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I want to live like Costco people

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Re: I want to live like Costco people

#71

Post by Sohcahtoa82 »

SoftTalker wrote: post #32
pruetj wrote: post #21

I have a Costco that is walking distance from my office. If I need to decompress, I walk to Costco for lunch solo, get a hot dog and a slice of pizza, sit down, and watch both the people and what's in their cart. It's so diverse and pretty fascinating.

Hot dog and a slice? That's your calorie needs for the day.

If I eat just a hot dog or just a single slice, I'll still be hungry.

Eating a hot dog and a slice, or two slices, and I won't be hungry...for an hour or two.

...I need to get a doctor and ask about a GLP-1.

Re: I want to live like Costco people

#72

Post by narrator »

I think the most extreme hoi polloi, kings and paupers experience I've had in the U.S is at the DMV. No matter how rich you are, you have to show up in person with everyone else, from the poorest mentally ill welfare/SSDI recipient who has to get someone to help them because they can't read the forms in any language, to the extremely wealthy. Everyone has to sit there and wait on those generic plastic chairs.

Re: I want to live like Costco people

#73

Post by ssl-3 »

qrush wrote: post #6

I just got (at 38) a Costco membership this year, thanks to my in-laws gifting us a membership. There's another huge discount retailer here in Boston (BJs) that I have gone to for years, but Costco is another 10+ min drive away so I've resisted thus far. I will say... I'm still adjusting. - No aisle signs or labels anywhere. I understand the retail strategy here but the lack of efficiency in MY experience kills me. C…

My first trip to Costco was also fairly recent.

I think I've gotten the hang of it fairly well. Coffee is over by the coolers but not in them, cat little is on the back wall, specialty cheese is near the meat, Kirland cheese is near the end of one of the coolers, cheap winter jackets are somewhere in the middle between the pants and the tortilla chips, motor oil is at the far right, bread on the left near the old people, and the big expensive life-optional stuff is at the front.

Everything else is either on the way between those points, or it doesn't exist today (because even if it is there, I'll never find it).

Seems good enough for now.

Re: I want to live like Costco people

#74

Post by OkayPhysicist »

SoftTalker wrote: post #70
OkayPhysicist wrote: post #55

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Unless you are particularly sedentary, 1200 calories is pretty low for daily consumption.

I'm thinking their hotdogs are huge, like 1/2 lb? And the slices are huge also. And most people probably get a 32oz cup of sugar water with them. Maybe I'm overestimating.

Fair, I did leave out the soda that comes with the hotdog. But that could be a diet soda. (and seems to frequently be, given that my local Costco has 4 diet coke spouts, as opposed to 1-2 of any others)

I did look up the calorie count for both. 550-ish for the hotdog, 650-ish for the pizza.

Re: I want to live like Costco people

#75

Post by papercrane »

SoftTalker wrote: post #70
OkayPhysicist wrote: post #55

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Unless you are particularly sedentary, 1200 calories is pretty low for daily consumption.

I'm thinking their hotdogs are huge, like 1/2 lb? And the slices are huge also. And most people probably get a 32oz cup of sugar water with them. Maybe I'm overestimating.

The hot dogs are 1/4 lb, with the bun it's probably 500-600 calories.

Re: I want to live like Costco people

#76

Post by Sohcahtoa82 »

jonhohle wrote: post #20
qrush wrote: post #6

I just got (at 38) a Costco membership this year, thanks to my in-laws gifting us a membership. There's another huge discount retailer here in Boston (BJs) that I have gone to for years, but Costco is another 10+ min drive away so I've resisted thus far. I will say... I'm still adjusting. - No aisle signs or labels anywhere. I understand the retail strategy here but the lack of efficiency in MY experience kills me. C…

Long ago we found that we saved more money shopping at Costco than the membership cost by a long shot. We even get the executive membership because they will refund the difference of you don’t get at least that back rewards (we always have). For things that are acceptable, it’s usually hard to beat Costco. You have to give up variety, possibly brand choice, and maybe even buy more than you’ll use, but it works out to…

> where the commodity store brand is significantly worse than alternatives (batteries).

Kirkland batteries actually last longer than Duracell. They're some of the best alkaline batteries you can get, especially considering the price. Sure, lithium batteries will last longer, but the mAh per dollar is lower, so they'll still cost more.

https://youtu.be/8VumAfhdhAI

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bQ_tGjXm0Ng

Re: I want to live like Costco people

#77

Post by OutOfHere »

legitster wrote: post #29

I grew up in a post soviet country. To me Costco, has perfected the soviet ideal of shopping more than any soviet economy ever could. In a Costco, we are all equal. I could be shopping for the same set of beige slacks right next to the CEO of a multi-million dollar company and never know it. We'll own the same Waterpik. Identical towels. Our lawn furniture will look the same. Everything is purchased at a fair price.…

Good comment, but IMHO the main reason to not love it so much is the annual membership fee. It sits well with cult cultivation. Other stores don't require it and they don't form a cult around them.

Re: I want to live like Costco people

#78

Post by dinfinity »

legitster wrote: post #29

I grew up in a post soviet country. To me Costco, has perfected the soviet ideal of shopping more than any soviet economy ever could. In a Costco, we are all equal. I could be shopping for the same set of beige slacks right next to the CEO of a multi-million dollar company and never know it. We'll own the same Waterpik. Identical towels. Our lawn furniture will look the same. Everything is purchased at a fair price.…

> But how can you not love Costco?

I got my law degree there!

I like money.

Re: I want to live like Costco people

#79

Post by giwook »

krustyburger wrote: post #22
Aurornis wrote: post #8

> Something about the whole thing always registered to me as, like, lame—too normcore, too boring, perhaps even too cheugy to an informed and taste-driven millennial ur-consumer like me. The kinds of brands I like to buy aren’t what they sell at Costco Good example of how people can build identities through their brand choices and purchasing habits. It’s a foreign concept for many of us who seek out the best product…

It sounds like you’ve just been around toxic and superficial people in your international travels and then extrapolated from them to their whole countries. Unfortunately, they have people like that everywhere.

Not necessarily.

South Korea is one example that I have intimate knowledge of where one's consumer habits (the clothes one wears, the car one drives, the logo on one's handbag) is the ultimate signal of status.

You're automatically pre-judged by complete strangers without having to say a single word.

There are always exceptions to the rule, but it is in fact an unspoken rule over there.

Re: I want to live like Costco people

#80

Post by b450 »

rdiddly wrote: post #38

It's giving "Frasier Crane goes to Costco." But yes, you can buy many different items there. Many come in large packages. The public can be found there shopping too. You are not required to purchase every item. Welcome to the 90s and holy shit thanks for the journalism. I let my Costco membership lapse because it's cheaper, healthier and more pleasant to buy 1) small quantities, of 2) fresh foods, in a 3) nice store,…

Frasier, at a free sample station: I do thank you, but I'm afraid I'm rather particular about the provenance of my shellfish. To subject a scampi to the radiation of a microwave is not cooking, madam, it's an execution! My god, Niles, is that a '98 Chateau Latour in your cart?

Niles: I've already secured six cases! They're over there, just between the Kirkland Signature Leaf Blowers and the 5 pound bags of "Kickin' Queso Jalapeño Poppers"!

Martin: Oh I LOVE those, where?

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