# CNBC: The Costco Craze: Inside the Warehouse Giant



## cwerdna (Feb 22, 2001)

Saw an ad for this recently. I'll be recording whenever it airs. It premieres April 26th.

More info below:
http://www.cnbc.com/id/46603589
http://www.cnbc.com/id/46808971/CNB...USE_GIANT_ON_THURSDAY_APRIL_26TH_AT_9PM_ET_PT


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## mattack (Apr 9, 2001)

This sure sounds familiar?!!? Didn't they already do a Costco episode? (I don't have it listed in the various CNBC documentaries I've watched.)


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## cwerdna (Feb 22, 2001)

^^^
That's news to me. I don't recall seeing one from them. I guess I'll find out soon enough if it's actually a rerun.


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## Jesda (Feb 12, 2005)

I <3 Costco


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## sharkster (Jul 3, 2004)

Thanks for the head's up. New to me also. Love da Costco and will look for this.


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## cwerdna (Feb 22, 2001)

I've gotten through almost half of it, so far. It's pretty good and insightful.

There are a whole bunch of reruns in the next two weeks.


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## TonyD79 (Jan 4, 2002)

cwerdna said:


> I've gotten through almost half of it, so far. It's pretty good and insightful.
> 
> There are a whole bunch of reruns in the next two weeks.


I'm more impressed than ever with Costco after that show.


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## sharkster (Jul 3, 2004)

TonyD79 said:


> I'm more impressed than ever with Costco after that show.


Ditto that! I watched yesterday and it was very interesting. Excellent company.


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## sieglinde (Aug 11, 2002)

Thanks. I am glad it is only an hour long show. I hope they addressed the tire issue. I heard the tire manufacturers make tires for them special. I would like to know the difference.


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## Rob Helmerichs (Oct 17, 2000)

I'm only 1/4 into it so far, and it seems like almost an infomercial.

An interesting infomercial, though. I wonder if this originated in-house? It seems almost like an official company story...


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## jsmeeker (Apr 2, 2001)

sieglinde said:


> Thanks. I am glad it is only an hour long show. I hope they addressed the tire issue. I heard the tire manufacturers make tires for them special. I would like to know the difference.


You have to buy a pack of 20.



I watched this last night too. I knew Costco was the largest buyer of wine in the USA, so I liked the wine segment. I don't have a Costco membership, but I really liked their buyer's answer to the question about serving Kirkland brand wine at a dinner party at home. My answer was the same.

Also enjoyed the segment on toilet paper.

As far as the part on grey market items. What all do they sell that is grey market? Is it just stuff like Prada handbags and other designer items? Or does it extend to electronics that may have warrantee issues?


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## dianebrat (Jul 6, 2002)

jsmeeker said:


> As far as the part on grey market items. What all do they sell that is grey market? Is it just stuff like Prada handbags and other designer items? Or does it extend to electronics that may have warrantee issues?


They've sold a lot of Apple products over the years grey market and Apple was not happy. (suck it up Apple...)


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## jsmeeker (Apr 2, 2001)

dianebrat said:


> They've sold a lot of Apple products over the years grey market and Apple was not happy. (suck it up Apple...)


Does that cause any issues with warrantee claims or getting service at an Apple Store? Can they tell if it was bought at a Costco?

I know Apple isn't the only product they do this was. Was wondering about stuff like cameras, too. That goes on at a lot of those camera discounters too.


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## SNJpage1 (May 25, 2006)

I just watched this show last night and found it to be very interesting. What I found interesting was the original CEO's belief about how much profit to make over all. He didn't believe in ringing every cent they can from their customers. He says that's why other companies have gone out of business. However, their markups can be very large for some items. They talked about a toy they buy for $29 and sell for $100.
The question about the grey market warranties that some one asked about, with cameras if it is grey market the warranty usually isnt any good in the USA. Those items were ment to only be sold over seas. To get around it you can buy a 3rd party extended warrenty.


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## cherry ghost (Sep 13, 2005)

SNJpage1 said:


> However, their markups can be very large for some items. They talked about a toy they buy for $29 and sell for $100.


That was a stuffed Bear that they sell for $29.99 but retails for $100.


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## Jesda (Feb 12, 2005)

I wish they didnt close so early on Sunday. Just went to get a pizza and arrived at an empty parking lot. :|


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## ElJay (Apr 6, 2005)

SNJpage1 said:


> However, their markups can be very large for some items. They talked about a toy they buy for $29 and sell for $100.


