I love Costco

"Full of the sound of the Gran Fury, signifying nothing." (granfury) 05/26/2018 at 19:22 • Filed to: None

2

28

My membership is up in June, so today I borrowed a co-worker’s Sam’ Club card to do a comparison since Sam’s have been trying to woo me with discounted memberships with lots of extra perks. Based on the fun I today I think I now have enough first-hand knowledge to decide where to spend my membership money, and it boils down to two simple words based on this experience - Never Again. Costco can double my membership fee and I will still choose them.

Blunion05 drives a pink S2000 (USER WAS BANNED FOR THIS POST) > Full of the sound of the Gran Fury, signifying nothing. 05/26/2018 at 19:41

1

I’m not somebody who yet needs to purchase things in bulk, but’ve never been to Costco’s, and I have occasionally been to Sam’s, and I hate Sam’s club. Something about it just makes me dread walking into any Sam’s club.

ranwhenparked > Full of the sound of the Gran Fury, signifying nothing. 05/26/2018 at 19:42

4

Well, I mean, Sam’s is literally the Walmart of membership warehouse stores, so there’s really not much lower you can go in the pecking order.

Costco’s bakery and prepared foods are fantastic, and I hear tell that in more permissive states, their wine isn’t half bad.

ttyymmnn > Full of the sound of the Gran Fury, signifying nothing. 05/26/2018 at 19:51

2

I haven’t been into a Sam’s in many years, but have been a loyal Costco customer for a very long time. I don’t know about Sam’s, but Costco’s liberal return policy is fantastic. They’ll take anything back, with or without receipt.

Full of the sound of the Gran Fury, signifying nothing. > Blunion05 drives a pink S2000 (USER WAS BANNED FOR THIS POST) 05/26/2018 at 19:54

0

I don’t really need to purchase in bulk, but sometimes, if the price is right, I’ll stock up on a few things. I am always going to need TP, and it will never expire, so buying that in large quantity is fine. I can save a bundle on various food items when I combine large purchases with a vacuum sealer. And less than $3 for a 40-pack of really good tasting 500 ml bottles of water? I drink at least two a day at work, and it’s better stuff than the $1.50 bottles out of the vending machine.

My parents have two Costco locations within a couple of miles of them, and they use them like regular grocery stores, sometimes just running in for only one or two items. It’s a little slower than it used to be since they got rid of the self-check lines, but the cashiers are quick and efficient and keep the whole show running.

Whatever it was you felt about walking into Sam’s is what I experienced today. For two stores so similar in concept, the experience and clientele couldn’t be more different. Check out Costco sometime - I think you’ll be pleasantly surprised.

smobgirl > ranwhenparked 05/26/2018 at 19:56

2

Most of their brand of liquor isn’t half bad either.

Tristan > Full of the sound of the Gran Fury, signifying nothing. 05/26/2018 at 19:56

0

Prior to moving to Oregon, I always had a Sam’s membership. There was nothing else near where I lived either in Minnesota or in Northwest Florida... Sam’s was all we had. And it was always shitty. Horrible service, filthy dining area, but it was cheap.

Now, here in the Portland area, all we have is Costco. I had never been in a Costco until 3 years ago... Instantly, Sam’s was dead to me.

Full of the sound of the Gran Fury, signifying nothing. > ranwhenparked 05/26/2018 at 20:00

0

I don’t think I’ve ever purchased any of Costco’s house-brand products that have left me disappointed. And the savings you get from avoiding the name brands is tangible. At first it feels like you’re taking a risk, going with an unknown, but so far it’s always worked out.

Sam’s was the freakshow that is Walmart but on steroids. I kept my expectations low, but was still amazed at what I saw and who I interacted with. They have their demographic and, well, I guess I just don’t fit.

ranwhenparked > Full of the sound of the Gran Fury, signifying nothing. 05/26/2018 at 20:04

0

I mostly swore off Walmart except for the occasional emergency after an incident a few months back where I went into the store and saw no less than three naked asses - one male, two female, all on the obesity spectrum. Frankly, one exposed ass would have been too many.

Full of the sound of the Gran Fury, signifying nothing. > ttyymmnn 05/26/2018 at 20:07

0

Exactly. Service, above all else, that happens to come with good prices and solid merchandise.

