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

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drnickriviera said:
I'm not sure what items you are shopping for, but I price compared a bunch of items. Costco would usually beat walmart prices by 10%, at worst i got an organic equivalent for the same price as walmart. I don't even bother with Amazon groceries, i have rarely found them to be a good deal.
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I agree. ive taken pictures with my cell phone at costco and then compared the same item at Kroger & Safeway and costco is by far way cheaper.
 
her209 said:
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?
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Like many other people have already said, better quality at a cheaper price. Also, I probably shop there once a month and don't encounter long lines. Guess, we've been just lucky for 15 years... or just know what time to go to avoid lines.
 
her209 said:
I don't know if things have changed since, but I've had the opposite experience. Reason is because the way Costco makes you go through the check out and the quantity of items being purchased by the other shoppers ahead of you. On top of which, you get stopped again and have to wait for the two door attendants to look over your receipt and cart before you are allowed to leave.
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first bold: what?

second bold: does being slowed down 10 seconds bug you that much?
 
her209 said:
Because I'm not a sucker who pays an annual membership to pay the same prices for products sold at the other stores. kthxbye.
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thanks to executive membership i have not paid for membership in 10+ years. the yearly cash back check more than pays for my membership.
 
Save at minimum a little money vs. local grocer, end up with equal or higher quality product, and support a company that pays their employees a fair, living wage. And there is a question on why they're still popular?
 
dank69 said:
Anyone that doesn't use Charmin is making a bad decision.
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I find Cashmere a decent compromise between price and quality, but yes Charmin can't really be beat, I just find it so expensive for only 8 rolls.

I did the mistake of buying Royale Velour once, I'll be straight up honest, I just found the picture of the kittens cute so I bought it. Worse toilet paper EVER. It's basically a dingleberry fertilizer.
 
Costco has a lot of good stuff. Some Costcos also have gas stations that are a bit cheaper than elsewhere. They have cheaper prices on certain items, but not everything. The Costco credit card also pays cashback. Enough to pay for the membership and then several hundred dollars on top of that, if you use that card for a lot of purchases (say $1k-$2k or more per month).

So, if the Costco is within a reasonable proximity to you, it more than pays for itself unless you simply don't use that credit card enough to get that much cash back, or if you simply don't need or want the items which are cheaper at Costco. That's really all there is to it, and it's more than enough to keep people going there.

I agree that it's a pain in the ass though. I never look forward to a visit to Costco. But if you're choosy about the time you're going, you can minimize the hassle.
 
i refuse to drive the 5 miles to my nearest costco just so i can save a few bucks by purchasing a 10 pound box of lucky charms.
 
Its on my way to work for me. Higher quality products, cheaper. 3 year warranty on electronics if you use their Amex card. I also get 2% back for being an Executive member. So I actually get a check from them for more than the member ship costs...
 
Higher quality products, cheaper. 3 year warranty on electronics if you use their Amex card. I also get 2% back for being an Executive member. So I actually get a check from them for more than the member ship costs...
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All of these: And I have 9 people i'm feeding, i spend 20 grand a year
 
I like Costco because the pay their employees decent wages and have lots of organic food. Love Costco uncured bacon, 3 lb 2 of which I freeze.
 
her209 said:
Because I'm not a sucker who pays an annual membership to pay the same prices for products sold at the other stores. kthxbye.

😀
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I'd think that the number of people rising to Costco's defense would be reason enough to reconsider. 🙄

The 2% cash-back on executive memberships mean that membership is free for anyone spending $5000/year, which isn't hard to do at all, particularly for families with kids.

In many cases, Costco has suppliers and/or products that you can not find in other stores. And while it is often true that other stores have similar products at similar prices, the Costco products are almost always of better quality and are backed by superior customer service and return policies.

her209 said:
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
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Well, okay... I guess if you'd rather "buy" your own unfounded assertions about Kirkland products, then so be it. Of course, you could actually try some of the Kirkland products. You might be as pleasantly surprised as many of us were when we did so.
 
3 pages and none mentioned Costco return policy.
#1 reason why I love shopping at Costco. I buy stuff knowing I can return hassle free.
 
The "wholesale" club idea was never to be a regular mass-market big-box retail store, and if they are having problems now it's b/c they have gotten away from that idea.

