[type4]

I have a really mixed feeling about Costco. I hate it, I going there, I hate the crowds, the parking, the people, being hawked a credit card, a cell phone, whatever the vendors are selling. It makes me feel like a pig in a slaughterhouse waiting to get out of the store, I feel like it's the platonic form of consumption. We all go to the nice little consumption center like good piggies to get our sustenance and to get milked further (maybe I should buy some electronics!)

Yet, I keep going. I like the cranberry bread, the cheap chicken, the granola, I like not thinking about what to buy so much. I like that it's of an acceptable quality at an acceptable price. I like that I can return stuff easily without getting shit for it. I like "scoring" deals on stuff that seems like a good value.

[irjustin]

> Yet, I keep going.

Then I think Costco has done its perfect job and exactly the goal the founder set out to create: Quality goods at affordable prices.

They optimize for those 2 things first. Consequently, everything else becomes a management of chaos (the part that stresses you out and thusly hate).

If they did try to make the experience better, it would cost them someplace. And honestly, you're just at whole foods at that point.

[stasomatic]

The Costco episode on the Acquired podcast was really good, imo. It covered the trajectory from genesis till today. Highly recommended: https://www.acquired.fm/episodes/costco

[xp84]

This is a great perspective! Somehow it makes it feel better to think of it that way, that basically this is likely as good as it can get on those two very important metrics, and that improving other things would probably cause those to decrease.

Better than optimizing for short-term shareholder value like most other firms...

[xp84]

This is relatable. I'm constantly baffled by the selection - half the items you find will be there in a month, the other half you will never see again, or maybe see seasonally. And then at random, they move things. Like halfway across the store.

I remember loving a Costco trip with friends at age 18, because we'd walk every aisle, and there were always so many cool things and at prices we could afford. But now as an adult with a stressful and rushed lifestyle due to children, it kills me that it's so difficult to find the 10 things I need quickly and get out, without walking every aisle. They clearly really want you to walk every aisle!

[dboreham]

Perhaps worth noting that this Costco experience is localized. I've experienced it myself in Los Angeles when visiting, and when I lived in the Bay Area. No carts. Takes 10 minutes to get a parking spot, etc. But here in Montana Costco is very chill. The same people have worked there for 25 years and will ask you how your kids are doing. Plenty carts. Plenty parking. There is still the cell phone guy but even he can be defeated with a cheery "my company pays for my service".

[jhatax]

Your observation makes sense given the population density and sheer number of people that the Bay Area has relative to Montana. If the Costco in where-you-are Montana weren’t chill, there would be similarities between that area and the Bay Area / LA.

[whycome]

The experience definitely differs. I’ve never even noticed a cell phone person in Canadian Costcos. There’s a booth off in the electronics section but no one bothers you. If you can get there on a Monday, the place seems fairly empty.

[foobarian]

The one thing that brings me back there is their croissants. There are none other like it, and their product is a 12ct pack for a very reasonable price.

[kakacik]

> There are none other like it

Heh, I guess you mean apart form true French ones. You won't find them anywhere else in the world, there is always something off in dough or overall process so result is different and worse.

But its true that ignorance is quite often a bliss.

[cayleyh]

You can buy them frozen, directly from the baking counter, in 144 count boxes... Just saying...

[iancmceachern]

And the salmon

[adolfojp]

These days I just go to Sam's Club.

Hear me out.

It's right next to Costco, literally in the same mall.

Products are kind of shittier but they're good enough. But good enough is better for me because the rest of the experience is just better.

Walking through Sam's Club is often a breeze whereas through Costco I waddle like a penguin sandwiched between a waddle of penguins, each competing for enough space and quiet and mental clarity to score a good purchase.

It can be panic inducing.

At Sam's Club I don't even walk to a cash register. I pay with my phone and I'm out.

They don't even ask me to show my ID at the door.

[insane_dreamer]

Do they even have Sam's Club in the PNW? I've never seen one.

