I'm not sure I follow your line of thinking. a Costco sure as hell ain't a gated community feel, LOL. What it does is reward low prices, and they are definitely lower than others, low prices in exchange for a commitment to buy those things.Redbrickbear said:T-REX said:You're paying for access to the stock which is often a lower price than other retailers as well as they carry exclusive items both including their own brands & items from other companies that only sell that product through costco.montypython said:
Never understood why the average person would pay money to be allowed to shop somewhere.
You are forgetting one of the most important (and unsaid) sells points of a Costco type establishment.
Having to pay a price upfront keeps out the "Walmart types" in America and their class dysfunction.
Its similar to why people pay out the nose for gated neighborhoods and private schools.
In the America of the future everything will require you to pay upfront for the pleasure of normality
you aren't paying out the nose to buy things at CostCo and an annual fee of $70 is hardly at a price point to promote exclusion.