1) if you don't want to buy a membership, get a friend to take you and have them
buy a gift card for you and then reimburse them for that. The gift card will gain
you entry to the store until it runs out.
2) echo CFB's very long post on the previous page. Costco seems to have found the
sweet spot of value/quality (at least in my mind) on so many things that I sometimesfeel guilty when I automatically go there and don't comparison shop.
3) Their return policy is so good that I sometimes feel cheated when they don't
even ask for a reason for the return.
4) If you get the Executive Membership (so you can shop an hr earlier on wkdays
than the masses) and don't get your $100 back from the 2% rebate, you can
request that the difference be credited to you so effectively, the Executive
Membership costs nothing.
5) As I understand it, their tech support on electronics/computers is forever at
no extra cost.
The bakery at Costco has lots of sweet stuff too. I can't recall the last time I purchased a sheet cake from someone other than the Costco bakery; I know some people who find excuses to buy the sheet cakes at Costco -- they are really good and cheap too.
The refund policy tended to bring out the worse in some people and it was a classic case of the tragedy of the commons, where unchecked self-interest affected everyone's enjoyment of a generous policy, so I guess the changes to the policy on electronics will probably benefit everyone. I benefited from the old policy a few months ago before Costco changed it. I bought a Vizio TV a few years ago, and the input jack for the cable tv came off and couldn't easily be kept in tact. I brought the TV back intending to get a new one; since I bought the TV, the price had dropped on it so I got cash back at the old price and bought a wider screen TV with the cash and pocketed $50.
And like others, Costco pays me to shop at the store and generally feeds me lunch. The other thing about Costco that I like is that the employees appear to be genuinely content -- the turn-over does not nearly appear to be as bad as at other chains. Costco is on my short list for part-time employment when I retire.