# Costco samples influence what you buy?



## Guban (Jul 5, 2011)

Saw this interesting article:
http://www.msn.com/en-ca/money/companies/the-psychology-behind-costcos-free-samples/ar-BB6O0Yu

Do the samples change your buying decisions? 
I have to admit that I sample lots, but only occasionally let the samples influence what I'm going to buy. The odd time there's something that I've never had before, and I'll try it and like it enough to put some in the cart.


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## fatcat (Nov 11, 2009)

i saw this and wondered why this was even a story ...
of course sampling will influence what you buy because you get to taste the product first
costco has huge packages and you don't want to buy a truckload of something you ultimately don't like
grocery stores should increase their sampling as well


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## Beaver101 (Nov 14, 2011)

Yowie ... the temptations ... thank lord I don't get to shop at Costco. :biggrin:


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## randomthoughts (May 23, 2010)

Yup. But since I usually get out of costco with a <$30 bill, it's not a huge deal.

However, it's also a good way to get treats. I would never buy a box of donuts/chocolate/granola bars, but I'll gleefully eat a sample piece. (Ironically, the other day they were giving out entire donuts and it was too much.)

But the other day they were giving out Kirkland 4-cheese tortellini with pesto and it was SO much better than the Olivieri stuff that I sometimes get on sale that I bought some.

Also, the sample products are rarely on sale at the same time, so... my sale-loving heart is rarely willing to buy them.


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## sags (May 15, 2010)

I think having food samples out creates a happier, shopping experience.......kind of a community feel.

We have Remark deli type stores in our area and they provide samples of their cold meats. The Angelo Bakery store has dessert samples, which are totally awesome.......Portugese custard tarts..............mmmmm.

One thing about the samples at Costco..............people line up to taste them, so it must be good for business.

The Costco Kirkland brand is usually top grade quality, but the quantities are a little overwhelming.

The banana walnut loaf is the best we have ever tasted......but we have to cut it in half and freeze some.

Have you seen the pumpkin pies..............best ever.............but humungous............

We re-package and freeze the stuff we buy from there......but the downside is we can't get out of the store for under $300.


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## Plugging Along (Jan 3, 2011)

Samples make a huge difference at costco for me. I don't want a huge container of something that I don't know if I like. Also, if my kids try something and like it, I will usually buy it.


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## Ag Driver (Dec 13, 2012)

Doesn't make a lick of difference for me. I'm a sucker for marketing in some areas .... free samples is not one of them. There are also studies done on shopping hungry vs shopping full. The free samples may even detract from spending more money, thus in turn shooting themselves in the foot, maybe?

Either way, I like the samples. I hate how they typically create road blocks of carts and people at the end of every aisle though! Don't rock up to the table with your carts and stand in the middle of the road jamming food in your face!


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## cainvest (May 1, 2013)

Costco happytizers are great free snacks, always go for a run when we end up there for lunch.
When I'm shopping it has rarely influenced me to buy anything, probably only a couple of times over the years. More often it's has a negative effect, as in a don't like it so for sure I won't buy it. Also, I normally don't buy much pre-made/processed food which is what they usually serve, ok for a sample, bad for meal.


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## ChrisR (Jul 13, 2009)

cainvest said:


> Also, I normally don't buy much pre-made/processed food which is what they usually serve, ok for a sample, bad for meal.


I totally agree with that!

I've been sampling there for years, all the way back to my university days when we used to pop over for a free sample lunch (supplemented with one of those cheap hot dogs if the samples were on the light side). 

Even years later I think it's safe to say that I've never purchased anything that I sampled at Costco. I mostly go there to buy steaks, household and durable goods. I eat so little packaged food that I can't imagine buying it in one of those huge packages.


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## carverman (Nov 8, 2010)

Beaver101 said:


> Yowie ... the temptations ... thank lord I don't get to shop at Costco. :biggrin:


You don't? By the lineups at the cash registers, I thought everybody did. :biggrin:
I share a membership with my friend and she does the occasional shopping for me..which is limited only to certain food items,
and only those that are not available at my local food stores.

However, I did buy a "noname" 32 inch flatscreen TV about 6 years ago, but the digital tuner went on it just after the
warranty expired and I couldn't watch off the air stations, had to buy an digital to analog tuner to still use it.
It still works but the colours are off on it, so I gave it away and bought another better one. 

I once bought a set of their Kirkland brand AA batteries in those large 48 packages. They seemed fine until I installed
a set of them (4) in one of my expensive acoustic electric classical guitars inside the preamp. I was playing away...
...all of a sudden heard sharp noise inside my guitar *BANG!*...what the hell?????

Pulled out the battery case, inside there was this goo all over the battery compartment...one of the batteries
exploded and leaked out the corrosive acid all over! It was a mess and got into some sensitive electronics in
the preamp!
It killed my built in tuner, that cost me over $300 to replace, but at least the preamp still works.

Chinese made private brand quality..what can you say.. I've never seen a battery explode out both ends like that, 
mabye it was an alQaida special? :biggrin: all batteries are made in China these days, the name brands are usually
better. 

I never bought another Kirkland battery after that, and use only rechargables now in that guitar now..it was an expensive lesson.

I also bought a car battery for my golf cart (used for mobility only) about 4 years ago, it was *discharged when I installed it.*
Charged it up with my charger overnight. It started up and ran all day, next morining it wouldn't start..dead!
*Took it back, got my money back, didn't trust their house name batteries after that experience,
and bought the replacement at CTC,* didn't have any problems with that.

