"This is my favorite store / webstore to purchase all types of products. The level of service, pricing!, and the ability to return anything at anytime are all invaluable aspects when buying from this seller. You CANNOT go wrong here. Only word of caution, if you see something you like, buy it quick. Due to the great pricing and quality products they sell, many costco customers are savvy enough to gobble up items that show up on the shelf/webpage.
Excellence and worry-free purchasing...."

"Simply put, Costco sucks. Yes, they have some good prices, and a decent selection of items. But what most people don't know is that Costco charges a membership fee not just to raise money, but to strip you of your rights!

That's right, when you "join" by purchasing a Costco membership, you waive the vast majority of your civil liberties.

Ever wonder about being "frisked" on the way out of a Costco store by being forced to show your receipt? No other non-membership store could do this--they would need probable cause to demand that you sahow proof of your purchases and/or to search or detain you--not so at Costco!! When you become a member, YOU FOREGO ALL OF YOUR RIGHTS! If you are a Costco member and you are on Costco property, they can: detain you, search your belongings, not allow you to contact an attorney, etc. Don't beleive me? Read the membership agreement!

I first discovered this when I aksed Costco corporate offices about being "frisked" when exiting their stores. Not only is it insulting (i.e. every costomer has to prove that they are not a thief when leaving a Costco store...) but it's time consuming--I've already waited in long lines to purchase my goods, why should I have to wait in line to exit the store??

After beating around the bush, the Costco rep finally admitted that they use the "receipt checkers" at the door in an effort to discourage shoplifting--even though NO OTHER RETAIL STORE DOES THIS! I asked them why they don't just use inventory management tags like all other major retailers (those magnetic towers you pass through on the way out the door at Walmart, Circuit City, etc.) and she told me it was cheaper to pay people to check reciepts even though it was demeaning to their customers and wasted our time as we waited in yet another line.

I asked what would happen if I refused to show my receipt, and she said I would "be detained and searched." I asked her waht gave Costco the right to assume that all their customers were thieves and to demand proof of payment upon exiting their stores, she replied, "our members waive those rights when they join our private club."

In addition to treating their customers like thieves, Costco also purchases and sells a LOT of grey market goods (goods not intended for resale in the US and thus they have NO US WARRANTY) and they do NOT disclose this to their customers--this in in violation fo the law.

So, if you value your rights to privacy and protection under the law, and you don't want to be treated like a thief everytime you leave the store, DON'T SHOP AT COSTCO!!!"

"Ordered $3500 of furniture on 11/23/05. Furniture shipped 12/8/05, due to arrive 12/23/05. Called shipper 12/26/05, furniture badly damaged. We had to call the shipper to initiate the status inquiry. The shipper claims to have called costco that same day. Emailed costco, receive a lame reply. Called costco 12/30/05, never heard of the problem before this day. Mull over the fact I've been billed $3500 and I have nothing in hand. Decide to calcel order. Must wait 10-12 buis days for refund. Complete and utter waste of time.

I blame Costco for not tracking the order. They take my money, they make the profit. They are responsible for my satisfaction."

"I placed an order for something. Four days later, the order was cancelled by them for no reason. I E-mailed customer service with no response and tried to call and was on hold for over 2 hours before I gave up. "

"Ordered an Olympus C-7000 Digital Camera and battery on November 30th. I really shopped around for the best price on this camera, and Costco was offering, in addition to their regular low price, an on-line coupon of $50. HATED having to pay shipping and tax, but was understandable. The shipping seemed a bit high to me at $16.31 UPS ground, and it took a week for the camera to arrive. Nonetheless, the ordering was easy and Costco's communications with me were great, and I felt I had gotten a great buy on the camera. I will buy from them again."

"ALWAYS THE BEST PLACE TO BUY. NO QUESTIONS ASKED. QUALITY IS SUPREME. CUSTOMER SERVICE IS FANTASTIC!!!"

"Recently Costco had a blowout of LCD TV's. I wanted to buy one from the store but they were always sold out of the one I wanted, so I ended up using Costco.com for the first time. Let me start by saying the LCD TV was great. It was shipped on time and arrived earlier than promised. I was very happy.
Problem 1 - The LCD Tilt mount that was recommended was substandard. When I received it I thought it was "wimpy" for my 52 pound LCD TV, so just by chance I decided to check the MFR website. My suspicion was confirmed, the Costco recomended LCD mount maxed at 45 pounds.
Problem 2 - I tried to return the LCD mount through Costco.com. Listen, they are simply not set up to easily return ship items. Do not attempt. Go to the store to return anything.
Problem 3 - I ordered the correct LCD mount (which by the way they changed on the web site, so others must have found the same thing I did). I used the same user and account that I ordered the TV with. I waited patiently. It said it was delivered...but no mount was at my house. As i investigated further, it turns out the mount was shipped to the wrong location. It was shipped to southern california, and not to northern california where I was. Not sure who's problem that was...Costco's or the shipper. I called, and to their credit I was reshipped a new item relatively fast (4 days).

