Poll of the Day > Costco may restrict food court access if you don't have a mem card

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BUMPED2002
03/05/24 5:29:20 PM
#1:


I guess so!

https://www.the-sun.com/money/10570323/freebies-fume-costco-shoppers-food-court-rule-change/

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ParanoidObsessive
03/05/24 6:38:49 PM
#2:


I didn't even realize they let you into the building without a membership card.

I know BJs used to have someone checking your cards at the door. And you were only allowed to bring one person in with you (ie, one member and one guest). And I could have sworn Price Club/Costco used to do the same.

But it's been a long time since I've had membership for either.

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JixHedgehog
03/05/24 7:03:51 PM
#3:


I thought they enacted that a few years ago..?
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ConfusedTorchic
03/05/24 10:47:22 PM
#4:


Even so, some hailed the rule change, commending Costco for the decision to honor members and block non-members from getting "freebies."
"Hahahhahaha Costco aint f**kin around anymore. NO MORE FREEBIES!!!" someone wrote.
"MOOCHERS, BE GONE!!!"

freebies?

paying for food doesn't really seem like a freebie to me, random reddit commenter, but you do you homie.

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Entity13
03/05/24 11:00:52 PM
#5:


ConfusedTorchic posted...
freebies?

paying for food doesn't really seem like a freebie to me, random reddit commenter, but you do you homie.

I mean, Costco does have their free samples during the lunch rush, especially on the weekends. It used to be a good source of a free lunch when I was in college or in the last couple months of living in Utah. While I can't say I condone doing this, it's possible to let the card expire and still walk in, enjoy those samples, and leave without buying anything.

No need to use the food court, though. The sample stations tend to be around the back half of the store, plus a couple toward the front (by the trail mix, fruit snacks, etc.,).

I will also say, in my experience from years passed, the Costco food court only really asked you to bring exact change if you're buying without a membership.

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ConfusedTorchic
03/05/24 11:08:03 PM
#6:


yeah but this is specifically talking about just the food court, which aren't always even inside the main building

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Azn_Psycho
03/06/24 1:32:34 AM
#7:


JixHedgehog posted...
I thought they enacted that a few years ago..?


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adjl
03/06/24 8:52:21 AM
#8:


ParanoidObsessive posted...
I didn't even realize they let you into the building without a membership card.

I can't speak for every building, but the 3-4 I've been in all follow the basic layout of the lobby having two large doorways: one goes into the actual warehouse area and you need your membership to go through (though that's just flashing the card to a person, so an expired or borrowed card would work), the other goes behind the cash registers and mostly functions as an exit, but also leads to the membership desk and returns counter, and you can go through there without a card. In my experience, the food court has always been in that area behind the registers, so you can get there without having somebody check your card.

That said, since Covid hit they've switched to automated ordering kiosks instead of placing your orders with a person, and I would have already guessed that you'd need to scan a membership to start that process like you do with their other check outs (I can't actually remember the last time I bought food there, so I'm not sure if they do). To that end, adding a card requirement at the ordering stage is pretty trivial, if it isn't already there.

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Whargarble
03/06/24 9:38:47 AM
#9:


Makes sense. That food is sold at a loss, to get people buying things in the store. Non-members obviously aren't doing that.

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shadowsword87
03/06/24 10:58:06 AM
#10:


I think there's a law around here that says you're not allowed to sell booze that requires a membership card, our Sams Club will let anyone 21+ buy alcohol and also go into the food court.
I wouldn't be surprised if that's also a requirement.
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Archgoat
03/06/24 11:15:16 AM
#11:


I didn't realize you could before. My Costco's food court is currently closed for remodeling, which was a bummer as I was hoping for a cheap lunch yesterday.
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JixHedgehog
03/06/24 12:35:48 PM
#12:


There are a few pics floating around of kiosks where you have to swipe your membership card to order
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Venixon
03/14/24 3:21:08 PM
#13:


Well that seems lame. Though you can go in, if you're going in with someone else who has a card.

