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Woman returns "dead" Christmas tree to Costco on Jan 4. Gets her money back

DaveNV

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There's a portion to this story that I just remembered. The new, lower price, if I now remember correctly, was perhaps advertised as "online only". This was some time ago (~15 years?), but when I first posted my recollection above it seemed I was forgetting some detail, and I think that was it -- online only. Nonetheless, it doesn't really change the story, the amount of common sense needed, or the most reasonable outcome; I would have to re-package and return the TV, giving the local warehouse a used TV to deal with, then re-order the TV online and have the new one delivered to my house. Still far more reasonable to just issue a refund.

I agree. And that was before the open-ended returns on electronics was changed to the 90-day policy. I think overall, things now are easier to work with. Costco has had to adjust to the market, but still has the most generous return/refund policy of any company I know of. If you had the same situation today, I think it would have gone more easily for you.

Dave
 

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Another thing about our Costco. Their bagels are good. But one must buy a 3-pack, IIRC. Something about our Costco's bagels, but I swear they mold if you simply look at them funny. So, buying a 3-pack, unless one lives exclusively on bagels for a few days, isn't practical, as you'll likely only get 1.5 packages used before the rest mold.

And that goes back to the original warehouse business model - that they were established to support businesses. Home consumers need big families, or a hearty appetite, to get through some of those package sizes. I rarely buy bread or bakery goods at Costco, because I can’t get through it in good time. Maybe start splitting things with your neighbor? :)

Dave
 

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I have been fortunate to have stores with only one gallon, fort Myers, Madison and Middleton WI, or Sioux Falls. But would you believe milkmis only about 2.30$ per gallon in Wisconsin. I do not understand why eggs are so high priced at Costco though.
 

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I do not understand why eggs are so high priced at Costco though.

Maybe the chickens belong to a union? ;)

Eggs at my Costco aren’t that high, and the larger quantity packages, the 18-packs and such, are usually about the same as a single dozen at the grocery store. So not sure why that is for you.

Dave
 

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Another thing about our Costco. Their bagels are good. But one must buy a 3-pack, IIRC. Something about our Costco's bagels, but I swear they mold if you simply look at them funny. So, buying a 3-pack, unless one lives exclusively on bagels for a few days, isn't practical, as you'll likely only get 1.5 packages used before the rest mold.
You can try freezing them. We freeze bread all the time. No difference in quality when you take it back out of the freezer to thaw in the fridge.
 

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Don't get me wrong -- our family of 5 goes through bagels pretty quickly. Nonetheless, our Costco's bagels mold in very short order. Like a few days. I'm not using freezer space for bagels. Or any fresh bread product, for that matter. That's not a practical solution.

As far as business vs consumer, that's the irony. Before we had kids there were these big lots of food goods that I'd look at and think "Wow, maybe in a fire station they could use that much", but now that I could actually use some of those things in those quantities, they are not as available. I can say, unequivocally, that in the last 20 years, our Costco has moved very far away from the business, or bulk-oriented model to more of a consumer oriented, value-added model -- for instance, fewer 10lb packs of chicken breasts, and more 3 lb packs of chicken breasts stuffed with Prosciutto and swiss cheese. Nothing wrong with the change, as I'd suspect it's higher margin, it just doesn't suit our needs very well.

ETA: The only things I can think of, off the top of my head, that we buy "in bulk" from Costco these days are the 3 packs of large Heinz ketchup and the 2 packs of large Mrs Butterworh (?)syrup. Oh, and the 5lb's of sliced american cheese, which we split up, vacuum seal and put in outside fridge.
 
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DaveNV

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Don't get me wrong -- our family of 5 goes through bagels pretty quickly. Nonetheless, our Costco's bagels mold in very short order. Like a few days. I'm not using freezer space for bagels. Or any fresh bread product, for that matter. That's not a practical solution.

As far as business vs consumer, that's the irony. Before we had kids there were these big lots of food goods that I'd look at and think "Wow, maybe in a fire station they could use that much", but now that I could actually use some of those things in those quantities, they are not as available. I can say, unequivocally, that in the last 20 years, our Costco has moved very far away from the business, or bulk-oriented model to more of a consumer oriented, value-added model -- for instance, fewer 10lb packs of chicken breasts, and more 3 lb packs of chicken breasts stuffed with Prosciutto and swiss cheese. Nothing wrong with the change, as I'd suspect it's higher margin, it just doesn't suit our needs very well.

ETA: The only things I can think of, off the top of my head, that we buy "in bulk" from Costco these days are the 3 packs of large Heinz ketchup and the 2 packs of large Mrs Butterworh (?)syrup. Oh, and the 5lb's of sliced american cheese, which we split up, vacuum seal and put in outside fridge.

I agree things have evolved far away from the old days of everything in a cut-down cardboard box, and shopping with only flatbed carts. Remember when they had to call out the item numbers on the products, so the cashier could key them in? Barcodes really helped change that.

