Costco is terrific! We have been going there for about 40 years (or more) when it was called Price Club (named for the founder, Mr. Price). They have good deals and they are very good to their employees and customers.
@andyw I actually did price club. The original one. It was down the street from where I lived. And there were four of us in the house and it was economical. As a single person if you’re not driving a lot and using things like buying tires it’s really not worth the money anymore. I don’t want to buy in that quantity 99% of the time.
@Cerridwyn@chienfou I actually mentioned that and glasses in a response way down below. I thought I mentioned their car buying service, but I don’t see that now.
Price Club was an American warehouse club chain. Founded in 1976, it merged with its competitor, Costco Wholesale, in 1993. The original Price Club warehouse in San Diego, California, is now Costco location number 401.
I never knew why the Price Clubs vanished until now.
@BioBill
I have memberships to both since there are different things I get from each.
My Sam’s membership gets easily paid for in the 5% I get back from buying gas for my vehicles using the branded credit card… anywhere I buy my gas.
My wife is one of the ladies that hands out samples. She’s not a Costco employee but she enjoys the job. Well, except for the homeless people that come in making a free meal out of whatever she’s making. I still don’t know how they get in.
@Kidsandliz@tweezak Wow, I’ve never been to a Costco that does not check. Everyone I’ve been in does a serious check-in and most now have a scanner that reads your card and shows your picture to the person running it.
@tweezak Yes, they are outside workers hired by a company that sends them into Costco. There was a young woman, clearly a supervisor, helping a woman giving out stuff and I talked to her about it. Unfortunately, I don’t remember the name of the company, but they may vary by region.
@haydesigner It was their return policy that solidified my allegiance to them forever. Back in 2002, bought an off brand 42" plasma TV from the them for 4k when a similar one from Sony cost 7k. It worked ok for three years and then quit. Far past the warranty period, the co wanted $1,000 upfront to repair if I sent it across the country to them.
Called Costco not really expecting them to do much but they immediately said they would take it back (picked it up and packed it) and give me back my entire 4K. How could one not love that?
@brennyn
Definitely agree on their booze prices being wonderful. In fact I’m starting to wonder if I could justify flying to the Hawaii Costco in Kona for what I can bring back in liquor compared to my local prices at the ABC store!
@brennyn@Kyeh
yes… HI was fun, but more importantly they must has very little tax on liquor. The $19.99 1.75 liter of the Kirkland Anejo Tequilla (which is VERY tasty) costs me $50 at the local AL Costco store!
We don’t have one, we have a Sam’s I don’t belong to. Not a lot of need for buying mass quantities of much, unless my Dog starts binging when I am asleep…
I use BJ’s because that’s what we have and between gas, paper products, milk, eggs and sugar, it pays for itself in a month. It also helps that it’s not far so I can go every two weeks for milk and gas easily.
I have an executive membership. This level costs more but you get 2% back on every purchase. I have found that the cash back pays the membership fee. The standard membership doesn’t offer any cash back so you’re out that amount regardless of how much you spend throughout the year.
I also have the Costco Citibank credit card. It pays cash back at varying rates depending on what you buy, with gas earning 5%. The Citibank online savings account is currently paying >3.3% interest. I keep money in that account for emergency or unplanned expenses like that water heater that just died in the night; leading to an ice cold shower before work.
@accelerator Hmm, I have the basic plebeian non-executive membership and I get a nice Costco rebate every spring.
They talked me into a 1 year trial of the executive membership once and at my level of purchases it did not break even. However, they cheerfully refunded the difference in membership fee after the trial period.
I appreciate the organic produce available at Costco. An added benefit is they can’t continuously move the produce to obscure nonsensical locations throughout the store like they do most everything else. The continuous movement of products is the most frustrating aspect of shopping at Costco. Inevitably, when I’m in a hurry and need specific products, that’s when they’ve been moved somewhere that even the employees don’t know where they are. Mind numbing frustration and stress ensues.
@accelerator@macromeh
My Costco staff must be lazy because things have been in the same spot in the store (in general) for years with the exception of some of the seasonal stuff…
For those who don’t buy in bulk (sometimes that means two jars of spaghetti sauce), there are other savings. My wife and I buy our glasses and hearing aids there. The savings on the glasses alone would cover the $65 annual fee. The higher tiers give great rebates yearly that can amount to hundreds of dollars. The rebate on the minisplits we had installed would cover several years of memberships. Also, they did the vetting of the minisplit company since Costco wants happy customers, so I did not have to.
