Quitting Costco and why

[Steve Peterson]

? do you have to be a member to shop at either place

I think you can shop at Sams without a membership, but it will cost you an additional 5% or something like that. It doesn't take much to make the basic membership worthwhile.

Steve

[Kevin W Johnson]

Sorta got talked into it by new neighbors when moving here in late '14. Joined in Jan 2015 and right away bought an 80 inch TV for $3K.

Got the exec membership for $110 and combined it with their Amex which yielded over $850 in cash back to date.

But excepting the cash back from the TV buy, most all the cash back was due to purchases not done at Costco.

There are only two of us and little to nothing available at Costco makes sense for use to buy it. One cannot comparison shop, one needs to buy large quantities, and we don't like the crowds. We pay lower prices for most everything elsewhere, including gas. Since in Colorado, the Costco has no beer or wine or booze.

I thought their tires might be a buy but for the exact same item Discount tire was $140 less for a set of four.

So we are quitting. We got tempted into impulse buys a few times, and regretted it. No more. One less piece of plastic in the wallet.

Yeah, when that TV stops working, 3-4 years down the road, at least you won't have to worry about hauling it back in there.

Seriously though, we had one several years old that had to be repaired a couple times and they took it back. We bought 70" 4K tv when doing so, that started having issues after the 90 day return period as well. They took it back as well, without any hesitation. Sometimes the "value" in purchases at Costco is not immediately visible. The return policies are certainly second to none in all my experiences.

[Cody Pierce]

I quit when they wouldn't run my 10 items under two cards. One personal purchase, one for my business. I left the stuff on the belt and got a refund for my card on site.

[Mike Null]

I joined Costco shortly after they opened in the hope that I could transfer my business from Sam's. First, they don't open until 9 AM, Sam's opens to business customers at 7AM. They insist on using AMEX which I detest.
They don't seem to handle complaints well. I cancelled Costco after one year and I kept my Sam's membership and more than pay for it with savings on gas. We buy our beef, chicken and fish there as well and a few other things. My wife vacuum packs meal sized packages of meat and fish and freezes them. Most of the large packages grocery items are too much for my wife and I.

[Daniel O'Neill]

Hey Gene, we are just down the road from you in Lafayette.

We find some things at costco are worth going, dried fruit, lunch meat, cleaning supplies, paper products. We only go about once every other month. Glasses also.

A friend who worked at Costco told me that you don't need a membership for the glasses. Anyone can go & purchase them. (She worked in that dept) She did say they have good prices.

[Matt Day]

I don't get those places. I can find the same price at the local grocery store when it's on sale, or even normal price. Or online of course. We quit after our free trial year - it ended up a waste of time and one more store to had to go to. We try to minimize the amount of store we have to lug around our 2 and 3 year old.

+1 to Discoint Tire

And electronics never were a deal either.

As far as good meats and such, there are better specialized butchers or markets that sell it.

[Paul McGaha]

We use them a lot. We find them to have quality products, sharp pricing, good return policy if there is a problem.

PHM

[Michael Weber]

For those in need of hearing aids and have a Costco available it's a much better deal than going to a regular hearing aid dispenser. Potential savings are in the thousands. I've never used the service (no Costco in Arkansas) but pick up info from various deaf and hearing impaired forums. No idea if memberships required.

[Jim Koepke]

But the supermarkets have it down PAT. I can go in for a gallon of milk, and end up walking out with also a couple yogurt smoothies, a bag of freeze-dried astronaut apple slices, and a June issue of Shape magazine.

That is exactly why milk is placed to be as far away from the entry door as possible. It is the most common thing to bring customers in looking to buy a single item.

jtk

[Art Mann]

By coincidence, our Costco membership runs out this week and I have decided not to renew. I am also a Sam's Club member and their product selection and pricing suit me better.

[Garth Almgren]

I quit when they wouldn't run my 10 items under two cards. One personal purchase, one for my business. I left the stuff on the belt and got a refund for my card on site.

Running it under two cards is a very common occurrence at Costco - I see it almost every time I'm in line at my local warehouse. Usually people just put an extra divider between the separate purchases, and the checker treats it like the two separate transactions that they are.

I'm VERY surprised they refused you that one, and personally I would have talked to a supervisor. One of the things that sets Costco apart from its competitors is the high level of customer service.

[Ted Calver]

There are just two of us, but we belong to Costco, Sams and BJ's. We shop the specials at each place, as well as the local Farm Fresh nearby. We go during the week when every one else is at work to avoid the crowds. There are many things in these stores that you don't have to buy in bulk and it gives us and excuse to get out and get some exercise walking around the store in a relatively safe environment.