# What's with the Cult of CostCo? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [May 27, 2020, 1:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-with-the-cult-of-costco/854519 "2020-05-27T01:36:58Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 15\ **Page:** 5
**Author:** ![wolfpup](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wolfpup/32/10618_2.png) [@wolfpup](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wolfpup)\ **Post date:** [May 29, 2020, 5:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-with-the-cult-of-costco/854519/81 "2020-05-29T17:58:19Z")
> [@Sunspace](#): > > I think Costco has mindshare. > > Sam’s Club tried to come to Canada, but I’m not sure whether they’re still around, even though WalMart is. But Costco has a much better reputation that Walmart in terms of labour relations, and there aren’t many other well-known chains of wholesale-warehouse stores. (The NoFrills grocery store in Belleville has a wholesale section, but it’s the only one I know of in that chain that does.) No, [there has not been a Sam’s Club in Canada since 2009](https://www.cbc.ca/news/business/wal-mart-canada-to-close-sam-s-club-stores-1.823350). Guess they just couldn’t compete with Costco. Ironically, Walmart itself has been extraordinary successful as a retailer here, and has been partly responsible for putting other discount retailers out of business, so those they can compete with. So Costco is definitely doing something right and unique. There are no fewer than three Walmart superstores within a short drive of my house, one just blocks away. There are also at least two Costco stores that I know of nearby, probably three IIRC. Both Walmart and Costco have been doing very well, though I imagine catering to different customer bases. The most pathetic retail failure in recent years was Target’s attempt to come to Canada. AIUI, they roared in with the arrogance of a giant US retail chain that was soon going to control the whole retail discount market, completely ignored Canadian experts’ advice about the Canadian retail marketplace, bungled their initial openings, bungled their initial operations, bungled their attempted fixes, and eventually got the hell out with something like $5 billion in losses. As much as one may hate Walmart and/or love Costco, they both clearly know what they’re doing in their specific market segments. It’s a tough business sector to be in. ---
**Author:** ![drachillix](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/48db29/32.png) [@drachillix](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/drachillix)\ **Post date:** [May 29, 2020, 7:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-with-the-cult-of-costco/854519/82 "2020-05-29T19:46:14Z")
> [@ZipperJJ](#): > > I’m not saying that the people who shop at Costco are mouth-breathing gawpers. It’s really how you’re supposed to shop there. I walk around slack-jawed when I shop there too, for the same reasons I mentioned. It’s really not relaxing for me to shop there because I feel like I’m always in someone’s way. I’ve not been able to go when it’s not busy…I just tag along with my mom some weekends. I agree with the whole…aimless clueless wander of most of the clientele. In addition I swear you will see couples that manage to place themselves and their cart in ways they can block a 12-15’ wide aisle by themselves. For Instacart shoppers who usually know these stores inside out, its maddening. I probably scoot someone elses cart a bit 2-3 times a visit to get by. Its a freakin zoo. As to the whole “cult of costco” I have run into more than a few of my customers who go there almost exclusively and comment something to the effect of the “undesirables” dont go there because of the membership fees. So to some degree its a classism and or racism thing. I see alot of business owners who dig it because of the whole travel rewards thing with their business memberships and credit cards. ---
**Author:** ![Corry\_El](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/ecae2f/32.png) [@Corry\_El](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Corry_El)\ **Post date:** [May 29, 2020, 8:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-with-the-cult-of-costco/854519/83 "2020-05-29T20:32:22Z")
> [@drachillix](#): > > As to the whole “cult of costco” I have run into more than a few of my customers who go there almost exclusively and comment something to the effect of the “undesirables” dont go there because of the membership fees. So to some degree its a classism and or racism thing. Anecdote on the internet, so who knows. But in general that seems like a specially far stretch to pull racism into a conversation. Our Costco is across the parking lot from a Walmart, in northern NJ. Not much question the clientele is lower income on average at the Walmart if people’s cars and dress is any guide to their financial status (though I’m not basing this on checking people’s 1040 forms so I can’t 100% prove it’s true, but seems so). ‘Race’ not so much. If you define ‘white’ in the normal social sense of people of European descent (ignoring both the concept of ‘white Hispanic’ and the fact that people of Mideast and Indian Subcontinent origin are technically Caucasian) both clienteles are heavily non-white and heavily foreign born as is the area. I’m not sure the Costco clientele is whiter actually though. I get that you are reporting what you heard, just really doubting racism is any measurable part of why people shop at Costco. OTOH it’s common to hear people dump on the ‘typical Walmart shopper’ (by which it’s usually meant white working class ‘deplorables’ in ‘red’ states). That was even part of the public record so to speak in the embarrassing personal texts of the FBI agents Strzok/Page. But that’s usually by upper socio-econ/education level left leaners (usually white, not always), not particularly Costco shoppers. ---