@andyw Don’t forget their travel agent service as well as looking online when one needs appliances. We recently saved over $1000 replacing our double oven. Same product at a better price, but featured FREE delivery, & FREE installation, & FREE haul-away of the old unit.
Buying for one makes a lot of the food quantities at any membership club at at times the “regular” grocery store not useful for me as I don’t want to have to buy freezer.
The other things they sell are only useful if I need them and the few times I have walked through costco with a friend to buy Kirkland cat food (the litter I buy is cheaper at Sams Club and go with a friend there too) I really haven’t seen much I want or need.
Locally both places’s gas prices aren’t much lower than one “discount” gas station. When you factor in the miles to get to either place that about evens out any gas price savings.
@Kidsandliz I appreciate the gas at Costco because it is almost always cheaper than the cheapest no-name generic gas station price. The added benefit of Costco gas is that it is “Top Tier” gas, meaning it is highest quality with detergents added to help keep your car’s fuel injectors and other combustion systems clean. My Costco isn’t the closest gas station but it is the closest gas that is Top Tier and cheapest. Sam’s Club doesn’t offer Top Tier gasoline but they are a little closer to me.
@Kidsandliz Much of the food and other items we buy at Costco do not go in the refrigerator, such as cold cereal, pasta sauce, tuna, maple syrup, pistachios, vanilla, allergy eye drops, plastic wrap, dishwasher detergent, tissues, batteries. We like their baguettes, so we buy several and cut them in half freeze them. We have a small, 30+ year old freezer in the basement. And I agree about the gas status of Top Tier.
@andyw@Kidsandliz
Driving even a couple of miles out of your way to get cheaper gas is economically self-defeating most of the time. We try to make our gas runs to Sam’s at the same time that we are already driving nearby. For instance, their 12 oz flats of raspberries are consistently much cheaper than anywhere else. Ditto for organic carrots…
@bookerttt Bet the sales of Beef-a-reeno went down after that episode of Seinfeld. If it did that to a horse imagine would it do to a human’s intestinal tract?
We book all possible travel through Costco, and between the shop cards and cashback (we actually get double savings because I book using my executive membership and pay for it with my Costco Visa card), it would be very difficult to be convinced I’m capable of making a better deal.
I have memberships to all three warehouse clubs-Costco, BJ’s and Sam’s. When I first moved to FL, the closest Costco was 50 miles away so once a month visits were all I could do. Now closest Costco is 6 miles away.
Each one has it benefits Sam’s has same prices for both delivery and in warehouse. BJ’s has smaller indiv packaged items plus a deli counter with things half the price of Publix. But having been a member of Costco for 34 years-Costco has both of them beat by a mile when comparing everything. Better selection, better cost, more knowledgeable and awake sales people, and cleaner. Plus they treat their employees better than the other two organizations. And with all that they they haven’t forgotten their shareholders either.
I have more than gotten back my initial stock investment in special dividend payments alone and stock has gone up over 20 times my initial investment.
@tinamarie1974 At the food bank I volunteer at most of the food comes from both of those places. I like Sam’s Club cookies better than Costco, Sam’s crazy expensive made while you watch in the machine orange juice is really good. My cats like the Costco (Kirtland) wet cat food, but scoop away is cheaper at Sam’s Club as they still sell the 42 pound version and Costco has the 38 pound one. I got a $15 membership at Sam’s with a promotion and go to Costco with others who have the membership.
I purchased a Costco membership when Albertsons started charging $2-3 more per item for people that aren’t using their ecoupons (which require you to install the Albertsons app on your phone to scan).
And our local Walmart has one of those cloud-connected facial/car-tracking camera masts with the blue flashing lights up in their parking lot. Which feels creepy, now that I know how much data from the cameras Flock and the other companies sell, leak, and otherwise mismanage. At least I have some control over the tracking device in my pocket, by contrast.
(writing this on a quick lunch break, for the record)
@chienfou@Wireball_ Neither did I. What exactly do they do with the data they collect and besides faces and car tags (I presume) is there anything else they track? Anyone know?
@chienfou@Kidsandliz Upon investigation it’s evidently quite a few companies running camera masts, and I’m not sure which one(s) are in place at Walmart; I’ll check tomorrow if I get a chance to go over there. Flock records are evidently fully searchable by police. This has led to police lazily pulling up a list of people that were driving within a few blocks of a reported package theft, then going and accusing the nearest person at the time of having committed the theft, for example.
