The COSTCO Thread

[Jeff Lebowski]

For the grammar/writing style folks, what's the purpose of all the parenthesis here?:

I would imagine that the original text had different numbers or words there that essentially meant the same thing and whoever inserted that quote decided to change it to the percentages in order to make it more readable.

[TripletDaddy]

For the grammar/writing style folks, what's the purpose of all the parenthesis here?:

It is a not uncommon practice that you see sometimes in filings, Ks, Qs, and other financial docs with potential legal implications...putting numbers inside of parenthesis. The practice is anachronistic and is becoming less and less common outside of legalese. A similarly annoying practice is writing the number out in long form and then following it by the numeric value in parenthesis. For example, "I will have two (2) of those." Lame.

to the other point, I will still continue to use Amex because it is my preferred credit card but I suppose it is nice to have the option to use visa or mc. You have always been able to use a debit card, no?

[scottie]

I would imagine that the original text had different numbers or words there that essentially meant the same thing and whoever inserted that quote decided to change it to the percentages in order to make it more readable.

I thought that's what square brackets in quotes were for.

[HuskyFreeNorthwest]

So does this mean they will start accepting other CCs or just cash/debit and checks if you are over 70 years old?

[Jeff Lebowski]

So does this mean they will start accepting other CCs or just cash/debit and checks if you are over 70 years old?

No decision yet. But I imagine Visa and MC are making a hard push to get an exclusive deal like Costco had with AmEx.

AmEx stock fell 6% on the news. Visa and MC stock rose.

[Pelado]

It is a not uncommon practice that you see sometimes in filings, Ks, Qs, and other financial docs with potential legal implications...putting numbers inside of parenthesis. The practice is anachronistic and is becoming less and less common outside of legalese. A similarly annoying practice is writing the number out in long form and then following it by the numeric value in parenthesis. For example, "I will have two (2) of those." Lame.

to the other point, I will still continue to use Amex because it is my preferred credit card but I suppose it is nice to have the option to use visa or mc. You have always been able to use a debit card, no?

I believe this is true. I don't know, but I have faith.

[Jeff Lebowski]

I believe this is true. I don't know, but I have faith.

Yes, that is true.

[Pelado]

Yes, that is true.

To others (Pelado) it is given to believe on their words.

[Clark Addison]

I don't do a lot in the Co-branded space myself, but this has been hinted at for some time now. The Costco card is huge, one of the biggest cobrand cards. I would think that the only cards that might be bigger than the Costo Amex are the bigger airlines (United, American, Delta). I don't think the large hotel cards are in the same league (too many frequent travelers use their airline card as their primary card).

The problem is that these Cobrand relationships are very expensive for banks, to the point that some of them aren't really all that profitable, at least compared to non-cobranded cards. A lot of folks will be interested in the Costco relationship, though. Not only is it huge, but its customer base is highly desirable: wealthy, high spenders, and very loyal to Costco. Wheels have been turning in places like Chase, Citi, and Bank of America for a while now. It will be interesting to see who gets it, and how much they pay.

[Katy Lied]

I'd be interested in knowing who busted up that relationship. Costco is the second largest retailer in the world, and Amex got 8% of their revenues through Costco, according to the article I read.

[Clark Addison]

I'd be interested in knowing who busted up that relationship. Costco is the second largest retailer in the world, and Amex got 8% of their revenues through Costco, according to the article I read.

Do you mean, was it Costco or Amex? If so, it was Costco. I am pretty certain that if Amex could have retained them at the same terms they currently have, they would have done it in a second.

[HuskyFreeNorthwest]

No decision yet. But I imagine Visa and MC are making a hard push to get an exclusive deal like Costco had with AmEx.

AmEx stock fell 6% on the news. Visa and MC stock rose.

If they start taking Visa I'll get so many more Amazon points!

[Jeff Lebowski]

If they start taking Visa I'll get so many more Amazon points!

Whoa. That would be deadly. I spend almost all my money at Amazon and Costco.

[Surfah]

Whoa. That would be deadly. I spend almost all my money at Amazon and Costco.

That's what I am hoping for. Visa or Discover.

[wuapinmon]

As I was leaning over the Matthews, NC Costco meat counter today, lusting after some ribeye roasts that ultimately got the "Ummm, NO" from the Mrs., I hear, "Hey, Mac" from behind me. Since ParrotHead is only there on Friday nights, I was little shocked to hear my name, but delighted to bump into Clark Addison somewhere besides a football stadium.