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Love Song to Costco

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Re: Love Song to Costco

#271

Post by lowercased »

generj wrote: post #255
lowercased wrote: post #171

Earlier quoted context omitted.

We got a Lidl near us - one of the first when they were planning their US East Coast invasion. Apparently, they're scaling back new stores, and ours is one of a handful of 'large' footprint stores, and almost everything after that is (or will be) probably half the size. We love Lidl mostly because of the price. Almost everything was/is around 20-30% less than the stores around it. Much of this is from 'store brand' i…

The US stigma is interesting, because Lidl stocks more high quality goods than many other stores. E.g. the jelly is from Germany, the chocolate is inexpensive yet fair trade. I don’t know if I eat cheaper at Lidl but I eat better . The cheese and meat sections alone - I have probably twice as many charcuterie boards now that a Lidl moved in.

I suspect it's precisely because most of those 'better' items aren't 'name brand' items. "fair trade chocolate bars" - regardless of quality - may not sell to a population raised (for generations) on hershey bars.

Re: Love Song to Costco

#272

Post by TheRealNGenius »

lallysingh wrote: post #157
TheRealNGenius wrote: post #133

Earlier quoted context omitted.

that doesn't make sense. It says that the "typical shopper" is one very specific gender/age/income/racial category. What the heck does that mean? Am I supposed to believe that the most common category of people are that category, or that those attributes are the more common ones? I'm positive I see an almost even split of male/female when I go to Costco. Otherwise, that wording is jacked by any metric.

Assume statistical mode for enums, mean for floats.

no thanks

Re: Love Song to Costco

#273

Post by NearAP »

Caboose8685 wrote: post #156
jedberg wrote: post #86

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Fun fact, if you get the upgraded membership and don't spend enough to make up the difference from the regular membership, they will refund you the difference if you ask. So technically it doesn't make any sense to not get the premium membership as long as you're willing to float them the difference for a year.

Where is this stated in their rules or whatever? Something I can reference if I need to try this and the person pushes back.

Can confirm this. I was given this information the first time I signed up and have been getting the difference every year when I go to renew

Re: Love Song to Costco

#274

Post by mcronce »

unixhero wrote: post #248
mcronce wrote: post #174

Earlier quoted context omitted.

They used to be AmEx only. They're now Visa only.

I paid with Amex at Costco yesterday.

https://customerservice.costco.com/app/answers/detail/a_id/7...

AmEx not listed anywhere.

Maybe yours does something different, or it's an AmEx branded debit card, or you're not in the US and they do something different abroad, but no Costco I've been to since the switch has accepted any credit card that isn't a Visa.

Re: Love Song to Costco

#275

Post by LargoLasskhyfv »

DocTomoe wrote: post #160
p_l wrote: post #132

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Lidl, at least in most places, doesn't run bulk stores like Costco apparently is. There are some bulk stores with memberships, some of them limited to B2B sales, some accepting normal people as customers - places like MAKRO and Selgross - but they obviously are mainly a warehouse supplier for shops and companies. I don't know how Lidl is in terms of selection in other countries, but especially with smaller stores the…

It is always interesting to read how different such brands are perceived in different countries. Over here in Germany, Lidl is considered "the better discount store" as compared to Aldi (especially Aldi Nord), and has made a push to more high-level products (which often are better than name-brand stuff that they also carry). When I talk to British friends, the idea of shopping at a Lidl seems to be sacrilegious to th…

IMO Aldi-Nord vs. Lidl aren't that different, though it also depends on the location of the store. For instance, a Lidl embedded in a larger station has a wider range of frozen and cooled foods, or more variety of the same stuff, say pizza, or yoghurt, but almost none, (or none at all?) of that ever changing non-food action stuff. While the standard layout, freestanding Lidl has less of that, or is almost always out of the stuff I prefer.

Aldi-Nord isn't that different, I'd say, at least not when free standing, in their standard layout. The only difference is the glaring white LED lighting they have. That is bRrRr!

Oh, and their electronic payment works fast. Had to use that recently for the first time in my life because I thought I had more cash on me. Wave card, enter pin, ZAHLUNG ERFOLGT! Phew!