I’ve been a loyal shopper there since, well, before it was Costco. Before they made their way to California there was something similar, the originator of warehouse clubs actually, called Price Club that eventually merged with Costco. It took my family years to refer to it as Costco since we’d been shopping at Price Club for so long; we all knew what the others meant when we used the wrong names. One funny thing about Price Club was that the name didn’t come from the fact that they had low prices, but because it was founded by a guy named Sol Price.

ttyymmnn > Full of the sound of the Gran Fury, signifying nothing. 05/26/2018 at 20:10

3

My family had a Price Club membership back in the day. A couple of years ago, I bought a set of tires there. The tire guy quoted me a price, then after I accepted it, he said, “Oh, you can only get that price if you sign up for a credit card.” I didn’t want the card, so I agreed to a higher price because I needed the tires. So I went inside the store and talked to a person in a red vest, who promptly refunded the difference to me in cash and had a word with the tire shop. It seems like the employees actually enjoy working there.

Full of the sound of the Gran Fury, signifying nothing. > ranwhenparked 05/26/2018 at 20:12

0

For the longest time I avoided Walmart like the plague, but for a period at the beginning of the year when I was working the 1800/0300 shift I found myself there because it was the only place open at the crack of dawn where I could do most of my shopping all in one place. Now that I’m on a different schedule I can resume shopping at places that don’t annoy me and creep me out.

Full of the sound of the Gran Fury, signifying nothing. > ttyymmnn 05/26/2018 at 20:26

1

Employee morale - it makes a big difference. I’ve read so many articles where people say that they feel that it’s the kind of place where they can spend the rest of their working lives. I was quite disappointed when I didn’t get hired there a few years ago, but I wasn’t very good at interviewing back then and had a hard time explaining why I was released from my previous job.

I was working for a hot-headed, incompetent, psychopath who I later found out thought that I knew about his embezzlement and misappropriation of funds. Based on this incorrect assumption he killed my transfer to the US headquarters in Houston to save his own ass, thinking that I might leak his secrets. I didn’t know about them, but because of some of the excellent auditing work I had done on some other projects I guess he figured that, if I didn’t already know, I would have figured it out in short order, and therefore I needed to be purged. Office politics suck, and I am so happy to be out of that environment and in a job I love at an organization that is run by (mostly) competent people. It also helps that we have absolutely no possibility of making money, so the relentless drive for maximum profit is thankfully absent.

vondon302 > Full of the sound of the Gran Fury, signifying nothing. 05/26/2018 at 20:33

1

I love it but I drop a hundy every time I go .

Hence we call it cost-hundy

His Stigness > Full of the sound of the Gran Fury, signifying nothing. 05/26/2018 at 20:37

0

What was your issue? 

I’ve been going to Sam’s club way more thanks to their scan N go app. I love being able to just walk in and never stand in any line.

merged-5876237249235911857-hrw8uc > Full of the sound of the Gran Fury, signifying nothing. 05/26/2018 at 20:46

2

Costco definitely treats their employees better and pays well, compared to the other similar types of places.

Full of the sound of the Gran Fury, signifying nothing. > His Stigness 05/26/2018 at 20:54

1

I found that the merchandise was inconsistent between stores and the employees to be hard to find and kind of useless when you did track one down. The customers? Well, a lot like the typical Walmart customers, especially the ones you might find at peopleofwalmart.com; not exactly my kind of crowd (and I hope this doesn’t make me sound like some sort of snob, but I prefer to be around people with a sense of manners and decorum and with all of their mental facilities intact). The final straw was some woman yelling at me for apparently rubbing the side of my nose. I really don’t know what she was talking about, but she wouldn’t shut up or go away. Thankfully this lovely encounter happened as I was checking out and I was able to get my merchandise and get the hell out of there PDQ.

I bet that app certainly helps minimize human contact, something that doesn’t appear to be an important thing at Sam’s or Walmart, but it doesn’t seem to be enough to make me change my mind.

Full of the sound of the Gran Fury, signifying nothing. > vondon302 05/26/2018 at 21:08

1

I have no idea how I manage to keep myself in check over there given the quality and breadth of merchandise. Yesterday I surprised myself by only spending $22, and didn’t even stop at the snack bar.

Trader Joe’s is a place where I frequently get into trouble. I go in for one or two items, and walk out with a couple of full bags and usually about $50 lighter. Thankfully my freezer is full so I’ve been avoiding that place until I eat some of the stuff I already have.

gettingoldercarguy > Full of the sound of the Gran Fury, signifying nothing. 05/26/2018 at 21:37

2

Costco I think makes no more than 15% margin on the products they offer, they pay their employees very well. Not much to bitch about, I love them.

His Stigness > Full of the sound of the Gran Fury, signifying nothing. 05/26/2018 at 22:10

0

I can’t argue with anything you said. The selection is generally different between the stores, but that’s actually why I have both memberships. But now with the scan N go I go to Sam’s Club more to avoid contact with other people.

