uptowngirl
uptowngirl

Do you Costco?

Yesterday I was talking to a friend who said he does all his shopping online including buying toiletries and household supplies at drugstore.com. Now I do shop online but for toiletries and bulky stuff, the husband and I usually hire a car and drive out to a Walmart in N.J and stock up for six months or so( detergent, bounty, charmin, the works) Many people in my neighborhood seem to share the same school of thought as you often see them unloading the trunks of their cars which are filled with similair products. Friends of mine who live in the outer boroughs and long Island swear by the discount club Costco. Now I know the city had until now two outlets of Costco in Brooklyn and Queens but in November 2009 Costco opened an outlet in upper Manhattan on 517E 117 street near the FDR drive. It seems to be garnering rave reviews though I haven't visited it yet.. Do you by any chance belong to a Costco in the city?
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hhusted
hhusted 2yrs+
No. But I'm glad you mentioned it. I knew about a Costco when I lived in Edison, NJ. So I know what the store is about. Thanks for letting me know about the Costco in Manhattan.
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Uraniumfish
Uraniumfish 2yrs+
I know about it from living in other states, but it seems NY might be the one place where Costco doesn't make any sense. If you buy in bulk and live in a tiny NYC apartment, where are you going to store you year's supply of super-cheap toilet paper? See what I mean? In other states you have to actually pay to have a membership, and again, I wonder whether in NYC you'd really get a maximum use out of such a membership.
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uptowngirl
uptowngirl 2yrs+
@Uraniumfish I think you have to pay for Costco membership in NYC as well.As for storage currently We store all the myriad stuff we buy in bulk in our part of the common storage area of our building. Actually when my husband had the kitchen in our apartment rebuilt he actually built in a slide in -slide out storage section specifically to store Charmin and Bounty. Honestly buying in bulk saves me the trouble of lugging it from the stores because sometimes I do forget to replenish stuff.. as I write this I just remembered that I have forgotten to replenish seltzer water oh drat I am not going out now its cold and dark .. The husband makes a mean Manhattan .. hopefully he will not want one tonight ...
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BroadwayBK
BroadwayBK 2yrs+
Costco offers more benefits than just buying in bulk - they literally offer discounts on everything imaginable, from tires to televisions to furniture to, um, gourmet cheese. I'm not a member (nor, to be fair, do I know any other NYers that are) but I'm in no way opposed to the place.

I'm that person who always buys the largest size necessity items because usually that is the cheapest way to do it, and if you're creative you can find space for the things that you need. Costco must be doing okay if they just opened up a Manhattan location.
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hhusted
hhusted 2yrs+
Yeah, I think I will go to Costco sometime next week after the snowstorm.
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uptowngirl
uptowngirl 2yrs+
@BroadwayBK If I remember correctly we got our 47" Sharp flat screen TV some years ago from Costco with the help of my husband's colleague who is a member in N.J.(why 47"? beats me ,men seem to like their TVs the bigger the better) Anyway at that time the TV was priced around $3k but we managed to get for around $1300 why? apparently it was a returned item. Nothing was wrong with it but people tend to buy big TVs around Superbowl time and then return them and they are then sold at discounted prices. Costco has just opened in Manhattan in November I am sure it will soon catch on. Just like Trader Joe's which is now mobbed at any time of the day.
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Uraniumfish
Uraniumfish 2yrs+
That's funny, uptowngirl. So if it's a known phenomenon that people will buy huge TVs before the Superbowl and then try to return them, how do stores let them get away with that? Because they obviously lose money if they then sell the TVs "used" at a steep discount...
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uptowngirl
uptowngirl 2yrs+
@Uraniumfish Some aspects of American retail I just don't understand. I guess these big superstores can squeeze their vendors apparently another store with a great return policy is Bed, Bath and Beyond ,people say that they return things after as long as a year even after having used them. I need to verify that though..
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hhusted
hhusted 2yrs+
Stores have a philosopy. They believe that if they can provide a guarantee with every purchase, consumers will know they are legit and will keep coming back. A good guarantee gives the store credibility. I know because I run two businesses on line and set mine up the same way.