But even if they did, no way am I shopping at Sam's Club for the same reason that I'm never shopping at its parent company, Walmart. Walmart arguably did more to destroy small town America than any other company, and it also treats retail employees like shit. On the other hand, Costco is one of the best places to work as a retail employee (which is why they have so little turnover).

[adolfojp]

Not shopping at Sam's Club because its parent company destroys small town America is a perfectly reasonable sociopolitical stance so I respect it. Bravo.

But if you're still shopping at Costco then you don't really care about the effects that these big box stores have on small town economies.

You're just into performative activism.

But Costco does have better working conditions so I'll give you that.

[cucumber3732842]

>Not shopping at Sam's Club because its parent company destroys small town America is a perfectly reasonable sociopolitical stance so I respect it. Bravo.

Not saying you specifically, but it drives me up the wall that the same people who complain big business bad have so much overlap with the people who champion government policy that makes it so only the big businesses that can amortize the fixed costs of doing business over absurd quantities can exist competitively.

[insane_dreamer]

Which gov policy is that?

[insane_dreamer]

> But if you're still shopping at Costco then you don't really care about the effects that these big box stores have on small town economies.

Costco operates quite differently from Walmart and therefore does not have the same effect as Walmart.

Walmart carries a much much larger selection (~150K SKUs at a SuperCenter vs ~4K SKUs at a Costco) and therefore competes with local grocery stores and pretty much any local store that carry just about everything needed for day-to-day living.

Costco aims at a much narrower demographic, and is designed for bulk buying, which most people don't do, or might only do for a few items. That's why, though its prices might be lower than a local grocery, it doesn't necessarily put the grocery store out of business.

It did not, and does not, target small towns the way Walmart did (doesn't do it anymore much because all the small businesses are gone now).

Also, Costco has a much smaller footprint across in the US -- about 600 stores vs ~4600 Walmart.

> You're just into performative activism.

No. While I'd like to do my shopping at small local stores out of principle, and I do where I have a choice, most don't exist anymore, and I can't resurrect them. Even the small "local" grocery that I do shop at, it turns out (I found out quite by accident on Wikipedia) is now owned by some larger company. That means instead of the "best" options, I have to choose the "least worst" options.

[gamblor956]

Costco doesn't have any stores near small town economies...

Walmart does, and it achieved its dominance by deliberately targeting and destroying small town America economies.

[1899-12-30]

Costco buisness centers are usually a lot quieter, and don't have the free sample venders clogging up the aisle. Memberships work for both.

[rahimnathwani]

Costco business centers for 50lb bag of bread flour.

Regular Costco for rotisserie chicken.

In life you can't have everything.

[tshaddox]

I've noticed that my local Costco business centers actually tend to have a larger selection of things like soft drinks and single-serving packaged snacks, and not in obscenely large quantities (any more than normal Costcos).

[SubmarineClub]

I mean, I just go first thing Sat/Sun morning.

Parking is easy, the store is quiet, there are no vendors set up yet.

I have my list of things I need, I get it, get out, easy.

Idk, I’ve never felt the pull of ‘I MUST buy some new electronics’ when I walk by the tvs.

I don’t really understand the hate against ’consumption’ either. I’ve gotta eat and I’ve gotta shit, so I might as well go and by the cheap toilet paper and food. I don’t pay attention to all the other stuff.

[alanbernstein]

Is the super-consumption aspect of it really so different than any other big box store?

[daemonologist]

The consumption aspect is perhaps similar, but the crowds at Costco are much, much worse (in quantity mainly) than any other grocery or big-box store I've ever been to.

I also refuse to go to Costco these days. Every once in a while my memory fades and I agree to accompany a family member or friend, and am quickly reminded why I should stick to Aldi.

[fooker]

Watch the Costco clip from Idiocracy, matches your description to the letter.