The show said their margins never exceed 15%.


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## Jesda (Feb 12, 2005)

cherry ghost said:


> That was a stuffed Bear that they sell for $29.99 but retails for $100.


I almost bought one because it was so big and cheap. Dont know what I'd do with it -- giant dog toy?


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## DUDE_NJX (Feb 12, 2003)

Giant sex toy for a dog.


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## sharkster (Jul 3, 2004)

Jesda said:


> I wish they didnt close so early on Sunday. Just went to get a pizza and arrived at an empty parking lot. :|


I bet that was exciting for a hot second - _WOW, I don't have to park a mile away! D'oh, the store is closed..._


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## DeDondeEs (Feb 20, 2004)

Jesda said:


> I wish they didnt close so early on Sunday. Just went to get a pizza and arrived at an empty parking lot. :|


I wished they opened earlier as well. The ones by me don't open until 10 am. I am an early morning person. I like doing my shopping at busy places like Walmart at 6-7AM. You go to Costco just before 10am it is like a Russian bread line of people waiting to get in all lined up with their giant shopping carts.


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## mattack (Apr 9, 2001)

Are you sure they don't open earlier for the business customers? I thought that was a common thing. (I think anybody can buy the more expensive business membership)


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## Rob Helmerichs (Oct 17, 2000)

mattack said:


> Are you sure they don't open earlier for the business customers? I thought that was a common thing. (I think anybody can buy the more expensive business membership)


That's Sam's Club. The one thing I miss from when I switched from Sam's Club to Costco.


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## RonDawg (Jan 12, 2006)

No, some Costco stores do (or did) have earlier opening hours for business customers. It's usually an hour or so before non-business customers.

I was told by a Costco employee that not all stores strictly enforce the policy though, and some stores will let people in as soon as the doors open regardless of membership type.

This was a few years ago, so Costco's policies may have changed since then.


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## Ruth (Jul 31, 2001)

I enjoyed the show, even thought it was basically a big commercial for costco. 

I wish they'd done a segment on the produce. Up here they have absolutely the highest quality stuff in town, all year round. I would have liked to learn more about how they manage to do that and the detail that goes into it.


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## sieglinde (Aug 11, 2002)

I have not finished the show yet but I was impressed by their wine selection. They had essentially a self-trained wine taster and were succeeding in selling high-end wines. I could not believe the prices on some things. I don't know what their worth was, but one of the items in the jewelry case cost more than my house. (I admit I bought my house during the worst time of a depressed real estate market in my area but ....) Since Cosco will only take American Express or cash, I wondered how the person paid for it. Almost $1000 for a bottle of wine. I expect that kind of stuff in the locked case in a high end wine store. Looks like they are beating Bev-mo in that market. The grey market bothers me. I bought a TV there but I suspect LG is one of the brands that has a deal with them and is not grey market.


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## pmyers (Jan 4, 2001)

sieglinde said:


> ...Since Cosco will only take American Express or cash, I wondered how the person paid for it...


They take my VISA debit card just fine.

I would assume they have some other payment options available for a $249,000 ring.

What I was hoping they would discuss was how some of their Kirkland brand goods are actually made by big name companies (such as their Vodka is rumored to be Grey Goose). I assume they couldn't discuss that because of confidentiality agreements.


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## Idearat (Nov 26, 2000)

sieglinde said:


> I have not finished the show yet but I was impressed by their wine selection. They had essentially a self-trained wine taster and were succeeding in selling high-end wines. I could not believe the prices on some things. I don't know what their worth was, but one of the items in the jewelry case cost more than my house. (I admit I bought my house during the worst time of a depressed real estate market in my area but ....) Since Cosco will only take American Express or cash, I wondered how the person paid for it. Almost $1000 for a bottle of wine. I expect that kind of stuff in the locked case in a high end wine store. Looks like they are beating Bev-mo in that market. The grey market bothers me. I bought a TV there but I suspect LG is one of the brands that has a deal with them and is not grey market.


I was hoping for more details, but other than "limited selection makes people decide quicker" and "max 15% markup" there wasn't much about what makes them tick. The part that made it look a little bit like a fluff piece was there was zero mention about the fact that as a membership store they know every item you've bought ever, as if a grocery store required you to have their membership card and made you use it for every purchase. This has to be a big help in their business decision processes. I also don't remember any mention of not accepting credit cards except for Amex, which also helps their bottom line.

