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Costco

Costco

place

1 creator use or recommend it

1 recommend 17 mention 1 critical
Last discussed Oct 12, 2026

A membership-only warehouse club that sells bulk goods and also offers various services including self-storage.

How Costco compares

5 creators weighed in
Amazon Direct rival
online retail and cloud giant

Both are places to buy goods. Alex used both for purchasing, trying Costco first.

D T A
3 creators
DM
David Mozeika

"We're just putting the money to use based upon the rules and what we've set prior to, you know, Amazon, Netflix, uh, you know, Costco, you know, all these one-tap, you know, like just all the easy ways it is to spend money."

Listed alongside Amazon and Netflix as examples of easy spending

TJ
Tony James

"You led the series A into Costco. Jim was one of the best executives I've ever met. Maybe the best. Focus, focus, focus. Flawless execution of details. Build for the long term."

Based on proven Price Club model, competed successfully against Amazon and Walmart

AW
Alex Wilhelm

"We allow the agent to do the research. What is a vending machine business? How does it work? How does it make money? We also told her we can buy stuff through Amazon or through Costco. The first experiment was Costco."

Used alongside Amazon for purchasing

Amazon's subscription service

Shaan says Costco passes bulk savings to shoppers, making membership a no-brainer. Andrew groups both as benchmarks for membership program dominance.

A
2 creators
AM
Andrew Macdonald

"We're not at like Amazon Prime or Costco levels, but we're within getting to within spitting distance."

Benchmark alongside Amazon Prime for membership program dominance

Shaan Puri

"Costco's goal was to make the markup as small as it could and pass all of the savings of buying in bulk to the customer. The customer saves $1,000, they spend $100. It's a no-brainer proposition. Instead of increasing their prices and in..."

Compared to traditional retailers who buy wholesale and sell at markup; contrasted with Amazon Prime membership model

What creators say

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ER
Eric Ries
recommends mentioned
Used for: Example of mission-controlled company that maintains customer trust Praised: Customer trust, long-term thinking, low-price leadership philosophy vs: Contrasted with companies that prioritize margins over customer value

"If you're like, 'Are there any companies you trust?' You're like, 'Man, I love Costco.' Costco's a $400 billion public company. Costco is I think built on a very different philosophy which is that margins can be a source of weakness."

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+1 more mention from Eric

"Costco just has the rules written right into the structure itself. But that means every time they lose one of the structures, every once in a while..."

John Coogan
mentioned
vs: Home Depot modeled its warehouse format on Costco

"Home Depot was basically their prior company mashed up with Costco. They knew Saul Price who had started Costco. They saw what Saul was doing with Costco in San Diego and they were like, 'We can do the same thing with home improvement.'"

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+2 more mentions from John

"Less Marcus Aurelius, more Ron Vakris — Costco CEO started his career as a forklift driver. Maybe if Costco is the model, there will be an LVMH of AI."

"If you're trying to save money, you don't necessarily need to work at Costco, but certainly shopping at Costco is hugely advantageous."

NS
Nick Saltarelli
mentioned
Used for: Retail distribution channel for Mid-Day Squares

"We launched Costco Canada National. Costco US is launching September 1st."

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AM
Andrew Macdonald
mentioned
vs: Benchmark alongside Amazon Prime for membership program dominance

"We're not at like Amazon Prime or Costco levels, but we're within getting to within spitting distance."

More from Andrew Macdonald →
BH
Braden Harman
mentioned
Used for: Purchasing folding tables for estate sales

"I'm talking about like the six-foot lifetime folding tables from Costco, right? 50 bucks, or you can rent them for two bucks."

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Masters of Scale
mentioned

"Are you seeing an uptick in your subscriptions since you started launching in Target and Costco?"

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JC
Jack Conte
mentioned
Praised: Long-term trust orientation; willingness to sacrifice short-term revenue to m... vs: Used as an analogy for Patreon's philosophy of making long-term trust-based d...

"I think Costco's awesome. Costco kept the price of the hot dog at a buck fifty for like decades. When Costco got down to the point where they couldn't keep it at $1.50 anymore, they bought a hot dog factory. Costco's like, we believe that people t..."

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JS
Jack Selby
mentioned

"I texted our contractor. I was like, 'Hey, can you run out to like Costco to get some new underwear?' They didn't have like extra small or whatever I thought your size was."

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KS
KR Sridhar
mentioned

"We power factories. We power Home Depots and Costcos and Walmarts. We power college campuses. Two-thirds of Caltech campus is powered by us."

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Chris Koerner
mentioned
Used for: Source of returned merchandise (rugs) available through auction lots on BringATrailer

"Did those rugs come from Costco? Costco — yeah, they were Costco returns and there were other rug listings."

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+1 more mention from Chris

"Kind of like Costco, right? Costco doesn't really make money on the stuff they sell. They really make their profit on the membership."

Shaan Puri
mentioned
Used for: Primary example of shared economies of scale — passing savings to consumers via membership model Praised: Bulk buying power, no-brainer membership value proposition, compounding custo... vs: Compared to traditional retailers who buy wholesale and sell at markup; contr...

"Costco's goal was to make the markup as small as it could and pass all of the savings of buying in bulk to the customer. The customer saves $1,000, they spend $100. It's a no-brainer proposition. Instead of increasing their prices and increasing t..."

More from Shaan Puri →
+1 more mention from Shaan

"Amazon and Costco do not advertise. No shouting here. Amazon, Costco give back margin to the customer."

Deep Dive Podcast
mentioned

"Austin Hope you can get at Costco. Austin Hope you can get anywhere."

Deep Dive - 6/19 · ▶ 41:57 · Jun 20, 2026
More from Deep Dive Podcast →
DM
David Mozeika
mentioned
Used for: Example of easy spending options that can derail financial plans vs: Listed alongside Amazon and Netflix as examples of easy spending

"We're just putting the money to use based upon the rules and what we've set prior to, you know, Amazon, Netflix, uh, you know, Costco, you know, all these one-tap, you know, like just all the easy ways it is to spend money."

More from David Mozeika →
AP
Aadit Palicha
mentioned
vs: Example of how retail platforms enabled consumer brand creation in the US

"That happened in the US 40 years ago with a Walmart or a Costco and all these other players. We are still at the beginning of that journey."

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Matthew Hussey
mentioned

"These are from Costco."

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Tom Bilyeu
mentioned
vs: Implied to have even better prices than Target

"This isn't even Costco."

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TBPN
mentioned
Praised: Doesn't go through market cycles vs: Contrasted with crypto companies that have market cycles

"You might want to go work at Costco or a tobacco company because those don't go through market cycles really at all."

More from TBPN →
V
Vin
mentioned

"I was looking into Costco self storage to like rent that, unload the container and like get like some sort of satellite internet to print the orders."

More from Vin →
DP
Daniel Priestley
critical

"if I go to a town where there are no entrepreneurs and there are like everyone feels downtrodden and there's one big Costco and that's the only employer in town, that's going to be a town"

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