Shopping at Costco

 Shopping at Costco

    The first time I went shopping at Costco, I couldn’t believe what I saw. A lot of people say the same thing. Big. The sheer size of the store is gargantuan. It has to be that big to hold all the items they have for sale, in the quantities they sell things, and the number of people who pass through their aisles a couple times a month.

    You might think that two visits, on average, for a family isn’t much, but it takes a while for a household to consume a package of over one hundred granola bars, or use a plastic-wrapped bushel of toilet paper that contains thirty rolls. If a family includes a diaper-wearing baby, the parents love the prices, but they have to buy a box of Huggies so big, that if lined with blankets itself, the future empty cardboard prism could nearly serve as a crib. Costco sells cribs, too.

    Some people complain that there isn’t much choice among the products Costco sells, and it’s true that they only carry about ten varieties of cereal. But where else can you buy a twelve pack of tube socks, four tires for your car, a set of patio furniture, a sixty inch flat screen television, and a bouquet of roses in the same store?

    Costco has the pulse of the American consumer. Well, most of them. This company’s products, soon to be for sale, keep laden cargo ships crossing the Pacific Ocean from China, long freight trains traversing the rails over our states’ mountains and deserts, and full eighteen-wheel tractor trailers daily backing down into their loading docks. Costco uses their club card technology to keep tabs on what people want to buy, when, and how much of it to stack on those towering orange warehouse pallet racks customers see as shelves.

    Did I say Costco goes big? Think about it: the small package of eggs contains eighteen, a box of milk has two gallons, and a tub of margarine weighs five pounds! Have you seen the size of a jar of mayonnaise? A sandwich shop could easily lather the slices of fifty loaves of bread with one jar. How about a jug of laundry detergent? One is enough for one hundred forty-four loads. A bottle of vitamins from Costco could last one person about two years! The shopping carts have to be able to carry a lot of stuff, and get pretty hard to push by the time a shopper gets to the check out line. The family car needs to have an empty trunk upon arrival, or passengers will need to hold stuff on their laps on the way home. Like I said…. Costco is big.

(C)2016 Henry Anker

Proofread 9/16/26