But as they say, "your mileage may vary"..shopping there.


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## Beaver101 (Nov 14, 2011)

carverman said:


> You don't? By the lineups at the cash registers, I thought everybody did. :biggrin:
> I share a membership with my friend and she does the occasional shopping for me..which is limited only to certain food items,
> and only those that are not available at my local food stores.
> 
> ...


 ... ... nope, don't shop at Costco as there isn't one near me and I'm not going out of my way / town to go start shop-sampling there ... I have alot of supermarket choices in downtown TO, eg. Metro, FoodBasics, Price-Chopper, NoFrills, Sobey's, Loblaws plus the many surrounding ethnic super/farmers' markets. And I prefer to shop at the smaller shops - with an eye to avoid long line-ups by using Express check outs everytime. Besides, how much stuff do I need for one person? Eg. getting a BBQ Chicken at Metro's weekly special is like having Xmas meals every day of the week x 52 weeks, every day is Christmas, can't imagine getting a 3 for 1 price special at Costco! :biggrin:

When I finally got rid of Robbers last year (after several decades - yeah that long on parents' time/dime) my now frugal-sense, got a refurbished cute-name (Sypmphony?) t.v. for <$150 and it's still working well after the 90 days warranty .. in fact, the digital picture is fantastic ... just need to work on "outdoor instead of indoors OTA" (heard CRTC is cancelling OTA in distant future? but this is for another topic) to get more channels ... currently only 6/7 which excludes all the junk "reality shows" ...besides, got the Internet to be busy enough with.

Re those crappy Chinese-made batteries - for the sake of "affordability" you get what you pay I guess ... and why would you want to use crappy batteries on your "expensive and much-loved" guitars? I hope you don't use crappy batteries (have never heard of a Kirkland brand??) in your smoke/CO2 detectors either. I think the bigger lesson (for me for sure, maybe you too?) is don't hold any kind of batteries (especially alkalines) in any electronics devices for more than a year due to potential acid -leakage, name brand (eg. Duracell) or not. 

Anyhow, if you really want non Chinese- made batteries, there's the "*USA-made *brand called Rayovac", readily available at Walmart (Canada), comparable performance to Duracell and price (slightly below) ... but before you buy any brand, as any smart-shopper, you should read or in your case "double-check" the package for the manufacturer/expiry dates because nowadays even name-brands are made in China. Consumers want them cheap, they get them cheap. 

Sorry can't help on the big car batteries as don't drive, know nothing about them.


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## Itchy54 (Feb 12, 2012)

i rarely pick up a sample. Maybe if they have some high quality chocolates.....or cheese.
i am allergic to many food items so there is no way i would put something, generally highly processed, in my mouth without knowing exactly what i was eating. 
I have seen lots of very bad behaviour at the samples kiosks that make me sad, the greed and just plain rudeness of some folks..for goodness sakes it's just a bite of cake, let's not squabble...
never do the samples affect what i purchase.
Costco is the nearest store to me, really. That being said i only get dogfood, coffee, almond flour and coffee cream there. i find their produce very expensive.


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## OurBigFatWallet (Jan 20, 2014)

This is kind of a no brainer. It makes sense that samples can increase product sales so much because people try it and some like it enough to buy it.

Here is a quick run down of Costco's secret price codes for anyone interested:

http://www.ourbigfatwallet.com/costcos-secret-price-codes/


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## tygrus (Mar 13, 2012)

I don't shop at Costzoo at all. Its total chaos in there, no organization and the samples make people with their giant oversize carts drive every which way all over the store.


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## MrMatt (Dec 21, 2011)

Plugging Along said:


> Samples make a huge difference at costco for me. I don't want a huge container of something that I don't know if I like. Also, if my kids try something and like it, I will usually buy it.


If you don't like it, return it, they tend not to even ask why unless you ate a lot of it.
Sometimes the samples have me buy a bit more, but generally because the product itself is really good.


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## Plugging Along (Jan 3, 2011)

MrMatt said:


> If you don't like it, return it, they tend not to even ask why unless you ate a lot of it.
> Sometimes the samples have me buy a bit more, but generally because the product itself is really good.


I don't like doing this as I feel that it was my fault that I bought something I didn't like, and then they just throw it out. I don't think it's okay for the store to pay for my mistake. If there was a problem with the product I would return it.


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## Guban (Jul 5, 2011)

I agree with Plugging Along. Seems weird when I see people returning a salad. Maybe they should have sampled before purchasing!


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## randomthoughts (May 23, 2010)

Heh, I returned a bottle of "Better than Bouillon" concentrate. It had an "America's Test Kitchen" recommendation, but when I tried it at home, it was HORRIBLE and tasted mostly like celery salt. Only 6 bucks, but back it went.


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## Nemo2 (Mar 1, 2012)

Since moving to Belleville 5+ years ago, we go into the Kingston Costco infrequently, (on someone else's card), when we have occasion to visit, combined with an opportunity to load up on things we use regularly.......usually spend ~ $200-$300........neither of us have ever once tried a sample.


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## Plugging Along (Jan 3, 2011)

Just came back from costco. Saw some great new chips, grabbed the bag, then saw a demo, tried the chips, put back the bag.


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