I've always viewed the overspending at Costco ($300+ every time) to be a symptom of buying too much of unnecessarily bundled goods, rather than getting a great deal and ROI on membership fees.

Anyhow, it seems that nobody feels this way so I guess this is just something specific to my circumstances.
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All this whining bs about cost, over and over again on the net...I'm going to be buying stuff regardless. I actually eat every day. And wear clothes, and use other goods. Why do you people waste time claiming you don't actually ever need to buy anything? It's not true.

"Overspending". How the hell would you know what "overspending" is for another person? Whine to your diary, not the internet.

I go to 2 stores on a weekly basis for food and other daily needs, because neither carries everything my family needs. Costco has been paying me for a decade to be one of those stores. I actually bought less last year, my 2% was under $160, still covered the $110 membership handily.

Parking is the same as anywhere else where you live. If that's a problem, blame where you live, not the particular parking lot you choose to frequent. Big city vs small city, live somewhere you like.
 
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Costco is awesome. Cheap gas, which more than covers the membership cost. Free air (for tires), cheap hot dogs and soda (for those days when I want to eat something that shortens my life by a few days), and buying in bulk is a good deal for many things (AA batteries, Coca-Cola (don't judge) and frozen food) and Kirkland's peanut butter is just goddamned good.

Sam's Club on the other hand, I try not to shop there because I generally dislike Walmart. I *do* shop there if necessary, same with Walmart, but if I have an alternative, I would opt for that alternative.
 
SHNXX said:
What are you talking about?
How does anyone hate anything then?

Don't get how you can hate a _______.
Don't get how you can hate an idea
Don't get how you can hate an inanimate object
Don't get how you can hate another person
Don't get how you can hate a historical event
Don't get how you can hate a corporation that defrauds people
Don't get how you can hate a group of people (similar to a corporation) who committed a genocide in Europe during the world war 2.

Anyone can easily hate any of the things above, just as well as a corporation.


Why is it odd that someone can hate a corporation?
A corporation is just an entity that represents a group of people.
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Hate is a strong word. To me, it takes a lot of energy to hate something. Have you ever loved something or someone? That thing/ person is always on your mind and you feel happy. Hate the is opposite. I don't think I've ever hated something/someone before.

No, I'm not your always happy type of person. I do dislike a lot of things but I try not to let it get to me.
 
SHNXX said:
What are you talking about?
How does anyone hate anything then?

Don't get how you can hate a _______.
Don't get how you can hate an idea
Don't get how you can hate an inanimate object
Don't get how you can hate another person
Don't get how you can hate a historical event
Don't get how you can hate a corporation that defrauds people
Don't get how you can hate a group of people (similar to a corporation) who committed a genocide in Europe during the world war 2.

Anyone can easily hate any of the things above, just as well as a corporation.


Why is it odd that someone can hate a corporation?
A corporation is just an entity that represents a group of people.
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Hating something that you don't have to have any interaction with (without really changing anything at all) and aren't affected by in any way can be seen as somewhat different than many other things and as somewhat odd in a sense.
 
A.Goldberg said:
I will say as someone well acquainted with retail pharmacy pricing, Costco is one of the best places to get medications- both prescription and over the counter drugs. If you don't have insurance, Costco is the best chain pharmacy you could go to. They will charge you very reasonable prices, just above wholesale. Literally, something that would cost you $40 at CVS, Walgreens, Rite-Aid would probably cost you $8 at Costco. They also have a discount program for uninsured/cash-only customers, which saves you more. Their OTC drugs are super cheap too, just you often have to buy a lot.
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It's crazy how much markup CVS and Walgreens have. I use Zyrtec-D daily and I get double for the same price if I go to Costco or Sam's Club.

It certainly isn't shopping at your neighborhood butcher, market, farm stand, etc, but it serves it purpose. My parents often by paper towels and toilet paper there. If they're having a big party, sometimes they have the right stuff in bulk. I think they bought some patio furniture there one time. I'm not sure the membership is necessarily worth it, but in some ways the convenience of buying some things in bulk is worth the fee.
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Yeah, while the meat/fish are high quality and fresh, it's just too much for myself. As much as I love salmon, I can't eat 10lb in a few days. I get all my meats/fish at Wegmans in smaller quantities.
Ugh! Next time Grandma Goldberg is in town I'll have her cook you some real beef brisket.
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Haha

I drive to this place: http://btsmokehouse.com

Best brisket I've had in the Northeast
 
MOD NOTE: Thread closed for now. This is not PRSI.

EDIT: Off topic political content has been deleted, if you wish to discuss that, take it to PRSI.

B
 
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I do like the idea of taste testing the food samples before purchasing, good idea on their part.

I know a number of the employees and they speak highly of their work environment, which is a good thing.
 
$5 roasted chickens
Cheapest gas on Oahu
Great tire deals and usual perks
Absolute best return policy
A lot of really great Kirkland branded wines plus I've never seen cheaper prices on the other wines they carry
Largest parking stall of any store
Cheapest printer ink
High quality meat
Roasts their own coffee
$26 a case Mobil 1 when coupons roll around
Fresh baked bread
Cheapest price on organic eggs

I always get why more back than my business membership costs. Been a member since 1988. I shop at the Iwilei store in Honolulu. It's the largest grossing store in the entire chain. It gets crowded but things move along.

The only thing I don't like is they are switching from AmEx to Visa. Loved the extended warranty coverage of Amex.
 
JamesMike said:
I do like the idea of taste testing the food samples...
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Yeah, on a good day you can enjoy a light lunch for free. :)

I did it once - and the funny thing was that I kept bumping into the very same people at the different stations. Obviously quite popular.
 
