Ask MetaFilter questions tagged with costco

Help us appreciate the magic of Costco

A Terrible Llama — Mon, 27 Oct 2008 03:20:55 -0800

What do you buy at BJ's/Costco etc.? We got a Costco membership this weekend, thinking it would be a great idea for formula and diapers and other items, then discovered they don't carry the brand of formula we use, or the brand of diapers we use, or the toilet paper we use....etc. I didn't know--I thought they carried everything the supermarket carries. I guess it would have to be the size of a football stadium, but I mean, it kind of is.

We went ahead and got less-favored diapers and toilet paper.

I'm fairly certain this is the lamest paragraph I've ever written on the internet, which is saying something: I don't like most toilet paper brands because even though the price/sheet counts are competitive, you use more or less depending on the quality of the sheets, so I always buy Quilted Northern. And I didn't like the diapers, (Huggies) which the baby's grandmother has gotten for us and we don't think are as absorbent or fit as well as Pampers Swaddlers. Since I'm disclosing all our household brand preferences, the formula we buy is Good Start. They only have Enfamil, Similac, and Kirkland.

So, we spent $50. Let's say it costs $5 in gas money to go down there. We need to recoup the costs of the gas money each time we go, plus chip away at the $50 we spent without going down there every week. We can get there once a month. So far, even with buying name brands that we don't generally buy, it seems like the savings aren't that great (we figured out that the diapers we normally get from Target cost like a fraction of a penny more than the ones we bought from Costco, so maybe we saved a dollar or two, but we spent that in gas money getting down there.)

So....what are the best values at Costco for a family with two adults and a baby?

Is this laminate defective or is this typical?

tristeza — Mon, 13 Oct 2008 19:02:46 -0800

Should I keep the $800 worth of as-yet uninstalled Shaw VersaLock laminate flooring, or is this just a shoddy product that I need to return to "Larry" at the floor store? Just started installing the Shaw VersaLock laminate flooring that I bought, following the instructions on the website, and so far the locking ridge at the end of almost every board has broken.

We've watched the video, read the PDF, read the box (mind you, all 3 versions of instructions are slightly different), but no matter what, the fiberboard ridges simply snap off/crumble with any movement whatsoever of the joined boards.

It's VersaLock AG 8mm laminate over deluxe underlayment.

Has anyone had an experience like this with this or similar products? Is it fatal to the installation to have this happening - as in, will these locking ridges continue to break under stress once the floor is installed?

Costco Caskets?

c0nsumer — Wed, 28 May 2008 11:54:10 -0800

Do any of you have experience with caskets purchased from Costco? The mother of someone very close to me may soon be in need of one, and I've only seen the corners of the displays at the stores themselves. Have any of you actually seen one of the full caskets in person, purchased one, or anything related?

Come On Baby Size My Tire

seawallrunner — Sun, 02 Dec 2007 16:52:54 -0800

Tire size substitutions? Even after reading the excellent advice in percussive paul's question, I have questions about the allowed sizes of my tires. My current tires are Michelin MXV4s, and their size is 205/60 R 15 91 H (M+S). I had a flat last weekend, and figure that it's high time I replaced all four tires (not just one) given that I am still driving on the tires I had replaced in 1998. I walk to work and only drive on weekends on highways or logging roads.

I am looking at the Costco site, which irritatingly only allows me to select tires according to my car's year and model. Costco is offering two tire sizes for my car's make/model/year, neither of which is the size of my current four tires.

My car's user manual stipulates either 185/65R 15 88 or the size that I have now, which is 205/60R 15 91 H

Costco's choices list either 185/65R 15 or 205/65R 15. I feel that the second size is wrong for my car, although the folks at Costco told me (on the phone) that 'this is the specification, I see it on the computer, therefore it is correct'. Ugh.

My question to the AskMe tire experts: should I only consider the 185/65 tires from Costco or can the 205/65's also be safely used on my car? I should add that both tire size choices include the Michelin model that I currently have (just not the identical size).

What would I be trading by going to a 185 tire instead of a 205? And could I use a 205/65 instead of a 205/60, eg would the /65 aspect ratio 'fit' on a 205 tire size, on my car?

