[billethkid]

Apparently it is more about location....it cannot be "the mix". Just go to Sam's any day of the week or any time.....it is always very busy.

Any way that is what the girl friend of our gardener's third cousin said he heard from one of the cashier's kids.......

[Mumbles]

Originally Posted by ColdNoMore

In two words...HECK YES!


As to the questions on "what's the difference between Costco and Sam's," I've found that while Costco reputedly carries less products (SKU's) than Sam's...their general quality is much higher.

It is not unusual at all, to find high-end/luxury products at Costco, whereas I find Sam's has pretty much what you would find in Walmart...just at different quantities.

What also makes Costco fun...is the 'Treasure Hunt' aspect of it.

Their expertise on shoppers psyche is second to none, which often makes me spend more money than intended (getting out of of Costco without dropping less than $200 on things I didn't know I needed...is hard).

Costco rotates their inventory often, so if you don't buy that really good deal on a quality/luxury product now...it may not be there the next time.

Then, of course is their rotisserie chicken...which has a cult following of its own


Costco Chicken (carve here)




And last, but certainly not least, is that I find Costco employees to be generally happier & more helpful...than other warehouse store employees.

Which is most likely due to the fact that they pay and treat their employees well.

11 More Reasons To Love Costco (poke here)




Did I mention that...I LOVE Costco?

Amen sister/brother! I was just thinking the same: quite happy personnel, more employee-customer involvement; BIGGER chickens; a superior wine selection (beats some ABC stores); very good choice of electronics; superior staging of items; great card checkers at the doors; ya know, it's really worth traveling an hour to the nearest Costco to get these warm-and-fuzzies. You just don't get much of it at Sam's at Lady Lake, although it has its good points.

[Mumbles]

Bwahahaha! Rotfl

[Halle]

There are two Costcos in Anchorage, Alaska population less than 300k state population less than 800k. I believe demographics are more important to Costco than population.

[Fishers2tall]

Originally Posted by coffeebean

I know this may sound silly but....As far as I'm aware, Costco is the only warehouse/store that has 4 1/2" wide toilet paper and it is Charmin brand. Believe it or not, that extra 1/2" in width makes the toilet paper sit on the toilet paper holder without it moving side to side. It stays put!!!

Coffeebean you may think your comment sounds silly but you have helped bring great clarity to an important goal of mine!

I now hope to someday have a life in which the hardest problem I have to deal with is the toilet paper sliding back and forth too far on the holder! Well that and I would like to hit at least 70% of my greens in regulation! Then my life would be perfect!

[coffeebean]

Originally Posted by Fishers2tall

Coffeebean you may think your comment sounds silly but you have helped bring great clarity to an important goal of mine!

I now hope to someday have a life in which the hardest problem I have to deal with is the toilet paper sliding back and forth too far on the holder! Well that and I would like to hit at least 70% of my greens in regulation! Then my life would be perfect!

So glad I can help!

[Fast Freddy]

O.K. this is real information: two weeks ago during our regular Costco visit I tried to post that 2 different employees told us that Costco is looking for property in Ocala (probably near a freeway as usual). A manager said that 50% of the work force need to be local residents and 50% are transferred in to train on the spot so things run smoothly.
That is really the latest info. direct from the Lutz Costco.
Looking for property sites is a basic step but it doesn't guarantee selection. We can only hope that the powers to be will consider Ocala as viable.
By the way, have you noticed Sam's Lady Lake removed the Customer Service desk? Its now a small square with long lines and phone calls are now answered by the liquor dept. who also must service customers, that why they never answered my phone call. Yes, Costco is handsdown superior to Sam's.

[npwalters]

Originally Posted by EdFNJ

From Wikipedia: "The Huntsville metropolitan area's population was 417,593 in 2010, making it the second most populous metropolitan area in the state. The Huntsville metro's population reached 462,693 by 2018."

Lot's of technology (and tech workers) and lots of military bases (military families) and lots of businesses catering to them who buy what they sell.

How big is "The Villages Metropolitan Area"? We got Ocala, Leesburg, Lots of beef herds, Okawaphunka and and Howey in the Hills. Lot's of part-time and full-time old folks too. It's not just the town where they locate it's the demographics of what is all around it including industry, technology, retail and other things they consider..

I stated the population of the city, not the metropolitan area. The major discriminator is that TV population is seasonal. I prefer Costco but don't expect to see one until well after there is a 4th square south of the turnpike.

[New Englander]

Originally Posted by coffeebean

I know this may sound silly but....As far as I'm aware, Costco is the only warehouse/store that has 4 1/2" wide toilet paper and it is Charmin brand. Believe it or not, that extra 1/2" in width makes the toilet paper sit on the toilet paper holder without it moving side to side. It stays put!!!

Another good thing about the 4.5" toilet-paper is it is helpful if a person has a wide labanza.

[ColdNoMore]

Nope, ain't gonna do it.

I'm not THAT bored yet, to bring out a tape measure...for toilet paper.

[ColdNoMore]

4 inches width...exactly.

[coffeebean]

Originally Posted by ColdNoMore

Nope, ain't gonna do it.

I'm not THAT bored yet, to bring out a tape measure...for toilet paper.

You don't need a tape measure. Just look at the packaging which has the dimensions of the roll.

In fact, the Charmin I purchase at Costco has the width of the roll highlighted on the packaging. That is what caught my eye a few years ago and how I discovered the wider rolls. I won't buy anything else other than the 4 1/2" wide Charmin at Costco.

[Viperguy]

Way better. Don't want to drive? Buy online.

[EdFNJ]

Originally Posted by npwalters

I stated the population of the city, not the metropolitan area. The major discriminator is that TV population is seasonal. I prefer Costco but don't expect to see one until well after there is a 4th square south of the turnpike.

Yes you did, but my point was, the size of the city where they put up a building is meaningless, it the population and type of areas all around them. They could build in a city with pop 32 because property may be very cheap but within 3 blocks the next city has a pop of 1/2million so the fact they built in PODUNK but not here is not relevant. What surrounds Podunk (or here) is. The perfect example is Costrco in WInter Park FL, pop 30,000 but looks what is around it. Yes, seasonal is def a consideration but what is around us (cows, steer & Leesburg and just about nothing else) is a major factor as well.

[JoMar]

Putting a Costco here, in my opinion, won't greatly impact their profitability since everyone that loves Costco seems to be driving to their locations. Why build a store here when their customers are going to them any way. Now, start dropping memberships and if it's significant, might get their attention.