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Comment by W-Stool | Hacker News Reader

In 2005 my wife and I lived in a part of the USA that had no Costco within a half day's drive. We soon secured jobs in a part of the USA that had two (two!) Costcos in the same city that we would live. True story - before we even looked for housing, I went online and joined Costco. Years later my diabetic cat even had a Costco pharmacy account (best place to buy insulin by far) and received a discount for being without health insurance.

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I have a Costco account and a Sam's Club (Walmart's Costco equivalent) account. Even though I do something like 98% of my bulk shopping at Sam's club (due to proximity, the Costco is ~ 15 min drive away vs 5 mins for the Sam's club), it's still worth it for me to hold the Costco membership for specific purchases. Notably I've purchased (because there's no better place to buy these things and the vendor vetting is amazing) bedsheets, smart thermostats & a sauna from Costco over the last year and those have easily made back the $60 USD it cost me to buy the membership. I'll probably end up buying a gazebo kit from Costco sometime in the next year.

I think for semi-big purchases ($USD 200 to $USD $20,000) as a consumer Costco has huge value. The vendor vetting thing may not be as important when it comes to a bag of chips, but when it comes to a $4,000 gazebo or some $2,000 appliance I have really come to trust Costco's vetting.

Costco also works out deals to sell “special” revisions of major brand offerings. One example is a Sony Bravia that has a physical microphone disable switch.

wow. I'm sold.

Or the Sonos Arc SL that doesn’t have a microphone at all.

Though it's worth keeping in mind that they also have a lot of items with unique model numbers/SKUs that are actually entirely identical otherwise, to make it less obvious that the version at Costco is $X cheaper than the one available everywhere else.

If you are referring to the A80j model the Costco exclusive Bravia has a microphone disable switch because it has a microphone. The standard Bravia has no microphone at all.

> when it comes to a $4,000 gazebo or some $2,000 appliance I have really come to trust Costco's vetting.

How does that jive with selling Samsung (and LG) appliances? Samsung is easily the worst appliance manufacturer in North America across pretty much any appliance. LG's not too much better but supposedly their dryers and front load washers are decent.

Shopping for appliances is not easy.

For my recent purchase, I looked at wirecutter as a starting point and bought from Costco. Also I got a 3rd party extended warranty (since you never know with water-using appliances).

According to Wirecutter (NYT): "If you’re a member, Costco offers the cheapest delivery and installation of the big national chains, you’ll get an additional year of warranty coverage for many products, and it will help you make warranty claims with the manufacturer."

https://www.nytimes.com/wirecutter/reviews/where-to-buy-appl...

I've been happy with my Samsung range, fridge, dishwasher and TV

It's been 6months. When should I expect issues?

The TV will probably hold up just fine, other than the ads it will show if connected to the internet.

Samsung/LG appliances (washer/dryer, fridge, etc.) usually last 5 years or less. Whereas a quality appliance should last 10 years or more. My source on this is friends who work in the industry plus the experience of family members who bought LG/Samsung appliances anyway.

1–5 years typically

Sounds like 2.25 years is the sweet spot, market will have rebounded and capital gains taxes won't apply!

> Samsung is easily the worst appliance manufacturer in North America

> LG's not too much better

Any sources for these blazing hot takes? Or are we supposed to take your hearsay at face value?

I think they were stated as opinions, not citable facts

> Samsung is easily the worst appliance manufacturer in North America

I don't know this firsthand but I too have seen a lot of this recently. Even before COVID. I am specifically thinking appliances like refrigerators, oven ranges, and washer/dryers. Maybe some microwave ovens.

Maybe Samsung just outsells everyone else making the problems more visible but it seems a lot of people love complaining about Samsung.

Last time I shopped for a fridge (2 years ago, maybe) every single sales guy and maintenance guy I talked to at maybe 4 different stores said: “Never buy a Samsung.”

They all seemed to think that LG had gotten its act together, though. I ended up with an LG fridge.

I've currently got an LG fridge that's a year old. Everyone's said that this is one of their most reliable refrigerators and yet here I am with a 60° freezer. The nicest thing I can say is that the warranty process is hugely disjointed and parts are 2+ weeks out.