When the store sets up a year guarantee, they really don't expect consumer to take advantage of that return policy. So they let it go. But when a return is made, they are stuck. They know they have to honor the return, but it puts the store in a bind. But that is part of doing business.
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Uraniumfish
Uraniumfish 2yrs+
@uptowngirl This particular bit of American mindset I don't understand either...Maybe the price of the TV "used" is still above the price it cost them? That's the only way this all would make sense. So then they just make a smaller profit...
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BroadwayBK
BroadwayBK 2yrs+
Maybe they mark up retail values so high that they are even still profiting from used sales?
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BroadwayBK
BroadwayBK 2yrs+
Or rather, I agree with Uraniumfish's ponderings.
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Uraniumfish
Uraniumfish 2yrs+
We can conclude from all this that the best time to buy a huge TV is immediately after the Superbowl.
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BroadwayBK
BroadwayBK 2yrs+
We'd better give them a day or so to return them....so be at the store on Tuesday or Wednesday.
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ajadedidealist
ajadedidealist 2yrs+
Hahah, I didn't know that about the superbowl, guys! It made me laugh...(isn't that coming up soon?)

I've never been to Costco. But I did see a funny "Modern Family" episode where a very urbane gay couple discovers the joys of Costco - I imagine it's a bit of how the stereotypical NYer would interact with it.
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BroadwayBK
BroadwayBK 2yrs+
Yeah, people go nuts for Costco. I did a bit of asking around and it seems that Costco members in NY tend to be parents who also happen to be car owners - just a personal perception.
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hhusted
hhusted 2yrs+
You guys are funny. You see, unless my favorite team is playing, I don't watch the Super Bowl. As for Costco, I did talk to a friend lately, and he told me he got a lot out of going to Costco, so I think I will be the next to go there.
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uptowngirl
uptowngirl 2yrs+
@BroadwayBK let me know if you or anybody you know has success with a 'returned ' flat screen TV after superbowl so will know if our TV buy was just a one off or not. I do agree about bulk buyers being car owners and parents I see that often enough when I see folks unloading packs of pampers etc from their boots after a trip to Target or some such store. I used actually frequent a pretty good discount store located in the heart of Soho learned about during my brother's NYU days -National Wholesale Liquidators. However it became a casualty of the recession and when I saw it shuttered I remember thinking if the Liquidators are in trouble then we are in bigger trouble! sure seems that way until today..
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hhusted
hhusted 2yrs+
There is a severe storm tomorrow, so I think I will wait till Thursday or Friday and go to Costco then.
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uptowngirl
uptowngirl 2yrs+
@hhusted are you a member of Costco already? do let me know about your experience if you do make it.
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hhusted
hhusted 2yrs+
I'm not a member yet. I will go to Costco and sign up. Once I do that and shop there, I'll let you know my experience.
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uptowngirl
uptowngirl 2yrs+
@Everyone so I made a trip out to Manhattan's first Costco last Saturday and it was swamped with people from the borough. Like all other Costco's it has huge containers of whatever you want to buy as well as numerous tasting stations where you can sample the various food stuff it sells. There are so many of these stations that you can actually make a meal of all your samplings honestly! My husband and I bought a Costco membership I think it is $50 for a year which enabled us to shop for all the supplies we are taking with us. No we are not behaving like some paranoid Americans its just a question of economics , things like the detergents et al that we are used to are very expensive in HK and since we have a container booked for our shipping have decided to fill it with our so called 'essentials' .
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uptowngirl
uptowngirl 2yrs+
@everyone I forgot to add its actually quite easy to shop at Manhattan's only Costco and you can manage very well without a car. We took a cab there and on the way back we took one of the many black limo cabs that are stationed outside the store. The black limo driver charged us the same rate as the yellow cab. So a trip to Costco in Manhattan actually worked out cheaper than hiring a car and driving out to Jersey to shop. Very convenient and a great option for those who live in Manhattan.
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NeverSleeps
NeverSleeps 2yrs+
@uptowngirl I've always been curious about that place. Do you have to have a membership just to get in?
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JenMac
JenMac 2yrs+
@Neversleeps: yeah, you do have to have a membership. Costco has always puzzled me; especially in NY. I can barely fit normal sized quantities of things in my apartment. I don't know where on earth I would put 30 rolls of toilet paper and a gallon of vitamins.
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BroadwayBK
BroadwayBK 2yrs+
It sounds just like an upscale version of Sam's Club... which I think is owned by Wal-Mart. Wonder if all of this is related.

@JenMac I think Cosco is especially appealing for those who have access to their basements.
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uptowngirl
uptowngirl 2yrs+
@JenMac the Manhattan store was flooded with young families who seemed to be stocking up on stuff for their kids, guess Costco is really worthwhile in this economic climate for them.
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Oren
Oren 2yrs+
Costco is really awesome. However, ever since moving to NYC, I haven't been in one. The main reason? Lack of easy transportation to bring all those cheap bulk items back home. Second reason? Lack of space to store all that stuff.
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BroadwayBK
BroadwayBK 2yrs+
Yeah...all the people I know who Cosco also have kids. Seems like the same people are found wandering around in IKEA.
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