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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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BarkingGhostar said:
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.
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Yeah, it sucked when they dropped Amex. I'm guessing they have some sort of deal in place with Mastercard to reduce transactions fees.
 
BarkingGhostar said:
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.
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How Amex lost Costco

Amex is great but Costco is better. Citi Costco Visa will have better benefits than Costco Amex so it will be net gain for you. You're not going to lose anything other than being able to use Amex at Costco.
 
mmntech said:
Yeah, it sucked when they dropped Amex. I'm guessing they have some sort of deal in place with Mastercard to reduce transactions fees.
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Of course they do. Probably 1% or less.

The funny thing is, Costco has always accepted all credit cards if you know the trick. Costco sells gift cards online and you can use any credit card to buy them. Buy the cards online using your favorite card with whatever cashback deal you have, redeem in store.
 
ponyo said:
How Amex lost Costco

Amex is great but Costco is better. Citi Costco Visa will have better benefits than Costco Amex so it will be net gain for you. You're not going to lose anything other than being able to use Amex at Costco.
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That is pretty funny. Amex thinking they were more to Costco than lowly Costco thinking of them. Then to add insult to injury. When Amex tries to play hardball Costco performs a flawless stance of dominance and insults them by labeling them nothing more than a ketchup vendor.

Well played Costco, well played!
 
I save hundreds of dollars every year on the routine necessities. Paper towels and toilet paper alone save over $100 vs. grocery store prices. Breakfast cereals, another $100 - 150/year savings. Bread products, another $50+/year. etc., etc.
 
Speaking of AE leaving Costco, it is moving onto Sams. I just find out recently that AE works at Sams now.
 
I live alone and shop at Costco exclusively. I find their bulk frozen meals to generally be cheaper than buying individual frozen meals at the grocery store. Another example would be the greek yogurt with fruit on the bottom: 20 pack for $14.99. Works out to be 75cents each. And like has already been stated in this thread: For the most part Kirkland products are either on par with the name-brands or better than. The 3% cash back on gas using their Amex card pays for my membership.
 
Had a Costco membership for a year. As a single guy it was an complete waste of $40 (or whatever it was at the time). I don't need massive quantities of stuff. I also didn't like the vibe of the place - like they're doing me a favor by letting me in the door and were super suspicious of what I bought (verifying the receipt after I just left the cashier) when it came time to leave.
 
Svnla said:
Speaking of AE leaving Costco, it is moving onto Sams. I just find out recently that AE works at Sams now.
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Yeah but reading about the deal not much of a boon for Amex. Sams Club like Walmart will be accepted. But no co-issuing like Costco which accounted for a sizeable % of Amexs card holders.
 
I got $300 cash back from Costco last year. I also hate shopping. I buy most of what I need from Costco. love their return policy too.
 
IronWing said:
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.
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True but cereal can become stale after awhile. I used to buy meat in bulk but the way I like to cook my daughter won't eat it and my girl has the palette of a 12 year old and I wind up either with spoilage or a ton of frozen food which I hate.
 
Cheap, high-quality products from a company that treats its workers better than any other grocery chain on Earth? Can't think of a single reason to shop there...
 
Every now and then they do have some good sales. Sam's club has had hormel black label precooked bacon on sale for $8 a package. After it was all gone 3 weeks later, I looked on amazon to buy some more thinking this is a way way better way to buy bacon. But it was $19. Nope. If I had known the sale was that good I would have bought more than one package.
 
What is better for you probably varies by area. For us its crackers, cheese, cereal, chips, seasonings and granola bars. We will also stock up on non-perishables when they go on sale. Occasionally our coat closet makes us look a little like doomsday preppers.

One huge thing for us is the car rental discounts. Even with all of the various discount codes out there and memberships Coscto is crazy cheap and comes with unlimited miles, cancellable up to 24 hrs before pickup and include a free second driver. $33 for a 3 day unlimited car rental over labor day. $37 for a 3 day car rental in Hawaii during peak season. About the only time Costco isn't the cheapest is for one way rentals
 
Well, I pay something like $45/year for my card but I'm convinced that it saves me money. I'm talking about Costco here.

I just shop for myself. Walmart? Kind of a goofy place in my experience and they are a lot longer drive for me, anyway. Costco has a lot of stuff Walmart doesn't have.

There are a lot of things I get at Costco that would cost me a lot more every other place I know of. I've checked out Amazon a bunch of times, mostly the deals aren't good for me. They do have some things that Costco doesn't, it happens, but I rarely buy food off Amazon, it just doesn't pay, is my experience, and food makes up the biggest part of my Costco expenditures. There's a ton of stuff at Costco (most all of it) that I don't give a 2nd look, but I've gotten a lot of very good things there (food and otherwise).

Costco's kind of an unpredictable thing. There are items you can count on them having, but you can't count on everything. There are some things, a lot of things, that are there today, but in a month or two they won't be. They are more that way than most chain stores.

If you have their item number for something (or even if you don't), you can call them and ask if they have the item, when it will be restocked, and if other Costco warehouses presently have the item. I've done that many times.

Costco's pretty good for gasoline, that's where I get mine almost always (I don't drive much, so most times I hit Costco, I just fill up before going in the store).

There are many food items that are just a better deal at Costco than anywhere else I know of. I used to get nonfat dry milk there, but Walmart is absolutely cheaper for that and they'll ship free if you order $50 worth of qualifying items. I get my total over $50 whenever I get more NFDM, therefore, shipped free. I have had more than one bad experience with Walmart shipping, though. Apparently, the guys in the warehouse are kind of goons. The NFDM boxes can be broken, they shipped me the wrong item of crackers last go-round. I called, and they reshipped me.

There's a different vibe in Costco than in non-member chain stores. It's a little more friendly, less alienated. They have all those food sample things going on, I like those. The people you see, they are members so you have something more in common with them than if you were in a Walmart or Target. I think that's a good thing. There was a thread here where some people bitched about their policy of glancing at your cart and putting a slash mark on your receipt as you exit the store, but it doesn't bother me, really.

Oh, and another thing: Costco's return policy is pretty fabulous. I haven't used it a lot, just a few times, but if you buy something there (well, most things) and aren't satisfied, you just bring it back for a full refund. I don't think you even need the receipt. They can look it up based on your membership card and their records of your shopping.
 
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Quality products, cheaper price on many items, and many gourmet items that I would usually have to go to Trader Joes and pay a ton more for such as cheeses and stuff.

Also my contact lenses at Costco are a TON cheaper vs anywhere else. Contacts alone at Costco would save me for my yearly membership.
 
kaerflog said:
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.
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No kidding! They used to take back computers even after years but they had to change that to 90 days along with their TVs and photo cameras.
Here is an example of a fantastic deal. http://www.costco.com/Lorex-8-Chann...with-130'-Night-Vision.product.100218592.html This is a 8 camera stand alone outdoor 1080p Security system usually $499 (great price) on sale for $399 (a steal). You get their old fantastic indefinitely long satisfaction guarantee with that too!

Last I checked and an IP system starts at $1,000+ for 8 cameras.

Jim
 
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Sam's club member here....

First, don't get a membership unless you actually know the prices you've been paying for similar items at the grocery stores and other retailers.

In one month we save enough to validate our membership. That savings is in the form of name brand paper towels, and meat. Their meats are priced lower than the local grocer and are of better quality in my opinion. Same for their coffees.

So you just have to know your prices. We hit Sams once every couple months.
 
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