Costco is basically boomers buying shit they don't need in bulk because they're afraid of dying, right?

[quote]I see these boomers with shopping carts filled with bulk items

Well, you'd only see them if you're at Costco as well, OP, so...

People sure do love that Costco. It’s like a religious experience for some or they want to belong in the cool kids go to Costco club.

Many older shoppers fully or partially support their (grown) children and/or grandkids now. It might be more of a "Conners" scenario than Sophia's subplot.

Boomers? More like the breeder crowd. And SEAs.

Uncalled for.

Not just boomers OP. Gen X too.

Boomers? Do you mean Gen X? They’re great btw

and you care, OP, because...you need all that Lysol to clean out your filthy mouth?

ladies and gentlemen - say "Hi" to OP, today's intergenerational shit stirrer.

[quote]People sure do love that Costco.

With Amazon causing a dearth of brick and mortars, r2, Costco provides a fun in-store shopping experience. It's no different than a department store.

I drink coffee at home and can get a box of pods that lasts me a month, and yes I drink coffee at home everyday. It’s all about if you have enough items that you consume habitually but reasonably, and does it actually save you money. You need at a few staple items for it to make some sense. Otherwise it’s a waste.

I find Costco useful. I don't enjoy being in there. I don't cruise the aisles. I stick to my list. I try to go when it's not busy (week nights, early in the week).

[quote] Costco provides a fun in-store shopping experience. It's no different than a department store.

I don’t remember hanging outside Macys at 10AM on a Sunday morning with a crowd of people waiting with shopping carts big enough for a baby hippo 🦛

Their Kirkland's cat kibble is fantastic. The annual fee is worth it for that alone (I have a T/N/R colony, and have regulars I feed at my neighborhood Jack in the Box).

I also stock up on my Dad's undershirts there; they're much better quality than Sam's Club/Walmart, Dollar General, or Family Dollar.

Thanks for reminding me I need to renew, OP!

[quote] The annual fee is worth it for that alone (I have a T/N/R colony, and have regulars I feed at my neighborhood Jack in the Box).

What color is the Subaru, and do you have a handicapped plate

We just spent $260 at Costco but yes, a shit ton of staples like TP, Paper Towels, huge box of coffee pods, booze, detergents, meat, vegetables... that's maybe once every 3-4 months

[quote]They're never going to use all that Lysol.

Maybe you won't use a two-pack (gallon-sized, but still) of Lysol... and it shows, OP.

What r11 said. Also, lots of Asians who own restaurants are in there. I also split a lot of bulk items with my mother.

Boomers? What about Gen X? I’m a Millenial and love Costco, as do my 33 and 27 year old sisters. It’s very convenient. We also do BJs.

They generally have very good quality electronics and kitchen paraphernalia. Much better than Sam's.

*

Another bone headed “observation” by a clueless OP- looking for attention?

[quote] We also do BJs

Family side hustle r18?

You're sooo astute, OP. Omg, you're brilliant.

They also have cheaper gas, if you care to wait in line for 30 minutes.

Hubby and I go to Costco about once a month and buy the basics: paper towel, TP, dishwasher pods, laundry detergent and the like. There are several items that you cannot beat anywhere else: their Parmigiano Reggiano is pretty much the best you can buy outside of a high-end cheese import shop and it's a fraction of the price; the maple syrup quality is without compare, and when it comes to stuff like Cetaphil, it's literally half-price compared to anyplace else because they sell the two-pack for the same dollars as what Walgreens or CVS sell a single bottle.

Beyond the basics, I love shopping at Costco; hubby not so much. He's a point-to-point shopper (and it'd better be on the list or it ain't going in the cart), I'm a wanderer. And although I'm generally a private person, if I see something in someone's cart that is interesting I'll chat them up. (It helps if they're a big, handsome furry man, so there is that.) People at Costco are amenable to chatting, moreso than in other stores. When my niece was little, she liked going on Saturdays for the free samples, so I'd load her, my mother and anyone who wanted to go and we'd wander around for an hour at lunchtime for a cheap date although they would find things they wanted so we rarely got out for under a couple $hundred. And to top it off, the employees there seem happy.

If your greatest fear (gripe?) is not using cleaning supplies before you die, I'd say you have greater worries than what people buy wherever they shop.