(Yah Yah, I caved in, I know...)

edit: Aldi-Nord has better spices, though not all the times. Their Tandoori-mixture is very good, at least compared to the dozens of others I've tried. (In those small 80g aluminum cans) Ginger powder is also acceptable for me.

However, most of the times I just skip them, because I have 2 excellently managed Edekas available, and they have it all!

Re: Love Song to Costco

#276

Post by LargoLasskhyfv »

lowercased wrote: post #171
DocTomoe wrote: post #160

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It is always interesting to read how different such brands are perceived in different countries. Over here in Germany, Lidl is considered "the better discount store" as compared to Aldi (especially Aldi Nord), and has made a push to more high-level products (which often are better than name-brand stuff that they also carry). When I talk to British friends, the idea of shopping at a Lidl seems to be sacrilegious to th…

We got a Lidl near us - one of the first when they were planning their US East Coast invasion. Apparently, they're scaling back new stores, and ours is one of a handful of 'large' footprint stores, and almost everything after that is (or will be) probably half the size. We love Lidl mostly because of the price. Almost everything was/is around 20-30% less than the stores around it. Much of this is from 'store brand' i…

Hm. For me it is about choice. The sortiment is just limited. In Germany there is also the "Luxus-Lidl" https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kaufland but they are just so-so. Nothing special, in comparison to what else is available.

Re: Love Song to Costco

#277

Post by gsinclair »

kepler1 wrote: post #85

Related to the story's underlying topic, as an immigrant I find significant attitudinal/philosophical differences in how I regard saving money and spending money versus, for example, my American coworkers and friends, especially younger ones who grew up around relatively well-off families. Maybe the affection for Costco embodies that. I'm sure I sound like an old fart for saying this, like "those younguns don't know…

It is very possible for one to be handicapped by such baggage. My mother has been a massive penny-pincher her whole life, in reaction to her straitened circumstances as a child. I now wince when she resists things like going to a cafe lunch with friends, as a habit like that is not helpful in maintaining relationships.

But then, I probably don’t pinch the pennies tightly enough. It’s hard to get the right balance.

Re: Love Song to Costco

#278

Post by michaelcampbell »

p_l wrote: post #129
badpun wrote: post #119

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> soviet stores. (...) but the ones available are guaranteed to be fairly good quality and at an affordable price Must be different soviets that I lived in. The quality was often terrible (e.g. "chocolate" that did not contain cocoa at all, ugly clothes and shoes that would break down quickly, beer that tasted like piss etc.) and that is assuming the goods were in the store at all. Basic western goods, such as Levi j…

At least with chocolate, during communist times in Poland AFAIK if someone was packaged as "chocolate" it had to be chocolate - it was "chocolate-like product" that you had to be wary of which was closer to american "chocolate"[1] [1] I jest, I jest, but what is legal to be in store-bought chocolate in USA, based on things I actually ended up getting while visiting, was literally one of the ways communist poland cut…

You footnote something... that immediately follows the footnote. I'll never understand this footnote cult in HN, I guess.

Re: Love Song to Costco

#279

Post by Breza »

inferiorhuman wrote: post #76
SOLAR_FIELDS wrote: post #14

Earlier 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…

> when it comes to a $4,000 gazebo or some $2,000 appliance I have really come to trust Costco's vetting. How does that jive with selling Samsung (and LG) appliances? Samsung is easily the worst appliance manufacturer in North America across pretty much any appliance. LG's not too much better but supposedly their dryers and front load washers are decent.

When you buy an LG appliance from Costco, you know you're getting an LG appliance. That's more than you can guarantee from many stores.

Re: Love Song to Costco

#280

Post by kfrzcode »

inferiorhuman wrote: post #233
kfrzcode wrote: post #101

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I've been happy with my Samsung range, fridge, dishwasher and TV It's been 6months. When should I expect issues?

1–5 years typically

Sounds like 2.25 years is the sweet spot, market will have rebounded and capital gains taxes won't apply!
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