Morale of the story:
Sure, use Costco.com to buy things not found in the store. They are ok. If you can buy it in the store, you will be better off.
Second, do not ever ever ever try to return something online, just go to the store and return it. Much easier.

It is amazing to me that Costco.com is not like other online retailers...they seem to be in a stage Amazon might have been like 5-6 years ago in its infancy.
Lots of services not available online, like online returns.
Anyway, I would probably not buy from Costco.com again, unless it was absolutely necessary."

"This is the second order I placed with Costco.com within a 2 week period.

The first order was placed on 12/4, which happened to be a Saturday. The web site stated the estimated delivery time would be 3-6 business days from the time of my order for UPS air. My order shipped on Monday (12/6) and I received it on 12/8. I was pleased with the prompt shipment and delivery, which wound up being only 2 business days from the date of my order.

The most recent order was placed later in the evening on 12/14, Costco shipped the item the next day (12/15) and I received the order on 12/17. Again, great service, IMHO, which exceeded the stated delivery times.

I wouldn't hesitate to order from Costo.com in the future. Their prices are excellent, as is their service, and they have what I believe to be the best customer satisfaction guarantee anyone could ask for.
"

"I ordered a Canon S500 on Saturday and received it on the following Wednesday. Very quick shipping. I was extemely satisfied with my purchase and service. I, too shipped to a different address as my Costco Membership. All went over very well."

"I ordered a custom configured Compaq desktop system for one of my clients. The computer had up to $100 in rebates if you also bought a printer at the same time (which I didn't).

The computer was shipped 6 business days later and arrived a week after that. Free shipping, so the two week turnaround was manageable but annoying nonetheless.

Now comes the fun part of trying to get the rebate. I submitted it online and got an e-mail confirmation. Waited several weeks, then checked the status of the rebate. Nothing.

I e-mailed customer support and they said they didn't have any record of my rebate submission. They told me to send in my receipt and proof of my rebate submission. Which I did several weeks ago. Checked the status. Nothing.

This is the first time I've had a rebate problem with Costco.com. I'll definitely be wary of ordering anything with a rebate from Costco.com again. Customer service is useless and denies ever receiving any rebate submission from me. The brick and mortar Costco stores are much better with rebates (never had a problem) but their selection usually differs from the online store.

Overall not such a good deal without the rebate (and tax). Order processing takes 1-2 weeks and shipping takes another week. Probably won't order any time sensitive merchandise from them ever again."

"I placed my order for a Canon Digital Rebel on Thursday night. Friday morning I sent an email to customer service asking if I needed to call and verify my order since my billing and shipping addresses were different (some merchants have required this). I recieved no reply to my email. Saturday I recieved a confirmation email that my order had been recieved. Monday I emailed again asking when it would ship and if there was an issue with my order because of the address differences, again no timely reply.

I decided to call since my order was still in the "Processing" status. I tried around 11 am and the 800 number gave me a busy signal. I tried for about an hour and it was always busy. I tried again around 2pm and I waited on hold for 35 minutes before someone answered.

The lady was very nice on the phone, and said that my order was in the process of being shipped and I should have a tracking number soon. Its the end of Monday (and they are open on Saturday as it states on their site), and my order still says processing.

I have sent a total of 3 emails without a single reply. There 800 "on-hold" message says "for a quicker response, please email customer service" that is obviously not true as they have not answered a single of my emails.

As a side note, I ordered a CF card from B&H at the same time on thursday. I had a UPS tracking number by the weekend.

Maybe im too picky, but it seems to me 3 days to process an order for an item thats supposedly in stock is too long. And it may take even more than 3 days. I will update this when it finally ships. I paid $45 dollars for my membership, and I cant get any replies to emails and I wait on hold for 35 minutes. Not to mention they couldnt just ship it to the store, like most big resellers."

"Just got my HP laptop today. I ordered from Costco online on May 10 and received a week later on May 19 with 2-3 free shipping from China. Customer support is excellent here, every prompt response with email. You can buy with confidence with out any worry. 6 months exchange or return policy even you purchased online. "

"I purchased at costco.com for the first time, but my order did not go well because my billing address was differ from my credit car. After several emails, I received the best CS ever.

I would recommend from costco."