I found this cool tire size applet and I see that different tire sizes will impact the accuracy of my speedometer - but my specific question remains, can I buy the 205/65 even if it is not in spec (does it matter) or should I order the 185/65s instead.

I like Costco's prices - certainly *much* lower than going to my car dealership and getting replacement tires there, and also less expensive than other tire stores in Vancouver BC.

Please explain tire sizes to this tire newbie. Thank you.

Bathroom breaks

Arch1 — Tue, 04 Sep 2007 10:47:46 -0800

Remodeling bathroom, and looking all over the web. Question: any tips for searching, sites that I should check out? And are the tubs and vanities listed on Costco online good or crap? All help appreciated, hivers. Just in case it helps, we're doubling the size of the (tiny) bathroom, and will be adding a new vanity and (possibly) pedestal sink, new floor tile and new shower (tile and fixtures). We're in the $35k overall budget range.

Oh, and the house isn't big (city bungalow built 1911), so we're not looking at anything oversize...

Buying an IPod at Costco

redarmycomrade — Tue, 15 May 2007 12:45:31 -0800

First-Time IPod Purchaser: Help save me from a fruitless trip to Costco. I have to purchase a 30 gig IPod pretty quickly (read: tomorrow). It seems like everywhere I go, the price is $249.

I am a member of Costco, and I figure they have some current promotion, but I can't find anything online. I absolutely hate going there for one-off price comparisons like this.

Their web site doesn't list a price, but does show they carry them. Thoughts on price there? Do they offer any extra value-added goodies?

If it helps, I'm in the DC area, but I'd imagine this would be a national offer. I'm also interested in any other suggestions for purchasing an IPod (and peripheral items).

Software Bundling (tied selling) in Canadian Stores

a007r — Mon, 26 Jun 2006 07:05:48 -0800

I know I can build computers myself. But I want to buy a notebook. And I want it already fully built, with a nice in-store warranty. However, I want NO SOFTWARE along with it. Absolutely none. Am I entitled to that? Should I, as a consumer, be able to walk in a wholesale store, ask for a computer without software, and if the salesclerk does not understand, call for a manager? The reasons I want to deal with wholesale stores are:
* They have insane wholesale prices
* Good warranties, usually
* The convenience of walking in, looking at each available model, seeing them “live”
* Buy machines that would otherwise be hard to find (dell.ca bundles software beyond all recognition, hpshopping.ca is an unusable piece of website junk, and yes, I did email the webmasters, etc)
* You can actually settle issues while in the store, not with some useless hotline
* What you see is what you get, now, without shipping fees and delays

Here is the most I could find with my clunky googling skills about tied selling in http://www.competitionbureau.gc.ca/internet/index.cfm?itemID=1314&lg=e
"tied selling" «ventes liées»
"tied selling" means
(a) any practice whereby a supplier of a product, as a condition of supplying the product (the "tying" product) to a customer, requires that customer to
(i) acquire any other product from the supplier or the supplier's nominee, or
(ii) refrain from using or distributing, in conjunction with the tying product, another product that is not of a brand or manufacture designated by the supplier or the nominee, and
(b) any practice whereby a supplier of a product induces a customer to meet a condition set out in subparagraph (a)(i) or (ii) by offering to supply the tying product to the customer on more favourable terms or conditions if the customer agrees to meet the condition set out in either of those subparagraphs.

Now, I am not really legalese-savy. I seek your help to understand. The current situation here is that you can get you friendly local computer shop (where you build your computers yourself) to not bundle anything with the computer, but you can't (as far as I recall) do that with a big wholesale store such as Futureshop, Staples, Costco, etc.

My question is, are those companies legally correct? For example, if I take the overused “windows refund” argument, looking at the license (http://www.microsoft.com/windowsxp/home/eula.mspx), it says “IF YOU DO NOT AGREE, DO NOT INSTALL, COPY, OR USE THE SOFTWARE; YOU MAY RETURN IT TO YOUR PLACE OF PURCHASE FOR A FULL REFUND, IF APPLICABLE.”

