I agree about hearing aids. Audiologists typically have a huge markup on hearing aids, leading to a far better value at Costco, with their fixed low % markup. It’s normal for comparable model (Costco only sells higher end) hearing aids to be 1/2 or 1/3 the price at Costco than at an audiologist. Costco also generally has a superior warranty/repair policy, and provides unlimited tuning/adjustments at no additional cost. I also agree about stocking up on paper products at Costco. I’ll wait until on their monthly warehouse saving leading to a further discount beyond their usual price, which typically happens each ~3 months. Vitamins also look like a good value and are regularly in the monthly warehouse savings.
However, I don’t buy TVs and laptops at Costco. Costco has a limited selection of models, and usually doesn’t have the model I want to buy. Among the models they do so sell, my experience is Costco is rarely the lowest cost option. Costco’s sticker price is lower, but various retailers have steep sales from time to time such as Black Friday, leading to net cost well below sticker. I always compare with Costco, but ultimately always choose to buy elsewhere. The main Costco benefit I see is the warranty/return policy, but I wouldn’t want to bring a big screen TV back to the store to return, as transport would be awkward.
I also don’t buy something at Costco instead of Walmart/Amazon for vetting. While Costco has the best return policy among any retailer I am familiar with, it can be awkward and time consuming to buy something at Costco with intention of returning. Walmart and Amazon aren’t on Costco’s level, but they also have great return policies. Walmart typically is 90 days. Amazon is usually 30 days, but my experience has been especially generous on returns. I return the majority of items I buy on Amazon, often buying and testing 2-3 brands of an item on Amazon, then keeping the one I like best and returning the others. Not only has Amazon never complained about this, but they’ve gone out of their way to facilitate my many returns. This includes sometimes refunding cash without needing to send the item back (particularly when lower cost), always refunding (or replacing if I prefer) if item breaks while using including if largely my fault for breaking, and always refunding any kind of unexpected fee or compensating for unexpected hassle, if it occurs during return. I have no doubt that Costco would do the same, but it can be inconvenient to drive back to the store and wait in return line.
Costco allowed return by mail when I ordered a delivery of a string of lights for the holidays that were too bright. I was going to hold on to it until the next Costco visit (used to be the only way to return), but they now allow return by mail I believe UPS. It may be only for the online orders…
Although I go to the store once a month or less, I treasure my Costco membership. The company is ethical in just about every way, and I love their concierge service for electronics–it got me another year on my old laptop.
I’m not sure if the specific numbers are exaggerations, but it sounds your stores are quite different than mine. My nearest Costco Warehouse is always quite busy during operating hours, without exception. There are lines to the entrance, lines to the exit, lines to the checkout, lines to the gas station, and lines to return items. The return item line typically extends all the way from the counter to outside of the store. It certainly takes longer than 5 minutes to complete a return.
It’s rare that I return items at Walmart, but it’s always been a small fraction of an hour, even when returning an item during the period between Black Friday and Christmas. I’d estimate typical returns take ~10 minutes. However, what makes Costco returns more awkward than Walmart for me is primarily not the return line. It’s instead that I need to drive the far longer distance to/from Costco and need to deal with parking (near full amusement park style lots). As I noted earlier in the thread, I rarely shop in store, so if I wait for the next time I happen to be shopping in store to do the return, I’ll likely be waiting several months to do the return.
Has anyone used Costco for HVAC replacement? I know I would receive a Costco gift card afterward and am wondering if the contractors hike the price to cover that.
We did. Costco contracts with local companies that provide the services in a given area. The company that installed our minisplit system was very reputable and the pricing was quite competitive. We’ve had the system for 3 years now (Lennox). Research who the Costco contractor is in your area and get a couple of quotes from other contractors for the same product.
We did and the quote we got from their contractor was better than the other quotes we got even without the rebate.
However I was less than satisfied with the contractor. Initially they told me the job was going to take 2 days (this was for a complete install of heating and A/C) but into the evening they were still working. The boss back at HQ told them they had to finish in one day and they were rushing. Then it failed the inspection (required in my state) where they seal the vents, pressurize, and check for leaks. They fixed that, but it left a sour feeling.
If there are multiple Costco warehouses in your area it may be worth seeing if different ones use different contractors. Also once you know the contractor’s name I’d look them up online to see what people have said. Nobody is going to have a 100% glowing review rate but you want to at least get a sense of what reviews are saying.
I did not check before choosing them since Costco says it stands behind the work. Fortunately the company did fix the vent leak without my needing to complain to Costco and it has been working for several years now apparently without problems. I think I’m lucky, when a contractor rushes to finish something in half the time they themselves expected it to take it’s easy for mistakes to be made.
I think this is the thread we’re using for general Costco questions?
We are headed to the Canadian Rockies, and plan to stop at Costco on our way. It’s an hour-ish from our lodging, so won’t buy things that will melt (also, who knows when we will really get into our lodging).
My plan WAS to get a bunch of fruits and some veggies as healthy snacks. But with the current health issues, that’s not such a great plan.
We have lots of trail mix and bars/nuts from home.
Any suggestions for healthy snacks to buy at Costco that don’t need refrigeration (will be OK not refrigerated for at least a couple of hours) and 2 people can eat within a week or so?
I have been meaning to come back to this thread. We ended up not using the HVAC contractor through Costco. They were a reputable company with competitive pricing. It was a matter of wanting a different manufacturer than his company installs.
I’ve bought a soft sided cooler at Costco. It was either 9.99 or 14.99, I can’t remember which. It’s been really nice and packs very flat. I use it all the time. They sell these so people can transport fresh and frozen items.
I live an hour plus from my Costco so I put stuff in coolers all the time.
Apples & oranges are always great and keep fine with or without cooling. I agree that a packable cooler is handy as well if you get a few things you want to keep cool.
Oh, I didn’t see that you just need them to stay cold for a couple hours - I thought you needed them to never have refrigeration.
In addition to the foldable cold bags that Costco has, HomeGoods or TJ often has very foldable bags often at the check out area that are insulated enough for a couple hours - especially if you have one frozen item that will act as an ice pack. These are less than $5 I think and could easily fit in a suitcase folded.
My Costco had chocolate covered strawberries in the ice cream aisle. They were very effective to keep the rest of my food nice and cold for our drive home.
Big plus is that it wasn’t a huge bag! Frozen vegetables, those take me months to get through!
Aldi also has cooler bags. Cheap
My point was that Costco has thought out that people will be picking up items and transporting them for a distance
