I joined Costco a few months ago so I could save a few bucks on my Dyson, but I’ve been mildly surprised that I’ve used the membership more often than I thought.
In college, our house finance officer determined that we didn’t save any money shopping at Costco1, and I had similar anecdotal experience.
Costco is an interesting phenomenon.
- You have to pay to shop there.
- The store is poorly organized and aisles are not marked with what they contain so it can be hard to find what you’re looking for.
- There are no sales people to help you if needed.
- You often have to buy in quantities that are inconvenient.
- You can only use certain payment methods.
- They check to see if you are stealing on the way out.
Anyway, the upside is that there are some good deals to be had. I’ve recently been getting my home office in better shape, adding a printer/copier/fax2, paper, folders, paper clips, envelopes, etc. and I’ve bought much of this at Costco. I’ve been pleasantly surprised – plus I can write off the membership anyway. 🙂
We use the HP Office Jet 6110, I have been very pleased with it.
Office Equipment
It’s coming up on a year since I joined the ranks of the self-employed and I realized last month that it was high time for me to get some general office essentials and set up a few things to help me run my business more effeciently.
Got voice …
I was a loyal Costco shopper. But I have my reservations. In the last three years, Costo change my mailing address three times so that I did not receive my rebate for my executive membership. They allowed a change in my membership info without me intitating the change. In these days of identiy theft, it is disturbing that Costo has let me down. They blame the post office. Excuses are not what I want to hear. Both the corporate office and my local Costco warehouse keep assuring me the problem is resolved, yet they have not taken the responsibility for the problem, and it has happened for the third time. Is membership with Costco increasing your exposure to identity theft? I like shopping there, but is the risk worth it?
Exact same experience like John G, my address was changed 2 times in 2 years without my knowledge, resulting in me not getting the Rebate Check. Costco blames the Post Office, but surprisingly the American Express (their credit card) keeps on sending me the regular bills at my correct address. I also wrote several letters to Jim Sinegal, but they don’t care.
Interesting, the Dyson is exactly the same price at Canadian Tire as it is at Costco and there are no membership fees. When I noted that as I’m looking for one as well I started to look at their prices with a more jaded eye and found many are higher than at a standard store in this part of Canada.
Make sure you’re comparing apples to apples…the one at Costco has extra attachments like a small power brush.
We have the same issues as John G and Nitin. Their customer care and the store manager have been of no help. My address magically keeps changing and they blame the Post Office!