Apple Store vs. Costco

[MacGizmo]

Truth is I don’t think I’ve purchased an Apple product in store since the iPhone 4 launch. Online only since then.

I used to love going into the Apple stores. Now, it is an absolute last resort. Too crowded, no way to just run in, grab a pair of headphones (or whatever), and check-out quickly. Instead, you have to stand there for 15 minutes trying to find some idiot salesperson who will acknowledge your existence and stop putzing around on an iPad who will direct you to someone else who may or may not be able help you... eventually.

 

[MacGizmo]

I was there this morning. It was quite busy and the samples weren't out yet. Fridays are generally nuts at Costco as people shop on Friday to avoid the absolute zoo there on the weekends.

Yeah, if I have to go on a weekend, I get there about 15 minutes before they open so I'm one of the first in the door – it's not too bad then. But if you don't get there until an hour or so after they open, you're just completely hosed.

We've found Tuesday and Thursday during the day are good times for the Costco near us, but I'm sure it's different for every location.

 

[pshufd]

Yeah, if I have to go on a weekend, I get there about 15 minutes before they open so I'm one of the first in the door – it's not too bad then. But if you don't get there until an hour or so after they open, you're just completely hosed.

We've found Tuesday and Thursday during the day are good times for the Costco near us, but I'm sure it's different for every location.

There's a possibility that they are going to open up a second Costco in our state. This would make life a lot easier for those in rural areas that have to drive an hour or more to get to the only one in the state. It would relieve some of the pressure on our local store too.

 

[Apple fanboy]

Yeah, if I have to go on a weekend, I get there about 15 minutes before they open so I'm one of the first in the door – it's not too bad then. But if you don't get there until an hour or so after they open, you're just completely hosed.

We've found Tuesday and Thursday during the day are good times for the Costco near us, but I'm sure it's different for every location.

If we go to any shops (and it’s rare these days), we are always there before they open. It’s almost never at the weekend. They open too late. Especially on a Sunday.

 

[AppleMango]

One thing to consider if you buy from Apple rather than a third party is that if you do have an issue with your machine after the initial return period, they are more flexible in terms of options open to them, mainly around replacing the machine rather than sending it for repair.

I always wondered if there’s a difference in service depending where the device was bought. Does anyone can back this up? Will I be treated better if the device was bought from Apple directly? What if the device was bought somewhere else but you added AppleCare from Apple afterwards?

Is there a hidden 2-class-system of Apple customers?

 

[Apple fanboy]

I always wondered if there’s a difference in service depending where the device was bought. Does anyone can back this up? Will I be treated better if the device was bought from Apple directly? What if the device was bought somewhere else but you added AppleCare from Apple afterwards?

Is there a hidden 2-class-system of Apple customers?

No. If you are within warranty, you are within warranty.

 

[Momof2.1107]

I always wondered if there’s a difference in service depending where the device was bought. Does anyone can back this up? Will I be treated better if the device was bought from Apple directly? What if the device was bought somewhere else but you added AppleCare from Apple afterwards?

Is there a hidden 2-class-system of Apple customers?

Nope it’s the same as if I purchased the device from Apple. I buy my daughter’s iPhone from her service provider for the deals and add AppleCare either online or on her phone. I still receive the same service whenever I go into an Apple Store for service.

 

[returnZero]

I thought there was a law saying you can't sell used items without informing the customer it's been used.

hmm... plot thickens

 

[Sweet_Caroline]

FYI Costco also extends warranty to 2nd year. Apple gives 1 year.

I got my current MacBook from Costco and found this out, it’s pretty cool.

 

[InvertedGoldfish]

The question is why do you need the return window to be so long?
Choose your product. But your product. Job done.
Neither offer a warranty that’s any different from each other. Just buy from your preferred supplier.

If it’s a good product, why do they need to make it so short of a window?

 

[ndouglas]

Costco offers a 90 day return period because it can. As do Target and Walmart (on general goods, not tech/electronics).

Outside of jurisdictions where lawmakers choose to regulate things like return policies, or warranties, companies are free to set their own policies, and how they do so is driven by competition and marketing.

In most places, it is not compulsory for retailers to offer return privileges. They do only because other stores do, and it would place them at a disadvantage not to.

Costco is a membership club, and every person walking through their doors wanting to make a purchase must flash their membership card, or a gift card that has been purchased by a member. Memberships start at $60/year, generate billions in revenue, and enjoy high retention rates.