I've always known about the limited selection, but didn't know how it fit in the strategy. There are some basics like deodorant and razor blades I never get at Costco despite the prices as they don't carry my brands. I've always looked at it like coupons, to save the most you have to buy what what they sell with less regard for your personal preference for brand or style.

The wine buyer was interesting, but she really could do most of the buying by getting highest rated/popular wines and then offering them at a much lower markup. I've assumed that the private label stuff is name-brand wine where the winery doesn't want to dilute the brand or has no U.S. distribution and is happy to sell wholesale to Costco.

I wouldn't worry too much about the grey market, that's more for lower volume, higher cost things. There are some companies that tightly control how much their products sell for and go through great pains to prevent any store from selling them at a lower markup and lower price. Costco got into an argument with with Omega watches so Omega started putting a tiny logo on watches sold overseas. This logo they copyrighted in the U.S., preventing it from being sold under copyright law:http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748703977004575393160596764410.html

This was only touched on briefly in the episode, but the CEO said that what people should be bothered by is companies who manipulate the market to keep their prices high, and I tend to agree. Some companies will only sell to you if you keep the retail price high, adding to the prestige of the product and keeping the profit high for the retailers. Offer it for too low a price and they'll stop selling to you.

I understand for companies who make something like a TV overseas, with a U.S. sales _and support_ arm. If the U.S. group didn't sell the item, and make some profit, they shouldn't be expected fix it for free or answer questions on the phone about it. Online camera stores have been selling overseas versions for years, offering the same camera at 2 prices, one with a U.S. warranty, one with an "International" warranty. You decide if having to send it to Japan for service is worth the discount. (The less scrupulous stores don't tell you it has no US warranty though )

Luckily Costco has a pretty good return/refund policy. If I were to roll the dice by buying from an unauthorized retailer for a product, I'd be most comfortable with them.


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## Idearat (Nov 26, 2000)

pmyers said:


> They take my VISA debit card just fine.
> 
> I would assume they have some other payment options available for a $249,000 ring.


They take checks too.


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## sharkster (Jul 3, 2004)

RonDawg said:


> No, some Costco stores do (or did) have earlier opening hours for business customers. It's usually an hour or so before non-business customers.
> 
> I was told by a Costco employee that not all stores strictly enforce the policy though, and some stores will let people in as soon as the doors open regardless of membership type.
> 
> This was a few years ago, so Costco's policies may have changed since then.


Ours does open earlier for business members. It's the only time I will go because I don't like crowds.

Fortunately, they always seemed to be pretty good about it because I've seen others try to get in at the initial opening and they were turned away.

Conversely, it was the opposite with Sam's Club here. When I had my membership (let it lapse - hated the place), there was just one store opening time for everybody.


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## Marc (Jun 26, 1999)

Idearat said:


> pmyers said:
> 
> 
> > I would assume they have some other payment options available for a $249,000 ring.
> ...


Somehow I don't see them accepting a check for $249,000 (plus tax, of course).


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## Idearat (Nov 26, 2000)

Marc said:


> Somehow I don't see them accepting a check for $249,000 (plus tax, of course).


What would it be, a suitcase full of cash? I doubt it would be an impulse buy using a clowns and kittens check from the credit union, but rather a bank check. I guess you could use your black Amex card, but even with a sweetheart deal from Amex the CC fee to Costco would probably be pricey, over $2k even if they only charge Costco 1%


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## pmyers (Jan 4, 2001)

I guess when people say they only take AMEX they are talking pure credit card transactions, because my visa and mastercard debit cards work just fine...always have.


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## billypritchard (May 7, 2001)

Watching the show and seeing how they kind of boss around the suppliers was quite eye-opening. The Toy section is the one I'm thinking of specifically, but I would guess it's the same in all departments.

My wife has purchased quite a few Carter's brand pajamas for our little kiddos in the past year or two, and she's noticed that the ones bought from Costco are much more likely to have holes or construction problems. She has sworn off jammy purchases from Costco now. I wonder then if Carters's agreed to provide special 'cheaper' jammies to Costco and that is why the quality seems a bit off?


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## TonyD79 (Jan 4, 2002)

Marc said:


> Somehow I don't see them accepting a check for $249,000 (plus tax, of course).


Isn't it kind of illegal to take checks generally but not for a specific transaction amount? Today, checks can be checked immediately for clearance.

I wrote a personal check for my last car purchase, which was just under $30,000 without a single question asked.