**Author:** ![swampspruce](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/swampspruce/32/261_2.png) [@swampspruce](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/swampspruce)\ **Post date:** [May 30, 2020, 1:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-with-the-cult-of-costco/854519/84 "2020-05-30T01:42:40Z")
Why do I shop at Costco more than Wal-Mart? Because Wal-Mart sucks. They pay their staff crap, destroy small businesses in smaller towns, and a lot of their product is crap. If that makes me a cultist, so be it. ---
**Author:** ![That\_Don\_Guy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/that_don_guy/32/538_2.png) [@That\_Don\_Guy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/That_Don_Guy)\ **Post date:** [May 30, 2020, 11:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-with-the-cult-of-costco/854519/85 "2020-05-30T23:48:59Z")
IMO, it can be summed up in one word: price. At least where I live, things at Costco can be significantly cheaper than in, say, Target, much less than in grocery stores. To a lesser extent, some people may still be under the “make as few trips outside as possible” mentality, so bulk purchases are the order of the day. This explains why Costco is pretty much the only place I have been to lately that doesn’t have paper towels or toilet paper when I’m there. ---
**Author:** ![Bayaker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bayaker/32/3454_2.png) [@Bayaker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bayaker)\ **Post date:** [May 31, 2020, 1:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-with-the-cult-of-costco/854519/86 "2020-05-31T01:45:51Z")
I don’t get why people are comparing Costco to Walmart. The correct comparison would be to Sam’s Club. Neither one has any locations close enough to me, so I don’t have a dog in this fight. Before I retired I used to shop for office(including bathroom, coffee, and various sanitation and kitchen-type) supplies at Sam’s Club. I also bought a lot of stuff for personal use. Costco opened a couple of stores that were not _too_ far away from my office, but checking their prices, there was never any real difference, aside from a few pennies more or less than a comparable Sam’s club product. Neither one now offers enough savings over Walmart or regular grocery stores to make the price of membership and additional gas worthwhile. ---
**Author:** ![Dewey\_Finn](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dewey_finn/32/4222_2.png) [@Dewey\_Finn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dewey_Finn)\ **Post date:** [May 31, 2020, 1:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-with-the-cult-of-costco/854519/87 "2020-05-31T01:52:42Z")
I’ve read that Costco aims for more affluent customers than Sam’s Club and that is reflected in the product mix. (They have a small selection of expensive jewelry in the Costcos I’ve been in and at one time, they sold fine art.) ---
**Author:** ![running\_coach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/running_coach/32/15836_2.png) [@running\_coach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/running_coach)\ **Post date:** [May 31, 2020, 1:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-with-the-cult-of-costco/854519/88 "2020-05-31T01:55:36Z")
> [@Bayaker](#): > > Neither one now offers enough savings over Walmart or regular grocery stores to make the price of membership and additional gas worthwhile. Probably depends on what you buy. I split my shopping between a pack-your-own grocery and Costco. What I buy at Costco would cost $40-60 a month ( for comparable amounts) more at the grocery. (I shop once a month) ---
**Author:** ![lobotomyboy63](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lobotomyboy63/32/2900_2.png) [@lobotomyboy63](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lobotomyboy63)\ **Post date:** [May 31, 2020, 2:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-with-the-cult-of-costco/854519/89 "2020-05-31T02:13:30Z")
> [@Asuka](#): > > I have a friend who’s been a member of CostCo for decades and he talks about CostCo like it’s political position, everything he says is fawning praise of CostCo, about how amazing the dollar hot dogs and the pizza is, and how he’s willing to wait 10 minutes in line after he’s done shopping for the CostCo receipt checker to slowly look at his grocery cart and sift through the bags despite me telling him just go to Wal-Mart now and no deal with the lines. It’s not like he’s desperate for money, he quit his job last month since his wife now makes more than enough to cover the entire families bills. > > So what’s with everybody still rushing to CostCo? Costco here is no busier than Sam’s, so I’m not sure. But I’ve been staying in a lot. Is your friend a wine guy? Because they hammer that. This article goes back to 2007 but still (quoting)… _ **Costco is the largest wine retailer in the United States and I think it is worth thinking about the Costco model and what it has to say about the globalization of wine.** _ > **[Costco and Global Wine](https://wineeconomist.com/2007/08/22/costco-and-global-wine/)** > > Costco is the largest wine retailer in the United States and I think it is worth thinking about the Costco model and what it has to say about the globalization of wine. Costco’s approach to selling… Anyway we have a membership and some friends have one as well. They say the warranty on electronics is good. Maybe. We find better price points elsewhere. We haven’t tried the food court. I don’t recognize the bit about their checkers sifting through bags at the exit. Sam’s is a bit more persnickety, but neither is super invasive around these parts. TBH we refer to Wally and Sam’s as “the Evil Empire” but we also do more shopping at Sam’s than Costco. Mrs. L tells me they return X amount of profit to shareholders, i.e. they’re less about profit. ---
