[dragonwriter]

> Costco's profit comes from their membership fees rather than selling anything

Membership is key both because its essentially zero cost, and because paid membership motivates choosing Costco as the place to make purchases (one reason Costco sells so,much more per unit of floospace than, e.g., WalMart), but Costco, absolutely, does make profits from sales, even if its margins are fairly low.

[Declanomous]

Well, their stated goal is to only make as much profit as is needed to cover their expenses. I personally don't consider that profit, but the price they sell goods for is indeed greater than the cost they bought them for.

[branchless]

Surely salaries have to be taken into account? If they fill their boots ratger than shareholder profits customers still pay.