Although merchandise from Costco is affordable and already 87 million worldwide are obsessed with it. But who doesn’t like to save up more money!. Among other wholesale retailers worldwide, Costco remains one of the largest known wholesale retailers for more than 40+ years. Costco is famous for its bulk quantity merchandise which they sold at deeply discounted prices to their annual club members. Trusted by nearly 87 million people worldwide, and the reason for their immense popularity is, that members of Costco who pays either $55 or $110 annual membership fee enjoy a bulk shopping experience, which means if you go inside to buy toilet paper there’s a high chance that you will be coming back carrying sweatshirts, a bunch of snickers or with things that interests you. Let’s see ‘what the CEO Of Costco shares tips that will help you save money
CEO Of Costco Shares Tips That Will Help You Save Money
W. Craig Jelinek The CEO of Costco for 10 years is well aware of the needs of Costco’s customers and has shared some insiders in an interview with Clark Howard. These tips from the interview will help you save some money the next time you’ll visit Costco.
1. Look For Numbers:
The next time you go to Costco, give a close look at the price tags written on the merchandise, you will surely end up getting a good deal. If you look at items that are priced at $10.97 or $20.97, that’s a marked-down price. It means that they didn’t make a good buy and they don’t want to fool anybody. Also, if you encounter 00 at the end of an item’s price, it refers to the last one there.
2. Keep your spending in check
It is easy to get distracted by all the special offers that Costco provides and get lost in buying things that you had no intention of purchasing. It profits them but it sucks if you are on a budget and get lost in purchasing trail. But don’t worry there’s another tip to help you out of this situation as well. Clark recommends that customers on a tight budget should shop without a cart and buy things that they can carry. In that way, you will only buy the necessary things.
3. No repetition of Merchandise
People tend to get burned out seeing the repetition of the same items months after months. Thus, a lot of merchandise disappears from the warehouse in a few months. Once an item is unavailable, that will not be available anymore.
4. The Big Differentiator
What makes Costco better than its competitors? There aren’t many price differences on items like toothpaste, shampoo, shaving creams, and stuff like that with other competitors. But in products like meat, bakery, flowers, and other detailed items shoppers will see a big price difference from Costco’s other competitors.
5. Kirkland Signature
Kirkland Signature in short KC is Costco’s private label. There are plenty of items shoppers will find in the store under that label. The interesting thing is most of the Kirkland Signature items are made by top brands and repackaged for Costco and they are sold for a much lower price. Duracell, Huggies, Tuna, Grey Goose, Macallan 18, and Craft Beer – are some of the top brands which are repackaged under Costco’s private label.
6. Bulk Buy
To get rid of food wastage Costco has downsized some items and divided them into usable portions. Costco’s old 15lb grapefruit bag got cut into half, which gave them higher sales and less food wastage. They did the same with chicken breasts, frozen fish, peanut butter, and condiments. It helps the shoppers to bulk buy items and store them without wasting them.
7. Return Policy
Costco offers a full refund policy on most of the items except a few. They value customer satisfaction if you are not happy with your purchase bring it back and they’ll provide a full refund. They even care about your $55 and $110 membership as well.
Favorite Item of W. Craig Jelinek (CEO of Costco) From His Store
With an unbreakable button and KC tag on it, Jelinek’s favorite item in the whole store is the T-shirt. According to him, it’s a very well-made shirt and by far the thickest shirt he owns, which costs around $17.99.
Conclusion
Costco is the most addictive retail store worldwide, as it provides so many exciting offers to the members that no one can resist. All the exciting offers make it hard for one to keep track of their budget while shopping at Costco. The above-mentioned tips by the CEO will help the shoppers in upcoming purchases by being reasonable with their spending and saving more money.
Frequently Asked Questions
- Can Costco hold up against its online competitors?
Although two of Costco’s biggest online competitors are Amazon and Walmart, the CEO of Costco does not seem to look worried much. Costco is just doing fine in the online world as well. The CEO of Costco during his interview asserted “I don’t think Amazon is going to be a Costco, so you know, there’s room out there for both.” He is not competing with any other online retailers; he is just trying to do better every day than he did before.
- How to return merchandise from Costco?
You are unsatisfied with your purchase or have found some defects in the items. Don’t worry you can easily return your purchased merchandise only if: a) The purchase is done within 30 Days. b) It is in its original packaging with a Costco receipt.
- What are the markups in Costco?
Costco keeps a low markup compared to its competitors. Costco tries to keep its markup levels less than 15% on most of its products. They charge a minimum of 14% on their private labels and lesser on brand names.
- Are the employees of Costco well paid?
Costco not only cares for their shoppers but their employees as well. The employees of Costco are paid $13 an hour which rises by $23/$24 an hour, with health coverage and paid vacations. That is better compared to the competitive retailer market.