**Author:** ![needscoffee](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/needscoffee/32/1076_2.png) [@needscoffee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/needscoffee)\ **Post date:** [May 31, 2020, 2:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-with-the-cult-of-costco/854519/90 "2020-05-31T02:40:09Z")
> [@lobotomyboy63](#): > > Costco here is no busier than Sam’s, so I’m not sure. But I’ve been staying in a lot. > > Is your friend a wine guy? Because they hammer that. This article goes back to 2007 but still (quoting)… > > _ **Costco is the largest wine retailer in the United States and I think it is worth thinking about the Costco model and what it has to say about the globalization of wine.** _ > > [» Costco and Global Wine The Wine Economist](https://wineeconomist.com/2007/08/22/costco-and-global-wine/) > > Anyway we have a membership and some friends have one as well. They say the warranty on electronics is good. Maybe. We find better price points elsewhere. Costco says that rather than compete on price for electronics, they instead increase the value of the product. So for the same price, there’s more RAM and a better graphics card and a 2nd year on the warranty, etc. For instance, when I was shopping for a home office printer, they had an Epson Costco-only model that was the same price as the regular one, but with a 2nd paper tray. ---
**Author:** ![Bayarea4](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/eb8c5e/32.png) [@Bayarea4](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bayarea4)\ **Post date:** [May 31, 2020, 8:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-with-the-cult-of-costco/854519/91 "2020-05-31T08:09:14Z")
If you need hearing aids, a $60 Costco membership will pay for itself many times over. You can get a hearing test from a licensed audiologist right on site and buy a set of good quality hearing aids for about half the price you’d pay elsewhere. I was very pleased with their service. ---
**Author:** ![DCnDC](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dcndc/32/2842_2.png) [@DCnDC](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DCnDC)\ **Post date:** [May 31, 2020, 1:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-with-the-cult-of-costco/854519/92 "2020-05-31T13:21:27Z")
I gave up on CostCo years ago. I’m certain it’s great for a lot of people, but for me, there’s only two of us and whatever few cents we were saving on cat litter just wasn’t worth it. ---
**Author:** ![Corry\_El](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/ecae2f/32.png) [@Corry\_El](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Corry_El)\ **Post date:** [May 31, 2020, 1:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-with-the-cult-of-costco/854519/93 "2020-05-31T13:30:52Z")
> [@Bayaker](#): > > 1. I don’t get why people are comparing Costco to Walmart. The correct comparison would be to Sam’s Club. Neither one has any locations close enough to me, so I don’t have a dog in this fight. > > 2. Neither one now offers enough savings over Walmart or regular grocery stores to make the price of membership and additional gas worthwhile. 1. True, but the general debate is whether pay-for-membership warehouse stores are worthwhile. There’s not much reason to think Costco, BJ’s or Sam’s Club are greatly different. Years ago we shopped BJ’s, tried out Costco, shifted to Costco, not night and day, but better. There weren’t any Sam’s Clubs near us (inner NY area) till much more recently and we’re pretty satisfied with Costco as warehouse store, nor any info I’ve seen making me think we’re missing much not to have tried Sam’s Club. Having more than one paid membership is a higher hurdle, obviously. 2. It’s plausible for any given individual but so far from our reality it’s not funny. And the net membership cost after the 2% cash back on our $120 membership was below zero last year (we bought a trip from Costco travel which was a kick ass value, surprised me how good once I saw the hotels they lined up) and always less than $60. We come out $100’s ahead at least considering Costco’s prices. Again, there’s a reason beside sheer lunacy that Costco Shop Cards go for ~15% over face value on Ebay. They allow you to shop there without a membership but the gift card market thinks that breaks even around $400 annual spend, though on stuff you absolutely can’t buy at Costco without a membership. Again in some states they can’t exclude non members from the optical or pharmacy depts, here in NJ they can’t at the gas station (which usually has the best price among ‘Top Tier’ stations in the area, often by quite a bit, but also often long lines from combination of excellent prices and open to everyone). ---
**Author:** ![Onthefly](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/9de053/32.png) [@Onthefly](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Onthefly)\ **Post date:** [May 31, 2020, 10:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-with-the-cult-of-costco/854519/94 "2020-05-31T22:24:37Z")
The Costco near me is about the same distance from my house as the nearest gas station. The credit price for gas is usually at least 10 cents per gallon cheaper than the cash price at the gas station. This alone more than covers my membership cost. The posters who didn’t like the sushi and vanilla extract could have taken it back and received a refund merely by saying “I didn’t like it.” I was at the service desk one day and the lady in front of me asked the worker about the Kirkland soft drinks. She was encouraged to by some and told if she didn’t like the first one, bring the rest back. They would even refund the one she drank. I like that kind of service. ---
**Author:** ![Jophiel](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jophiel/32/66_2.png) [@Jophiel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jophiel)\ **Post date:** [May 31, 2020, 10:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-with-the-cult-of-costco/854519/95 "2020-05-31T22:30:51Z")
People are comparing Costco to Wal-Mart because the OP asked why people are going to Costco when they could go to Wal-Mart. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-with-the-cult-of-costco/854519.md?page=4)