How or why do member-based stores such as Costco and Sam's Club still exist nowadays?

[lxskllr]

Aldi's milk is currently $2.20. Commodity cheese is ~$3.20/#. They occasionally get limited stock specialty cheeses. Yesterday, I got some cave ripened cheese from Romania. I think that was ~$7/#

 

[ponyo]

Costco = quality at great prices.
Sam's Club = standard or subpar quality at great prices.

If you've shopped at both clubs, you can easily see why Costco is still growing while Sam's Club is a mess and on the decline. Quality and customer service trump lower price.

Costco has no equal.

 

[Capt Caveman]

What a fail thread this is.

 

[KLin]

I used to be Costco member way back when (~10 years ago) but the prices at the chain grocery stores are for the most part on price par. Yet, every time I drive by these "bulk discount" stores, there are loads of people still shopping there despite having to pay an annual membership fee. On top of which, the shopping experience is always a pain in the ass because of having to find parking and dealing with the crowd. It seems the reason for the crowd is because there's not as many compared to the smaller chain grocery stores so there's a concentration of shoppers flocking to said store because the other store is way across town. But even if you're into the whole crowd thing, you do it membership free at stores like Walmart or Target. And as far as the whole membership thing, you can pay for Amazon Prime or another similar service and never even have to get in a car.

So why do people still pay to shop there?

Because the other shoppers aren't you. thxbai

 

[IronWing]

How much? At BigLots, I get 28# for $7.50.

That's about the same as Costco. I'll have to check it out.

 

[Michael]

Prices and quality at Costco are always good. Since I live in California, I pay taxes on Amazon.com and most other online sources, so there is no savings there. Clothes are very cheap, jeans, for example are way cheaper. Their seasonal items are very well priced. I just bought a good quality pair of boots and a jacket for a price below what I saw online and I was able to try it on.

If you have a family and buying larger quantities is normal, then it is an even better deal.

The executive membership more than pays for itself.

If you can avoid going on weekend days, the lines are usually not so bad.

Michael

 

[JTsyo]

The Costco membership fee keeps some of the diseased underclass away from me and at Walmart where they belong. :|

Plus, I've become accustomed to their toilet paper.

The membership fee is that makes them the profit. They are selling items about at cost. This means that they are trying to get people to join more than they are trying to get you to buy more stuff.

 

[her209]

Because the other shoppers aren't you. thxbai

Because I'm not a sucker who pays an annual membership to pay the same prices for products sold at the other stores. kthxbye.

😀

As far as the whole "Kirkland is better quality" argument goes, I don't buy it because:

1) Its subjected to shoppers bias, i.e. no blind test done
2) Shoppers haven't tried the other generic brands sold at other stores and even if they did, see #1
3) The money saved from buying the generic brand + membership could have purchased the name brand product

 

[Jumpem]

A lot of products are cheaper at Costco. My wife spends several hours shopping to go between Wegmans, Target, Walmart, BJ's, and Costco getting what is available and generally the best price at each.

 

[Art&Science]

If you have baby(ies) Costco is amazing. The savings on diapers, formula and wipes easily pay for the membership - over and over again. Anyone who's bought any of these items at the grocery store knows what a rip off it is. Also, if you buy the store brand items at the grocery store or Walmart they are complete crap - where as the Kirkland baby supplies IMO are about the best you can buy, they are easily better than most of the big brands. I made the mistake of buying store brand diapers at grocery store one time - OMG, they were complete crap and caused me so many headaches. 🙁

Also paper goods like toilet paper, paper towels, napkins. Cleaning supplies like laundry detergent, fabric softener, dish detergent. The per unit price for these is less, hands down.

Honestly, if you're slamming these places but have never actually done the price comparison you have nothing to offer.

It sounds bad, but if you're poor and can't afford to buy something in bulk these stores are not for you. Almost all the items they sell are in bulk.

With regards to gas, my experience is for 87 octane gas you won't see much of a difference but for 91+ octane gas, the difference can be as high as 30 cents a gallon. I buy the higher octane gas so for me this is really helpful.

Also, you need to understand the difference between CHEAP and INEXPENSIVE. Shopping at Costco allows you to buy quality items inexpensively. Shopping at Walmart or Big Lots allows you to buy CHEAP items (quality) for CHEAP. There are exceptions.

Anyway, if you don't want to shop there - don't! I like Big Lots too, they have FANTASTIC micro-fiber bed sheets which so far I haven't found anyone who can beat them.

 

[Art&Science]

Ikr. Imo, its more like $2-3 because you're really only saving $0.10-0.20 per gallon and assuming a 15 gallon fuel tank on a sedan.

My truck has a 36 gallon tank. Recently the difference was 30 cents for premium. $99 vs $110. I've never waited more than 5 minutes.