Their stores are no-frills warehouses, and their model is to deal in volume, direct purchasing, and store traffic.

Aside from liberal return policies, Costco also offers loss leaders like a hot dog+drink meal for $1.50, 3lb roast chickens for $5, and cheap gas to drive traffic to their stores.

That is their business model, and how they compete.

Quite different from a maker of luxury electronics that erects fancy brand temples in high rent shopping districts and malls, encourages shoppers to linger (even if they don't want to, because they can't find a T-Shirt to help them check out) catering to a clientele that places experience, and personal service and support above pricing and store policy.

There is overlap in those groups, and the good thing is that there is also a place for both types of stores in the marketplace, with consumers free to choose which they patronize based on their own priorities.

It should also be noted that a few years ago, after being kicked out of Costco's stores, Apple was only allowed to back after negotiating a new agreement, presumably with terms more favorable to Costco than Apple itself. Access to Costco's membership was valuable enough to Apple for it to make whatever concessions it did to return to Costco's stores.

Great writeup and summary of Costco, I agree. I didn’t know the last part about kicked out of the stores… I assumed they started getting Apple stuff only when it started becoming very popular, mid-2010s or so..? Before that they had only PCs for a long time in terms of laptops… just my impression at least.

 

[Apple fanboy]

If it’s a good product, why do they need to make it so short of a window?

Because as I said earlier, the longer the window, the more returns, the higher the price for us all.
Can you really not decide if a product is right in the first few days of ownership?
Not sure how good the product is has any relevance.
It’s either right for you or it’s not. Doesn’t take three months to work that out does it?

 

[InvertedGoldfish]

Because as I said earlier, the longer the window, the more returns, the higher the price for us all.
Can you really not decide if a product is right in the first few days of ownership?
Not sure how good the product is has any relevance.
It’s either right for you or it’s not. Doesn’t take three months to work that out does it?

So if less people returned iPhones Apple would drop their prices???

If you believe that I got a bridge to sell ya 😂

 

[Apple fanboy]

So if less people returned iPhones Apple would drop their prices???

If you believe that I got a bridge to sell ya 😂

So if more people returned them you think the price would stay the same?

If you believe that I got a bridge to sell you!

 

[InvertedGoldfish]

So if more people returned them you think the price would stay the same?

If you believe that I got a bridge to sell you!

If more people return them, they probably suck, and I wouldn’t care what the price was lol

Personally I don’t return good products, I don’t have that much free time

 

[TheIntruder]

They used to give away t-shirts on grand openings.

I've been gifted one of those shirts, with the translucent blue logo and the store name.

The OS X Public Beta CD I have somewhere around here I waited in line for myself.

Great writeup and summary of Costco, I agree. I didn’t know the last part about kicked out of the stores… I assumed they started getting Apple stuff only when it started becoming very popular, mid-2010s or so..? Before that they had only PCs for a long time in terms of laptops… just my impression at least.

It was longer ago than I remembered -- December 2010. Time flies.

"The chain is phasing out Apple products, per a mutual agreement between the companies, Galanti told The Seattle Times. Costco had sold iPods and pre-loaded iTunes cards for years, although never at huge discounts; and Apple never allowed Costco to sell its products online like other retailers, he said. "In the past couple months, we agreed to wind down."

Apple spokeswoman Amy Bessette said the company has no comment."

They didn't reach a new agreement to return until mid-2014.

I've been purchasing Apple products for longer than I care to remember, mainly personally, but also professionally.

People who complain now about Apple's policies, and business practices would have a hard time dealing with how the company used to operate, when Apple products were only sold through a network of authorized resellers, most of whom eventually went out of business once Apple decided to sell direct, and tech became mainstream.

Apple had a very strict MAP policy, discounting was rare, and whatever loopholes retailers found to offer lower prices was constrained by the small margins. You'd be grateful for a 5% discount, or any sort of discount.

Unlike today, there were no Apple Retail stores to complain about, Amazon and online sellers didn't exist, and the notion of tech goods being sold at a mass market retailer like Target, Walmart, or Costco was fanciful, though paradoxically, there was a time when one could buy an Apple //c and others at Macy's.