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## bigpuma (Aug 12, 2003)

billypritchard said:


> My wife has purchased quite a few Carter's brand pajamas for our little kiddos in the past year or two, and she's noticed that the ones bought from Costco are much more likely to have holes or construction problems. She has sworn off jammy purchases from Costco now. I wonder then if Carters's agreed to provide special 'cheaper' jammies to Costco and that is why the quality seems a bit off?


In the show weren't they pushing for better quality on the backpack not lower?


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## ElJay (Apr 6, 2005)

Marc said:


> Somehow I don't see them accepting a check for $249,000 (plus tax, of course).


I'm sure people walk into Bentley dealerships and write checks for $249,000... I am not sure why Costco would be different.


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## DevdogAZ (Apr 16, 2003)

What's the advantage to Costco to only accept AMEX? I thought AMEX was usually the most expensive of the card issuers for a retailer to accept, so if they could transfer some of their purchases to VISA or MC, they could save a little money in processing fees. Yes, I'm sure that AMEX is giving them a sweetheart deal in order to be the exclusive credit card accepted, but I can almost guarantee that VISA and/or MC would be happy to match that deal if they could get a piece of the Costco business as well.


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## markb (Jul 24, 2002)

DevdogAZ said:


> What's the advantage to Costco to only accept AMEX? I thought AMEX was usually the most expensive of the card issuers for a retailer to accept, so if they could transfer some of their purchases to VISA or MC, they could save a little money in processing fees. Yes, I'm sure that AMEX is giving them a sweetheart deal in order to be the exclusive credit card accepted, but I can almost guarantee that VISA and/or MC would be happy to match that deal if they could get a piece of the Costco business as well.


Just a guess, but maybe AmEx doesn't make profit off of Costco transactions at all, and the benefit to AmEx is that it gets people to sign up for cards that they will then use at other establishments where AmEx does make a profit. Visa and Mastercard wouldn't have as much to gain from such a deal, because most people already have those cards.


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## pmyers (Jan 4, 2001)

Also maybe its an exclusive in their agreement for the costco/amex card.

Don't they have to pay a VISA fee when I use my VISA debit? or does me putting in a PIN number negate a fee?


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## markb (Jul 24, 2002)

pmyers said:


> Also maybe its an exclusive in their agreement for the costco/amex card.
> 
> Don't they have to pay a VISA fee when I use my VISA debit? or does me putting in a PIN number negate a fee?


My understanding is that PIN-based debit card transaction fees are a lot less than credit card transaction fees.


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## mattack (Apr 9, 2001)

Rob Helmerichs said:


> That's Sam's Club. The one thing I miss from when I switched from Sam's Club to Costco.


No, I'm talking about Costco. My mom had/has a business membership.


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## Rob Helmerichs (Oct 17, 2000)

mattack said:


> No, I'm talking about Costco. My mom had/has a business membership.


That's interesting. Sam's Club has that here (early entrance for Business members), but Costco doesn't.


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## Frylock (Feb 13, 2002)

markb said:


> My understanding is that PIN-based debit card transaction fees are a lot less than credit card transaction fees.


That's correct. The debit fee is much, much less, and they take much less risk of not getting the money.


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## pmyers (Jan 4, 2001)

When I upgraded my membership to Executive I asked them if that got me in an hour early and was told that they used to do that but now they just open the store up an hour early to everybody (basically just extending their hours of operation by 1 hour).


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## midas (Jun 1, 2000)

I found a few things interesting. 

I always assumed they put the heavy squeeze on their vendors. But it was interesting to see them squeeze on higher quality as well as just the price. 

I was happy to hear that their employees are reasonably well paid. I also think that's one of the reasons they have such short hours. 

Interesting to hear about the square packaging. I realized that it would save on shelf space, but never thought about the savings on shipping costs. 

I wonder about the 1 in 10 figures regarding people refusing to buy something due to quantity. I've balked at a number of things due to size, and specifically the Advil they talked about. Just no way I'd use it all before it expired. 

Loved the comment about how it costs them a fortune to make the place look cheap.


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## Flop (Dec 2, 2005)

pmyers said:


> Also maybe its an exclusive in their agreement for the costco/amex card.
> 
> Don't they have to pay a VISA fee when I use my VISA debit? or does me putting in a PIN number negate a fee?