Several companies, not sure if Walmart is included, are experimenting with altering their pricing depending customer profiling - e.g. how they’re dressed, the car that the parking lot cameras linked them to. There’s a bill in Washington (state) to ban that.
A bit tangential, but Flock is quite porous security-wise; third parties have gained access to their cameras on numerous occasions:
Yikes!!! I know Amazon changes price based on who knows what. I had bought something at $17. My friend liked it. She logged into Amazon (using my computer - she was from CA visiting me, I live in one of the poorest states in the nation and don’t buy much nor expensive things) and the price given her was $2 higher. So she used my account and the price was back to what I had paid. As a result she bough it through my account.
We need a national law that you can’t do that too, not just a state one.
/showme six armed person in a costco brand bucket hat and kirkland brand hoodie holding four food samples in little white plastic paper cups one kirkland hot dog and one wooden spork.
3:11 Costco, on the other hand, makes 75% of its money from membership fees.
3:16 Membership isn’t its loyalty program.
3:19 Membership is its business model.
3:21 In 2018, Costco had 94 million members, a little less than Prime’s 100 million, despite having only 700 stores around the world.
3:30 That’s significantly more than cheaper, digital subscriptions like Apple’s Music’s 60 million or Hulu’s 25, and yet 90% renew each year.
3:40 Why?
3:41 Because its prices are so, ridiculously low.
3:44 Not because it’s a charity or makes money from more expensive items while you’re already there, but because it’s incentives are aligned with yours.
3:52 Its first priority is getting its customers to renew their membership - which means impressing them time after time with low prices and high quality.
4:00 Raising prices would only generate a few cents today and cost the company $60 next year.
4:06 That’s why it has a self-imposed rule: No item can be marked up more than 15%, or 14% for branded items, giving it an overall average markup of 11%, far lower than Walmart’s 24%, 30 across all supermarkets, or Home Depot’s 35.
4:24 Almost everything about its stores is designed to accomplish this goal.
@sillyheathen A Costco run is a 2 hour round trip for me (just the driving, exclusive of the time spent in the store). So I mostly limit myself to a once-a-month expedition, plus the occasional buy online and ship (unless it is the rare must-have-now-not-available-nearby item ).
@macromeh@sillyheathen
I trust you’re making a large haul when you do go.
A 2-hour round trip would mean a significant amount of expense in gas/wear and tear on the vehicle. Factoring in the 2 hours of your time makes it even more cost prohibitive for small purchases.
Our trips to Sam’s and/or Costco are limited to times that we are already in town, 45 minutes from here. And yes, using the shipping (which for some items is free from Costco), can actually be a money saver versus the drive.
We make our own dog food and the Costco roasted chickens are just an inexpensive and easy source of protein. I use everything but the string and excess schmaltz. I actually put the carcasses in a large pot of water and simmer them to a few hours. Then I take the soft bones and some of the broth and blend them. That goes back into the pot with the brown rice. We also add kidney or organ meat, veggies and sometimes green mussels. I often add a dollop of cottage cheese or Greek yogurt at dinner time as well as a scoop of nutrient supplements. We’ve been doing this for almost a year. The dogs have leaned out, we no longer have to give one allergy meds, their coats are brighter, their teeth are cleaner and they LOVE dinner time.
@sillyheathen
That’s excellent. Those chickens are definitely one of the high points of the Costco offerings. Glad the pups are doing well on that, though TBH, it sounds like I’d be happy as well!
@chienfou@sillyheathen Yeah, I rarely get out of there for less than $250-300. And I almost always combine the Costco run with other errands to the area.
As for the drive - meh - I drove essentially the same route commuting to/from work for most of 42 years.
/showme Anthropomorphized goat named sillyheathen is yelling “I Blame Society!” at police interrogator who is saying “Why do you shop at Costco more than you care to admit?”
Today, I stopped at a Costco to get three items, and ask if they could print out a copy of the transaction from December 2024 when I’d bought an Artika ceiling fan that is now troublesome. I came away with the requested copy plus an additional ten things I hadn’t planned to buy. Sigh.
@werehatrack That is part of their game plan-come in there for one or two items-leave with 10 or more-can’t even remember when I have had left without having spent over $ 200-those lobster tails are too difficult to pass up.