Yes because if you’re afraid of dying the first thing you want to do is buy a dozen rolls of paper towels.

When did “you’re afraid of dying” become the universal putdown?

It’s bizarre to judge anyone on how much Lysol one has in one’s cart. Their situation is different from yours, OP, but that takes self awareness.

Some have family members and neighbors with whom they split the bounty and cost savings.

Use your head for more than a dunce cap rack, OP. Enough of the MAGAtty generational divide and conquer tactic, too.

R27 something he’s never been able to get around to. He lacks self awareness

When you shit yourself as much as the average boomer you need 20 cartons of...

[quote]What color is the Subaru, and do you have a handicapped plate

It's actually a 2009 silver Pontiac Vibe, R14.

No handicapped plate, but back in 2011 I did fit 20 traps containing 29 cats in it, and transported them to local vet for spay/neuter.

I love my Vibe; she's a BEAST.

(However, when Vibe gives up the ghost, she'll be replaced by a dark green Subaru Outback, and it will be my fourth and final car.)

Prepper mindset. Scarcity programming. Manipulative marketing is everywhere. Even at regular stores, you are often forced (through lack of choice available) to purchase double or triple the amount you want or need . For example, paper towel and toilet paper brands now come in huge sizes and in packages of 8 or 10, and often the smaller packaging is unavailable. This is not only due to the pandemic; it was happening prior and only increased. This tactic has encroached into other product areas too. Also prevalent is being forced to purchase the generic, and of questionable quality, store brand because no other choices are offered. This isn't because of any actual shortage. This manipulated perception of scarcity pushes consumers in a specific direction to spend more money, cleverly disguised as saving money to buy more in one package. Or manipulating you to capitulate to buying generic store brands. All of this is deliberate marketing. In order to get the quality I want, even if I have to pay more, I often go to a company's website and order what I need online in the exact amount I choose. This doesn't work for perishables and produce, obviously, but I refuse to settle for substandard quality or be forced into purchase more than I need just because I'm being manipulated to do so.

OP, you might want to expand your mind a bit to realize that many of those shopping carts are full of items for commercial use, i.e. restaurants, motels, and other independently owned businesses that aren't branded corporations. That woman or man isn't just buying their own consumption, but rather for commercial purposes, re-stocking their businesses at the best prices available.

I just opened this and the Indigo Girls started playing on my Bluetooth from out of nowhere.

OP's point of comparison on her hard-hitting question is to reference "The Golden Girls."

OP knows nothing about how the world works

OP buys one roll of toilet paper at a time; most likely from a 7-11.

R33 OP doesn't want to expand his mind. He wants to shit on people.

Happily, most of the respondents here are shitting on him.

This is what OP really wants. Is OP Erna?

Costco pisses me off because you can’t use your cellphone for internet in there. They not only don’t have WiFi, they block your phone company, too. Even in the parking lot, it’s maddening.

People buy for each other. Families split the bill. I always saw women there who were obviously sisters and you knew they were going to split the products when they got home. “Here’s half of the sweet and low, here are half of the paper towels and napkins…”

And now...

A lot of small businesses buy for their office supplies too.

Hilarious that OP mocks baby boomers while referencing "The Golden Girls" to support her "argument" that boomers are afraid of dying.

OP watches "The Golden Girls" but cunts on about "boomers."

Oh, the irony.

[quote]Hubby and I go to Costco about once a month and buy the basics: paper towel, TP, dishwasher pods, laundry detergent and the like. There are several items that you cannot beat anywhere else

Also excellent and excellent value: jarred pesto, organic salsa, kalamata olives (HUGE jars around $7), and sauvignon blanc (it's Kim Crawford for less than half the price).

I buy for multiple people, OP.

Plus, I also buy for my club when it’s our turn to host get togethers.

It’s cheaper

I love Costco, but the one thing I don't get are the people who RAVE about eating there. It looks like your standard junk food pizza and hot dogs. It doesn't seem like much to go on and on about. Am I missing something?

I've never been there, but I don't blame folks for trying to save.

The kirkland lunch meat turkey is really really good for the price. It works out to be cheaper by the ounce than crappy discount brands and it's actually edible. The snapdragon pho bowls are great. IDK if they're still selling them but they used to have these chicken sausages in the deli that were a very good deal. The refrigerated tamales are a good deal too. Sometimes I get the box of hardboiled eggs because I know I'm too lazy to make a lot of them.

