Can someone kinda explain Costco to me?

I’ve gotten a bit in the habit of checking a store’s website if there is something I particularly want from there. What with stocking issues these days, but I didn’t yesterday, so smart n final was out of the big bottle of pure vanilla extract. So today…Costco. The only place I saw that had big bottles. I checked their website first and it showed a double pack of vanilla of both their brand and also Nielsen-Massey. Woot! Jackpot! Except no. It was a single not double pack of their brand and Nielsen-Massey was no where to be found. I’d doubled checked the website and excluded anything out of stock, but both showed in stock, when in fact they didn’t have either configuration.

Also, super difficult to find things there. Vanilla wasn’t with say flour and sugar, and cinnamon wasn’t with either. I asked 2 employee, but they didn’t know where stuff was either. I ran across cinnamon and maple syrup after giving up and on my way out. Yes, I bought only 3 items because I either couldn’t find something or it was more expensive than the grocery store. I had some chicken pot pie from there at a neighbors and thought to get one, but it was as big as a pizza and nearly $30 — how many people are eating these things in one sitting?

Is there a method to where they hide stuff besides walk the whole store? I did score cheap gas, but Costco is not nearby, so I’m not really seeing a reason to go there.

ps
just went to dump costco vanilla in with what’s left in my smart n final bottle. Had to stop myself. The Costco had barely any smell compared to the old stuff. It took three tries to smell anything at all. Decided not to mix in case it’s not worth using. I already know the cinnamon isn’t good compared to penzey’s, but will wait to see if it can even compare to whats left of my store brand. What is happening here?

I don't go as often as I used to. I like their vanilla. Strange. I think the spices and vanilla are together. Their brand olive oil is VERY good when it comes in for the harvest year.
To ask where something is I usually go to the front and ask there--they can look it up--and also whether it is in stock.
I will say that their guarantee/warranty on big ticket stuff is the berries. I had a TV that went kaput after about 2 years (this isn't their warranty now) and didn't have the receipt even. They looked it up--3 year warranty--and I returned it!!

With a big family Costco has been important to us. As we moved around the country we used all of the big clubs we had available: Price Club, Costco, BJs, Sam's Club. Two things that have been consistently great are the rotisserie chicken (the chicken pot pie in your pic is made from it) and the $1.50 hot dog deal at the food court. These are "loss leaders" for Costco meaning they keep the price down to get customers coming back. There are a bunch of articles online about the $1.50 hot dog deal. There is even a legendary story about the founder of Costco where he was passing the baton of leadership of the company and told his replacement that if you ever raise the price or stop selling the hot dog deal I'll kill you.

But the two reasons we kept going back to Costco and not some of the others was 1) the quality was always very high 2) easy return policy. It is only in the past few years where I've noticed any downside in quality. Costco gas is also usually a little cheaper than anywhere else you can find in town.

When one of my sons was in college my wife gave him a Costco card and he'd take his friends regularly to get the hot dog deal as a way to keep themselves fed inexpensively. He'd also buy some of the bulk food to cook and feed himself and roommates.

I don't have Costco (closest one is in Greenville, SC--2 hours away) and I can't use bulk items anyway. What am I going to do with 64 oz of olives?

But recently Publix moved into town from down South...souther than our south. It's a Florida store is what I'm saying and they use the exact same floor plan in each of the newer stores--so all the Floridians currently vacationing here can shop with their eyes closed.

I use their app because when I select my items from the sale list, it goes into a list and that list shows me what aisle that particular item is stocked at. Now I have found certain items that are on the weekly sale list but not found in my store. I asked a manager and he said that the sale ad is predominately generic for all the stores, with only certain items specific to each store. So the item I'm looking for may be in the Asheville or Weaverville Publix store, but not in mine.

Maybe that's how Costco does their websites? Or maybe their software just sucks?

Also, being the devils advocate, since you had such a long case of COVID affecting your taste senses, maybe you need a second opinion on whether the vanilla and spices are weaker.

I’m betting you’re right, but it wouldn’t hurt to confirm.

marilynfl said:

Also, being the devils advocate, since you had such a long case of COVID affecting your taste senses, maybe you need a second opinion on whether the vanilla and spices are weaker.

I’m betting you’re right, but it wouldn’t hurt to confirm.

Click to expand...

I compared the Costco bottle to what I had left of the smart and final bottle. The Costco had barely any smell compared to the strong rich multi floral notes of the s&f stuff. I never lost smell with covid (though taste went wonky). I’ll keep checking to see if s&f comes back in stock. I also got a bottle Nielsen-Massey for special items from whole paycheck, so I should be covered for now. I didn’t dare compare the smell of that w Costco. It just seems Costco quality isn’t what it once was.