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> How is it possible that they cannot give me an accurate inventory of the items in the stores near me? It's absolutely intentional. It means you have to brows

> How is it possible that they cannot give me an accurate inventory of the items in the stores near me? It's absolutely intentional. It means you have to browse the store. And if something piques your interest -- you know you can't wait to buy it "next time" since it might not be there.

tmoertel 3y ago
What it means is that I just buy it on Amazon rather than wasting my time to see if my local Costco has it in stock.
- fmajid 3y ago
  Except with Amazon I always worry if it’s a Chinese counterfeit that is going to burn down my house, whereas Costco only carries curated, top-notch items.
llm_nerd 3y ago
Costco has been trying to get adoption of their online selling platform, but their lack of real-time inventory is a massive impediment. I tried to use it a couple of times but it ends up being an endless back and forth with a picker who is trying to offer up substitutes for everything. Just gave up on it. Apparently Costco plans a fully separate online order picking area in one of their new massive warehouses. With that they won't have the uncertainty of shrinkage (Costco has a serious problem with theft), and of course the amount of inventory that is moving around the store in people's buggies. I don't think there is any intention to it, but it's just a legacy remnant of being a very successful B&M company where they would periodically do an inventory and figure out where they actually stand.
- rexf 3y ago
  Shopping at Costco is frustrating. It's fine for grocery staples (dairy, fruit, veggies, etc). But when it comes finding specific items in stock (and which aisle in the store), Target and Walmart are way ahead of Costco. Ordering something at Target for Order Pickup is very straightforward and convenient. For Costco, I guess they don't want you to just order 1-2 items for order pickup and be on your way. Not to mention, the parking lot situation at Costco is a major turnoff to going.
  - iinnPP 3y ago
    We also hated Costco parking. We go 1 hour before close and no longer have any problems with it. We also spend less time in line, aisles, receipt check, gas, and leaving. Costco also accepted an item return over a year later. To be fair, it almost caused a fire by turning itself on in the middle of the night.
  - ZeroSolstice 3y ago
    Its a wholesale club. The items aren't in permanent locations because they are making purchases in bulk when the price is advantageous to do so. This means they won't always have the same items all the time. The items you mention are in the same location regularly because the supporting infrastructure is permanent. Freezers for milk, desserts, the bakery and other products aren't going to move around very often. For online ordering where do you want them to store your purchase? The whole layout of the store is that all available inventory is on the floor since its a warehouse by design. Target and Walmart are retail designed stores which has a different purpose in mind. Seriously?, the parking is like any other store, there are peak and non-peak times.
- alvah 3y ago
  -Costco has a serious problem with theft The thread yesterday (based on another post from the same source as this one) said Costco had much lower theft (shrinkage) than rivals.
  - mikehotel 3y ago
    This article states as much: “Costco loses only 0.1% of revenue to theft annually. For context, that's 90% lower than Walmart's shrink rate.”
    - copperx 3y ago
      I have a hard time understanding how someone can steal something from Costco. Sure, it's not impossible, but it seems really hard. First, because of the size of the products themselves. It's hard to conceal them. And small items come in blister packs which are hard to open even at home. Second, because they have cameras and have almost every shopper's photo and address on file. Third, because they have the receipt checkers at the exit. I'd love to know how theft happens.
      - johnnyanmac 3y ago
        If I had to take a guess, it's more about policy than "they don't catch them". I doubt it's someone coming in, taking a TV and walking out. It's more like if an item or 2 "sneak in" and the checker just lets them go. It'd cost more money in congesting the line, grabbing security, etc. to contest that item than it would be to just let them go. They don't want to press charges on someone who spent $100 because they wanted to sneak some $15 pills by. All stores expect X% theft anyway and build it into the price of their item (or secure it better if it's a small, often stolen good, like tech). It's probably a cultural choice, though. Meanwhile, the Walmart down the street is much more aggressive on that stuff.
        sneak 3y ago
        Victims don't decide who is charged with theft. "Pressing charges" isn't a thing.

tmoertel 3y ago

What it means is that I just buy it on Amazon rather than wasting my time to see if my local Costco has it in stock.

fmajid 3y ago
Except with Amazon I always worry if it’s a Chinese counterfeit that is going to burn down my house, whereas Costco only carries curated, top-notch items.

llm_nerd 3y ago

Costco has been trying to get adoption of their online selling platform, but their lack of real-time inventory is a massive impediment. I tried to use it a couple of times but it ends up being an endless back and forth with a picker who is trying to offer up substitutes for everything. Just gave up on it. Apparently Costco plans a fully separate online order picking area in one of their new massive warehouses. With that they won't have the uncertainty of shrinkage (Costco has a serious problem with theft), and of course the amount of inventory that is moving around the store in people's buggies. I don't think there is any intention to it, but it's just a legacy remnant of being a very successful B&M company where they would periodically do an inventory and figure out where they actually stand.

rexf 3y ago
Shopping at Costco is frustrating. It's fine for grocery staples (dairy, fruit, veggies, etc). But when it comes finding specific items in stock (and which aisle in the store), Target and Walmart are way ahead of Costco. Ordering something at Target for Order Pickup is very straightforward and convenient. For Costco, I guess they don't want you to just order 1-2 items for order pickup and be on your way. Not to mention, the parking lot situation at Costco is a major turnoff to going.
- iinnPP 3y ago
  We also hated Costco parking. We go 1 hour before close and no longer have any problems with it. We also spend less time in line, aisles, receipt check, gas, and leaving. Costco also accepted an item return over a year later. To be fair, it almost caused a fire by turning itself on in the middle of the night.
- ZeroSolstice 3y ago
  Its a wholesale club. The items aren't in permanent locations because they are making purchases in bulk when the price is advantageous to do so. This means they won't always have the same items all the time. The items you mention are in the same location regularly because the supporting infrastructure is permanent. Freezers for milk, desserts, the bakery and other products aren't going to move around very often. For online ordering where do you want them to store your purchase? The whole layout of the store is that all available inventory is on the floor since its a warehouse by design. Target and Walmart are retail designed stores which has a different purpose in mind. Seriously?, the parking is like any other store, there are peak and non-peak times.
alvah 3y ago
-Costco has a serious problem with theft The thread yesterday (based on another post from the same source as this one) said Costco had much lower theft (shrinkage) than rivals.
- mikehotel 3y ago
  This article states as much: “Costco loses only 0.1% of revenue to theft annually. For context, that's 90% lower than Walmart's shrink rate.”
  - copperx 3y ago
    I have a hard time understanding how someone can steal something from Costco. Sure, it's not impossible, but it seems really hard. First, because of the size of the products themselves. It's hard to conceal them. And small items come in blister packs which are hard to open even at home. Second, because they have cameras and have almost every shopper's photo and address on file. Third, because they have the receipt checkers at the exit. I'd love to know how theft happens.
    - johnnyanmac 3y ago
      If I had to take a guess, it's more about policy than "they don't catch them". I doubt it's someone coming in, taking a TV and walking out. It's more like if an item or 2 "sneak in" and the checker just lets them go. It'd cost more money in congesting the line, grabbing security, etc. to contest that item than it would be to just let them go. They don't want to press charges on someone who spent $100 because they wanted to sneak some $15 pills by. All stores expect X% theft anyway and build it into the price of their item (or secure it better if it's a small, often stolen good, like tech). It's probably a cultural choice, though. Meanwhile, the Walmart down the street is much more aggressive on that stuff.
      - sneak 3y ago
        Victims don't decide who is charged with theft. "Pressing charges" isn't a thing.