 

[Art&Science]

Because I'm not a sucker who pays an annual membership to pay the same prices for products sold at the other stores. kthxbye.

😀

As far as the whole "Kirkland is better quality" argument goes, I don't buy it because:

1) Its subjected to shoppers bias, i.e. no blind test done
2) Shoppers haven't tried the other generic brands sold at other stores and even if they did, see #1
3) The money saved from buying the generic brand + membership could have purchased the name brand product

1.) Tons of Kirland reviews on the Net by consumer agencies.
2.) Yes I have, probably more than you.
3.) No it couldn't. Membership if $50 ($35 if you work for corporate America where it is heavily discounted). Not only are you wrong, but often times the Kirkland product is better than the name brand product AND is less expensive.

We get it. You don't like Costco, so don't shop there. You sound like you're trying to convince YOURSELF not to shop there. Hehehe.

 

[Art&Science]

I'm just going to throw this out there, other Costco shoppers will know: Kirkland Organic Olive Oil. 🙂

 

[KLin]

Because I'm not a sucker who pays an annual membership to pay the same prices for products sold at the other stores. kthxbye.

😀

As far as the whole "Kirkland is better quality" argument goes, I don't buy it because:

1) Its subjected to shoppers bias, i.e. no blind test done
2) Shoppers haven't tried the other generic brands sold at other stores and even if they did, see #1
3) The money saved from buying the generic brand + membership could have purchased the name brand product

Costco has cheaper prices. There, I can make blanket statements too. HAH

 

[Ns1]

 

[Red Squirrel]

When I went to Sudbury for LASIK they have a Costco so I went to check it out, was my first time in one, well been in it before during another trip but it was like 5 minutes before closing so we had to leave. It's pretty cool all the stuff they have, and decent quality for decent price. Though I think I spent more time amazed at how far I could see without glasses, and still kinda adjusting to the new eye sight.

Hard to tell if it would actually be worth paying for a membership if we had one here though. I bought stuff when I went and some of it I still have lots left. I probably have enough vitamin C tablets to last me a life time.

 

[s0me0nesmind1]

I'll be honest, Kirkland TP is one of the only things I don't get there as far as Kirkland is concerned. It's just a step past your every-day sandpaper equivalent in public and quite a ways under Charmin.

 

[mmntech]

Aldi's milk is currently $2.20. Commodity cheese is ~$3.20/#. They occasionally get limited stock specialty cheeses. Yesterday, I got some cave ripened cheese from Romania. I think that was ~$7/#

Speaking of dairy products, Costco's half-and-half cream is almost a third the price of the grocery store. The cheese is a lot cheaper too. Get the big bricks of the Cracker Barrel cheddar. Great for making grilled cheese.

Dairy here tends to be quite expensive due to quotas placed on farmers by the government. Makes sense to get it in bulk if you can. Cheese and cream stores well.

 

[dank69]

I'll be honest, Kirkland TP is one of the only things I don't get there as far as Kirkland is concerned. It's just a step past your every-day sandpaper equivalent in public and quite a ways under Charmin.

Anyone that doesn't use Charmin is making a bad decision.

 

[MongGrel]

My wife likes to shop around.

And some things like meat I'm not going to be ordering off Amazon, I like to pick mine out.

I do not pay for my membership to begin with I guess.

 

[mmntech]

Anyone that doesn't use a bidet is making a bad decision.

FTFY.

 

[zerocool84]

Speaking of dairy products, Costco's half-and-half cream is almost a third the price of the grocery store. The cheese is a lot cheaper too. Get the big bricks of the Cracker Barrel cheddar. Great for making grilled cheese.

Dairy here tends to be quite expensive due to quotas placed on farmers by the government. Makes sense to get it in bulk if you can. Cheese and cream stores well.

I'm lactose intolerant and Costco sells two half gallons in a case of lactose free milk for the same 3/4 gallon of Lactaid milk my local supermarket sells for.

 

[Humpy]

Anyone that doesn't use Charmin is making a bad decision.

I allow my personal wiping assistant to choose her own materials and she prefers the quality of Kirkland's two layers of softness and absorbancy. While I don't mind her finger occasionally breaking through the paper she feels that activity is best left to one of my other service females. :|

 

[IGBT]

it's still one stop shopping although their selection has diminished.

 

[BoomerD]

I'm lactose intolerant and Costco sells two half gallons in a case of lactose free milk for the same 3/4 gallon of Lactaid milk my local supermarket sells for.

My wife is severely lactose intolerant. She's tried all the "lactaid-type" pills in the local drug stores, one recommended by someone here that we got on-line...none of them worked well for her. The Kirkland lactose pills work much better for her than any of the other types. Well enough that she can enjoy a bit of cheese, ice cream, or even dairy milk from time to time. (she still has to be careful how much she has...or I suffer...at least as much as she does.) 😛