That is semantics. The only difference between a movie ticket and the membership is the term. Both movie theatres and Costco have areas that cannot be accessed or used unless you do whatever they deem to require for entrance. A movie theatre does not have to allow you to use their concessions or bathrooms or any other part of the facility unless you pay for something. If they wanted that to be a membership, they could do that. As I already mentioned, AMC has a membership program. If they wanted to, they could cancel all individual ticket sales and only sell memberships. The rules for access would be the same - you can’t buy a hotdog. You can’t buy one movie ticket and have 2 people use it. If you could, there would be no point in buying tickets and I would make the same argument if someone came in here saying that “verification of a ticket purchase” is an inconvenience and worth stopping support for.
It wasn’t wrong. You’re just misconstruing what I said.
I said this in another comment too but the fact that you think the only way someone can disagree with you is that they work for Costco is a conspiratorial hot mess. I neither work for Costco nor “have a cult-like love for them”. You just have a persecution complex.
I’m not sure what you’re arguing against. You’re just making my point for me that the membership is paying for benefits that normal non-members don’t get.
I don’t see how what I said and what you claim are at odds or how anyone is gaslighting you. No one is gaslighting anyone. You’re just being dishonest.
If it’s worthwhile for even a single person, then your initial statement was wrong. I never said anything about a family of 2, you did.
I never said it was wrong for a family of 2 to do anything. You’re just being dishonest now. You said that this is akin to Amazon adding ads or some other nonsense or Netflix backtracking on account sharing. I’m just pointing out that that is incorrect. Costco has never allowed you to share a membership outside of the household and the membership provides benefits that people are paying for. That’s it. That’s the whole thing.
Also, the fact that you think the only way someone would disagree with you is that they literally work for Costco is telling. Says a lot about how you view the world.
I feel like you’re projecting. I never said it was your job or mine to police who shops at Costco. It’s their job and they’re doing it. I’m not worried about what everyone else is doing. I just think it’s weird that you’re willing to pay for an exclusivity that you feel should be unenforced.
I’m sorry that you can’t consider other people’s viewpoints without distorting them to be some kind of victim. That must be exhausting.
And the feeling is mutual on not continuing. You’re assuming so many things so maliciously and distorting my point that I have to wonder why…
Irrelevant. It is the cost of admission to use the concession stand to make purchases. Your point was that businesses can’t restrict buying something and that’s clearly not the case, even for movie theatres.
No, you’re not. You’re ignoring the fact that the ticket is the membership. It is the cost of admission to use the other facilities, including the concession stand. Costco also has a cost of admission. It’s their membership fee.
I’m not trying to get you to do anything. You have a real self-centeredness complex. I’m only pointing out that you’re wrong to suggest that it’s not worth it to have a membership to a store.
As for the last bit, that would require me to be mad. Unlike you, I don’t wish ill will on people for no reason.
Just because you can't understand a logical cost/benefit rationale doesn't make it wrong.
I understand it fine. I’m pointing out the flaw in it based on the fact that you’re complaining about paying for something that you are ok with others abusing for free. I never said that Costco wasn’t doing it for their own benefit. Happy members benefit them. People who aren’t members do not benefit them or members.
The entire point of contention is why any member would be ok with non-members using services you pay for without paying.
It’s a hypothetical that has no bearing on the situation you’re attempting to comment on analogously. In the same way theatres restrict access to the concession stands for people who have paid for a ticket, Costco is restricting access to its warehouse for people who have paid for a membership. It’s not that hard of a concept. Your hypothetical analogy is proving you wrong.
You’re only saying that because they’re insulating you from the effect of this happening. If Costco had to raise rates because people were sharing memberships and members didn’t want that enforced, you’d complain about that too. Again, it’s odd to me that you’re complaining about them protecting the very benefits that you’re paying for which others are not. Unless you have some magic way to prevent non-members from using benefits that doesn’t affect members, your demands are unreasonable.
The gym analogy isn’t a false equivalence. If Joe Schmo lets his neighbor use your membership, it does affect you and it does so in the same way as it does at the gym - more traffic, less access to product, more upkeep, etc. and none of which they’re paying for but you are. I don’t understand why you’re ignoring the ways this affects you simply because this also affects you.
DRM is a a false equivalence. This is not immaterial goods like Intellectual Property. This is physical goods at physical stores of resources that are physically limited. It’s not the same thing in any way.
No it’s not. Someone else already provided membership cost and revenue data. You’re the one arguing it’s not true because you and “everyone you know” don’t have the same experience.
That is semantics. The only difference between a movie ticket and the membership is the term. Both movie theatres and Costco have areas that cannot be accessed or used unless you do whatever they deem to require for entrance. A movie theatre does not have to allow you to use their concessions or bathrooms or any other part of the facility unless you pay for something. If they wanted that to be a membership, they could do that. As I already mentioned, AMC has a membership program. If they wanted to, they could cancel all individual ticket sales and only sell memberships. The rules for access would be the same - you can’t buy a hotdog. You can’t buy one movie ticket and have 2 people use it. If you could, there would be no point in buying tickets and I would make the same argument if someone came in here saying that “verification of a ticket purchase” is an inconvenience and worth stopping support for.