@Kidsandliz@werehatrack Think I cured myself buying stuff I really didn’t need just to get an IRK at a reasonable price. Last two IRKs I bought were on Meh’s anniversary when they had IRk’s available the old fashion way-popping up at random times with no requirements to buy other junk.
I mostly use it for the main staples, aka TP, kitty litter, paper towels, trash bags, and such. There is usually at least one new thing we try on different trips. I’ve never done a calculation for cost-benefit, but I think I am in the black.
I don’t know if the “cc-only” food court is members only, but I used to tell people that Costco and In-N-Out Burger are modern soup kitchens. Great food (to me) at rock bottom prices.
I saw a rumor lately on Reddit that Costco was coming to our area. We’ve only had Sam’s as long as I can remember. I’m hoping there’s something to the rumors.
None of those look like they are anywhere close to you. OTOH, it only lists locations that are about to open, so there could be one under construction near you that’s not listed.
@djslack@werehatrack Now if they only had that for Trader Joes. When they opened a Costco here a couple of years ago it took them about 18 months from when people were aware of it to when it opened.
@djslack@Kidsandliz TJ announced the locations of all three of their Houston stores at the same time, and they apparently decided that the Woodlands unit would open first, which kind of pissed off most of the folks who were paying attention in the Houston area. Their west-side store was next. By the time they finally opened the one on Shepherd, loads of us had stopped checking.
@djslack@werehatrack Hmm well when I am in Houston the Shepherd store is the one I go to. Glad it opened. I am supposed to be there the week of June 15 but my oncologist told me he wants me to come sooner due to issues. I don’t really want to drive all that way for one day of apts. Especially when I have to be there in 6 weeks anyway. Cripes 9 hours typically. Where’s my tele transporter when I need it?
Stopped by Costco today to spend my 2% rebate ck ($164 and change) received for being an Executive Member. Other 2% check for charges on Costco visa credit card received in January). Splurged by getting 4 lobster tails and new item 4 crab cakes. Filled up car with gas (3.79 a gallon-40 cents cheaper than two other stations I saw at 4.19). Thanks Costco.
Costco is terrific! We have been going there for about 40 years (or more) when it was called Price Club (named for the founder, Mr. Price). They have good deals and they are very good to their employees and customers.
@andyw I actually did price club. The original one. It was down the street from where I lived. And there were four of us in the house and it was economical. As a single person if you’re not driving a lot and using things like buying tires it’s really not worth the money anymore. I don’t want to buy in that quantity 99% of the time.
@andyw @Cerridwyn
For those of us of (ahem) a certain age they also have great prices on hearing aids!
@Cerridwyn @chienfou I actually mentioned that and glasses in a response way down below. I thought I mentioned their car buying service, but I don’t see that now.
@chienfou well if everyone would just QUIT MUMBLING, I’d hear just fine, thank-you!
@andyw Hmmmm, I thought Price Club and Costco were competitors. Looking … ok, they merged :
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Price_Club
I never knew why the Price Clubs vanished until now.
@andyw @cfg83 I’ve been to that store! Unlike most Costco stores which are concrete tilt-ups, it’s a series of steel buildings.
(It was the first stop after buying a “dead” hybrid that was then driven 125 miles back home.)
If only there was one close.
Best we can do is Sam’s Club and ours ain’t great.
@BioBill
I have memberships to both since there are different things I get from each.
My Sam’s membership gets easily paid for in the 5% I get back from buying gas for my vehicles using the branded credit card… anywhere I buy my gas.
Yes, because the ROI makes sense. Even with a hybrid, just the savings on fuel pays for my membership and then some.
Never found the need to buy a garage load of anything
@ironcheftoni And to the best of my knowledge, they have never sold garages. Collapsible carports, yes, but not garages.
@ironcheftoni @werehatrack but they do sell caskets, we will all need one at one point or another
@ironcheftoni Yeah, they should offer a Costco Room as a perk,
.
My wife is one of the ladies that hands out samples. She’s not a Costco employee but she enjoys the job. Well, except for the homeless people that come in making a free meal out of whatever she’s making. I still don’t know how they get in.
@tweezak they walk backwards through the exit.
@tweezak Our local costco doesn’t check your membership when you walk in.
@tweezak Wait, she works at Costco but she’s not a Costco employee? How does that work?
@Kidsandliz @tweezak Wow, I’ve never been to a Costco that does not check. Everyone I’ve been in does a serious check-in and most now have a scanner that reads your card and shows your picture to the person running it.