For a couple years I delivered and installed appliances for Lowe's. We brought back (ie customer returned) LG and Samsung just as much as Whirlpool and GE, even though we sold significantly less of the LG and Samsung appliances. I was told that the closest person able to service them was 250+ miles away. Also, LG and Samsung tended to scrap an entire new fridge for seemingly trivial stuff, such as an ice maker not working. I've never owned a LG or Samsung appliance but from the number of returns I've seen, I certainly wouldn't want a fridge or front load washer from either manufacturer.

I'll pile on Samsung being absolute garbage. Same is true for GE and LG. Went through three fridges before the warranty ran out. Then just bit the bullet and bought a Bosch 800 and have had zero trouble since.

Tangential but have been buying appliances for the first time and have been deep in research of what to do with a small-moderate budget.

I had indeed heard the same about Samsung, and more generally designed service lives < 7 years across brands with better reputations.

I elected to buy all used but (good condition) late-model Miele appliances. They’re rated at 20+ years, they focus on reliability and repairability, and if you’re patient you can get them for less than even the cheapest Samsung etc models, especially when taxes are taken into account.

Not to mention they’re the best quality appliances money can buy. I definitely don’t need a paella mode on my dishwasher, but it makes me smile every time (and remember I paid $200 for it)

It reminds me of the very popular Reddit thread from about a decade ago where a vacuum cleaner repair guy said that Miele's were his preferred vacuum and recommended them above most others: https://www.reddit.com/r/IAmA/comments/1pe2bd/iama_vacuum_re...

In addition to the manufacturer, the type of appliance and its manufacture date really matters. I have an LG front-loading washing machine from the late 2000s that has been working fine for 14 years with one minor circuit board replacement. My appliance repair guy says that LGs from that timeframe are very reliable. When the motor bearings on that washer go out, I'll have him replace the motor if OEM replacement motors are available rather than buy a new one.

Refrigerators are a completely different animal as are dishwashers, etc. Despite my great experiences with LG washers, I'd avoid LG refrigerators. I've had good experience with multiple Bosch and Miele dishwashers, but mediocre experiences on all the new fridges I've bought in the last 10 years.

When you buy an LG appliance from Costco, you know you're getting an LG appliance. That's more than you can guarantee from many stores.

> (due to proximity, the Costco is ~ 15 min drive away vs 5 mins for the Sam's club)

this kinda makes me... sad, I guess? Just how embedded the need to drive is for america. (As in, having to drive, rather than being able to)

Just such a different culture from what I know.

> Years later my diabetic cat even had a Costco pharmacy account (best place to buy insulin by far) and received a discount for being without health insurance.

IIRC, you don't need a membership to:

• shop at the pharmacy

• buy alcohol

• eat at the food court

I believe the first two are due to govt regulations, and may only apply in certain states.

It's also much easier for anyone to shop at Costco with a spouse's/friend's membership card now that they have self-checkout. You used to have to worry about the cashier flagging you if the cardholder wasn't there, but now there's no one who even looks at your card.

>It's also much easier for anyone to shop at Costco with a spouse's/friend's membership card now that they have self-checkout. You used to have to worry about the cashier flagging you if the cardholder wasn't there, but now there's no one who even looks at your card.

Or how about don't be a liar/cheater and buy your own membership. It's not expensive and it pays for itself fast. Shame on whoever does this.

Yeah. I almost think of Costco as a privatized utopian socialist mini-state. One should pay to be a good citizen. ... But then I've also thought it would be cool to build an app to help people organize trips to Costco from "food deserts" to split memberships and bulk-sized items and the bill.

Also, once on a trip to Hawaii with my wife and extended family I had my arm around my wife in the Costco checkout line. I mentioned that "it feels so good and so right." My wife was at first flattered and then realized I was talking about the universality of the Costco experience.

I don’t know about the food court, but alcohol is definitely true for legal reasons in some states. In Connecticut our local Costco had its alcohol sales in a separate entrance next to the main warehouse, on the opposite end from the tire department.

