The Big Box Capital Of Canada!

[Proof Sheet]

Originally Posted by MolsonExport

Indeed. The nearby Dumbcentre Walfart has the most soul-sucking McDonald's that I ever saw anywhere. No windows. White walls and stark overhead florescent lights. A couple of large photos of fries and a gussied-up big mac (not even remotely like the overpriced sad sandwich that you get with a greasy thumbprint on the bun). Overflowing garbage bins. Grotesquely overweight Duck Dynasty customers with bratty kids (perhaps sporting a faux-hawk) running amuck. The sound....of grill/food timers going off for hours. Disheveled copies of the London Free Press (aka, conservaturd bird cage liner). Luke Bryan singing about a "big black jacked up truck" on the PA speakers.

Perfect description. I think you've been to Wallyworld/Sprawlmart more times than you care to admit.

Agincourt Mall is complete with its Walmart. It was previously a Woolco.

[stevanford1]

Originally Posted by Proof Sheet

Perfect description. I think you've been to Wallyworld/Sprawlmart more times than you care to admit.

Agincourt Mall is complete with its Walmart. It was previously a Woolco.

MallWart.

[manny_santos]

Originally Posted by Proof Sheet

Perfect description. I think you've been to Wallyworld/Sprawlmart more times than you care to admit.

For those of us in London “Wally World” is a former waterpark that is now the site of London’s big box pride and joy.

[urbandreamer]

I'm not against Costco because it's a large American corporation but rather because it sells mainstream junk.

[Innsertnamehere]

Mississauga everyone:



Hearltand Town Centre. A suburban Mall in a strip plaza format. The worst of all worlds.

To me Peel Region feels the most suburban and car reliant of all the 905 municipalities, even though it actually has the highest transit ridership. Its suburbs on steroids, filled with 6+ lane roads, detached subdivisions with backyards to the main roads, and strip plazas the size of small cities.

[MolsonExport]

yeah, you can't forget the Fartland Centre. Horrible place.

[goodgrowth]

Originally Posted by urbandreamer

I'm not against Costco because it's a large American corporation but rather because it sells mainstream junk.

Mainstream junk? The everyday stuff that people need?

I'd say the overwhelming amount of stuff Costco sells is of better quality and more use to people than a lot of other stores.

If there is an offender of "selling junk" it's somewhere like Dollarama where the business model is selling cheap small low-quality/borderline disposable items in high volumes.

[wave46]

Originally Posted by urbandreamer

I'm not against Costco because it's a large American corporation but rather because it sells mainstream junk.

My only beef with Costco is that it does promote the idea of buying more than one really needs. That's an industry problem, not a Costco one per se.

Generally, the products it sells are quite decent. It treats its employees well.

I just don't need Costco-sized quantities of stuff at this juncture in my life.

[CityTech]

Originally Posted by MolsonExport

Even the membership is a steal. The reason is to keep out the casual shopper that pops in for 1-2 items (Costco wants you to buy by the [prickup*]truck load). I have executive membership. Costs me $138/yearly, but I get a voucher worth 2% of my annual purchases, which more than covers the membership costs.

*not a typo. I am amazed, almost every day, just how many assholes are out there on the road with their prickup trucks. I am not talking about people who need the trucks for making a living (I once had one myself back when I worked in a different occupation) or that have a need to haul a lot of things about; rather I am talking about the deporable assholes that act and drive like total fucking jerks, all the time. Yesterday, some asswipe in a prickup truck was rolling coal in the parking lot of the nearby SmartCentre. I shit ye not.

This is precisely why I'm not a Costco guy. I like to go shopping every other day or so and buy a handful of things each time. I hate bulk shopping and "big shops". Not surprisingly, the smaller "urban format" supermarkets are my favourite places.

[esquire]

I like Costco's prices and quality but I limit my visits there to a few trips a year just because of the sheer hassle of the place. From the short hours to the eternally jammed parking lots to the crowded aisles to the long lines, I find it a grade A pain in the ass. I'm always happy with what I come home with (and what I eat while I'm there), but the process sucks.

At least with Walmart I can go shopping at 8:30 pm once my kids are in bed and when the store is nearly empty and find what I want in peace. And for what it's worth I find the "People of Walmart" thing doesn't hold true in Canada... the dumpiest Walmarts in Winnipeg are still nicer than the Walmarts even in relatively posh American locales. Then you go to a Walmart like the one on Taylor Avenue and it's downright classy.

[stevanford1]

Originally Posted by CityTech

This is precisely why I'm not a Costco guy. I like to go shopping every other day or so and buy a handful of things each time. I hate bulk shopping and "big shops". Not surprisingly, the smaller "urban format" supermarkets are my favourite places.

I don't buy groceries at Costco because my house cannot handle the amount of stuff you can get, but it's a godsend when you need a lot of something (for example food for a party or hardware related stuff)

[WhipperSnapper]

I was at Costco for the first time in a long time. I no longer see a price advantage buying in bulk there.