@mamajoan @tweezak
Contract worker most likely
@tweezak Yes, they are outside workers hired by a company that sends them into Costco. There was a young woman, clearly a supervisor, helping a woman giving out stuff and I talked to her about it. Unfortunately, I don’t remember the name of the company, but they may vary by region.
@andyw It’s CDS or Club Demonstration Services
Their return policy alone gives such a peace of mind. And makes it so easy to take a chance on brand new products you’ve never tried before.
@haydesigner It was their return policy that solidified my allegiance to them forever. Back in 2002, bought an off brand 42" plasma TV from the them for 4k when a similar one from Sony cost 7k. It worked ok for three years and then quit. Far past the warranty period, the co wanted $1,000 upfront to repair if I sent it across the country to them.
Called Costco not really expecting them to do much but they immediately said they would take it back (picked it up and packed it) and give me back my entire 4K. How could one not love that?
I don’t even buy in what I think of as bulk but a Costco membership pays for itself in a couple of buys of bottom tier single ply toilet paper.
Nice booze, too.
@brennyn The Kirkland Signature is 2-ply. Heck, even the Marathon commercial rolls they sell there (which I use) are 2-ply.
Also:
@narfcake I get Scott 1000. The Kirkland is nicer but I like only having to change the roll once every two months.
Just realized the unintentional dumb pun I made with “bottom tier”.
@brennyn
Definitely agree on their booze prices being wonderful. In fact I’m starting to wonder if I could justify flying to the Hawaii Costco in Kona for what I can bring back in liquor compared to my local prices at the ABC store!
@brennyn @chienfou Why fly that far, aren’t there Costcos closer to you? Unless you just want to go to Hawaii, of course!
@brennyn @Kyeh
yes… HI was fun, but more importantly they must has very little tax on liquor. The $19.99 1.75 liter of the Kirkland Anejo Tequilla (which is VERY tasty) costs me $50 at the local AL Costco store!
@brennyn @chienfou Well, it’s one way to justify another trip to Hawaii, huh?
@brennyn @Kyeh
We don’t have one, we have a Sam’s I don’t belong to. Not a lot of need for buying mass quantities of much, unless my Dog starts binging when I am asleep…
I use BJ’s because that’s what we have and between gas, paper products, milk, eggs and sugar, it pays for itself in a month. It also helps that it’s not far so I can go every two weeks for milk and gas easily.
I have an executive membership. This level costs more but you get 2% back on every purchase. I have found that the cash back pays the membership fee. The standard membership doesn’t offer any cash back so you’re out that amount regardless of how much you spend throughout the year.
I also have the Costco Citibank credit card. It pays cash back at varying rates depending on what you buy, with gas earning 5%. The Citibank online savings account is currently paying >3.3% interest. I keep money in that account for emergency or unplanned expenses like that water heater that just died in the night; leading to an ice cold shower before work.
@accelerator Hmm, I have the basic plebeian non-executive membership and I get a nice Costco rebate every spring.
They talked me into a 1 year trial of the executive membership once and at my level of purchases it did not break even. However, they cheerfully refunded the difference in membership fee after the trial period.
@accelerator @macromeh
Do you get “gas cash back” only on Costco gas or on ANY gas station?
@macromeh I was not aware. I’ve got some questions for my Costco help desk.
@chienfou It’s 5% at Costco and 4% everywhere else, including EV charging. Except for gas stations at grocery stores like Kroger.
I appreciate the organic produce available at Costco. An added benefit is they can’t continuously move the produce to obscure nonsensical locations throughout the store like they do most everything else. The continuous movement of products is the most frustrating aspect of shopping at Costco. Inevitably, when I’m in a hurry and need specific products, that’s when they’ve been moved somewhere that even the employees don’t know where they are. Mind numbing frustration and stress ensues.
@accelerator This! ^
@accelerator @macromeh
My Costco staff must be lazy because things have been in the same spot in the store (in general) for years with the exception of some of the seasonal stuff…
For those who don’t buy in bulk (sometimes that means two jars of spaghetti sauce), there are other savings. My wife and I buy our glasses and hearing aids there. The savings on the glasses alone would cover the $65 annual fee. The higher tiers give great rebates yearly that can amount to hundreds of dollars. The rebate on the minisplits we had installed would cover several years of memberships. Also, they did the vetting of the minisplit company since Costco wants happy customers, so I did not have to.
