I don’t qualify for membership, but as far as I can tell its generally only useful if you want to get expensive branded items for a bit less. I could get the same product type for less at Aldi. 12 tins of chopped tomatoes for £7.19, meanwhile at Aldi they are £0.39 each which would come to £4.68 for 12 of them.
Also I can walk to Aldi, the nearest costco is like a £30 return on the train. I normally only spend £30 on shopping each week for the 2 of us anyway.
Yeah, Costco is a a store for the upper middle class suburban family type. That was basically always their bread and butter as those are people with the space and need for constant shopping that can be sold some faux premium items alongside some real ones as a one stop solution.
Did you know brands will make specific Costco versions that are meant to mimic the expected item but be slightly modified to use cheaper parts or less material.
Edit for clarity: q-tips with less tip, Vitamix sold as same model but less parts or features, Lucky brand jeans using cheaper material, name brand sponges being thinner, name brand pads being less absorbent, all sold with the same name and branding as their non bulk counterpart but using less material to make them often inferior for price to value.
There are so few things that are better or cheaper to buy in the bulk at Costco to get your money’s worth of the yearly fee and that is the point. They make a profit.
It just doesn’t make much sense to shop at Costco if you are actually on a budget or don’t have the space.
Did you know brands will make specific Costco versions that are meant to mimic the expected item but be slightly modified to use cheaper parts or less material.
The opposite for food products. I’ve heard from people who supply Kirkland-branded stuff, and with the level of requirements put on it, those same people have no problem at all buying there.
lol… You just propagandized…. generic products? I can’t possibly think of a more pointlessly harmless thing that everyone is already aware of to try and villainize.
No, yes but no. I mean, and even said, name brand items like blenders with slightly smaller or cheaper bowls, lower quality metal, name brand clothes at Costco are similar to Ross in that they are made saying it the same product but are cheaper stitching and material.
I know what generic products are I am speaking towards the ones they offer as premium at a discount are discounted because of less premium parts from the brand name.
Why would I be against generics?
Edit as a further example because I guess I wasn’t understood. Q-tip brand q-tips have been called out for their Costco ones being flimsier or having less spun cotton on the tips than their products at other stores. Because it helps profit them a little more money when it’s sold at a lower price. Quality is not consistent because of its market share.
As an American, It’s the cheapest place to get a variety of fruits, veggies, several types of cheese, coffee, and toilet paper, at least on average. The catch is just that you need to buy in large quantities. They definitely have fancy and expensive brands too, but I don’t think they do as well here. They’re also a really popular place to fuel up cars, because they’re usually cheaper than the area around them, but sometimes up to 10% cheaper.
I guess that you need to drive a car there is also a catch, but I just moved to the second place I’ve ever lived that’s within reasonable walking distance of a grocery store, so driving to get groceries is normal to me. I lived near an Aldi for a few years, which was awesome.
In the UK its pretty normal if you live in a town to have multiple shops within an easy walking distance. I usually cycle as its easier to carry stuff back in bags on my bike. Sometimes get a weeks shopping for the 2 of us on my bike.
You technically have to qualify for membership…But they’re not exactly rigorous in the checks.
There is a certain type of blow-hard over here who will make qualifying for a costco membership a point of pride.
Fortunately, most of ours can be reached by bus too.
I don’t qualify for membership, but as far as I can tell its generally only useful if you want to get expensive branded items for a bit less. I could get the same product type for less at Aldi. 12 tins of chopped tomatoes for £7.19, meanwhile at Aldi they are £0.39 each which would come to £4.68 for 12 of them.
Also I can walk to Aldi, the nearest costco is like a £30 return on the train. I normally only spend £30 on shopping each week for the 2 of us anyway.
Yeah, Costco is a a store for the upper middle class suburban family type. That was basically always their bread and butter as those are people with the space and need for constant shopping that can be sold some faux premium items alongside some real ones as a one stop solution.
Did you know brands will make specific Costco versions that are meant to mimic the expected item but be slightly modified to use cheaper parts or less material.
Edit for clarity: q-tips with less tip, Vitamix sold as same model but less parts or features, Lucky brand jeans using cheaper material, name brand sponges being thinner, name brand pads being less absorbent, all sold with the same name and branding as their non bulk counterpart but using less material to make them often inferior for price to value.
There are so few things that are better or cheaper to buy in the bulk at Costco to get your money’s worth of the yearly fee and that is the point. They make a profit.
It just doesn’t make much sense to shop at Costco if you are actually on a budget or don’t have the space.
The opposite for food products. I’ve heard from people who supply Kirkland-branded stuff, and with the level of requirements put on it, those same people have no problem at all buying there.
lol… You just propagandized…. generic products? I can’t possibly think of a more pointlessly harmless thing that everyone is already aware of to try and villainize.
No, yes but no. I mean, and even said, name brand items like blenders with slightly smaller or cheaper bowls, lower quality metal, name brand clothes at Costco are similar to Ross in that they are made saying it the same product but are cheaper stitching and material.
I know what generic products are I am speaking towards the ones they offer as premium at a discount are discounted because of less premium parts from the brand name.
Why would I be against generics?
Edit as a further example because I guess I wasn’t understood. Q-tip brand q-tips have been called out for their Costco ones being flimsier or having less spun cotton on the tips than their products at other stores. Because it helps profit them a little more money when it’s sold at a lower price. Quality is not consistent because of its market share.
You need to qualify for membership in the UK?
As an American, It’s the cheapest place to get a variety of fruits, veggies, several types of cheese, coffee, and toilet paper, at least on average. The catch is just that you need to buy in large quantities. They definitely have fancy and expensive brands too, but I don’t think they do as well here. They’re also a really popular place to fuel up cars, because they’re usually cheaper than the area around them, but sometimes up to 10% cheaper.
I guess that you need to drive a car there is also a catch, but I just moved to the second place I’ve ever lived that’s within reasonable walking distance of a grocery store, so driving to get groceries is normal to me. I lived near an Aldi for a few years, which was awesome.
In the UK its pretty normal if you live in a town to have multiple shops within an easy walking distance. I usually cycle as its easier to carry stuff back in bags on my bike. Sometimes get a weeks shopping for the 2 of us on my bike.
You technically have to qualify for membership…But they’re not exactly rigorous in the checks.
There is a certain type of blow-hard over here who will make qualifying for a costco membership a point of pride.
Fortunately, most of ours can be reached by bus too.