Ajax Ontario is a big box heaven. Durham is less than half(?) The population of Peel so it gets overlooked and Ajax is a small part of Durham. As far as i can see, Big box is the only option.

[dreambrother808]

Originally Posted by WhipperSnapper

I was at Costco for the first time in a long time. I no longer see a price advantage buying in bulk there.

Well, simple mathematics tells me this isn’t true. I shop at Costco regularly and still go elsewhere for specific items. The only competitively priced place is Superstore, and perhaps Walmart but the quality and selection there is not for me.

[dreambrother808]

Originally Posted by urbandreamer

I'm not against Costco because it's a large American corporation but rather because it sells mainstream junk.

Yes, milk and eggs are just mainstream junk. Who needs to eat anyways? Peasants, all of you.

[le calmar]

I heard lots of things about Costco but I have never heard someone complain about the quality of the stuff they sell there. Even their house brand (Kirkland) is generally considered to be decent to good.

[MolsonExport]

I like Costco precisely for their quality. Their private label food (Kirkland Signature) is the golden standard for quality for house brands. Way better than President's choice, even. Do they sell a lot of junk? I don't think so, most of what they sell is comparatively well made compared to the absolute crap sold at Walmart and Canadian Tire (where mostly everything is total junk). I suppose Costco sells a lot of unnecessary products. True. I don't go down half the aisles.

Electronics? Mostly bought at Costco and the Apple Store, with smaller amounts from Amazon.
Groceries? Easily 50% bought at Costco.
School supplies, books? 50% bought at Costco.
Gasoline? Costco.
Pool stuff (salt, shocker, etc.)? 50% Costco (they don't sell stabilizer, alas)
Appliances? 50% Costco or Costco.ca
Clothes? Very little from Costco (this is where they suck IMO). Maybe briefs, athletic socks, from time to time.

When I was a bachelor, I rarely went to Costco for the reasons stated by others: I did not have the space in my apartment, and when I lived alone the quantities made no sense. Also I didn't always have a car (which was a hindrance when I lived in downtown Montreal. so I sold it).

Marriage and two kids...Costco makes a lot of sense. By far the best quality bang for my buck. Yes, I hate the crowds (still way, way better than Walmart or even Superstore), I hate the parking lot...but I live rather close to a Costco, and they probably get half my grocery dollars (the other half goes to the fancy independent, exorbitantly-priced markets that my wife enjoys, mostly for fresh produce and upscale products; and some local farmer's markets, which I like when they are in season).

[urbandreamer]

If you've got a specialized diet Costco sucks: I've got celiac disease ... their gluten free selection is horrid. I don't eat frozen or processed foods or red meat. If I buy canned tuna/salmon it's from Raincoast. I like my eggs fresh and local. I buy organic meats and vegetables from local Mennonite farmers (sold at Goodness Me for example) and fish from T&J's seafood in Kitchener. I go to No Frills or Valumart for specialized PC organics/lactose free dairy products, Sobey's has an extensive gluten free selection; in Toronto I split my $ between Whole Foods, Organic Garage, Sweet Potato, Metro and No Frills.

[WhipperSnapper]

Originally Posted by dreambrother808

Well, simple mathematics tells me this isn’t true. I shop at Costco regularly and still go elsewhere for specific items. The only competitively priced place is Superstore, and perhaps Walmart but the quality and selection there is not for me.

Probably true when the only examples you provide are the other big box national brands. I buy local. I've done the math too. There used to be a reason for me to fight parking lot traffic jams, long check out lines, oversized purchases all within the beautiful ambiance of large format big box interior design. Not anymore.

I can also go get a bespoke suit in the most luxurious fabrics from a well established tailor for less than the mass produced, scratchy name brands. You just have to have a lot more patience.

[SaskScraper]

Originally Posted by theman23

That and American cities just seem to support more of these big box stores. Pretty much every city of around 100K gets a Costco, and if you've got 10K you're getting a Walmart. In Canada, getting to 10K gets you a coming soon sign for a Home Hardware.

Costco seems fairly disproportionate in their distribution in America, California has quarter of all USA Costco warehouse stores. States like Mississippi, Wyoming and the home of Walmart, Arkansas etc don't have a Costco location.

https://www.rd.com/advice/saving-mon...os-in-country/




In Canada Costco seems fairly evenly dispersed.



I would never shop at Costco myself but since family, for as long as I can remember, would routinely shop at the Med Hat Costco. I only have a card because of family, I'd never buy the membership by choice.

Costco has been in the UK not as long as in Canada but my husband has always liked some things at Costco and it's no further than to Walmart, Superstore, Save-on-Foods etc in Saskatoon.
Costco has good deals on some things/Kirkland items but more expensive on others, just got to price check elsewhere while shopping.

https://www.rd.com/culture/ways-cost...spending-more/

[Djeffery]

Sam's Club (owned by Walmart) has about 10% more stores in the US than Costco does, and has a much larger presence in middle America (the Walmart heartland). They have a smaller presence on the east coast and a much smaller presence out west.