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by criley2 2443 days ago
That's true, the Costco model persists in the era of Amazon, somewhat surprisingly. But they're so aggressive on delivering value to their subscribers (and not by making a Netflix competitor no one wants) that I suppose any good company like that can succeed on a business moat of literally "well-run" "focused on the core mission" "history of consistency" "good ethics" because I guess it's hard enough to emulate those values at scale.
2 comments
lotsofpulp 2443 days ago
>the era of Amazon

Amazon has clearly opted to go with the value extraction model. They're the polar opposite of Costco. For me, Amazon's retail image is now of a vendor whose goal is to make a commission, while shifting all liability to other unknown vendors. I have no idea what I'm getting at Amazon.

On the other hand, at Costco, I know there's an organization that will stand behind the products it sells, even if they aren't the manufacturer, and they take care of their employees, so I feel more confident the employees are more invested into the products as well.

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fullstop 2443 days ago
> I have no idea what I'm getting at Amazon.

When Amazon opened up to third party sellers, the floodgates opened. For many products it feels like buying from Aliexpress but with faster shipping and higher prices.

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fullstop 2443 days ago
Most of my Costco purchases are consumable goods -- fruits, vegetables, meat, and other produce. Things that I wouldn't even consider Amazon for. That gets me in the door, and, from there, it wins again over Amazon for convenience since I am already there. They have an excellent return policy and the employees genuinely seem happy and I know that they are well compensated and have health care benefits.

Don't get their bananas, though, they go from green to brown, completely bypassing yellow. I'm pretty sure that they are getting too cold at some point in the supply chain.

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magduf 2442 days ago
>Don't get their bananas, though, they go from green to brown, completely bypassing yellow.

The same goes for their avocados. I'm not sure what the problem is, but they're pretty lousy in my experience. Trader Joe's seems to have the best deal on these that I've found, and they seem to last a long time too.

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