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I want to live like Costco people

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Re: I want to live like Costco people

#541

Post by xboxnolifes »

queuebert wrote: post #113
Lucent wrote: post #9

Costco's gimmick is relieving you of choice and price shopping. They find the best stuff and don't mark it up. If Consumer is your identity yet you fear executing its labors, let Costco step in and become your denomination of consumerism, complete with tithe, proscribed usury, and communion hot dog.

I wouldn't call it a gimmick when the business has been so successful for so many years. They target educated shoppers who want to buy quality at minimum markup and not think too hard about it. If I want a TV, I know Costco will have good ones at a good price. If I need socks, same. Their food is cheaper and better than Kroger. It's just a win-win for shoppers and Costco. The only tradeoff is selection and dealing wi…

Exactly. Competition and choice is good for the market, but the ideal shopping experience is where there is exactly one option and it satisfies your needs.

Re: I want to live like Costco people

#542

Post by Zhenya »

Spooky23 wrote: post #538
jatora wrote: post #533

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I dont understand this. All Costco memberships are functionally $65 at most. How is this beyond literally anyone in America? Am I so out of touch? Why would corner stores have to pool together to get a membership when they absolutely negate the cost of the membership from the cashback? You only have to spend roughly $6,500/year for the executive membership of $130 to cost zero. That seems like something a corner stor…

You’re probably a professional with a good wage. The working poor are too poor to have much and too rich to be poor and get benefits. They are cashflow constrained. When I coached little league, we had parents who walked miles to games because the bus fare (1.50) for 3-4 people would push them over the edge. Vulture companies like dollar general exist because they sell consumer staples in smaller quantities at a slig…

These are not out of luck people if this is a long term Problem. These are people who are chronically bad at allocating resources.

Even if they could afford the 65$ membership (yes anyone car). They couldn’t afford the per package goods. Is this even alluring to them? They demonstrate poor basic economic understanding.

Re: I want to live like Costco people

#543

Post by ykl »

I wonder how many other people do this: when my wife and I do long roadtrips, we use Costcos as waypoints. Need to refuel? Costco gas is always cheaper than whatever other fill up station is nearby. Need to re-up on snacks (and maybe see what weird snacks the locals have that we don’t have back home)? Costco. Realize you forgot to pack enough socks halfway between Los Angeles and Salt Lake City? No prob, the St George Costco had the same exact socks I have at home because all of my socks are from Costco. Ran over a nail and need a tire swapped? Costco tire warranty babbbyyy. Bathroom? Costco bathrooms are very basic but always clean.

In big adventure RPG games there’s always some kind of shop in every new area that is the same inside everywhere that you can reliably go to for whatever gear you need, to heal, to save your game, whatever. Costco is that but in real life.

Re: I want to live like Costco people

#544

Post by lurkshark »

jatora wrote: post #533
kemitchell wrote: post #503

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I wish Costco were accessible to basically everyone. Among some poorer people I've got to know in the SF Bay Area, having the card and confidence in the means to use it are a mark of the middle class, an aspirational thing. Membership is an up-front cost. That excludes those who can't part with the cash for no immediate benefit. Depending on what you buy, and what else is available around you, breakeven can take a go…

I dont understand this. All Costco memberships are functionally $65 at most. How is this beyond literally anyone in America? Am I so out of touch? Why would corner stores have to pool together to get a membership when they absolutely negate the cost of the membership from the cashback? You only have to spend roughly $6,500/year for the executive membership of $130 to cost zero. That seems like something a corner stor…

To maybe add some framing, 37% of Americans don’t have enough cash to cover a $400 unexpected expense. Obviously $400 > $65 but I think it puts some perspective on how tight cash flow is for a good chunk of the population.

https://www.federalreserve.gov/consumerscommunities/sheddata...

Re: I want to live like Costco people

#545

Post by sgerenser »

rogerrogerr wrote: post #374
bluedino wrote: post #363

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Home Depot Coke. $3, and in a plastic bottle. The worst Coke. At least the grocery store sells cups at the register and there's delicious fountain Coke to be had on your way out the door.

What region are you in that grocery stores sell fountain drinks? Never seen this in the NW US.

Publix in the southeast and Wegmans in the northeast both have fountain drinks.

Re: I want to live like Costco people

#546

Post by Spooky23 »

naruhodo wrote: post #479
antihipocrat wrote: post #458

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The brand that's 'Australian for beer' is very difficult to find in its domestic market!

That brand was in fact created for the American market, I recall. Australians also don't talk about "throwing another shrimp on the barbie". That's another Americanism. We call them prawns.

Oh boy. Next you’re gonna tell me the blooming onion isn’t an Australian cultural tradition! (lol)

Re: I want to live like Costco people

#547

Post by jatora »

fellowniusmonk wrote: post #123
nlawalker wrote: post #56

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Identifying as a rabid consumer is not a requirement of appreciating Costco. The end result of that gimmick is that it feels like they're looking out for their customers and offering them a valuable service as opposed to trying to suck them dry. Buy this blender; don't buy this blender; they don't care, just know that this is probably the one that will best meet your needs, it's the best deal you're going to find on…

Some companies serve the people and some companies want people to serve them. The sabbath was always meant for man and that makes a lot of people very angry because whatever ideological or religious lip service someone gives their behavior demonstrate they hate man, or more subtly, love mankind like dollars in their pocket, stripping humans of their humanity. This mendacious attitude is also a major driver of enshiti…

a bit out of left field. tell us how you really feel... about something that's definitely not this topic because this is nonsense

Re: I want to live like Costco people

#548

Post by willsmith72 »

Animats wrote: post #184
senkora wrote: post #171

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Trader Joe's is probably closest to what you want. It targets single shoppers with small quantities and low prices, and it rotates products frequently to keep things interesting. Anecdotally I feel like a lot of TJ's shoppers shift into Costco shoppers as they age up.

The nice thing about Trader Joe's is that you can be in and out in 5-10 minutes if you're just buying weekly food items. The store is modestly sized and the checkout lines are short. I'm in there about once a week. I go to Costco once every three months or so and buy paper towels, detergent, and other consumables that have long shelf lives. I don't feel drawn to it; it's just the warehouse for boring items to buy in…

at what volume is the membership worth it?

4 shops/year I wouldn't have thought would justify the cost

Re: I want to live like Costco people

#549

Post by [deleted] »

whyenot wrote: post #404
henryfjordan wrote: post #385

Earlier quoted context omitted.

There's 1655 calories in a pound of uncooked rice, so with 330lbs you are sitting at ~1500 calories a day for a whole year. You wouldn't starve to death, but you'd absolutely want to supplement (both for more calories and probably for vitamins). But also you'd be eating that rice every single day pretty much, how else are you getting through that much rice?

Wouldn't you also need at least a little protein? and some lipids? For example, there is a lot more in Soylent than just rice flour. Oh, are we talking brown rice or white rice? That seems like it might make a huge difference, not only in nutrition, but also pooping.

[deleted]

Re: I want to live like Costco people

#550

Post by simplyluke »

relaxing wrote: post #490
simplyluke wrote: post #148

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> If Consumer is your identity yet you fear executing its labors This is an interesting take. Spending hours min-maxxing the "best" combination of product/price in every given category has always been peak consumerism as an identity to me. Subreddits filled with tens of thousands of posts and strongly held groupthink opinions about why knife brand x is the best option for you to open your amazon packages, or how much…

Open your car’s manual, or pop your hood and it’s likely written on the oil filler cap.

But you can spend endless time reading forum debates about whether the OEM specification is the optimal one for any given car, complete with lab test results, which was the point I was making.
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