I’ve always had a gut feeling that Costco’s customers represent a broader swath of socioeconomic diversity than most other stores. Don’t know how true that is and would love to learn if there’s real data behind it.
Love Song to Costco
61–70 of 280 posts
Re: Love Song to Costco
#62Earlier quoted context omitted.
The alcohol restriction is at the state level, so some stores do require a membership. Namely : Arizona, California, Connecticut, Delaware, Hawaii, Indiana, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, New York, Texas, & Vermont have laws that ban requiring memberships for the purchase of alcohol. IIRC, Costco's lobbiests played a large role in Washington's privatization of liquor sales, and the final law did not include such…
Just buying gasoline at Costco is more than enough to pay back the membership fee in California. It’s about 50¢/gallon cheaper than other fuel in the same city.
In Minnesota it is about $0.20 cheaper than the discount gas places.
I'd definately pay $2.60 more to avoid the crazy people jamming Costco's parking lots trying to get that 20 cents off. I've narrowly avoided many people going anywhere they could at ramming speed while I was visiting a neighboring business.
I now avoid their neighboring businesses on every weekend as I value my life and car to avoid that whole scene.
Re: Love Song to Costco
#63Haven't read the piece yet, but I definitely will - for a long time I would like to understand why people are so enamored with Costco. I recently joined because they have some good food that is hard or more expensive to find elsewhere, but that's about it. To me it's just a store. Outside of the US/Canada I've never seen people evangelize a store so much.
2 words: quality control
Re: Love Song to Costco
#64My great grandfather moved to a different part of Asia and never went back. My grandfather moved elsewhere and never went back. My mother moved to another continent and then later, with my father, to a third, where I partially grew up. And I moved to yet another continent (with another emigrée), speaking a language that, like my mother, I had learned after growing up. Yet today I spoke English with a stranger, a woma…
Did you ask her out for a coffee?
Re: Love Song to Costco
#65Amazing how much China has changed over the past 60 years. From backwards and famined to a global super power.
But are there Costcos in China? Also, do people in China get out of the city to go camping for the weekend? These are honest questions I'd like to have answers for.
> But are there Costcos in China?
Yes, I know there is one in Shanghai.
> Also, do people in China get out of the city to go camping for the weekend?
I am not sure about camping, but glamping is popular with young people.
https://edition.cnn.com/travel/article/glamping-china-trend-...
Re: Love Song to Costco
#66My great grandfather moved to a different part of Asia and never went back. My grandfather moved elsewhere and never went back. My mother moved to another continent and then later, with my father, to a third, where I partially grew up. And I moved to yet another continent (with another emigrée), speaking a language that, like my mother, I had learned after growing up. Yet today I spoke English with a stranger, a woma…
Sounds like the beginning of a true love story.
[deleted]
Re: Love Song to Costco
#67Haven't read the piece yet, but I definitely will - for a long time I would like to understand why people are so enamored with Costco. I recently joined because they have some good food that is hard or more expensive to find elsewhere, but that's about it. To me it's just a store. Outside of the US/Canada I've never seen people evangelize a store so much.
You are right that at the end of day it is just a store. I know many people who keep renewing Costco membership every year but goes like once or twice a year. I on the other end is in same category that author describes. Even for gallon of milk I'd prefer going Costco and if there is more than one item it is not even a question.
To me most basic thing would be great quality at that price level that I guess everyone else is also looking for. At deeper level by reducing choice it sets a familiar pattern of food I eat on daily/weekly/monthly basis. Or for clothes just like people wear brands and proud to announce it. For me it is I do not wear brands and similarly proud of the fact.
Re: Love Song to Costco
#68Haven't read the piece yet, but I definitely will - for a long time I would like to understand why people are so enamored with Costco. I recently joined because they have some good food that is hard or more expensive to find elsewhere, but that's about it. To me it's just a store. Outside of the US/Canada I've never seen people evangelize a store so much.
It you eat the food they offer you can definitely get it at a better price. Furthermore Costco demands a higher quality for certain products. I don’t have the source on that but read somewhere once that say the can of soup you get at a regular grocery store then compare it to Costco they have better ingredients things like higher protein for example. I also know things like protein powder were the same price but much larger at Costco. Meat is much better quality and cheaper. Their return policy is hassle free. Probably a lot more I could say about Costco.
Re: Love Song to Costco
#69Amazing how much China has changed over the past 60 years. From backwards and famined to a global super power.
But are there Costcos in China? Also, do people in China get out of the city to go camping for the weekend? These are honest questions I'd like to have answers for.
Yes, Costcos, Sam's Clubs. Ikea. Carrefour. Walmart. Apple. Oppo stores.
Probably not around at the time that the article's author's parents emigrated.
There are people doing more of the outdoor thing in China now. Probably none going about 20 years back. Last time I was there, there were recreational bicyclists (ie. taking them off the back of their car) in the cities, as opposed to my first visits where many more bicycles for their comute than cars.
Re: Love Song to Costco
#70Earlier quoted context omitted.
I have a Costco account and a Sam's Club (Walmart's Costco equivalent) account. Even though I do something like 98% of my bulk shopping at Sam's club (due to proximity, the Costco is ~ 15 min drive away vs 5 mins for the Sam's club), it's still worth it for me to hold the Costco membership for specific purchases. Notably I've purchased (because there's no better place to buy these things and the vendor vetting is ama…
Costco also works out deals to sell “special” revisions of major brand offerings. One example is a Sony Bravia that has a physical microphone disable switch.
Though it's worth keeping in mind that they also have a lot of items with unique model numbers/SKUs that are actually entirely identical otherwise, to make it less obvious that the version at Costco is $X cheaper than the one available everywhere else.