On Thu, 05 Sep 2013 08:08:10 -0700, sms
wrote:

On 9/4/2013 7:10 PM, The Daring Dufas wrote:
On 9/4/2013 7:31 PM, wrote:
On Wed, 04 Sep 2013 15:40:02 -0400, Stormin Mormon
wrote:

Wouldn't you sell everything you own to live
near a Costco? Sigh. I guess some people just
don't get it.

I had a Costco membership. They went downhill so let it lapse. Now
we're a member at Sams and it's working out fine.


Me and JH have run telecom and data service calls at both those places.
I had to go to a Sam's Club late one night, get on an electric scissors
lift and trace a fiber optic cable from the front of the huge store all
the way to the back because nobody knew where the router/switch in the
back of the store was located. I believe the fracking ceiling was over
25 feet high. Most people have no idea of the extensive data networks in
modern retail stores. O_o

Until a few years ago, the Costco near me also had pneumatic tubes to
send canisters of cash and checks from the cash registers to a secure
room. I thought in interesting that NYC used to have a network of those
pneumatic tubes throughout the business district of Manhattan.
http://www.atlasobscura.com/places/pneumatic-system-new-york-public-library.
A lot of the tube network ended up being re-purposed for fiber-optic cables.

That's convenient. To run a fiber, simply put stick it in one end and
push the button.

Costco _has_ gone downhill, though I find that it's still far better
than Sam's Club in most respects. One really nice feature of Costco is
their 2 year warranty on electronics and computers, which is actually a
3 year warranty if you use your Costco Amex to make the purchase.

I've never collected on an electronics warranty so it doesn't matter
much to me. The tire department went to crap and the meat became
inedible so we stopped going. The meat at the Sam's here is quite
good and the prices are more than competitive. I don't miss Costco at
all.

For that matter, I did have a "demo" BJs membership a few years ago.
Their tire department, at the time, was much better than either of the
others.

Costco generally has a good selection of casual and business casual
clothing, which is the dress code in most of Silicon Valley. They have
an excellent selection of food items, including more and more gourmet
food at very good prices--stuff most people would never buy if they had
to pay the prices regular markets charge.

I wouldn't think about buying clothes in any of the above.

One of the biggest savings is in tires. The savings in a set of tires
can pay for the whole membership. The tire prices are only a bit less
expensive than a tire store, but Costco doesn't gouge for the related
services. The mounting and balancing includes new valves, they include
nitrogen inflation, and they included the road hazard warranty. They
actually honor the tread wear warranties with no hassle. Since there's
so many Costco's around, you actually have a chance of using the
warranty even on a trip.

I recently bought a set of tires at Sams, but they didn't last long. I
had to get rid of the truck a week later (found the frame was rotted
way beyond repair). Bad planning. ;-)


Gasoline is usually about 10¢ per gallon cheaper at Costco.

Don't have a Costco to compare here, but the Sams is usually $.10 and
often $.20 cheaper than the off-brands (I usually compare to Kroger)
here. It's been more than $.20 cheaper a few times recently and at
least once, $.30 less than the brands. I haven't paid any attention
to BJs gas prices. They're out of my normal traffic pattern.