[snark42]

I hate going there and mostly use Instacart to avoid having to, but even with a Instacart mark-up and tip it's cheaper and higher quality than most other options, happy to pay someone else to do my shopping.

[fromMars]

Is it really higher quality? I had a membership for a year and didn't find much I was interested in purchasing food wise, at least.

[JoshTriplett]

> Is it really higher quality?

Yes, genuinely. At most stores, "store brand" equates to "cheap, lower quality". Kirkland Signature is sometimes higher quality than other brands, and there are items for which they're my preferred brand.

[gessha]

I’ve learned from FarmTok that Costco is a big reason farms maintain proper standards even going beyond what’s required from them to keep Costco’s business.

[cucumber3732842]

Products get made to the standards of the pickiest customer. The condiments and sauce industry has the (((same situation)))[1] going on. If Costco went poof tomorrow the change would only be a marginal one down to the standards of the next pickiest customer worth optimizing for which is probably only a hair's breadth away. If Costco was trying to drag the standards way up then farms would raise separate stuff for them.

[1] Many condiments are Kosher not because the recipe inherently is, but because it's easy to do without much downside so doing so pencils out handily. I couldn't resist the parenthesis joke.

[hawaiianbrah]

If you use sameday.Costco.com I’ve heard it’s cheaper than actual instacart even though it is instacart, less some fees etc.

[wil421]

I’m in the same boat. The quality to terrible. No I don’t want a bunch of pumpkin seeds that you’re using as filler for products. The produce isn’t great either. A huge portion of the food is either premade factory food that’s chilled or frozen.

I don’t want a bunch of cellulose in my cheese either.

[strange_quark]

I seriously question if you’ve ever actually been to Costco. The produce is generally fine but everything else is good to great quality. I always load up with a huge wedge of parmigiano reggiano, Spanish olive oil, Barolo wine (all Kirkland branded and DOP labeled) for literally half the price of anywhere else. Everything else is generally solid too. Just looking around at the other Kirkland food I’ve got right now, their tofu, sparkling water, eggs, salted butter, huge loaf of sourdough that I freeze, are all solid. I’m struggling to think of a Kirkland signature food product I’ve been dissatisfied with.

[wil421]

Your local grocery store must be terrible if you think Costco has good food and produce. No, I’m not talking about wine, oil, or water. I buy those 3 things plus paper towels and toilet paper (not Kirkland toilet paper post Covid).

Everything you mentioned is a prepackaged, premade item. It’s not fresh. The Kirkland Parmesan is cut and sealed in a factory. Not cut by my local grocery or Whole Foods from a giant wheel that has the Italian markings.

The last bag of chicken breasts I got were almost the size of turkey breast and it was woody and stringy. Google if you don’t believe me.

[scottyah]

> a giant wheel that has the Italian markings

Ah, therein lies the difference. You don't make any mention of taste or texture, just the marketing.

[snark42]

I think so.

Stuff like USDA Prime meats are substantially cheaper and same quality as anywhere else. I smoke a lot of meats though.

Organic produce is super cheap. Especially stuff like pre-cut broccoli, lettuce mixes, etc.

Protein powders, crackers, chips, organic yogurt, organic milk, organic eggs, cheese, prosciutto, etc.

Also liquor including decent beer and wine selection.

I get all this stuff, mid to high quality compared to Whole Foods or whatever grocery store. Sure, I could buy higher quality organic meats directly from the farmer over USDA Prime at Costco or more sustainable seafood and what not, but it would easily cost 3-5x.

I don't buy it alot, but people love the bakery - croissants, pies, cakes, etc. and they're high quality, comparable to most local bakeries.

[dolebirchwood]

I won't set foot in that place unless: (a) it's 30 minutes before closing, at which point the crowd has died down, or (b) I've toked up.

[wil421]

The one near my office is like Mad Max Fury Road if you try to go at lunch time. Good luck getting gas much less checking out with 200+ people all trying to get back to the office.