Came across something interesting in one of those trashy local advertisers. Seems the website has been around for a while, but I haven't heard it mentioned before. How it works is that some guy lists all the items available at costco on his website. You make a list of what you want, pay him, and then he goes and picks out the items and delivers them to you.
www.Fairdinks.com.au
Anyone used it before?
ps theres a coupon "greatdeal" for $5 delivery and free toilet cleaner (min order $75)
It appears to me that he marks up the Costco prices by ~20-45% depending on popularity of the product.
He also has stuff on the website that is out of stock and not coming back. From what I know of his business model he carries no stock. Doesn't advertising something you don't have and cannot get breach some kind of consumer law?
Do you have any specific comparisons? I thought that would probably be the case, but I don't shop at costco, so..
https://www.ozbargain.com.au/node/184585#comment-2597293
2 x 1L Heinz Ketchup: Costco = $7.79, FD = $9.69 (24% increase)
Pacific West Crispy Battered South American Flathead/Salt pepper squid: Costco $17, FD: Flathead: $15.69, Squid: $20…(flathead 8% decrease, 18% increase for squid)
Last year I bought the 4 pack EOS lip balm at Costco for $13, FD = $18.99 (46% increase, not sure if Costco price has increased)
Notice the way he excluded Aldi from price comparsion? Clever.
You can't put Aldi in on a comparison as they don't sell like-for-like products. What would be the point of 'comparing apples to oranges'?
"…comparing apples to oranges"
An ironic example you chose; both Aldi and Costco sell apples, so you could actually compare prices on those.
Aldi keeps one/fewer brand of a specific product, ColesWorth keeps several brands. Thats one way Aldi keeps price low. But do we really care about brand names when we can get it for cheap at Aldi?
My point here is, Costco price are similar or bit better than Aldi. So comparing Aldi price of similar product would make the delivery service less appealing pricewise.
Unless you have no Costco in your area and very rarely make purchases from Costco (<5), aren't you better off just paying the membership fee and purchasing the products yourself? Assuming delivery is about $10, 5 deliveries already covers the membership fee, plus the membership fee is refundable if you dont want to be a member anymore. Also doesn't Costco have a good warranty? Wouldn't purchasing items from a third party forfeit this warranty.
^These are some solid points here.
The warranty point is very solid point indeed, hadn't considered that. I've only been to costco once, and I hated it. Took 45 minutes just there, then more time finding a park, and when we got inside it was packed. Like walking at a showground. Then the wait for the checkout line. Then escaping back home.. And that was during a weekday. Hate to see it on the weekend. Gladly pay $10 to escape that.
I think this could be a good site even if you used it just for price checking, seeing how costco don't have a website. Honestly when I went there the prices for groceries weren't that great, but sometimes they do have bargains on appliances that make buying a membership worth while just to get that price, but if you don't have any way of looking you never know.
"Unless you have no Costco in your area…"
Erm, do you live in the USA Jay-Lo? Here in Oz-land, almost no one has a Costco "in their area"…
For example, there's only 1 in the ACT, there's only 2 in Victoria, etc…
Well if you need someone to spell it all out for you knucky…
obviously I meant a store nearby that won't require a 2 hour drive.
For example, there's only 1 Costco in SA as far as I'm aware, about 20-30mins from the CBD, thats local and in my area enough.
I assume you know where SA is, if not, you can use google and google maps. Hopefully you're not on dial-up still!
almost no one has a Costco "in their area"…
Are you saying Costco tends to open their stores in the middle of the dessert/ocean or in small towns with a population of 20?
Nah, what I was saying is that for most peeps "in my area" means about a ten minute drive, max. Ask around; not many will share your view that it means "a 30 minute drive away".
I recently came across this website : https://www.fairdinks.com.au/
To me this seems like someone setup a simple website using a shopping cart template to resell Costo items. Even the photos look like they were taken while shopping at Costco.
I too am a Costco shopper and sometimes you find genuine bargains there but these days they are far and few between. So it was a bit amusing to see someone setup this operation thinking they could make money by taking orders online and going Costo shopping over the weekend with a shopping list in hand.
Perhaps he is a smart guy who has identified a gap in the way Costco operates in Australia. In US you can view prices and order online directly from Costco.com but not in Australia.
So is this a common practice? Maybe there is money to be made being a personnel Costo shopper.
Could a Site Admin please remove/merge my post?
I just found this website had been discussed in the past https://www.ozbargain.com.au/node/193630
Wow. I mean - the site's been around for 3.5 years so it's obviously doing something right. (Or it's a money laundering op… who knows).
not you again mate get a life its Friday afternoon
Still stuck in the office unfortunately. I'd definitely be getting a beer otherwise.
Plus get points from CC purchase. Also if the price drops then CC price protection refund.
What's the add-on/ what does the "some guy" get out of it?