should have a fee just to Look!

[daneiac]

I have not been a seller either online or brick & mortar for years now.

maybe a few sales on ebay the last few years, but not much..at the grocery store last week while shopping I run into an old swap meet associate and we chaated a few minutes..and he inforned me that the swap meet we set up at every Sunday upped the setup fee to $18.00 from $15.00 and the fee to park (shoppers fee) to $3.00 from $1.00..can you imagine the extra revenue ebay could pull in just to shop on ebay?..maybe have an ebay membership fee imposed for more corporate proft taking..

[simply-the-best-for-you]

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@coolections wrote:

Great idea. I think Walmart should start charging at least $5 to enter the store.

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I think WM should pay ME $5 to enter the store.  It wouldn't make me shop there any more often though 😀

Costco is one of the most beloved stores in the country, people rave about it, unsolicited, all the time.  I don't mind the membership fee b/c the prices really are super low.  They cap the amount of profit per item, I want to say at 15%, but I could be wrong about the actual percentage, which allows them to really offer great deals, but still make a profit.   It's a very unusual model for a US company & one that results in great consumer loyalty.  One of my favorite Modern Family episodes was about the gay couple discovering Costco.  It was hilarious! 

[maxine*j]

Hey, gimme a buck and I'll read your post.

🤡

.

[annadryl]

Maybe there should be a fee to post a thread too...

[maxine*j]

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@inhawaii wrote:

I never understood the whole (Costco) membership thing.

You want to charge me to shop in your store?

What if everybody cancelled their Costco membership?

Very brief and (over) simplified history:  At one time in the U.S., wholesale and retail were consided very different kinds of commerce, and there were actually laws regarding who could buy and sell wholesale. 

A guy named Sol Price, in San Diego, got around the regulations by creating Price Club, selling at wholesale prices with a membership fee required to shop there.  Originally, it was limited to business owners, then slowly membership was extended and, ultimately anyone could join.  We used to shop at the original store on Moreno Blvd. 

Price Club merged with Costco sometime in the early- to mid-1990s.

Previously, Sol Price had tried the same idea with something called FedMart, which originally was open only to government employees.  Before all this, he practiced law.

Sam Walton once said:  "“I guess I’ve stolen — I actually prefer the word ‘borrowed’ — as many ideas from Sol Price as from anybody else in the business.”

-

[eunster1313]

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@chapeau-noir wrote:

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@inhawaii wrote:

I never understood the whole (Costco) membership thing.

You want to charge me to shop in your store?

What if everybody cancelled their Costco membership?

A) Would they go out of business?

B)  Would they waive the membership fee and just raise their prices to reflect thew lost revenue?

I say B.

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The membership fee offsets expenses and enables Costco to offer very low prices by purchase of bulk quantity.  Our household of two, who are not big consumers, actually pay for the membership in probably two trips by purchasing bulk staples at discount.  It works out even better for families and organizations.  So basically, it's a good deal *if* one thinks their purchasing habits will offset the price of the membership.

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[coolections]

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@chapeau-noir wrote:

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The membership fee offsets expenses and enables Costco to offer very low prices.

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Correct and that is why it would not work on Ebay. Would sellers be willing to lower their prices 40% to get members to come buy their stuff?

[terrycece62]

Charge a fee to shop that's an awful idea

That would likely result in lower sales which would result in both eBay and sellers losing money

Not a good idea imo

[lepke1979]

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@inhawaii wrote:

I never understood the whole (Costco) membership thing.

You want to charge me to shop in your store?

What if everybody cancelled their Costco membership?

A) Would they go out of business?

B)  Would they waive the membership fee and just raise their prices to reflect thew lost revenue?

I say B.

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A) The majority of Costco (and Sam's) profit is via memberships (over 90% I believe). For the most part they break even or eek out a small profit from what they sell. And probably have some crazy relationship with vendors allowing them to return stuff even years later.

B) Hard to say since it's probably not a business model that can work well if they did that. It's actually similar to Sam's and Walmart. They don't or can't really compete with each other since one is focused on bulk and the other less so. But if I recall, Walmarts profit margin is ~1-5%. So maybe Costco can make it work.

[lepke1979]

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@eunster1313 wrote:

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@chapeau-noir wrote:

---

@inhawaii wrote:

I never understood the whole (Costco) membership thing.

You want to charge me to shop in your store?

What if everybody cancelled their Costco membership?

A) Would they go out of business?

B)  Would they waive the membership fee and just raise their prices to reflect thew lost revenue?

I say B.

---

The membership fee offsets expenses and enables Costco to offer very low prices by purchase of bulk quantity.  Our household of two, who are not big consumers, actually pay for the membership in probably two trips by purchasing bulk staples at discount.  It works out even better for families and organizations.  So basically, it's a good deal *if* one thinks their purchasing habits will offset the price of the membership.

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Put it next to my coffin.

[monroe67]

"We used to shop at the original store on Moreno Blvd. "

Hey, neighbor!  I went into that Morena Blvd. store a few times myself!

[forecastledistributors]

I have a better idea. Ebay should compensate you as a seller for providing content on their site.

[maxine*j]

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@monroe67 wrote:

"We used to shop at the original store on Moreno Blvd. "

Hey, neighbor!  I went into that Morena Blvd. store a few times myself!

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I live in Central Pennsylvania now, but have many good memories of San Diego -- including shopping at Price Club for amazing bargains.   Heck, you could get some sutff cheaper there than at the NEX!

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[maxine*j]

Marge Simpson at the Monstromart, commenting on the great price for 12 pounds of nutmeg...

I remember another episode where Lisa was begging to shop at a more environmentally and socially correct store and Marge replying, "I'm sorry, Lisa, but we can't afford to shop at a place with a philosophy."

😃

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[byrd69er]

Walmart should pay me $5.00 to enter their store. I'll pay more to shop somewhere else. 

[byrd69er]

BJs sends me $25 renrollment offers about every six weeks. 

Nope. Ain't gonna stand in a line of five people at the deli for 15 minutes to be served. I can walk up to the counter at Wegmans or Speras and be served in 45 seconds or less. My time is money too.  But now, BJs gets none of it....nor does,