Costco.com is top-performing retail site in August

Internet Retailer reported yesterday that Costco.com had the best “high broadband” rating of all web retailers last month. Their survey also studied who had the best access rating among dial-up and “low” broadband users. I’m curious to know just how many Costco.com shoppers are still using dial-up. We made the jump to broadband in 2001.

I’m also wondering if anyone reading this has ever had a problem with the site. I can’t recall one time that it ever failed to load for me. Being someone who works in an internet-related field, I appreciate the simple design of the site. I do think they could improve on their search functionality, however.

Props to my birthplace for free backpacks

The Costco in Wooldand, CA has donated 550 backpacks to two area schools. I’d post the link but the Woodland Daily Democrat has moved the story to their archive. Noteable because it’s just a really nice thing to do, and I was born there. At the hospital, not the Costco.

Aussie retail laws make shoppers say ‘Oi!’

Australia’s getting it’s first Costco, don’t you know? Melbourne, on the extreme southern tip of the continent, is the location. The retailer is planning several more stores on the east coast. Syndey is a natural choice.

But what about the west coast? Austraila is a gigantic country. It’s not like western shoppers can just hop over to Melbourne for their weekly tub of margarine. The reason this matters to the citizens of Perth has to do with their antiquated restrictions on retail hours. The fact that Costco offers such a wide range of goods puts them in a binding situation. Grocers can’t open on Sundays or late on weeknights. Other kinds of stores can. Which one is Costco? Is that conundrum going to prevent them from establishing a presence in Western Australia?

And pardon my Amercian ignorance, but why does one half of the contient have shopping restrictions that don’t apply to the other? And what does that do to the price-controlling nature of competition among retailers that we Yankees enjoy? And finally, if you’re going to prevent one sector of merchandisers from doing business on Sundays, why choose grocers? My family is a lot more likely to need milk and bread on any given day than we are recliners and appliances.

Perhaps it’s an Australian thing that I wouldn’t understand.

Diapers make headlines when times are tough

A report from an NBC affiliate quotes from Consumer Reports that Kirkland Signature diapers scored high in quality. They say the same thing about Wal-Mart’s brand, but that’s not in this blog’s job description. Our littlest one was still in diapers when we began our membership and we were very satisfied with what we bought. Same goes for the wipes and other baby supplies.

Extended warranties – a new alternative

Don’t you hate it when you’re pressured to sign up for an extended warranty when you buy a car or an expensive electronics item? You never know if the extra price is going to be worth it, or if you’ll even need it.

There’s a new way to protect your stuff called GreenUmbrella. Sign up as much stuff as you want for a flat annual fee. It’s up to you. Great idea!

I mention this here because there’s an interesting comment on Costco buried near the end of the article. And it says a lot about one reason I love to shop there.

Costco shareholder files suit

From the AP — some current and past Costco insiders and executives “manipulated information allowing them to be ‘unjustly enriched at the expense of and detriment of Costco’ for several years,” says the claimaint.

New stores? Not so fast…

Looks like plans to put stores in Wasilla, AK and Manhattan (?) aren’t sitting all that well. There’s typical noise from the AK town about noise, congestion, and such, but the main beef seems to be about lack of honest information.

Interesting post here about the value of a big-box store on the “UWS” vs. the push for more public transportation and alternatives to cars. How is a Manhattanite gonna get a gross of TP home on a Vespa?

Over on the other side of the country, the proposed Costco on the Upper West Side of Manhattan has Mayor Bloomberg’s OK. Others are crying foul about risks to local grocery stores.

The new store underway in Peterborough, Ontario has received over 1,000 job applications.