Pre-Cook, supply issues were common, so that spiffy new model didn't even ship for months afterward. The Wall Street PowerBook ordered took so long to deliver, it had been superceded by a WS II model by the time it arrived. Which turned out to be fortuitous, given the issues the first series had.

Now, discounting is common, even on newly introduced models before they hit the street, Apple is big and successful enough to not fear that its brand and values will be tarnished by price cuts and mass market retailers. It has managed to become mainstream, but also maintain an upscale image.

While it would be foolish to believe that Apple has let go of the reins entirely, a heavyweight like Costco does prove that it can't bully everyone, and operate entirely on its own terms.

 

[pshufd]

If more people return them, they probably suck, and I wouldn’t care what the price was lol

Personally I don’t return good products, I don’t have that much free time

I've never returned an Amazon product and I've been a customer since the 1990s. I absolutely hate packaging something up and going to UPS. My wife used to shop at Home Shopping Network and gave me stuff to return which meant going to UPS and, at some point, I told her that I'd rather just eat the cost than return something. I drop of clothes and shoes that don't fit at the clothing donation box at my gym.

In general, I'm just super-careful about what I buy to avoid the need for returns.

I buy Apple products because they have a good track record for me in making quality products.

 

[Night Spring]

I absolutely hate packaging something up and going to UPS.

Amazon recently started a "no package" return service. You just have to take the item you are returning to a nearby UPS store, and they do the rest. It's so quick and simple, I absolutely love it. Obviously not available for all items, and probably only available in some areas, but you should keep an eye out to see if that option is available.

 

[pshufd]

Amazon recently started a "no package" return service. You just have to take the item you are returning to a nearby UPS store, and they do the rest. It's so quick and simple, I absolutely love it. Obviously not available for all items, and probably only available in some areas, but you should keep an eye out to see if that option is available.

My UPS Store is 13 minutes away. It's in an area that I normally do not go to. It is overall far more efficient to make sure of your purchases than to waste 45 minutes of your own time along with all of the other time that others spend in returning and repackaging goods.

 

[Night Spring]

My UPS Store is 13 minutes away. It's in an area that I normally do not go to. It is overall far more efficient to make sure of your purchases than to waste 45 minutes of your own time along with all of the other time that others spend in returning and repackaging goods.

But some things you just have to try to know what it actually feels like, no? I just bought and returned a watch strap. I spent so much time looking through all the products on sale, read a ton of customer reviews, but ultimately, there was no way to really know if the watch strap would work for me other than to see and handle the actual item myself. Same with things like clothes and shoes.

 

[pshufd]

But some things you just have to try to know what it actually feels like, no? I just bought and returned a watch strap. I spent so much time looking through all the products on sale, read a ton of customer reviews, but ultimately, there was no way to really know if the watch strap would work for me other than to see and handle the actual item myself. Same with things like clothes and shoes.

My Garmin Fenix 5+ came with 2 watch straps: titanium and silicone. The titanium band has links which you remove to make it shorter and it also has fine-tuning posts which are easy to change. What I do with clothes and shoes is to watch the video reviews carefully.

 

[InvertedGoldfish]

I’ve returned a couple things, but hardly any compared to what I’ve ordered over the years, and the product has to be pretty bad or different from the description for me to do that

 

[Apple fanboy]

But some things you just have to try to know what it actually feels like, no? I just bought and returned a watch strap. I spent so much time looking through all the products on sale, read a ton of customer reviews, but ultimately, there was no way to really know if the watch strap would work for me other than to see and handle the actual item myself. Same with things like clothes and shoes.

I almost never buy clothes or shoes online. Not unless I’m buying a newer version of some older ones I’ve had.

 

[ascender]

No. If you are within warranty, you are within warranty.

Yes, a warranty is a warranty, but we've seen two occasions where Apple swapped a faulty MacBook Pro on the spot, during the warranty rather than sending it for repair. They were only willing/able to do that because they were bought from Apple, not a 3rd party.

Its not a separate "class" of repair, but under certain circumstances, it gives the Apple Store more options.

 

[Momof2.1107]

Yes, a warranty is a warranty, but we've seen two occasions where Apple swapped a faulty MacBook Pro on the spot, during the warranty rather than sending it for repair. They were only willing.able to do that because they were bought from Apple, not a 3rd party.

Its not a separate "class" of repair, but under certain circumstances, it gives the Apple Store more options.

I only go to Apple alone for this rather than Best Buy or any other 3rd party.