Costco

[okatty]

There is a fascinating article in the NYT today about Costco. Sample excerpt:

Few companies have greater influence over what we eat (or wear, or fuel our cars with, or use for personal hygiene). Costco dominates multiple categories of the food supply — beef, poultry, organic produce, even fine wine from Bordeaux, which it sells more of than any retailer in the world. It is the arbiter of survival for millions of producers, including more than a million cashew farmers in Africa alone. (Costco sells half the world’s cashews.) Its private label, Kirkland, generates more revenue than towering brands like Nike and Coca-Cola.

[corwin1968]

There is a fascinating article in the NYT today about Costco. Sample excerpt:

Few companies have greater influence over what we eat (or wear, or fuel our cars with, or use for personal hygiene). Costco dominates multiple categories of the food supply — beef, poultry, organic produce, even fine wine from Bordeaux, which it sells more of than any retailer in the world. It is the arbiter of survival for millions of producers, including more than a million cashew farmers in Africa alone. (Costco sells half the world’s cashews.) Its private label, Kirkland, generates more revenue than towering brands like Nike and Coca-Cola.

Wow! I'm certainly doing my part to preserve the livelihood of over one million cashew farmers in Africa.

[John1744]

We usually find more food items at Sams Club that fit our lifestyle and our kids are willing to eat. Costco feels a bit bougie at times with their food selection. But some of the unique items they bring in are incredible. Also we will always buy the Kirkland brand over the name brand, we usually find it tastes better or as good as national brand with significantly lower cost.

[Pete]

To contrast the difference between Costco and Sams, within a week I bought hearts of romaine lettuce at both.

The Sam's version was absolutely crappy while the produce from Costco was excellent.

Any time I buy any sort of salad or lettuce at Sam's, it spoils very quickly which tells me they just leave their product out. It's the same with their baked goods. The croissants at Sam's are often cold from being in the refrigerator, then stale once you get them home.

Costco just does a way better job with quality control on perishables and every one of their Kirkland products are great, while Member's Mark at Sam's is very hit-and-miss.

After all this back-and-forth I've pretty much decided to buy all my staples -- pet stuff, pantry items, paper goods -- at Sam's and most food items at Costco.


Just wish Coscto had better checkout, better tech, and better shopping hours.

[soonerguru]

The quality of Kirkland products at Costco is top notch. That is our most trusted seal of approval of any retail mark.

We've never been into Sam's much at all, and pretty much avoid anything Wal-Mart-related with the occasional exception made for certain prescriptions.

Absolutely adore everything about Costco. My wife goes there weekly, mainly for the fruit (and always one rotisserie chicken because you can't pass that deal up).

I rarely shop for groceries there however because there isn't much that we buy in such large quantities. It's great for things like olive oil and certain spices we use by the ton.

[scottk]

You are spot on about the spices. Since there is not a Winco on the north side, Costco spices in bulk have been our go to as the large sizes are much much cheaper than the small sizes you get at a regular grocery store.

[BoulderSooner]

more tech coming soon

https://www.foxbusiness.com/lifestyl...ure-mobile-app

That is because Costco has quietly rolled out a "search warehouse inventory" tool on its mobile app for some customers.

The feature is in Beta testing. It can be accessed by clicking "warehouse" on the bottom, which is in between "account" and "cart."

[Pete]

^

Thanks. I just checked the app and it seems to have almost everything listed for the Memorial location.

However, that is not the case with their website. Hopefully that is coming soon.

[FighttheGoodFight]

Yes that is the feature I talked about eariler. So far everything at the Moore location is loaded and much easier to know if they have it in store. Great change I've been using for a month or so.

[Pete]

Yes that is the feature I talked about eariler. So far everything at the Moore location is loaded and much easier to know if they have it in store. Great change I've been using for a month or so.

This is a really nice improvement.

I sure wish these sites would list the aisle, as big boxers are notorious for moving things all around. Heck, it would go a long way in a regular grocery store. Lowes does a good job showing aisle and bin #'s.

[barrettd]

This is a really nice improvement.

I sure wish these sites would list the aisle, as big boxers are notorious for moving things all around. Heck, it would go a long way in a regular grocery store. Lowes does a good job showing aisle and bin #'s.

Often times, when I'm in a big WalMart, I'll search for the item on the app since it tells me exactly where the item is in that particular store, I believe it even has a floor map of the store. Very handy.

[FighttheGoodFight]

This is a really nice improvement.