I first waded into the warehouse mania in 1982 in San Diego, when I lied to get a Price Club membership at the old Morena Boulevard location. (That's Warehouse #1 in the entire system, if anyone cares.) In those days you had to own a business or be Civil Service to belong. I was Active Duty Navy at the time, but was able to use my non-military building security pass as my photo ID, and they gave me a membership. I'm sure there was a fair amount of elbowing each other and <wink wink> going on at the time behind the counter, and they likely could tell exactly what I was doing. I wasn't alone. There were lots of military folks inside Price Club in those days. It's much different now. But those hot dogs and soft drink combos at the Food Court are still $1.50. :)

Fast forward to 1998, and I married a Costco career staffer. Man, I really drank the Kool-Aid, didn't I? LOL! :)

Dave
 
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Since the Xmas tree portion of this thread has seemed to run it's course, I'd be interested in hearing what folks here buy from Costco "in bulk" -- meaning in quantities larger than one could typically find at Walmart, or Target or other common store. As I stated above, for us it's ketchup, syrup and cheese.
 

presley

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first waded into the warehouse mania in 1982 in San Diego, when I lied to get a Price Club membership at the old Morena Boulevard location. (That's Warehouse #1 in the entire system, if anyone cares.) In those days you had to own a business or be Civil Service to belong. I was Active Duty Navy at the time, but was able to use my non-military building security pass as my photo ID, and they gave me a membership.
My mom had a membership there way back when, too. I remember we often had other people go shopping with us because they didn't have a membership and wanted to use my mom's card. There was a time when I was 17, that the store actually let me use her card. I was buying mass amounts of hot dogs, popcorn and chips for my birthday party. It was crazy. I had a friend with a truck to load all the stuff up. I'm sure the checkout person knew it wasn't my card, but I was with a group of people and we were in major party mode and I think they just let us slide. That was probably my happiest memory of Price Club, Morena Blvd.
 

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I first waded into the warehouse mania in 1982 in San Diego, when I lied to get a Price Club membership at the old Morena Boulevard location. (That's Warehouse #1 in the entire system, if anyone cares.) In those days you had to own a business or be Civil Service to belong. I was Active Duty Navy at the time, but was able to use my non-military building security pass as my photo ID, and they gave me a membership. I'm sure there was a fair amount of elbowing each other and <wink wink> going on at the time behind the counter, and they likely could tell exactly what I was doing. I wasn't alone. There were lots of military folks inside Price Club in those days. It's much different now. But those hot dogs and soft drink combos at the Food Court are still $1.50. :)



Dave
I joined Price Club back in the early 80's in Hayward, CA. I was single and a [single] friend convinced me to join. I don't remember if there were joining requirements, but I worked for a large telecom company so maybe that was my "in". :) When I married we kept the membership which eventually morphed into a Costco membership and we soon got a store in a closer location. We've been loyal customers ever since................even if we now have to drive an hour to get to the closest store. :(
 

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Since the Xmas tree portion of this thread has seemed to run it's course, I'd be interested in hearing what folks here buy from Costco "in bulk" -- meaning in quantities larger than one could typically find at Walmart, or Target or other common store. As I stated above, for us it's ketchup, syrup and cheese.

TP, paper towels, ketchup, grated cheese, pork chops, steaks, frozen chicken parts, yogurt, protein drinks, and probably a lot more I can't remember offhand. :)

Dave
 

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Since the Xmas tree portion of this thread has seemed to run it's course, I'd be interested in hearing what folks here buy from Costco "in bulk" -- meaning in quantities larger than one could typically find at Walmart, or Target or other common store. As I stated above, for us it's ketchup, syrup and cheese.
Let's see, we were just there yesterday. We bought:

toilet paper, chicken breasts, laundry detergent and bleach, Cetaphil (ran into some friends who were there buying the same thing as they had just come from the dermatologist who recommended the product AND that they get it at Costco), Metamucil, Laughing Cow cheese, trash bags, frozen blueberries

Other things we buy in bulk: paper towels, Kleenex, steaks, yogurt, spices, canned foods (tomatoes, beans), ground beef, produce (both fruit and vegetables), vitamins, bar soap

Most of the time these things may be available in other stores. BUT, even if you can buy them in bulk, the prices, and quality, is better at Costco.
 
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Large bags of brocolli, butternut squash, mushrooms, Ziploc bags, trashbags, water, and as what DaveNW said: TP, Kitchen paper towels, pork chops and steaks. I don't buy fresh chicken anymore due to that one bad stinky experience. I used to buy bananas, apples, peaches, grapes, papaya and cantaloupes. I don't generally get fruits in bulk anymore due to the high levels of sugar in fruits. I still get persimmons when I see them.
 

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Maybe the chickens belong to a union? ;)

Eggs at my Costco aren’t that high, and the larger quantity packages, the 18-packs and such, are usually about the same as a single dozen at the grocery store. So not sure why that is for you.

Dave
Like six dollars in ft Myers to buy eggs, only cage free available.
 

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Well, I'd argue all day that one can find similar quantity, quality and prices for things like paper towels, trash bags Ziploc's and TP at other stores. Having said that, we do buy that stuff at Costco, IF we're out there for other items. Same with laundry detergent, paper plates etc. We get those things at Costco if we're there, but none of them drive us to shop at Costco. And the thing about most of those items is they're once a month type purchases, if that. So if you're in Target or Walmart or similar even once per month, chances are you'd be able to buy the same product at similar prices (often much less if you actively shop sales). Heck, even my local HD, which I'm seemingly in every week, is often competitive on Bounty paper towels, for instance.