@andyw Don’t forget their travel agent service as well as looking online when one needs appliances. We recently saved over $1000 replacing our double oven. Same product at a better price, but featured FREE delivery, & FREE installation, & FREE haul-away of the old unit.
Buying for one makes a lot of the food quantities at any membership club at at times the “regular” grocery store not useful for me as I don’t want to have to buy freezer.
The other things they sell are only useful if I need them and the few times I have walked through costco with a friend to buy Kirkland cat food (the litter I buy is cheaper at Sams Club and go with a friend there too) I really haven’t seen much I want or need.
Locally both places’s gas prices aren’t much lower than one “discount” gas station. When you factor in the miles to get to either place that about evens out any gas price savings.
@Kidsandliz I appreciate the gas at Costco because it is almost always cheaper than the cheapest no-name generic gas station price. The added benefit of Costco gas is that it is “Top Tier” gas, meaning it is highest quality with detergents added to help keep your car’s fuel injectors and other combustion systems clean. My Costco isn’t the closest gas station but it is the closest gas that is Top Tier and cheapest. Sam’s Club doesn’t offer Top Tier gasoline but they are a little closer to me.
@Kidsandliz Much of the food and other items we buy at Costco do not go in the refrigerator, such as cold cereal, pasta sauce, tuna, maple syrup, pistachios, vanilla, allergy eye drops, plastic wrap, dishwasher detergent, tissues, batteries. We like their baguettes, so we buy several and cut them in half freeze them. We have a small, 30+ year old freezer in the basement. And I agree about the gas status of Top Tier.
@andyw @Kidsandliz
Driving even a couple of miles out of your way to get cheaper gas is economically self-defeating most of the time. We try to make our gas runs to Sam’s at the same time that we are already driving nearby. For instance, their 12 oz flats of raspberries are consistently much cheaper than anywhere else. Ditto for organic carrots…
I bought a huge amount of Beef-a-reeno.
My friend owns a horse drawn cab in the city and he’s out of town for a few days and letting me drive it.
I have so much, think I’ll feed the horse some of the Beef-a-reeno.
@bookerttt RUSTY!!! WHEW!!
@bookerttt Bet the sales of Beef-a-reeno went down after that episode of Seinfeld. If it did that to a horse imagine would it do to a human’s intestinal tract?
Don’t do it!@bookerttt
We book all possible travel through Costco, and between the shop cards and cashback (we actually get double savings because I book using my executive membership and pay for it with my Costco Visa card), it would be very difficult to be convinced I’m capable of making a better deal.
@jitc Likewise-book all my cruises through Costco now-the shop card is hard to beat plus the travel consultants are the best in the business.
I have memberships to all three warehouse clubs-Costco, BJ’s and Sam’s. When I first moved to FL, the closest Costco was 50 miles away so once a month visits were all I could do. Now closest Costco is 6 miles away.
Each one has it benefits Sam’s has same prices for both delivery and in warehouse. BJ’s has smaller indiv packaged items plus a deli counter with things half the price of Publix. But having been a member of Costco for 34 years-Costco has both of them beat by a mile when comparing everything. Better selection, better cost, more knowledgeable and awake sales people, and cleaner. Plus they treat their employees better than the other two organizations. And with all that they they haven’t forgotten their shareholders either.
I have more than gotten back my initial stock investment in special dividend payments alone and stock has gone up over 20 times my initial investment.
What’s not to love about that?
I JUST signed up for membership on Tuesday at the executive level. I also have Sams Club and have had that one for 30+ years.
I am roughly equidistant from both so lots of comparisons are being reviewed.
So far, I prefer produce, vision selection and electronics at Costco. The bakery and meat dept seems to be better at Sams. But its only been 1 trip…
@tinamarie1974 At the food bank I volunteer at most of the food comes from both of those places. I like Sam’s Club cookies better than Costco, Sam’s crazy expensive made while you watch in the machine orange juice is really good. My cats like the Costco (Kirtland) wet cat food, but scoop away is cheaper at Sam’s Club as they still sell the 42 pound version and Costco has the 38 pound one. I got a $15 membership at Sam’s with a promotion and go to Costco with others who have the membership.
I purchased a Costco membership when Albertsons started charging $2-3 more per item for people that aren’t using their ecoupons (which require you to install the Albertsons app on your phone to scan).