To add another one, the same is true nationwide for their optometrists, you can get your eyes checked there without a membership but won’t be able to buy glasses. If you want a place to get your prescription without a hassle from the optometrist (who is legally required to give you the prescription but isn’t necessarily happy about that), Costco is a reliable option.

https://customerservice.costco.com/app/answers/detail/a_id/8...

https://www.ftc.gov/business-guidance/resources/complying-ey...

I mean using someone else's membership card. Nothing wrong with using services that don't require membership.

It's been a while since I was a member, but I remember being able to get my sister her own card attached to my account. I just gave the cashier her name and the next time she went in by herself she got her card.

Yes, the standard membership covers two people for the base price. Makes circumventing the membership requirement all the more scummy and petty.

Yes. This is what people should be ashamed about. Good for you for shitting on people! /s

Thank you

The alcohol restriction is at the state level, so some stores do require a membership.

Namely : Arizona, California, Connecticut, Delaware, Hawaii, Indiana, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, New York, Texas, & Vermont have laws that ban requiring memberships for the purchase of alcohol.

IIRC, Costco's lobbiests played a large role in Washington's privatization of liquor sales, and the final law did not include such a restriction.

For those interested, the break even on a 2% cash back membership is at the $2k/year.

Unless something has changed recently, if you don’t make enough in cash back to cover the difference between the regular membership and the executive one, you can go by customer service and they’ll comp you the difference.

I think the 2% thing is a customer incentive thing, and not intended to be a profit center. And that doesn’t work as well if people feel like they’re gambling on whether they will make enough purchases to justify it, if they feel like losers in the end.

In Texas the Costcos have a liquor store that does not require a membership. But so far as I can tell, the alcohol sold in the Costco-proper likely does require a membership. Perhaps the presence of the liquor store satisfies the legal requirement.

In Texas, liquor (spirits) sales and non-spirits sales are different classes of licenses with different rules. Costco in Texas does NOT sell any spirits/liquor inside of the membership area, only beer, wine, and premixed cocktails (e.g. margarita in a bottle, which is made with agave wine not tequila anyway). The attached non-member liquor store is the only part which sells spirits, and as required by Texas law is open to the public without a membership.

Related to this, Texas also has "blue laws" which ended in 1985 other than the parts covering automotive dealers and liquor stores. So in Texas, liquor stores cannot be open on Sundays (nor can car lots). This is another reason Costco may be incentivized to not sell liquor within the member-only part of the store separately from the other requirements from TABC, because they are open on Sundays.

We have similar liquor/beer/wine laws in Georgia. Recently they did away with no sales on Sunday and some local “mimosa” brunch laws that allow restaurants to sell alcohol before 12:30. Good forbid someone drinking watching sports before church gets out.

Anyway, grocery stores will turn off the beer cooler lights on Sunday morning and put a note with the time they will be able to sell it.

Most liquor stores are actually opposed to repealing Sunday sale blue laws. They still sell the same volume, but have to stay open an extra day.

It's annoying, but I deal with it because my local liquor store only has two employees, and the wife is behind the register 12 hours a day 6 days a week. Sunday is the only time she gets off.

Just buying gasoline at Costco is more than enough to pay back the membership fee in California. It’s about 50¢/gallon cheaper than other fuel in the same city.

I used to think this. The Costco in Redwood City is a good deal compared to most stations, but the cheap station on Woodside Rd. (< 2 miles away) is basically the same price. It also never has long lines, which I often find at Costco.

I used to think it was false, and that the price drop wouldn’t pay for the extra distance to Costco, but times have changed since the invasion of Ukraine. It’s probably location dependent. I’m in Ventura County.

Good to know! I'm sure it varies by location, and it's also possible the quality that I'm getting at the no-name station is not as good.

Costco gas is also Top Tier branded, and I trust Costco to maintain their equipment and tanks and source better quality gas than other independently owned stations.

This is the primary reason I use Costco gas. I’ve had nothing but problems with bad gas from other companies in my area.

