Costco is testing out a new system for entering stores
Bad news if you’re mooching off of someone else’s Costco membership: The retail giant is cracking down.
When you enter Costco, you need to show your membership card to an employee to shop. Costco membership cards are non-transferable, but the company allows members to give a second household card to one other person in their home. Anyone with a card can bring up to two guests to the club during each visit, the company stipulates.
But Costco has noticed that non-members have been sneaking in with membership cards that don’t belong to them — particularly since Costco expanded self-checkout.
Costco recently started asking for shoppers’ membership cards along with a photo ID at the self-checkout registers, the same policy as regular checkout lanes, to crack down. “We don’t feel it’s right that non-members receive the same benefits and pricing as our members,” Costco said in announcing the change.
And now, Costco is testing out a system that requires members to scan their membership cards at the store entrance — instead of just flashing the card to employees. Shoppers have spotted the new scanners at a store in Washington State and posted photos on Reddit.
Sure, but why should you have to pay for the privilege of shopping there in the first place?
Because it's part of what allows them to keep costs down. If you're only going to go once or twice a year, they're losing money on you. They need a way to compensate for unprofitable shoppers, and a bit of sunk cost to keep the regulars coming back.
Still, I tallied up my last Costco trip with the equivalent of the same items at our regular grocery store and came up about $35 cheaper, that's already a decent chunk towards my membership cost and doesn't include cash back. In capitalism, that's about as close to a win-win as you can get.
Because they offer something that other stores cannot. Why do you pay for any privilege that you pay for?
No, they offer the same things other stores offer in larger quantities so the per item cost is lower. You're paying for that. Movie theaters offer something other businesses don't. Would it be acceptable for them to require you to have a movie theater membership before being allowed to buy a ticket or popcorn?
…you just admitted that you’re paying for a benefit. What are you even arguing here? If other stores do not offer larger quantities where the per item cost is lower, then that’s the benefit you’re paying for.
Movie theatres are a bad counter too. You can’t get into the movie theatre to buy popcorn without a ticket in most theatres. The ticket is your admittance in the same way the membership is.
You pay for a membership for the benefit of buying a movie ticket. What's the difference?
Some people do. AMC has a stubs rewards program that gives you discounts on tickets. Even if you don’t have that, though, you still have to buy a ticket to get into the theatre and buy popcorn and snacks. Without a ticket, you can’t get in.
Again- you have to buy a membership to buy a ticket in this scenario. Why do you keep avoiding that? Is it because you know that wouldn't be okay in pretty much any other setting but Costco and Sam's Club?
What are you talking about? In what scenario do you have to buy a membership to buy a ticket? The ticket is your membership.
It's a hypothetical. You know what those are, right?
It’s a hypothetical that has no bearing on the situation you’re attempting to comment on analogously. In the same way theatres restrict access to the concession stands for people who have paid for a ticket, Costco is restricting access to its warehouse for people who have paid for a membership. It’s not that hard of a concept. Your hypothetical analogy is proving you wrong.
You said that Costco's membership policy which means you cannot buy a thing in the store without paying for a membership makes sense because they offer something others don't.
Movie theaters offer something others don't. Why doesn't a membership policy where you can't buy a movie ticket without paying for a membership make sense?
I'm going by what you said.
No, you’re not. You’re ignoring the fact that the ticket is the membership. It is the cost of admission to use the other facilities, including the concession stand. Costco also has a cost of admission. It’s their membership fee.
Nope. A ticket is not a membership. You are not a member of the movie club when you buy a movie ticket.