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grimhilde00
03/14/24 5:13:39 PM
#14:


did you know, here in the UK, you can't just get a Costco membership? you have to work for like the government, education, or healthcare.

my bf has a Costco membership from working in government, but he doesn't anymore (and unlikely to return), and I can't imagine losing that membership by stopping payment cause then it's like gone forever!

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Venixon
03/14/24 5:53:50 PM
#15:


grimhilde00 posted...
did you know, here in the UK, you can't just get a Costco membership? you have to work for like the government, education, or healthcare.

my bf has a Costco membership from working in government, but he doesn't anymore (and unlikely to return), and I can't imagine losing that membership by stopping payment cause then it's like gone forever!
What a dumb rule

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ConfusedTorchic
03/14/24 8:33:05 PM
#16:


grimhilde00 posted...
did you know, here in the UK, you can't just get a Costco membership? you have to work for like the government, education, or healthcare.

my bf has a Costco membership from working in government, but he doesn't anymore (and unlikely to return), and I can't imagine losing that membership by stopping payment cause then it's like gone forever!

inb4 someone scoffs and goes "nu uh there's probably a regular membership too"

https://www.costco.co.uk/membership-individual-questions

there is not.

costco in the uk really is just for businesses, which makes sense because an average person doesn't need a 50 gallon bucket of mayonnaise.

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grimhilde00
03/15/24 8:20:17 AM
#17:


apparently it used to be restricted in the US too

https://uk.finance.yahoo.com/news/why-much-harder-costco-membership-111548658.html

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kriem
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Devil_May_Cry
03/15/24 9:53:32 AM
#18:


Woulda ps2 mem card work?
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adjl
03/15/24 11:42:00 AM
#19:


ConfusedTorchic posted...
costco in the uk really is just for businesses, which makes sense because an average person doesn't need a 50 gallon bucket of mayonnaise.

It makes some sense, but I'm also not surprised that household bulk purchases have taken off to enough of an extent for Costco to be more open in the US. Suburban sprawl kind of encourages that, with it being less convenient to get to grocery stores (favouring large, infrequent trips over smaller, more frequent ones) and houses being large enough to store bulk food products. Even living in an urban apartment, though, my girlfriend and I go through smaller bulk purchases like frozen fruit quickly enough that we go every two weeks. There's quite a bit of middle ground between buying 50 gallons of mayo and buying a pint, after all, and Costco offers quite a bit within that middle ground (maybe not for mayo, but for other products). If you can get through 1-2 litres of mayo before it goes bad and you've got space to store it, getting a bulk discount makes sense.

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grimhilde00
03/15/24 1:52:45 PM
#20:


adjl posted...
It makes some sense, but I'm also not surprised that household bulk purchases have taken off to enough of an extent for Costco to be more open in the US. Suburban sprawl kind of encourages that, with it being less convenient to get to grocery stores (favouring large, infrequent trips over smaller, more frequent ones) and houses being large enough to store bulk food products. Even living in an urban apartment, though, my girlfriend and I go through smaller bulk purchases like frozen fruit quickly enough that we go every two weeks. There's quite a bit of middle ground between buying 50 gallons of mayo and buying a pint, after all, and Costco offers quite a bit within that middle ground (maybe not for mayo, but for other products). If you can get through 1-2 litres of mayo before it goes bad and you've got space to store it, getting a bulk discount makes sense.
the thing I've been using Costco here for is cat litter and cat food, since yeah not really sure what else to use it for. Either I don't see the point (stores are right near by) and/or don't have room to store it if it's a big bulk size.

and when I first moved, things like TV, vacuum, etc.

my bf likes to get gas for his car from there too though, and various other things.