And our local Walmart has one of those cloud-connected facial/car-tracking camera masts with the blue flashing lights up in their parking lot. Which feels creepy, now that I know how much data from the cameras Flock and the other companies sell, leak, and otherwise mismanage. At least I have some control over the tracking device in my pocket, by contrast.
(writing this on a quick lunch break, for the record)
@Wireball_
I didn’t know that was what those poles/lights were. I thought they were still locations for ‘panic buttons’ like back in the day…
@chienfou @Wireball_ Neither did I. What exactly do they do with the data they collect and besides faces and car tags (I presume) is there anything else they track? Anyone know?
@chienfou @Kidsandliz Upon investigation it’s evidently quite a few companies running camera masts, and I’m not sure which one(s) are in place at Walmart; I’ll check tomorrow if I get a chance to go over there. Flock records are evidently fully searchable by police. This has led to police lazily pulling up a list of people that were driving within a few blocks of a reported package theft, then going and accusing the nearest person at the time of having committed the theft, for example.
Several companies, not sure if Walmart is included, are experimenting with altering their pricing depending customer profiling - e.g. how they’re dressed, the car that the parking lot cameras linked them to. There’s a bill in Washington (state) to ban that.
A bit tangential, but Flock is quite porous security-wise; third parties have gained access to their cameras on numerous occasions:
@chienfou @Wireball
Yikes!!! I know Amazon changes price based on who knows what. I had bought something at $17. My friend liked it. She logged into Amazon (using my computer - she was from CA visiting me, I live in one of the poorest states in the nation and don’t buy much nor expensive things) and the price given her was $2 higher. So she used my account and the price was back to what I had paid. As a result she bough it through my account.
We need a national law that you can’t do that too, not just a state one.
/showme six armed person in a costco brand bucket hat and kirkland brand hoodie holding four food samples in little white plastic paper cups one kirkland hot dog and one wooden spork.
@zippyus Here’s the image you requested for “six armed person in a costco brand bucket hat and kirkland brand hoodie holding four food samples…”
@mediocrebot @zippyus Hot dog! I wish I had that many arms to eat 'em with.
Both Costco‘s are 10 miles from my house. So I stick to the grocery stores in my neighborhood.
I like it, but wish the meat, produce,and other food items came in half their sizes.
@aa040371 Me too, sometimes. But then they would not be so cheap, I am afraid.
@aa040371 @andyw Yeah I know. One package of meat feeds 1000 and there is just me.
From the video :
3:11 Costco, on the other hand, makes 75% of its money from membership fees.
3:16 Membership isn’t its loyalty program.
3:19 Membership is its business model.
3:21 In 2018, Costco had 94 million members, a little less than Prime’s 100 million, despite having only 700 stores around the world.
3:30 That’s significantly more than cheaper, digital subscriptions like Apple’s Music’s 60 million or Hulu’s 25, and yet 90% renew each year.
3:40 Why?
3:41 Because its prices are so, ridiculously low.
3:44 Not because it’s a charity or makes money from more expensive items while you’re already there, but because it’s incentives are aligned with yours.
3:52 Its first priority is getting its customers to renew their membership - which means impressing them time after time with low prices and high quality.
4:00 Raising prices would only generate a few cents today and cost the company $60 next year.
4:06 That’s why it has a self-imposed rule: No item can be marked up more than 15%, or 14% for branded items, giving it an overall average markup of 11%, far lower than Walmart’s 24%, 30 across all supermarkets, or Home Depot’s 35.
4:24 Almost everything about its stores is designed to accomplish this goal.
More than I’d like to admit.
@sillyheathen BTDT.
@sillyheathen A Costco run is a 2 hour round trip for me (just the driving, exclusive of the time spent in the store). So I mostly limit myself to a once-a-month expedition, plus the occasional buy online and ship (unless it is the rare must-have-now-not-available-nearby item
).
@macromeh @sillyheathen
I trust you’re making a large haul when you do go.
A 2-hour round trip would mean a significant amount of expense in gas/wear and tear on the vehicle. Factoring in the 2 hours of your time makes it even more cost prohibitive for small purchases.
Our trips to Sam’s and/or Costco are limited to times that we are already in town, 45 minutes from here. And yes, using the shipping (which for some items is free from Costco), can actually be a money saver versus the drive.
