You can go online at Costco. Your membership card will be mailed to you within days but you can actually shop at the online store immediately.
As mentioned before, you do not have to be a costco member to shop at Costco. You can also renew your memberships online and pay for your purchases and membership together. You can call the customer service center at to fax or mail you an application.
The application can be brought to the Costco stores in person or you can mail it at this address:. Holiday is coming up so you can actually ask your friend or relatives to give you a membership gift certificate from Costco. If they are going to give you a gift anyways, it does not hurt to give recommendations on what you want for Christmas, your birthday or anniversaries.
This is what we gave to our co-worker when her birthday came up. Through the years, these bulk retailers have expanded and started to offer several other items, including electronics, vehicles, and vacation packages. These two retailers generate revenue from merchandise and product sales and membership fees.
These memberships get you into the store and allow you to shop at the discounted prices online. More importantly for Costco and Sam's Club, these memberships help create store loyalty. If you're paying to be a member somewhere, you're more likely to go. In this article, we'll look at how the business models of Costco and Sam's Club are similar, but also breakdown why they are also very different, including prices, locations, and brand selection.
Costco is considered the original bulk retailer, opening its first location in San Diego in Since then it's been selling bulk goods through its warehouse-style stores, cornering the market in many states. Costco had stores as of the end of the fiscal year ended Aug.
The company has been aggressively opening new warehouse stores over the years. In the fiscal year , Costco opened 16 stores, while it opened 25 in both and In terms of states where Costco is concentrated, it has stores in California, almost four times its number two state—Texas with Meanwhile, the state of Washington has 32 Costco stores.
Costco also has stores outside the U. This includes stores in Canada, Mexico, Japan, China, and other countries. Costco's U. Gold Level Executive members also get other discounts and benefits and the Costco Connection magazine. It's worth noting that Costco also offers a business-focused membership. This includes two tiers as well: Business and Business Executive. One of the key benefits and perks of Costco's memberships is access to its fueling stations which often offer lower prices than other fuel stations , pharmacy, photo center, and rental car options.
For business customers, Costco offers partnerships with payment processing, health insurance, bottled water delivery, and check printing services. Costco also has a co-branded credit card for members. The card, which offers tiered cashback, is considered a solid credit card for those that shop at the retailer. The co-branded card offered by Costco and Citi can be used anywhere credit cards are accepted.
Finally, it's worth noting that Costco sells more private branded goods than Sam's Club. As a shopper, you'll likely find more brand-name items in Sam's Club. However, Costco offers its popular private brand Kirkland in its stores. Costco's private brand products, such as Kirkland, are cheaper than name brand products but are made by many well-known companies, such as Starbucks for their coffee and health care products company Perrigo for their formula.
Costco is a publicly-traded company under the ticker symbol COST. It has several smaller subsidiaries , such as Costco Travel and Kirkland brand products, but aside from that, the company has not branched out into a broad range of other brands and stores.
Financial positioning-wise, Costco is well-positioned. As far as business models, they're very similar—both sell memberships to a store where customers buy bulk items.
One key difference is that Sam's Club did not expand to the same areas and product categories as Costco. Sam's Club operates stores across the U. There are a few ways to shop at the retailer without paying the membership fee. See more stories on Insider's business page. Membership clubs like Costco are known for huge savings and a variety of items available in bulk.
To access all of the savings, customers typically need to become members. But, there are a few ways to access Costco without becoming a member. Order delivery through Instacart, though prices won't be as low as in-store. Go with a member. Members are allowed to bring in guests, although you need a membership to check out.
Use a Costco Cash Card, which works like a gift card and must be purchased by a member. If your local Costco has an optical department , you also can book a cost-effective eye exam with an on-site optometrist without a membership. And if you're hungry afterwards, you can swing by Costco's in-store food court.
Depending on your circumstances, even something that's well-priced at Costco may not make sense for you. Because Costco often sells products in bulk, you need to be able to eat any perishable food before it goes bad, for example. Even if you head to Costco regularly, you need at least one other place to shop as well: "Otherwise, I'm willing to bet you're buying enough things that aren't good deals that you're kind of wasting the savings you're acquiring. If you're a devoted coupon clipper, you may be better off, in many cases, at your local grocery store.
That's because Costco doesn't accept manufacturer coupons , although they do have their own coupons and promotional offers. You don't need to be an Amazon Prime member to take advantage of this service.
It lets you save up to 15 percent on items, many of them sold in bulk, that you can select to be delivered automatically at a desired interval. Don't miss: 9 foods and grocery items you should always buy at Costco.
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