SHNXX said:
I absolutely hate Costco.
I hate the long lines, hard to find parking, membership fees (great business model for them though), the inability to use cards I want, the long lines for return, the samples, and the packaging of 10x the amount I usually want.
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I would recommend against shopping at Costco, for the reasons you mentioned. Try shopping at a different retailer.

Walmart
Target
Your local supermarket/grocery store
 
I love Costco. I go there once every other week and buy all my food, plus the usual impulse shopping. BTW, I use my AMEX for purchases. The parking lot is huge so there's never a problem parking. I always go at 10am when they aren't busy and the checkout lines are short..
 
Mr. McMac said:
I love Costco. I go there once every other week and buy all my food, plus the usual impulse shopping. BTW, I use my AMEX for purchases. The parking lot is huge so there's never a problem parking. I always go at 10am when they aren't busy and the checkout lines are short..
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I see that Costco will no longer accept Amex as of April 1, 2016 - they'll only take Visa.
 
SHNXX said:
Just economically speaking, assuming one saves 10-20% on goods, to get the 100 dollar membership ROI you would need to shop 500 to 1000 dollars worth at Costco which is a hell of a lot of toilet paper and other things I don't need a lot of.
'
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Last time I went was two days ago and I spent $717 :p
I like Costco. We go every two weeks.
High quality meat, cheapest gas, decent selection of cheeses, cheap wine prices, cheap bottled water prices, good bread from their bakery, etc..
Plus their employees seem happy so Costco must be doing something right.

Coming from the East cost, it does seem like here in WA everyone shops at Costco.
 
i do almost all of our shopping (for two) at Costco. Prices there are nearly always cheaper and product quality is equal or better than elsewhere. Their Kirkland products are premium quality. They also have great deals on tires, auto and home insurance, vacations, and memberships in health clubs and other organizanizations. Please sign up today! :D
 
ravenvii said:
Damn, that sucks. Of course I have a Visa backup card, but still. I prefer to use my AmEx when possible.
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Me, too. But I was always surprised that Costco accepted only Amex credit cards to begin with, since I suspect that Visa and MasterCard are much more prevalent among Costco's clientele. It'd be great if Costco continued to accept Amex in addition to Visa, but I'm sure that exclusivity was part of the co-branding deal with Visa.

I guess I'll have to go back to using my backup Visa card if I want to keep shopping at Costco. But that means that my rewards will be split with yet another account.
 
Roller said:
I see that Costco will no longer accept Amex as of April 1, 2016 - they'll only take Visa.
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Yeah they signed a deal with Visa, dropping Amex. I saw this sometime ago, still they're giving lots of notice it seems.
 
I'm a Costco fan. In addition to other items mentioned, they have great prices on contact lenses. Their Kirkwood branded products are also great values. More often than not they do not put chemistry experiments in their food items.

My experience is they sell high quality products and stand behind them. They are also respectful of post sale markdowns on things you've purchased. I've received two unsolicited gift cards from them for price changes on things I've previously purchased. Nice touch.

Saturday and Sunday can be a bit hectic there for sure. I'm not a big fan of "food samples" as they clog up pathways. It's especially annoying when you're in a hurry. I guess waiting 5 minutes for a half a chicken nugget is just not my gig. Fair play, when you buy a 5lb package, it's worth making sure you like it first.

Checkout lines are generally ok here. Kelly is a speed daemon. So is Priscilla. Her smile will warm any heart.

The AMEX to VISA thing is bummer to me.
 
I get my Costco Executive membership price back annually just in toilet paper and paper towels alone. Costco is great. Their return/satisfaction policy is excellent. It's unfortunate some abuse it -- last year I saw someone return a VCR. YES, A VCR. Just wish their tire selection was a bit better.
 
SHNXX said:
I absolutely hate Costco.
I hate the long lines, hard to find parking, membership fees (great business model for them though), the inability to use cards I want, the long lines for return, the samples, and the packaging of 10x the amount I usually want.

Just economically speaking, assuming one saves 10-20% on goods, to get the 100 dollar membership ROI you would need to shop 500 to 1000 dollars worth at Costco which is a hell of a lot of toilet paper and other things I don't need a lot of.
'
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Do you feel the same about Sam's Club? We currently have a SC close by and I believe a Costco is being built. I've traditionally preferred Costco due to reports they take better care of their employees. There is a good chance we will switch membership. That said, there are good deals that can be found that if you shop there semi-regularly, will pay off. Just keep in mind that you can't assume you'll always save money in those places unless you are buying 2 gallons of mayo. ;)


Arran said:
"Hate" is an extreme word, usually reserved for things and people you absolutely despise.

Using it casually, as you have here, leads your audience into thinking statements such as: "I hate Costco" and "I hate megalomaniac, genocidal, baby-murdering dictators" express an equivalent degree of dislike for the entity in question. You're out of calibration, basically, with the rest of the world: Expect to be misunderstood.

It would've been better if you'd posted something more moderate such as: "Costco, as a shopping experience, just doesn't work for me", and left it at that. It's a bit bland and you'd certainly get less views and replies.
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My experience is that the word "hate" has a spectrum of meaning from casual to serious and while yours is a good sentiment, usually it's up the individual to interpret the usage. I think you can easily feel passionate dislike for a particularly poorly run store, including those who treat their employees like indentured servants, but I'm not referencing Costco for this. :)
 
Another thing to note is that the exclusivity deal between Costco and American Express is coming to an end. I received a notification a few weeks ago.
 
I like Costco. Even without the PRSI reasons, I think their prices are good, and the quality of their products is usually just as good as and often better than what you can get elsewhere.

For Christmas we bought some elaborate garland lighting that we used throughout the house, and half the people who came to our Christmas party demanded to know where we got it, it was that beautiful. Made our place look like something out of one of those holiday Lifetime movies. :D
 
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