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Malls are dead. What happens if Amazon also kills Costco, Sams Club and BJ’s?

Photo above – Luke Wilson and Maya Rudolf prepare to shop at Costco in the 2006 film “Idiocracy”

Streaming is killing cable, because of cable box subscriber fees. Could the same happen to warehouse clubs like Costco and Sam’s Club? How many annual or monthly fees will someone endure before surrendering? Cracks are starting to appear in the façade. Costco is offering "limited time deals" on membership. (See link below).

Warehouse club annual memberships cost from $50 to $120 annually, depending on how much sales resistance you have when they pound you with upgrade offers at checkout. So far I find it easy to brush off their co-branded credit card, which only drags down your FICO score and has hilarious high interest rates compared to most other cards.

Costco can be the most expensive annual membership among warehouse clubs. $65 for entry level basic features, but $120 popularly equipped with a 2% gas discount. That might work for you if (1) your local Costco actually has gas pumps, (2) you don’t own an electric car, and (3) there’s no off-brand discount filling station 2 blocks away. If you can check all those boxes, then you only have to pump 400 gallons a year at Costco to break even.

Although Costco is blanketing America with news of their “limited time” membership discounts, the company doesn’t appear to be circling the drain yet. Corporate profits have been increasing about 8% annually, since forever. But that means they’re now a mature company, not a growth stock.

In 2025 Costco earned $8.X billion. On 128 million members. That works out to . . . ca-ching . . . about $62 profit per household. Without the annual fees, they appear to be losing money. Warehouse clubs would probably be more profitable on a household level if we shopped there less often, and simply paid the annual dues.

Here’s why I’m ending my warehouse club membership. I can get everything I need from Amazon, without having to park a football field away from the store entrance, spend an hour roaming through the retail version of the Great Pyramid of Cheops, and wait another 15 minutes for checkout. Then slog back to the car in the rain. It's why malls are dying in general.

I’ve been experimenting with Amazon for paper towels and bathroom tissue, to see if I can ditch Costco. Amazon costs about the same on a per sheet basis, and I get 5% back at Amazon, and it’s delivered right to my door. Ginormous packages of paper and soda are the reason Costco exists in the first place. The ability to completely fill the trunk of your Honda Civic with a package of Bounty paper towels the size of a doghouse. That’s not the size I’m ordering from Amazon, but the cost per sheet turns out to be the same. And I earn 5% rewards.

Today's column is NOT a promo for Amazon. Here's why I’m still skeptical about their ability to drive a nail in the coffin of their warehouse club competitors. Amazon Prime Video streaming is THE WORST. It takes forever to load the show, and you have to endure that endless herky-jerky spinning wheel before it starts. And you spend 5 minutes navigating the menu to find what you want.

Amazon has retail pricing power and fast front door delivery. And since I’m getting Amazon Prime video “at no extra cost” with my retail shopping, I’m giving their hideous streaming faults a pass. But look out, Comcast, Peacock, YouTube, Netflix, Disney, Sony Pictures, Apple TV, and ESPN Unlimited. Some of you guys are on about to get cut from my subscriptions. People aren’t made of money, you know.

I’m just sayin’ . . .

Costco Quietly Launches Rare Membership Discount — Here’s Who Qualifies

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TurtlePink · 22-25, F

Amazon better step up their game. Because they cannot compete with bricks and mortar stores. It takes like two weeks for me to get my stuff from Amazon. It takes me two minutes to go get milk from Walmart.

swirlie · 31-35

@TurtlePink
I actually think Amazon is on it's way out the door.

SusanInFlorida · 31-35, F

@swirlie i won't say this is wrong, but do you have a link to anything telling us why you believe that?

SusanInFlorida · 31-35, F

@TurtlePink your the first person i have ever heard say this. do you live on a dirt road in mississippi?

TurtlePink · 22-25, F

@SusanInFlorida you’re in your 30s and don’t know the difference between “you’re” and “your”, so do you live on a dirt road in Mississippi?

TurtlePink · 22-25, F

@swirlie Amazon isn’t going anywhere. Everyone said that about Walmart and now they’re stronger than ever.

swirlie · 31-35

@TurtlePink
You just said it yourself,

Like I said, "Amazon is on it's way out the door".

No one has ever said anything about Walmart contrary to your belief because Walmart is a family-owned business which was successful right from the start and are as strong today as they were when they first started.

Like you said, Amazon better step up their game. That's the only accurate thing you've stated here.