Now, this raises some questions:
* Does that mean I MUST have purchased the computer with the software, exit the store, come back 2 minutes later and say I refuse? Isn't that tied selling, and, after all, illegal?
* I feel this “IF APPLICABLE” end of line must be the mechanism to fsck end users. Am I wrong?
* Does this only apply to products that have such a license, or does the law make it so that it applies to any software, regardless of the license? That is what I assume so far.

If you have read all the way through here already, you might have guessed that I am a libre software advocate, and refuse the thought of being forced into keeping a bunch of software CDs, manuals, licenses with the purchase of a notebook computer. I do not need them. I am not money hungry, but I would really like to find out if there is any hope for Canada not fucking over the consumers with this kind of commercial practices.

I am expecting the store owners to give me crap replies such as “the software is free, it's a gift” or that there is a “reseller agreement” with $name_of_a_company_here that prevents them from selling $name_of_brand without $software. But aren't my consumer rights supposed to surpass just that? I know I am not in the 99% consumer mass, but I should have the right to refuse software to be included right?

And... I expect to get comments such as “stfu, who are you to tell the companies how to run their business?” I can understand that point, but that's most likely why I am asking MeFi: my choices as a consumer are dramatically limited, and I want to know if I can do something about that. It sucks being forced into buying always from the same 2 businesses instead of being able to walk in any store and ask for something I am willing to buy. I'm perfectly willing to demonstrate how I would NOT use the software and format the computer directly in the store with witnesses, but I doubt they would accept.

Is there any way to find a product Costco just got rid of?

mathowie — Wed, 31 May 2006 18:25:05 -0800

When something is gone from Costco, is it like totally gone forever and there's no chance I can ever purchase the item? I know they do seasonal stuff, but I saw this item less than a month ago and checking three locations reveals they replaced the item with a different yet similar product. Do they ever have overstock sales? Should I call every Costco within several hours of driving distance? Should I just buy things the moment I see them at Costco from now on? This was a fairly big ticket item (some outdoor furniture for about $500) and I guess it was seasonal but I was actually planning part of my backyard around it. The last time I saw the item it was just a couple weeks ago so I was dismayed to see it vanish when I set out to buy it last night.

Is there any hope?

Costco Film Developing?

Tacodog — Wed, 10 Nov 2004 10:48:26 -0800

Has anyone used Costco's film lab to print black and white? I develop my own b&w film but don't have a darkroom. Was thinking of getting a scanner and, after scanning and editing the negs, having the prints done at Costco. I drive 20 minutes once a week and rent a darkroom at an art studio but that's getting old fast.

Also, was considering getting a medium format and 35mm film scanner but the good ones start at around $2k so I'll probably go with a higher end flatbed, like an epson 4870 or canon 9950F. The biggest print I see myself making is 8x11 so I don't think a $2k scanner justifies such humble requirements.

How to best unseal 5000 empty sealed envelopes

grateful — Mon, 21 Jun 2004 06:18:39 -0800

Several years ago, I bought two huge boxes of standard envelopes from Costco, thinking “Isn’t this great? I’ll never run out!” I stuck them in my basement and completely forgot about them. I found them the other day, but now they are all sealed (due, I suppose, to humidity and time). Is there any way I can unseal 5,000+ empty envelopes?

Big Ticket Costco

vito90 — Mon, 12 Jan 2004 08:24:37 -0800

Does anybody else here have really, really bad luck with quality for "big ticket" (say over $50) items from Costco? [more...] I'm a frequent Costco shopper and it seems like I am forever returning stuff because it breaks after a short while. These items span from electronic (MP3 players, a computer printer) to housewares (a gas grill ceased to work after 3 months, and a coffee maker) to sporting goods (A golf driver that literally fell apart in my hands on the first trip to the driving range).

The interesting thing is that these are not Costco's "Kirkland" brand, but actual big name brands like H-P.

Don't even get me started on the horrendous watches I've bought there (Swiss Army and Fossil...)

Just wondering if others have had this experience and why we keep going back?