@chienfou @macromeh @werehatrack
We make our own dog food and the Costco roasted chickens are just an inexpensive and easy source of protein. I use everything but the string and excess schmaltz. I actually put the carcasses in a large pot of water and simmer them to a few hours. Then I take the soft bones and some of the broth and blend them. That goes back into the pot with the brown rice. We also add kidney or organ meat, veggies and sometimes green mussels. I often add a dollop of cottage cheese or Greek yogurt at dinner time as well as a scoop of nutrient supplements. We’ve been doing this for almost a year. The dogs have leaned out, we no longer have to give one allergy meds, their coats are brighter, their teeth are cleaner and they LOVE dinner time.
@sillyheathen
That’s excellent. Those chickens are definitely one of the high points of the Costco offerings. Glad the pups are doing well on that, though TBH, it sounds like I’d be happy as well!
@chienfou @sillyheathen Yeah, I rarely get out of there for less than $250-300. And I almost always combine the Costco run with other errands to the area.
As for the drive - meh - I drove essentially the same route commuting to/from work for most of 42 years.
@sillyheathen Hmmm …
/showme Anthropomorphized goat named sillyheathen is yelling “I Blame Society!” at police interrogator who is saying “Why do you shop at Costco more than you care to admit?”
@cfg83 Here’s the image you requested for “Anthropomorphized goat named sillyheathen is yelling I Blame Society! at police interrogator who …”
@chienfou @macromeh @cfg83 I MAY be heading there today because my dogs are telling me they need to be fed.
@cfg83 @chienfou @sillyheathen
Pets! It’s like they expect to be fed every day!
Today, I stopped at a Costco to get three items, and ask if they could print out a copy of the transaction from December 2024 when I’d bought an Artika ceiling fan that is now troublesome. I came away with the requested copy plus an additional ten things I hadn’t planned to buy. Sigh.
@werehatrack That is part of their game plan-come in there for one or two items-leave with 10 or more-can’t even remember when I have had left without having spent over $ 200-those lobster tails are too difficult to pass up.
@Felton10 @werehatrack
Hmm sounds like the get your money back for an irk
suck you in to make unintended purchasesbusiness model too.@Kidsandliz @werehatrack Think I cured myself buying stuff I really didn’t need just to get an IRK at a reasonable price. Last two IRKs I bought were on Meh’s anniversary when they had IRk’s available the old fashion way-popping up at random times with no requirements to buy other junk.
I mostly use it for the main staples, aka TP, kitty litter, paper towels, trash bags, and such. There is usually at least one new thing we try on different trips. I’ve never done a calculation for cost-benefit, but I think I am in the black.
I don’t know if the “cc-only” food court is members only, but I used to tell people that Costco and In-N-Out Burger are modern soup kitchens. Great food (to me) at rock bottom prices.
@cfg83
I know in the US ANYONE can use the pharmacy.
I saw a rumor lately on Reddit that Costco was coming to our area. We’ve only had Sam’s as long as I can remember. I’m hoping there’s something to the rumors.
@djslack Here’s the page that lists the upcoming openings:
https://www.costco.com/f/-/new-locations
None of those look like they are anywhere close to you. OTOH, it only lists locations that are about to open, so there could be one under construction near you that’s not listed.
@werehatrack thanks, this is a useful place to fact check!
According to the rumors this would be in the land acquisition stage, so nowhere near opening yet. But I can keep an eye on that page for the future.
@djslack @werehatrack Now if they only had that for Trader Joes. When they opened a Costco here a couple of years ago it took them about 18 months from when people were aware of it to when it opened.
@djslack @Kidsandliz TJ announced the locations of all three of their Houston stores at the same time, and they apparently decided that the Woodlands unit would open first, which kind of pissed off most of the folks who were paying attention in the Houston area. Their west-side store was next. By the time they finally opened the one on Shepherd, loads of us had stopped checking.
@djslack @werehatrack Hmm well when I am in Houston the Shepherd store is the one I go to. Glad it opened. I am supposed to be there the week of June 15 but my oncologist told me he wants me to come sooner due to issues. I don’t really want to drive all that way for one day of apts. Especially when I have to be there in 6 weeks anyway. Cripes 9 hours typically. Where’s my tele transporter when I need it?
Stopped by Costco today to spend my 2% rebate ck ($164 and change) received for being an Executive Member. Other 2% check for charges on Costco visa credit card received in January). Splurged by getting 4 lobster tails and new item 4 crab cakes. Filled up car with gas (3.79 a gallon-40 cents cheaper than two other stations I saw at 4.19). Thanks Costco.