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kriem
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adjl
03/15/24 3:01:36 PM
#21:


grimhilde00 posted...
the thing I've been using Costco here for is cat litter and cat food, since yeah not really sure what else to use it for. Either I don't see the point (stores are right near by) and/or don't have room to store it if it's a big bulk size.

and when I first moved, things like TV, vacuum, etc.

my bf likes to get gas for his car from there too though, and various other things.

In a lot of cases, Costco packages are only 2-3 times larger than what we'd get from the grocery store, but *much* cheaper (like those larger packages are the same cost as smaller ones would be elsewhere). Paper products, frozen fruit, some toiletries, tofu (we'd do meat if we had the freezer space, but 3 kg of meat is a lot), some baking staples (chocolate chips, cocoa powder, vanilla), butter, some veggies, sandwich meat, cheese... We're not buying like 50 lb bags of rice or anything else that might fall into the realm of bulk shopping that mostly only makes sense for businesses, but it still saves quite a bit of money without having to go too crazy with storage space. I've got the executive membership that gives me 2% cashback, too, so in years where I have to buy tires (which is cheaper there than just about anywhere else), my membership is effectively free. Then we use a regular store for stuff that we don't have the space to store, that we won't be able to use in Costco quantities before it goes bad, and/or that isn't appreciably cheaper at Costco.

Granted, my recollection is that grocery prices in the UK tend to be a lot lower than in Canada (owing in part to having more small, independent stores instead of having two corporations controlling almost everything, but also because transportation is so much cheaper in a denser country), so it wouldn't surprise me if there are fewer potential savings for you.

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grimhilde00
03/15/24 3:59:19 PM
#22:


grocery prices are much much lower here than the US but so is income (I took a 75% reduction compared to San Francisco lol..)

I haven't done the math, and there are issues here related with cost of living increases / inflation

but idk how that compares to Costco

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DeathMagnetic80
03/17/24 2:02:06 AM
#23:


They started doing that out here sometime during covid restrictions. But yeah, now there is a kiosk where you swipe your card and place your order, and the workers there just call your number when its ready. I guess whatever it takes to keep that hot dog combo $1.50.
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green_dragon
03/17/24 12:34:12 PM
#24:


I might be wrong, but I could've sworn costco still allowed you to shop there without a card, but they charge you extra. I might be making that up.

Edit: I just checked and I guess thats not the case

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adjl
03/17/24 12:38:56 PM
#25:


green_dragon posted...
I might be wrong, but I could've sworn costco still allowed you to shop there without a card, but they charge you extra. I might be making that up.

Maybe in some areas, but everywhere I've been you're expected to show your card on the way in (which consists entirely of flashing it at an employee who may or may not actually be there, so it's not exactly heavy scrutiny), and more importantly they scan the card before ringing up your order. If you don't have a card at checkout, I'm pretty sure they can't check you out.

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LinkPizza
03/17/24 12:41:19 PM
#26:


green_dragon posted...
I might be wrong, but I could've sworn costco still allowed you to shop there without a card, but they charge you extra. I might be making that up.

I think one of the subscription shopping places was like that a while ago Not anymore, though (AFAIK)

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Revelation34
03/19/24 11:17:58 AM
#27:


green_dragon posted...
I might be wrong, but I could've sworn costco still allowed you to shop there without a card, but they charge you extra. I might be making that up.

Edit: I just checked and I guess thats not the case


That would be illegal.

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SunWuKung420
03/19/24 6:16:03 PM
#28:


Why do I need a memory card?

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wwinterj25
03/19/24 7:08:20 PM
#29:


grimhilde00 posted...
did you know, here in the UK, you can't just get a Costco membership? you have to work for like the government, education, or healthcare.

I learned something.


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DragonClaw01
03/19/24 7:30:17 PM
#30:


ConfusedTorchic posted...
yeah but this is specifically talking about just the food court, which aren't always even inside the main building
Correct, in the warmer parts of the country, it is often outside. Although, this change was enacted many years ago. People can't resist the $1.50 hotdog I guess

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