'Rip Off Britain' alive and well at Costco

marliepanda

geerex wrote: »

I seem to remember reading somewhere that Costco US staff were paid a good bit more than min wage. Don't assume.

And Costco UK staff are not? Anyway UK operational costs are higher, fuel is just one cost, plus you have to pay all your delivery drivers extra, anyone involved with getting stock, costs of contractors are higher, cleaners, security staff etc etc etc

geerex

marliepanda wrote: »

And Costco UK staff are not? Anyway UK operational costs are higher, fuel is just one cost, plus you have to pay all your delivery drivers extra, anyone involved with getting stock, costs of contractors are higher, cleaners, security staff etc etc etc

If you care to look at my post in the context of the thread, I was using the US Costco staff as an example of how their pay wasn't in the bracket of the US minimum wage thus further strengthening the OPs point that it's not a wage issue that contributes to the UK being "ripped off".
Try to engage your brain next time before jumping in with a snippy post.

marliepanda

geerex wrote: »

If you care to look at my post in the context of the thread, I was using the US Costco staff as an example of how their pay wasn't in the bracket of the US minimum wage thus further strengthening the OPs point that it's not a wage issue that contributes to the UK being "ripped off".
Try to engage your brain next time before jumping in with a snippy post.

And my post about UK operational costs was snippy why? Considering the OP was apparently looking at a promotional cost this all seems fairly moot anyway as he is misinformed

geerex

marliepanda wrote: »

And my post about UK operational costs was snippy why? Considering the OP was apparently looking at a promotional cost this all seems fairly moot anyway as he is misinformed

The whole "and Costco UK staff are not?" bit was quite abrupt. Almost as if you were implying that I was saying that they were minimum wage for some reason. Moot indeed.

[Deleted User]

Loads of reasons:
Trade agreements between UK/Non-EU are different to US/Rest-of-world
Local tax isn't usually quoted in prices in the USA
VAT is typically higher than USA local taxes
Staffing costs will be different, even land costs will be wildly different

Those Americans might be paying less for stuff - but there are some astronomical price differences for their healthcare and education.

Bowling_4_Gold

Costco's policy is a maximum 15% markup on all merchandise.

Bear in mind the group has over 650 warehouses in total, 26 of which are in the UK (just under 4%!), the majority of the rest being in America.

Costco's probably bought in massive bulk with delivery to a distribution centre in the US- meaning Americans are going to get the best price as they aren't paying additional shipping on top.

To get it to the UK there's going to be a significant shipping cost- especially when the volume of product that you're shipping is likely only a mere 4% of the total order.

Exile_geordie

Ahh I have so missed threads like this where the OP gets taken apart