At one time, you had to be a small business owner, certain government employees were eligible, and (I think) some credit union and professional/trade association members could join. Then apparently they decided that more money could be made if the doors were opened to everyone.

It definitely got more people in the door, but it also drastically changed the customer demographic. Going into Sams' now really isn't that much different than going into a WalMart; since their customer base has changed, so has the products they carry to sell to those customers. It has also driven away some people who once enjoyed browing thru the club but now don't want to go there and deal with the "Walmart experience" of a mob of tackily half-dressed people letting their unwashed smelly kids run everywhere hollering.
 
The only benefit we ever got out of it was cheaper diapers (Luvs, mind you, not Huggies/Pampers, because twins). Every time we went in there otherwise it was $100+ even for 4 items. Not worthwhile. Buy in bulk, spend a lot more than you would otherwise. It's very much like Amazon Prime - because you're paying for the privilege, you feel obligated (justified) to buy there and more often.

As for the return policy, many credit cards offer extended return protection, to any store. Price protection too.
 
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wabbitslayer said:
The "wholesale" club idea was never to be a regular mass-market big-box retail store, and if they are having problems now it's b/c they have gotten away from that idea.

At one time, you had to be a small business owner, certain government employees were eligible, and (I think) some credit union and professional/trade association members could join. Then apparently they decided that more money could be made if the doors were opened to everyone.

It definitely got more people in the door, but it also drastically changed the customer demographic. Going into Sams' now really isn't that much different than going into a WalMart; since their customer base has changed, so has the products they carry to sell to those customers. It has also driven away some people who once enjoyed browing thru the club but now don't want to go there and deal with the "Walmart experience" of a mob of tackily half-dressed people letting their unwashed smelly kids run everywhere hollering.
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Costco even has a separate store now for businesses.

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Things we buy at Costco because they're cheaper:

Ground Beef -- Costco is $3.49/lb for I believe an 88/12. 93/7 at the grocery stores here is $4.99-$5.49/lb, and for whatever reason 85/15 is $5.79-5.99.

Ribeyes -- Costco is $9.99/lb. Local cheap butcher is $10.99/lb, grocery stores are $12.99-14.99/lb regular price, $10.99-11.99/lb on sale.

Chicken broth -- Saves $1/quart by buying cans at Costco instead of cans or cartons at the store.

Tortillas -- $.06/each? Yes please.

Tomatoes/tomato sauce -- Cheaper and better quality than what's available at my local grocer.

Vitamins/Supplements -- MASSIVELY cheaper than any grocery or other retail store. Claratin is roughly $1/pill if you buy name brand, and not much less if you buy generic. I bought a thing of 365 Claratin-equivalent pills from Costco for $17. Multivitamins, calcium, vitamin D, etc is all well below other prices.

So basically, if my wife and I eat 30lbs of ground beef in a year, we've paid for a basic membership with that alone.
 
her209 said:
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.
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Your wrong about that. They have a pretty wide selection of name brand stuff where they are cheaper. Plus they have a variety of other benefits. The enormity of your incorrectness suggests you aren't taking this post seriously.

-KeithP
 
I see why they exist, but I do not see why they hold onto the credit card exclusivity. Why penalize their members by preventing them from using any major credit card? I am losing the benefit of Amex at Costco and whatever non-Amex they go with only hurts me and my relationship with Costco. Sure, I'll drop the Costco Amex, but I have two more Amex accounts for a reason.

If there is one thing the Costco and the like are losing to said competition is this flexibility to use other payment types. BTW, my first purchase from Costco was a set of tires for my truck. The same make.model tire was cheaper at Costco than anywhere else in Atlanta even when I included the membership price for Costco. Win-Win, for me.
 
Linux23 said:
i refuse to drive the 5 miles to my nearest costco just so i can save a few bucks by purchasing a 10 pound box of lucky charms.
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Buy two boxes and spread the transportation costs. I think that when I was growing up if we had had twenty pounds of Lucky Charms in the house on a Saturday morning I'd be dead.
 
I dont find Costcos gas prices worth the usual wait. Worse, sometimes it is more expensive. But their meat, dairy, most other products are cheaper than a grocery store and of higher quality. Been buying their boneless ribeyes for years. Usually a solid 2-3 dollars\pound less than the grocery store. About half the cost of a butcher. But the quality is much higher than a grocery store and on par with a butcher.
 
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