But the staff there are shit, which is really annoying. And the people are just one notch above what you find at Walmart. But the people at Costco are almost just as annoying because they’re so stuck up.

FTTOHG Has Moved to https://opposite-lock.com > Full of the sound of the Gran Fury, signifying nothing. 05/26/2018 at 22:18

1

This is good info. When I move in a few weeks I’m going to be nearly 2 hours from the closest Costco but only an hour from Sams so I’ve been wondering if I should change. Sounds like I should just suck it up and deal with the extra two hours round trip and combine it with anything else I need to do in the city.

FTTOHG Has Moved to https://opposite-lock.com > ranwhenparked 05/26/2018 at 22:25

0

If you’re ever passing through a state where they do wine sales check out their house brand “Golden Margarita.” It’s a wine made from agave that has lime and sweetener added. Makes a decent approximation on the rocks for under $10 for a 1.75L. It’s basically a staple in my house.

ranwhenparked > ttyymmnn 05/26/2018 at 22:41

0

Sadly, Sears, Roebuck & Co. used to pride themselves on that sort of work environment (and were probably one of the pioneers in that regard). At one time, if Sears hired you and you didn’t screw up, you had a job for life. They paid decent commission, had decent benefits, treated their employees well, and offered quality merchandise at good prices.

Then, everything hit the fan and they turned into a zombie corpse disguised as a retail chain.

415s30 W123TSXWaggoIIIIIIo ( •_•))°) > vondon302 05/26/2018 at 23:13

0

It’s the (hundy) dollar store.

Full of the sound of the Gran Fury, signifying nothing. > His Stigness 05/26/2018 at 23:13

0

Actually, I was referring to different inventory at two Sam’s locations. I’m not a big soda drinker, but yesterday at one store I saw a case of Jolly Rancher soda. I went to another location today and they didn’t have the soda so I left the dried apricots and pistachios I had in the cart and went back to the store I was at yesterday. They still had the soda, but they didn’t have the damn apricots. Oh, and the second store didn’t have the Johnny Walker Double Black that was at the first. Then again, Costco hasn’t had the JWDB in some time, so I guess I’m paying retail for that if I really want it.

His Stigness > Full of the sound of the Gran Fury, signifying nothing. 05/26/2018 at 23:39

0

Holy shit I need jolly rancher soda!

I only stick to one location for both Costco and Sam’s Club, but I know what you’re talking about. I’ve run into the same thing with Costco, though. But if you’re sticking with only one membership I’d probably go with Costco.

Full of the sound of the Gran Fury, signifying nothing. > His Stigness 05/27/2018 at 00:05

0

Yes. Yes you do. It is frigging amazing, and why I put up with the chaos and freakshow today to get it. There are four flavors, but as soon as you add JR watermelon or green apple flavor to any product you are pretty much guaranteed a sale to me. I’m not a big pop tart fan, but when I saw JR flavored ones I was munching down on those things like a teenager.

I had noticed the inventory issue years ago at my local Costcos, but for at least the 3-4 years I’ve found them to be pretty consistent. I pretty much stick to one particular location these days unless I happen to be out and about and near a different one, but when I go to another I don’t notice many, if any, differences. They’re mostly out in the ‘burbs, so there really isn’t a convenient one for a city dweller like me. A friend would always want to go out to one out near the tonier suburbs, but I prefer to go to the one that’s only 10 miles away instead of 20.

Yeah, my mind is made up. Whatever Sam’s is offering is not enough to make me switch, let alone add another membership to another warehouse store. For the most part, if Costco doesn’t have it I need to question whether or not I really need it...

AdverseMartyr > Full of the sound of the Gran Fury, signifying nothing. 05/27/2018 at 02:17

1

I had a Sam’s Membership once for a year. I spent $45 on a Groupon that gave me the better membership along with $42 in free stuff. We did the credit card membership the day we redeemed the groupon so that we received $60 in instant rebate. We used the membership for that one year to buy the Pampers (sensitive or whatever their called) that weren’t available at Costco.

Dumped the Sam’s Club membership at the end of that one year.
Still have our Costco membership even though we live overseas now and don’t have access to Costco (membership pays for itself in one visit back to the states just for the savings in the cost of fuel (Hawaii prices)).

AdverseMartyr > vondon302 05/27/2018 at 02:19

1

My wife would do this and be surprised everytime. “I only grabbed 5 things. or I only had 10 items on my list.”