I'm in Europe and Costco hasn't taken off here despite trying to. I wonder if part of it is because a lot of people just don't have the room to store these bulk buys (most things from cars to roads to homes are way smaller in Europe). ALDI and Lidl are pretty good at selling things cheap by cutting the frills.

I buy for our Moms For Liberty group when we host our orgi…I mean, meetings

I love their chicken rolls and pizza

R49 That’s exactly the reason my Euro friend. I wish I lived in London so badly.

I have no self control there.

Their strategic positioning of impulse items / loss leaders is a Dr. Evil a level of in-store marketing.

I pulled a Kramer one too many times so I had to disavail myself of my membership.

Truth be told I do not miss it.

Nah, I think they’re buying the extra for all their older kids and grandkids who won’t leave home or who are breaking into the Boomers’ basement rumpus rooms trying to.

r10, you'd save even more if you bought reusable coffee pods that fit your machine with some filters and just bought bagged coffee. You can get over a months worth of coffee with one $15 bag. Plus, no pods for the landfills!

I find a two pound bag of shelled green pistachios rather life affirming from the red dye pistachios of my youth.

I think boomers are the generation that likes to stock up. The have full fridges and pantries all the time. My Mom never understood my empty fridge or that I would only go to the grocery store when I needed something, but wouldn't do shopping for a week. I don't know any other GenXer, which just might be my group, who keeps a well stocked anything - except a bar.

Stocking up is a bad thing? Being stocked really helped me when Covid hit.

Yes, OP, surrounding oneself in 48 rolls of 2-ply toilet paper and 700 k-cups keeps the grim reaper away.

I enjoy going to costco sometimes. I usually will walk in, see how the check out lines are and that determines if it's worth it for me to shop there.

I love the Kirkland green tea and their halibut filets when they have them. That's the one thing that annoys me...I'll find something there that I really like and then it's gone. Some of their clothing is ok. Not great, but not terrible either. And it's a good place to buy appliances and furniture. Most of my furniture I got from Costco including a really great bedroom set.

Their bulk drugstore section is addictive.

I've never been in a Costco.

I let my card lapse two years ago. The membership cost far outweighs my annual savings as a SGM.

I get OTC medication there. Sometimes I just order it online, but if I’m in the area I’ll go there to get gas and go inside to pick some up.

I use Kirkland version of Zyrtec - a year’s supply for less than $20. Meanwhile CVS was selling a month’s worth for $22.

Also use their version of Prilosec and Pepcid. I have killer reflux.

During covid I went there once a month and get free covid test kits because I’m on Medicare,

Use AREDS vitamins for my eye health, which isn’t good.

Used to use a certain vitamin D gummy they sold, but they stopped selling them.

Used to go to their optometrist every year when I wore contact lenses but my presbyopia corrected my nearsightedness so I don’t bother with contacts anymore.

My husband buys food for himself and my son there, I don’t. The foods I like mostly aren’t carried by Costco and if they are, they’re too big. The cakes look good, but we’re only 3 people.

At Halloween I buy boxes of full sized candy bars.

No, not boomers. Fraus and lots of Asians.

I rarely see older white people at my local Costco. Mostly it’s middle-aged Chinese speakers, or people from India who bring their extended family with them. The former are very brisk and do not dawdle, but the latter tend to shop at a glacial pace, four abreast in the aisles while discussing every single item before putting it in their cart.

So weird. My brother and his wife made a production of going there. Just two people buying giant cases of paper towels and TP.

😘😉R34!

Op is STUPID

My Momma says Costco's is "the happiest place on earth and fuck Disney!" when she's had too many G & Ts.

I stopped buying the OTC meds and vitamins because they usually expire before I can use them up. And with some of them, buying the store brand generic is much cheaper than the brand. Except for Tylenol. I always buy the brand on those.

Our Costco is a huge slice of humanity. Everyone is there. Straight couples, Gay couples, old people, middle aged people, men shopping alone or with kids, and women shopping alone or with kids. I see Middle Eastern, Indian, Asian, Latino, White, Black, etc. I love it.

Gen X here. Since I’ll need glasses, tires and probably a new iPad this year, I joined up again. Plus, someone said the travel deals are good too.