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The Cost-Co MythI remember my first visit to Cost-Co. I was visiting my mother in Newport Beach. We were just going to pick up a few items and I was coming along for the ride. I was living in Oregon and it was incredible to see how California had grown. I didn’t think it get more dense. I realized it was just my thinking that was dense.
So we drove longer than I thought appropriate for a shopping trip, then pulled into a mall sized parking lot. There at the end of the lot was a stadium sized building titled “Cost-Co.”
I was amazed.
What in the world is this huge jumbo sized monstrosity? We parked a mile away and walked forever to King Kong’s home. My mom pulled out this white card that passed her through security clearance and allowed her access.
So we entered and I saw stacks and stacks of stuff. I was flabbergasted. The only thing like this in mid-Oregon was a Food 4 Less or a Fred Meyer. This was a mammoth wholesaler for public consumption. I was impressed.
Time passed, as I moved to Portland, OR I got my own Cost-Co card. So, cool. Yet, it wasn’t anything cool anymore and so inconvenient we hardly ever went.
Then something happened. I am a picky cost-cutting purchaser who shops sales and deals and buys in bulk. So, when my wife was going to go to Cost-Co recently, I decided to go with her. I wanted to see what deals could be made in my small little list of items.
As it happens, there was almost no savings on anything in the store. Every product I compared, I could easily buy cheaper almost anywhere else.
There was no case discount. There was no savings per item. There was no reason to shop at Cost-Co.
A little over a month ago I spoke to a man, Brad, who knew the owner of Cost-Co. This is what he told me. A true story.
He asked about the savings.
The owner (whose name I forgot at present) said that they are not in the wholesale savings business anymore. Their prices are geared to be similar to supermarkets now.
Brad said that it didn’t matter how much they charged for their products. Cost-Co had been so well marketed that they could charge more than the supermarkets and people would still shop at Cost-Co and believe they are getting a good deal. The marketing was incredible and as I still see parking lots full of suckers shopping at Cost-Co each day I believe him.
Then Brad had asked about the $50 annual fee. Why not even let everyone come into the store?
“Well, it’s $300,000,000 a year.”
“I know,” said Brad. “But if you are already charging fair market price….”
“It’s $300,000,000 a year.”
I get it. For a greedy man, there are three hundred million reasons for charging a cover charge to shop.
If Safeway or Albertson’s charged us a $50 charge to shop at their store, people would abandon their stores in droves. They lost shoppers just by instituting a free coupon card built to reward their customers.
Yet, the world is changing. The Internet is a great equalizer. With this great invention it is changing the way people are able to purchase products and services.
There are other options. Please feel free to email me at: Scott@Coombe.biz and I can
teach you about one of the best ways to buy everyday commodities, groceries, and shopping online ever created. I look forward to hearing from you. |
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