[luv80s]

Is Costco the same like Sams Club? We had a membership to Sams Club way before the kids but didnt really benefit from it. Really, how much beef jerky and check mix does one person need? Apparently my husband thought we needed it, haha. Now though with two kids it might be a good thing to have a membership to Costco. Does anyone know if they sell diapers and formula in bulk?

[nancny]

Not being able to walk 5 blocks to go to the supermarket is something I've wondered if I would miss. Probably, at least in the beginning, but I'd adjust.

I'm curious, in NYC many people I know (sometimes myself included) shop online. I buy quite a few books, for instance, through Amazon even though I can go in any direction and find a Barnes & Nobles. We even have an order online/delivered-to-your-door online company called Fresh Direct. I don't use that because I like to pat and touch my food. In NYC, I think we do that because it is crowded!

With the price of gas and limited time, don't Vermonters take advantage of the many online shopping choices? When I consider coming up that way, I think of being able to buy a significant amount of stuff from the Internet.

[chaz longue]

Originally Posted by luv80s

Is Costco the same like Sams Club? We had a membership to Sams Club way before the kids but didnt really benefit from it. Really, how much beef jerky and check mix does one person need? Apparently my husband thought we needed it, haha. Now though with two kids it might be a good thing to have a membership to Costco. Does anyone know if they sell diapers and formula in bulk?

They are different as night and day.

[pucabear]

Originally Posted by chaz longue

They are different as night and day.

How are they different?

[made in vermont]

Originally Posted by nancny

Not being able to walk 5 blocks to go to the supermarket is something I've wondered if I would miss. Probably, at least in the beginning, but I'd adjust.

I'm curious, in NYC many people I know (sometimes myself included) shop online. I buy quite a few books, for instance, through Amazon even though I can go in any direction and find a Barnes & Nobles. We even have an order online/delivered-to-your-door online company called Fresh Direct. I don't use that because I like to pat and touch my food. In NYC, I think we do that because it is crowded!

With the price of gas and limited time, don't Vermonters take advantage of the many online shopping choices? When I consider coming up that way, I think of being able to buy a significant amount of stuff from the Internet.

I don't think I would miss walking the five blocks home with an armload of grocery bags though.

As for the online shopping thing, I know I'm guilty of it. It takes away business from the downtowns sure, but at least the ups drivers are busy.

[flu189]

On line shopping is definately growing in volume each year and in many ways it is the best and most cost effective way to shop. Several times a year I'll purchase items this way, on sale, no tax, free shipping, no need to travel to pick up the merchandise, etc. This will for sure further increase the plight of the traditional local retail merchant which I agree is regretable, but just as in business so goes persoanal life where the bottom line and budget are critical. This past week I did go to Sears to pick up an item I actually needed versus just wanted and was lucky enough to get it on sale, but in the past few years my trips to retailers has dropped off considerably. To be honest, I can't really remember how many years it has been where I just went from store to store to just browse.

[vter]

Most people I know do some online shopping...mostly for things that we can't get around here - especially LL Bean (unless if you live near the Upper Valley, where there is a LL Bean store in West Leb)!

[chaz longue]

Originally Posted by pucabear

How are they different?

I won't pretend to be entirely objective about this, pucabear - but for me the experience at Costco is much more pleasant for a number of reasons.

Before I mention a few though, I'll note that in an article aol has up which was provided by Consumer Reports, (easy to find and full of data) it's mentioned that Costco's average hourly wage is $17.25, and the turnover rate is a low 17%. But the article mentions that when CR asked Sam's for some information, almost none was given by Sam's. CR is left to quote the spokesperson as saying the Sam's rate is "not necessarily the same" (as WalMart's $10.11 average wage for full timers) and refusing to answer other simple questions...

As I mentioned above, pucabear, I like Costco because the people who work there seem happy and helpful, the staff actually know a lot about the goods, the prices are astonishingly low, and the goods they carry are things I go looking for when I get in the car to begin with. Now there are certain things I value which I don't see elsewhere. The merchandise they carry seems of a high quality overall, and not merely chosen to save a penny entirely at the expense of quality. They even sell some local products, which pleases me. I'd guess the turnover rate at the Costco I go to here in VT is lower then the national average, but of course I could be mistaken.

I go to the various local supermarkets from time to time (few retailers carry the coffee I'm addicted to, so I go where it's sold ;-) and I seldom feel as good as I do when I leave Costco. And whenever I visit the world's largest retailer, I just feel as though I've wasted my time.

Hope that helps,

David Beckett
Burlington VT

[luv80s]

I wish I had your shopping experience Chaz. My local grocery store and a few other places I shop...well, lets just say some of those people there aren't the brightest crayons in the box, lol. Many are unhelpful or lazy. It bugs to me to know end when you ask one of them a question about a product or need help locating something and they shrug there shoulders and say "I dunno" and leave it at that. Like thats it, they can't help you. Or when a store has about hundred employees that day and the one time you need their help, they seem to all have disappeard and you can't find anyone. Its weird...

[luv80s]

By the way, where is Costco?