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I want to live like Costco people

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Re: I want to live like Costco people

#91

Post by fckgw »

OutOfHere wrote: post #77
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.

Costco derives the majority of their revenue from the membership fee, followed by services. They actually make very little on the products themselves as they have a hard cap on markups at like 11% or something around there.

The membership is the whole reason they can offer the deals they do.

Re: I want to live like Costco people

#92

Post by Sohcahtoa82 »

jonhohle wrote: post #83
Sohcahtoa82 wrote: post #76

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> 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

It’s probably my own battery hygiene, but I’ve had so many Kirkland batteries leak over the years that I no longer trust them. I still buy batteries at Costco, but haven’t had the same issue with the name brand leaking.

Wild. I wonder what could cause that?

I don't use a lot of AA/AAA batteries, so I'll buy a pack from Costco and it'll sit in my drawer for 5+ years without issue. They go into a TV remote or bathroom scale or whatever and last a couple years with no issue.

Re: I want to live like Costco people

#93

Post by mrguyorama »

Schiendelman wrote: post #51
mrits wrote: post #17

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It's odd to me thinking people consider Costco a grocery store. I realize they have groceries but that certainly isn't what I use it for.

Half the store is food - it's an excellent grocery store.

It's much closer to a restaurant supply store that happens to be open to normal people.

If I want to make tacos tonight, and I try to shop for that at Costco, I'm making tacos for a week or more. There's no small size of anything, which is the entire point.

I cannot fathom the people who do weekly or so grocery shopping there. How can you possibly plan out a months worth of pantry for a family like that? It's a skill I certainly don't have but families did for millennia when running small farms and such. Maybe the Navy could teach me how.

Re: I want to live like Costco people

#94

Post by jsbisviewtiful »

tavavex wrote: post #88

The author's view is alien to me. It paints Costco as some sort of cultural retirement home. A boring place for boring people, not just a big store in a warehouse. I know that displaying brand affinity towards some companies is seen as tasteful and praiseworthy in our cultures, but I didn't realize many people extended this view to something as basic and pragmatic as the place they go to buy flour or whatever.

Costco is a store... where coffee, usually gas and most food + home goods are reliable in quality and priced well comparatively. Comparing the price of salmon fillets at Costco to Whole Foods or elsewhere is eye-opening. Would I buy clothes or furniture from Costco? No - because both are bland. The end.

If the writer wants to make it anything more than that... They are a bit too obsessed with self-image vs wasting money and, dare I say, a loser for judging others over something as classist as personal finances. Feels like the write-up is just a statement piece meant to either rattle people for engagement or make the writer feel more hip than they actually are.

Re: I want to live like Costco people

#95

Post by olyjohn »

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…

I hate going there. It's so crowded, the lines are massive, and all so you can save like $200 at the end of the year on some groceries. The other problem is that you end up impulse buying well over $200 worth of stuff you wouldn't have purchased if you just went to the regular grocery store. Oh but you have to go to the grocery store anyways after your 2 hour long Costco trip, because the shit they had last week is gone now. But hey at least you waited in line for another 40 minutes to save $3.00 on your tank of gas you bought while you were there.

Re: I want to live like Costco people

#96

Post by olyjohn »

Sohcahtoa82 wrote: post #92
jonhohle wrote: post #83

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It’s probably my own battery hygiene, but I’ve had so many Kirkland batteries leak over the years that I no longer trust them. I still buy batteries at Costco, but haven’t had the same issue with the name brand leaking.

Wild. I wonder what could cause that? I don't use a lot of AA/AAA batteries, so I'll buy a pack from Costco and it'll sit in my drawer for 5+ years without issue. They go into a TV remote or bathroom scale or whatever and last a couple years with no issue.

The only time this happens to me is when there is a drain on the battery over a long time, or when you have two cells that don't have matching voltage and the lower one gets over-discharged. I've never had one go bad from sitting in a drawer or a box.

Re: I want to live like Costco people

#97

Post by gcheong »

darth_aardvark wrote: post #28
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…

I have talked my wife out of us both nearly impulse-buying a mini greenhouse at Costco multiple times. And the worst part is, I regret it. We need a greenhouse now and greenhouse prices are through the roof! I can't afford NOT to impulse buy a greenhouse at Costco 18 months ago now! I'll never make that mistake again.

Sometimes you just have to trust your Coscto instincts.

Re: I want to live like Costco people

#98

Post by shaftway »

giwook wrote: post #89
legitster wrote: post #85

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Andy Warhol's quote is about aspiration and perceived attainment. The average person is not aspiring to drink a gold flake truffle-infused Coke. The implication is the lack of a rigorous class hierarchy in America. Not that the rich don't live different lifestyles or consume more. But that niche luxury products were considered effete and un-American. (Andy Warhol was almost certainly also being ironic - that the rich…

Fair point. What about cars or houses?

That fancy Lamborghini is going to be sitting in the same traffic as my Honda.

Re: I want to live like Costco people

#99

Post by Schiendelman »

mrguyorama wrote: post #93
Schiendelman wrote: post #51

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Half the store is food - it's an excellent grocery store.

It's much closer to a restaurant supply store that happens to be open to normal people. If I want to make tacos tonight, and I try to shop for that at Costco, I'm making tacos for a week or more. There's no small size of anything, which is the entire point. I cannot fathom the people who do weekly or so grocery shopping there. How can you possibly plan out a months worth of pantry for a family like that? It's a skill…

I'm a single person and I do almost all of my grocery shopping at Costco. I have a normal sized refrigerator, and a well stocked pantry. If you make tacos one night, make dishes the next three nights that use overlapping ingredients...
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