Typically, PIN based transactions will be a set amount per transaction. This is why many business used to (still do?) charge you 25 cents or 49 cents or whatever the surcharge was for you to use a debit card with a PIN. The fee for running the transaction as a credit card (no PIN) is a percentage based upon the sale total.

For small sales, it is cheaper for the business to process credit cards, but at some point it becomes cheaper for the business to process debit transactions using a PIN. I'd imagine the vast majority of sales at Costco exceed the tipping point where it is costlier to pay a % for a credit card than the fixed fee for the debit transaction.

This is also why I always tip for service with cash. I had friends in college that worked as waiters and the restaurant would take the credit card fee percentage out of any tips left on a credit card.


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## sieglinde (Aug 11, 2002)

I made the mistake of buying the Advil but I don't worry about using the expired Advil. I use it so seldom.


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## pmyers (Jan 4, 2001)

I don't think I'd go through that 6 pack of toothpaste in my life! lol


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## markb (Jul 24, 2002)

Flop said:


> The fee for running the transaction as a credit card (no PIN) is a percentage based upon the sale total.


I think it's typically a flat fee plus a percentage. So merchants lose money on small transactions whether they take debit or credit.


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## Idearat (Nov 26, 2000)

markb said:


> I think it's typically a flat fee plus a percentage. So merchants lose money on small transactions whether they take debit or credit.


It's a small fee. From a NYT article:

The new fee schedule includes three parts: a maximum interchange fee of 21 cents; a 1 cent addition that is allowed if the bank issuing the debit card develops a fraud-prevention program; and a variable charge of 5 basis points, or five one-hundredths of a percentage point, of the value of the transaction to recover a portion of fraud losses.

For the average debit card transaction of about $38, that variable fee would be roughly 2 cents, which would produce an upper limit, on average, of 24 cents a transaction.​
What this thread got me thinking about though was using a _credit card as a debit card_ that some people have mentioned for using at Costco. My only knowledge of using a PIN with my credit card would be if I used it at an ATM for a cash advance. Getting cash advances I thought meant fees to me, a single charge plus a percentage. I've never used a credit card in this manner at Costco, so I don't know what it would look like on my statement.

Costco does do a booming business in cash though. It's one place you'll still see prominent pneumatic tubes going from the registers up towards the ceiling and ending up in a back room. Once cash on hand gets high they send the excess to the back room via the tubes.


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## jay_man2 (Sep 15, 2003)

I complained about their toilet paper. Several years ago I bought my first pack, thinking I was getting a lifetime supply. It only lasted 4 years!


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## sushikitten (Jan 28, 2005)

That was really interesting...I could easily have watched another hour. The toy stuff really intrigued me. I never would have imagined all that went on behind the scenes.



cherry ghost said:


> That was a stuffed Bear that they sell for $29.99 but retails for $100.


We have that bear and it's awesome. We couldn't pass it up at $30. 

I hate not living in a city with a Costco. We used to be 10 minutes from one...now we're an hour. It's been two months since I've been there and I'm going through withdrawal so we might go this weekend.


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## WO312 (Jan 24, 2003)

sushikitten said:


> That was really interesting...I could easily have watched another hour. The toy stuff really intrigued me. I never would have imagined all that went on behind the scenes.
> 
> We have that bear and it's awesome. We couldn't pass it up at $30.
> 
> I hate not living in a city with a Costco. We used to be 10 minutes from one...now we're an hour. It's been two months since I've been there and I'm going through withdrawal so we might go this weekend.


You talking about the one here in Wilmington?? I live 10 minutes away and I love it. 

We eat lunch there a couple of times a week on average. Sometimes the samples are enough, or else the hot dogs, or both.

I find it strange to have both a Sam's and a Costco in a relatively small city, but I love it. Sam's was here first - I think Costco wanted to rain on their parade.


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## pmyers (Jan 4, 2001)

I also found it interesting when they said that they basically break even on the sales and where they make the majority of their money is straight off the membership fees.


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## DUDE_NJX (Feb 12, 2003)

Supposedly it's true for Sam's, as well.


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## Flop (Dec 2, 2005)

markb said:


> I think it's typically a flat fee plus a percentage. So merchants lose money on small transactions whether they take debit or credit.


Correct, they get charged for every transaction regardless of credit or debit, but since debit is a fixed fee and credit has a percentage component, at some sales total it becomes cheaper to the business to use debit vs credit. I know when my dad had a small business before retiring, the tipping point was somewhere around $20 or $25. If the sale was less than that he would try to run debit cards as a credit card. Over that amount he would request they be run as debit cards. My point was that the vast majority of Costco's sales are all going to exceed that tipping point, so it is cheaper for them as a business to only take debit cards.