I sure wish these sites would list the aisle, as big boxers are notorious for moving things all around. Heck, it would go a long way in a regular grocery store. Lowes does a good job showing aisle and bin #'s.

Costco moves items monthly. I swear they have moved the kids milk like 10 different places over the last year. I hate it.

[Mountaingoat]

Costco moves items monthly. I swear they have moved the kids milk like 10 different places over the last year. I hate it.

Isn't milk in the huge coolers?

[FighttheGoodFight]

Isn't milk in the huge coolers?

Nah the kids mini-milks are just on an aisle and they stay warm.

[therhett17]

Nah the kids mini-milks are just on an aisle and they stay warm.

Room temp stable milk? No thanks

[FighttheGoodFight]

Room temp stable milk? No thanks

Very common all over the world to have milk that is shelf stable. We put it in the fridge when we get home to pack in lunches. Works great!

[Urbanized]

[Ward]

Very common all over the world to have milk that is shelf stable. We put it in the fridge when we get home to pack in lunches. Works great!

Ultra Pasteurized Milk. It's fine at room temp. Needs to be refrigerated to drink.

What's weird? In Canada milk comes in a bag. You clip the corner of the bag and put the bag into a handled container to pour it.

[Pete]

Was in Costco today and the self-checkout is just a cluster. Probably 20 people waiting in a line backing up an aisle.

They did have 3 checkers open and frankly, that's the easier way to go because even at self, you have to take everything out of the cart and place it on a holding shelf, and that's an incredible hassle with bulky items.

The checkout lanes also move much faster.

[FighttheGoodFight]

Ya I use the checkers again. The self checkout takes way too long.

[onthestrip]

Was in Costco today and the self-checkout is just a cluster. Probably 20 people waiting in a line backing up an aisle.

They did have 3 checkers open and frankly, that's the easier way to go because even at self, you have to take everything out of the cart and place it on a holding shelf, and that's an incredible hassle with bulky items.

The checkout lanes also move much faster.

I loathe lines at check out, will make me find an alternative, or at least go at a less busy time. I dont understand why so many businesses are slow at taking our money. They should be doing all they can to make sure they are getting your money as fast as possible. The scan and go at Sams makes this process so much better.

[Pete]

^

And this was a Tuesday afternoon after school started and before the holidays, about as slow as it gets.

And I agree, If a business doesn't make it easy for me to spend my money, I'm going to pursue one of the ample other options. It's insulting to the customer to have long check-out lines, especially in non-busy times. They simply aren't employing enough people.

[scottk]

I loathe lines at check out, will make me find an alternative, or at least go at a less busy time. I dont understand why so many businesses are slow at taking our money. They should be doing all they can to make sure they are getting your money as fast as possible. The scan and go at Sams makes this process so much better.

Aldi before they installed self check outs was amazing. Bar codes on every corner of their products and super fast checkers. Now, at least at the one we shop at, they have put in 8 or so self check-outs, usually have one normal check out lane with a person who is pulling double duty stocking. While the lines aren't long, it is certainly less efficient, and I have noticed their products have scaled back on the generously placed barcodes, slowing down the process.

As for Costco, not sure why they took away the hand scanner at the self checkout. If you were going in and buying toilet paper, paper towels, and bottled water, the hand scanner made it easy to go to the self check out with three large items, versus waiting in a normal checkout with someone who has a months worth of groceries. I don't buy the argument of loss prevention and people purposely not scanning items when your receipt is checked anyways when walking out.

As Pete mentioned, places not respecting your time, especially when checking out, are a big factor in not wanting to return, or at least not often, when Kroger and Amazon will literally hand deliver any item to your door for a small fee.

[corwin1968]

As for Costco, not sure why they took away the hand scanner at the self checkout. If you were going in and buying toilet paper, paper towels, and bottled water, the hand scanner made it easy to go to the self check out with three large items, versus waiting in a normal checkout with someone who has a months worth of groceries. I don't buy the argument of loss prevention and people purposely not scanning items when your receipt is checked anyways when walking out.

The assistant manager told me they did a study and taking away the hand scanners results in more efficiency. Out of respect for this forum, I won't say what I really feel about that statement.

[BoulderSooner]

As for Costco, not sure why they took away the hand scanner at the self checkout.

The assistant manager told me they did a study and taking away the hand scanners results in more efficiency. Out of respect for this forum, I won't say what I really feel about that statement.

they took away the hand scanners because they were resulting in massive theft losses ... (that is from the store manager )