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by khurs22 hours ago |
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upvoteby 55556247 hours ago|
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> Here membership is unusual in that it isn't technically open to everyone, it's business and certain professions:

Price Club, a Costco predecessor was the same way.

In the early 1990s, Walmart (Sam's Club) wanted to merge with Costco. Costco said no and merged with Price Club.

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upvoteby rahimnathwani13 hours ago|
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FWIW you can use your US membership in the UK.

I ordered a dishwasher from Costco UK last week.

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upvoteby thijson5 hours ago|
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I used mine in Iceland too. It was one of the cheaper places to eat there. Still expensive though compared to the USA. I heard that the Costco hot dog and a soda is still $1.50 in Hawaii, that's a bargain.
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upvoteby frollogaston17 hours ago|
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USA Costco does also have a business wholesale side
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upvoteby doginasuit21 hours ago|
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That's interesting, what do people have to do to get membership?
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upvoteby fmajid20 hours ago|
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Have a limited company or be in a baroque list of occupations:

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

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upvoteby jephs19 hours ago|
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What on earth is the point of limiting membership to such random and specific groups?
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upvoteby fmajid10 hours ago|
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They have an equally baroque list of people who can vouch for you in passport applications:

https://www.gov.uk/countersigning-passport-applications/acce...

Reminiscent of Borges' list: https://thewhippet.org/the-whippet-134-those-that-tremble/

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upvoteby saratogacx17 hours ago|
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Government Regulations[1]

> According to the Costco U.K. website, memberships to those stores are only available to certain groups of people. Since the store is classified as a wholesaler, this complies with the U.K.'s wholesale store laws. These dictate that wholesale stores are only accessible to those working for select business sectors.

[1] https://www.thedailymeal.com/1483679/costco-uk-membership-re...

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upvoteby names_are_hard5 hours ago|
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It's funny when quintessential American business models bump up against foreign regulations and they have to find workarounds to keep in line with the law while trying to stay true to character.

Not long ago I was in a Five Guys in France. There was a sign saying that by law free refills are not allowed, please scan the qr code to fill your cup. I guess there was a qr code on the receipt, I don't know, as far as I can tell there was no enforcement and people just kept filing up their drinks like true Americans. Let freedom ring, I guess.

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upvoteby insane_dreamer2 hours ago|
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TIL there is Five Guys in France (I thought they were only in the US)
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