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## changk (Feb 20, 2002)

markb said:


> Just a guess, but maybe AmEx doesn't make profit off of Costco transactions at all, and the benefit to AmEx is that it gets people to sign up for cards that they will then use at other establishments where AmEx does make a profit. Visa and Mastercard wouldn't have as much to gain from such a deal, because most people already have those cards.


They accepted Discover Card (rather than AmEx) a few years back. I was surprised when I heard they switched; I would've thought Discover would've given them a better deal than AmEx. I guess not <g>


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## sushikitten (Jan 28, 2005)

WO312 said:


> You talking about the one here in Wilmington?? I live 10 minutes away and I love it.


Yep. And we'll be there tomorrow after we hit the children's museum in the morning.


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## mattack (Apr 9, 2001)

I think some of you may be talking about the _new_ charges.. I've only seen a headline (or maybe it was even the scrolling headlines on CNN) so far, but supposedly the banks dramatically lowered debit fees in the past day or two...?


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## avery (May 29, 2006)

pmyers said:


> I guess when people say they only take AMEX they are talking pure credit card transactions, because my visa and mastercard debit cards work just fine...always have.


I haven't read through the entire thread yet, so maybe this has already been mentioned... a debit card transaction is the equivalent of cash, as it's "debited" from your checking account more or less immediately.


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## changk (Feb 20, 2002)

mattack said:


> I think some of you may be talking about the _new_ charges.. I've only seen a headline (or maybe it was even the scrolling headlines on CNN) so far, but supposedly the banks dramatically lowered debit fees in the past day or two...?


It's known as _Swipe Fee Reform_. Went in to effect last year. Its main purpose was to put a cap on the fees banks could charge for processing debit cards. Retailers said they'd lower prices due to the drop in charges, while banks say they'd lose money. It's in part what brought about the hoopla with Bank of America (and others) trying to introduce charges for things like having a debit card or 'free' checking account, due to the drop in their take of the debit card fees.


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## sieglinde (Aug 11, 2002)

Two words - CREDIT UNION.


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## Flop (Dec 2, 2005)

sieglinde said:


> Two words - CREDIT UNION.


Even better: USAA (if you are eligible)


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## Frylock (Feb 13, 2002)

Flop said:


> Even better: USAA (if you are eligible)


USAA is a credit union. And everyone is eligible now for a bank acct. You just don't get all of the benefits unless you're military or related.


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## sieglinde (Aug 11, 2002)

There is not one in my town though my town has a large base and is full of military retirees. We have the Navy Federal Credit Union which is almost as bad as a bank. I belong to employee credit unions that have expanded to cover the community.


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## Flop (Dec 2, 2005)

sieglinde said:


> There is not one in my town though my town has a large base and is full of military retirees. We have the Navy Federal Credit Union which is almost as bad as a bank. I belong to employee credit unions that have expanded to cover the community.


I have never seen a USAA branch. As far as I know, they don't have any. All interaction is done via internet, phone or mail. You think you'd miss the local branch, but I never have. Deposit checks via internet and scanner and money is available instantly, ATM/Debit fees refunded no matter where you use it, no fees for accounts, checks, etc. Plus if you qualify, you can take advantage of their other services: investing, great insurance for car, home, life, etc.


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## cheerdude (Feb 27, 2001)

They have one branch; at their HQ in San Antonio.


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## sieglinde (Aug 11, 2002)

I don't qualify. They want military only. I am retired Federal Civil Service not military.


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## dthmj (Mar 12, 2002)

sieglinde said:


> I don't qualify. They want military only. I am retired Federal Civil Service not military.


You don't need to be any sort of military for their checking account.

I don't think you can get the cool deposit by phone if you are not military (plus other qualifications), but otherwise you can have a regular checking account.


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## sushikitten (Jan 28, 2005)

USAA just opened an office here. We've gotten mailings about it but I'm still not entirely sure all that they offer. I think they have advisors there and I think I saw mention of an ATM.


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## cwerdna (Feb 22, 2001)

It was rerun earlier today and will be again on 11/7.


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## pdhenry (Feb 28, 2005)

cwerdna said:


> It was rerun earlier today and will be again on 11/7.


:up: Thanks.


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## cwerdna (Feb 22, 2001)

It's being rerun a bunch of times today.


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