First of all, I don’t take any offense to the request, however it isn’t something Costco would ever consider. It actually goes against Costco’s business strategy.
Let me try to explain: the thing people love about Costco (other than their amazing employees😉) are the quality of products we carry at the prices we carry them for. In order to do that we have to do one main thing. Keep overhead low.
We don’t ship store to store. We don’t do extended hours. We don’t do all the bells and whistles other retailers do. Our CEO doesn’t take home million dollar salary.
Instead we focus on giving the best costomer service under this basic structure. And for the most part, we do a great job at it. Costco has zero advertising budget. It’s all word of mouth, and that’s made us the second largest retailer in the world.
Here’s what Costco does by keeping the overhead low. They guarantee no item in the store will be marked up more than 15%. Sam’s will never offer such a guarantee. Because of that, they will often discount their membership, since they will make it up in product sales at 40% markup or more. It also means Costco can’t price match other stores because stores often put an item at a loss to bring traffic into the store, knowing they will make it up with other items that have been marked way up. This is called a loss leader, and Costco finds it unethical so we don’t ever do it.
I know I’m explaining a lot, but those who don’t know the great things Costco has to offer often look at the things Costco doesn’t do in comparison with other retailers without understanding why it’s so important to maintaining what Costco is.
But I still think you should really consider becoming a member. Like I said, your membership is guaranteed, so if you try us for a year and don’t feel you got your value out of your membership, just ask for a refund before the year is up. It’s literally risk free. We also guarantee satisfaction on everything we sell. Just a few time restrictions on certain electronics, but if you are t happy with your meat or produce or anything else, just bring it back.
Here’s what I buy Keto there: bulk coconut oil, avacado oil, eggs, bacon, pork belly, nuts, cheese.
Right now our gas is selling $.20 cheaper than anyone else locally (except Sam’s which is in a gas price war with us). Most members will tell you the price of gas alone pays for the annual membership.
And here’s an idea that may help with your hemp hearts. No promises though. While it’s up to a regional buyer what each Costco sells in his or her region, the warehouse has some room to make requests to the buyer. They will only do this if they feel there is strong local demand. You have to understand that a Costco only carries about 4,000 products at any given time (compared to 200,000 at supermarkets). So we can’t give in to every members request. But my store had gotten in a couple things based on member requests. So if you have friends who are members at your Costco, you could start a suggestion campaign. Fill out a suggestion card every time you are in and have your friends fill it out too. If they see there is enough local demand, they may contact their buyer.
I can’t do this for you as it must be locally generated. And I wouldn’t because I don’t purchase hemp hearts so it would be inappropriate for me to ask for them. But I do encourage you to try if you become a member.
One last thing, ask your Costco if they carry them seasonally. Seasonally to Costco means something a little different than most places. Because of our limited ability to carry a lot of items, many are deemed seasonal which means we only carry them a few months out of the year. So we cycle many items. It could just be that they don’t have them right now but will later.
Hope this helps. As you may be able to tell, I really love my company. It’s the best I’ve ever had experience with and I love sharing it with others. Certainly not everyone will feel the same, but with the membership guarantee, it’s well worth trying.