In Minnesota it is about $0.20 cheaper than the discount gas places.

I'd definately pay $2.60 more to avoid the crazy people jamming Costco's parking lots trying to get that 20 cents off. I've narrowly avoided many people going anywhere they could at ramming speed while I was visiting a neighboring business.

I now avoid their neighboring businesses on every weekend as I value my life and car to avoid that whole scene.

> I'd definately pay $2.60 more to avoid the crazy people jamming Costco's parking lots trying to get that 20 cents off.

It might have something to do with the age of their pumps. My Costco just put in new pumps and the long lines go really fast. I don’t know for sure what changed, but more people are tapping to pay now (or using the Costco keychain chip) and the pumps flow twice as fast than before. It has really made a noticeable difference. Before, I would spend 5-10 minutes in the line as well as pumping, and now it’s less than five minutes total when it’s busy.

I think the break even point for the upgrade is actually $3k/year, not $2k/year?

The standard Gold Star Membership costs $60/year, and the Gold Star Executive Membership costs $120/year [0]. This is an additional $60/year (ignoring sales tax, etc.).

In order to break even, you need to earn at least $60 using the 2% cash back from the Executive Membership in order to cover the upgrade. This works out to ($60/year) / 0.02 = $3k/year.

[0] https://customerservice.costco.com/app/answers/detail/a_id/8...

You also save money compared to shopping elsewhere which is really the major contributor to it being worth it.

Do you? None of the stuff we buy from Costco is cheaper compared with other local grocery stores. I mean, ignoring the hot dogs and rotisserie chicken, obviously.

The standard $60 a year membership can pay for itself fairly quick just in gasoline price savings (often 20c or more better than other local stations) if you happen to frequently drive along a freeway that has a Costco on your route.

Can easily be a $8 per tank difference.

Definitely true now. Under Trump, Costco was only beating by 1-5 cents, sometimes. Now, they can be half a dollar cheaper easily.

Fun fact, if you get the upgraded membership and don't spend enough to make up the difference from the regular membership, they will refund you the difference if you ask.

So technically it doesn't make any sense to not get the premium membership as long as you're willing to float them the difference for a year.

I can confirm that this is true.

> as long as you're willing to float them the difference for a year

...and remember to ask for a refund.

Where is this stated in their rules or whatever? Something I can reference if I need to try this and the person pushes back.

Never seen it written down. They just told me once at customer service when I went to cash my rebate check and they noticed it was smaller than the membership price difference.

They’re more than happy to tell me about this, so I’m sure if you ask they will be happy to share with you. They’ll even refund the whole membership

Can confirm this. I was given this information the first time I signed up and have been getting the difference every year when I go to renew

It's also worth knowing that you don't have to spend the "Cashback" voucher in the store, you can go to customer services and they'll give you actual cash instead! I just learned this after being a member for 14 years...

They don’t do this anymore. It used to be the case. Last year, I tried and I was asked to use it at the checkout station to buy stuff.

Georgia lets you buy liquor without a membership but it’s a separate store within a store that has its own entrance. Corporations and families are also limited to owning 2 liquor stores in the state so only 2 Costcos sell liquor.

> eat at the food court

That changed a couple years back.

https://www.sfgate.com/business/article/Costco-food-court-me...

Realistically if you want to eat at the food court just walk backwards into the exit and be like "oh yeah I'm going to the pharmacy", most states have a law not allowing Costco to require membership for pharmacy, and the just go buy your food from the automated kiosk.

It’s not new and that strategy doesn’t always work. I tried to get a hotdog in SF in like 2014 and they wouldn’t let me through. When I asked about purchasing alcohol he said that was allowed but they would have an employee escort me to the liquor and then checkout to ensure I couldn’t go to the food court.

That seems like a dbag employee. Possible that sort of person will make your time difficult regardless of the official rules

I've used the ATM at that Costco and nobody followed me or nagged me. But that location is right by a bunch of good places to get food so I've never tried to push my luck.

Just get someone to give you Costco gift cards; you can then enter the store with that gift card, and use other payment mechanism for the balance of purchase.

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