I do like Costco steaks. And they run good deals on tires. But we've gone from once a month to maybe once every 4-6 months. If it weren't for tires and the seduction of scoring some other random good impulse buy :), I'd probably give up my membership.
 

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Well, I'd argue all day that one can find similar quantity, quality and prices for things like paper towels, trash bags Ziploc's and TP at other stores. Having said that, we do buy that stuff at Costco, IF we're out there for other items. Same with laundry detergent, paper plates etc. We get those things at Costco if we're there, but none of them drive us to shop at Costco. And the thing about most of those items is they're once a month type purchases, if that. So if you're in Target or Walmart or similar even once per month, chances are you'd be able to buy the same product at similar prices (often much less if you actively shop sales). Heck, even my local HD, which I'm seemingly in every week, is often competitive on Bounty paper towels, for instance.

I do like Costco steaks. And they run good deals on tires. But we've gone from once a month to maybe once every 4-6 months. If it weren't for tires and the seduction of scoring some other random good impulse buy :), I'd probably give up my membership.

I agree that trash bags etc are not necessarily cheaper at Costco but we really do not price compare. We make the excuse of wanting to go to Costco to buy whatever products so that we can walk through the aisles and look for things to buy.
 

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Bulk purchases include all paper products as well as probiotics and airborne when they have a coupon. With only 2 of us I buy very few perishables. I have done a lot of price comparison and their products/prices don't compare to what you can get at other stores if you compare same to same. The exception being if there are 50% off sales. I also love their Kirkland brand items. There is one OTC product that costs us $30/month at CVS and $5 or so for the Kirkland equivalent...you can't beat that. On and on.

I also love their steaks now that they carry Prime grade.

Ingrid
 

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I agree that trash bags etc are not necessarily cheaper at Costco but we really do not price compare. We make the excuse of wanting to go to Costco to buy whatever products so that we can walk through the aisles and look for things to buy.
Yeah, I get that. There's no doubt that cruising the aisles at Costco is more fun that at Target. I like Costco, but I hate the free samples and consequentially clogged aisles, long checkout lines, etc. Plus, and this is big, it's on the other side of town from where we live. If it were more convenient to get to (and in and out of), I'd go more often.

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Like six dollars in ft Myers to buy eggs, only cage free available.

Yeah, we definitely have choices here. My Costco has several types of eggs in various size packages, including flats, brown eggs, cage free, and whatever else. There are a number of options. But an 18-pack is something like $3. So cheap, I never even think about it.

Dave
 

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If it were more convenient to get to (and in and out of), I'd go more often.

One big thing for me is gas. The warehouse isn't all that far from my house, enough so that I've only bought Costco gas for years. Now that they have 4% back with the Costco Citi Credit Card, it's even more incentive to buy it there. Add that 4% plus the 2% with my Executive membership, and it's a done deal. ;)

Dave
 

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Yeah, we definitely have choices here. My Costco has several types of eggs in various size packages, including flats, brown eggs, cage free, and whatever else. There are a number of options. But an 18-pack is something like $3. So cheap, I never even think about it.

Dave
Argh... I don't think I want flat eggs. ;)
 

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Yeah, I get that. There's no doubt that cruising the aisles at Costco is more fun that at Target. I like Costco, but I hate the free samples and consequentially clogged aisles, long checkout lines, etc. Plus, and this is big, it's on the other side of town from where we live. If it were more convenient to get to (and in and out of), I'd go more often.

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Google Express can now deliver from Costco to your home. Check to see if it is in your location. We too have our Costco way across town. They won't deliver milk and eggs but for other staples we were able to get delivered in one day. There are also some coupons out there for new subscribers that can save $$.
 

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Another thing about our Costco. Their bagels are good. But one must buy a 3-pack, IIRC. Something about our Costco's bagels, but I swear they mold if you simply look at them funny. So, buying a 3-pack, unless one lives exclusively on bagels for a few days, isn't practical, as you'll likely only get 1.5 packages used before the rest mold.

I’ve had the same experience.

Cheers
 

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Since the Xmas tree portion of this thread has seemed to run it's course, I'd be interested in hearing what folks here buy from Costco "in bulk" -- meaning in quantities larger than one could typically find at Walmart, or Target or other common store. As I stated above, for us it's ketchup, syrup and cheese.

Our Costco items:
1. Organic chicken breasts, thighs, and occ legs
2. Lamb loin chops, boneless leg of lamb
3. Pork tenderloin
4. Fage 0% plain Greek yogurt
5. Cooked rotisserie chickens
6. Occasionally produce like berries, haricot vert
7. Maple syrup
8. Dijon mustard
9. Sliced jarlsberg cheese
10. Wine
11. Sometimes frozen oj
12. Large packages (5-6 heads) romaine
13. Kirkland balsamic vinegar
14. Every now and then, soda or bottled water
15. Whipped cream
16. Peanut butter
17. Vanilla extract
 
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