TurtlePink · 22-25, F

@swirlie actually the original post asked what if Amazon also k!lls Costco, Sam’s Club ,and BJ, I added in Walmart because it’s just as relevant. I don’t think you’re deep in with the Walmart politics and aren’t aware about what’s been going on the last 10 years but anyways, these stores aren’t going anywhere and neither is Amazon. And it wouldn’t take Amazon to “k!ll” any of these stores either. Amazon would need to step up their game to “k!ll” any one of them.

swirlie · 31-35

@TurtlePink
But what you've just said completely contradicts your original attitude about Amazon. You can't have it both ways TurtlePink, so which direction would you like to settle on with Amazon in your apparent contraction of perception?

TurtlePink · 22-25, F

@swirlie its called recognizing a company’s strengths and weaknesses and not seeing everything in black and white. Since your brain isn’t able to go that far, let me explain. I can recognize that Amazon has leverage, but they don’t have enough leverage over bricks and mortars. So a person like you who is concrete will think my statement contradicts itself when it actually doesn’t.

swirlie · 31-35

@TurtlePink
Actually Turtle, it is you who has contradicted yourself throughout this entire discussion! I can pretty much assure you Turtle, that you know absolutely nothing about business management nor do you know anything about strengths and weakness in the corporate world.

Maybe you should just go back to what you do best and stop pretending that you know anything about Amazon or Walmart?

TurtlePink · 22-25, F

@swirlie well none of this falls under the field of business management. Me comparing competitors, strengths/weaknesses, and predicting the future of the industry. That’s less about “managing” the company day-to-day and more about business analytics if we want to be technical 😌🤓🤓

Maybe you should hop off this discussion since you like to get your terms jumbled up

swirlie · 31-35

@TurtlePink
Well actually, it ALL falls under the field of business management, but of course, that's out of your league which is why you don't recognize any of it for what it really is.

TurtlePink · 22-25, F

@swirlie maybe in a broad sense if you’re unfamiliar with specific terminology, somebody who isn’t educated could claim business management

swirlie · 31-35

@TurtlePink
You forget that you started out this discussion by contradicting yourself several times which I brought to your attention after you tried to cover your tracks and ever since then, you've been trying to validate your intelligence. It isn't working!

TurtlePink · 22-25, F

@swirlie I think what happened is that your brain is limited to only think in black-and-white and you’re trying to make it a me problem when it’s actually something you should be concerned about.

swirlie · 31-35

@TurtlePink
It's actually a 'YOU' problem, Turtle. It was YOU who contradicted yourself and it was me who brought that to your attention, but which you refuse to acknowledge about yourself. You have an insatiable need to be perceived as 'right', no matter how much you contradict yourself and no matter how often someone proves that you are wrong.

The reason you refuse to acknowledge your misgivings in life is because you are a narcissistic sociopath who is undoubtedly under a Psychiatric Physician's care.

TurtlePink · 22-25, F

@swirlie you seem like you’re lonely and just looking for somebody to give you attention. Well I’m not gonna be that person, go get you a boyfriend to love you right because you’re coming off as a person who has never been loved and don’t love yourself since you’re projecting your hurt feelings on to me. Everything that you said isn’t about me it’s about you and how you see yourself because nowhere did I contradict myself and you know this because you went from moving away from evidence to insults pretty quick.

TurtlePink · 22-25, F

@swirlie so either you’re not smart enough for this discussion and struggle with comprehension skills, or you’re just lonely and want to argue

This comment is hidden. Show Comment

swirlie · 31-35

@SusanInFlorida

i won't say this is wrong, but do you have a link to anything telling us why you believe that?

Sure, this is what I wrote later...

I read your whole post, great read. Amazon in Canada was working exactly as you describe until Amazon decided to double their shipping fees, or suddenly stopped offering free shipping if certain conditions were met. Now, we have to pay for everything no matter how much you buy in one order and their shipping fees aren't cheap.

I have stopped using Amazon because they laid off an entire warehouse full of workers in Canada who voted for Union representation when Amazon only paid minimum wage for full-time work. As a result, Amazon has pulled out of most places in Canada as soon as employees started complaining about poor working conditions and toxic American management.

What I've been finding is that paper products like you've described can be found at the same price at Walmart but without an annual membership fee that Costco charges.

As for Amazon, I can no longer support a corporate management mentality that gives out huge annual bonuses to their Executive Management group, but do it off the backs of their low paid labor force who keep the place running.

TurtlePink · 22-25, F

@swirlie you have some major issues

SusanInFlorida · 31-35, F

@swirlie good points. but in america i don't pay shipping fees. just the $129 amazon membership.

I get 5% back on my purchases. if buy $60 a week from Amazon i come out ahead, netting the membership fee against those cashback rebates.

swirlie · 31-35

@SusanInFlorida
Before you know it, Amazon will be offering you a pension plan too!