var json_comments = new Array("
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pmcpa4
September 28, 2009 9:27 PM
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wow... smart idea! Honestly, wish I thought of it... and lived near NYC!

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1 replies
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sleze69
September 29, 2009 12:38 AM
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@pmcpa4: Brilliant! I just hope that the local grocery stores or even Costco don't try to pull shenanigans and get the guy shut down.

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Dominikanfrank
September 28, 2009 9:28 PM
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Gonna be a flop... Problem with places like Costco's in the city is that those are items for bulk purchases, NYC apartments don't have space to store these 30 Pack charmins paper.

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11 replies
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BklynHotniss
September 29, 2009 9:44 PM
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@Dominikanfrank: I am Haitian so I will only speak for the majority of my people, but I am sure others would agree. In NYC our early 1900's apartments and closets are huge, and we can make room for just about anything COSTCO sells. Especially when West Indians don't necc. abide by the minimalist style of decor.

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Burning pakalolo not even noticing the weather
September 29, 2009 3:20 PM
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@Dominikanfrank: you haven't seen my grandparents apartment in Harlem. It is a 3 bedroom and my grandmother keeps a deep freezer in the 3rd bedroom (which is my sister's old room). Before my mom retired and moved to NC she would have her go to Costco and pick up lots of bulk items (meat, juice, etc) and store it in there. We also had 3 huge closets in the apartment (I pretty much grew up in a mansion by NYC apartment standards...but then again nobody wanted to live in Harlem in the 80's) where we would store Toilet paper, paper towels, and any other item we purchased. It was a rare occurrence to run out of food and supplies growing up.

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Etoiles
September 29, 2009 3:46 PM
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@Things would be better if I was back at home with pepper bu...: I loved living in a 3 BR in Morningside Heights. (Right on Riverside Dr! The kitchen window looked across the river to New Jersey.) I had two (two!) closets just in my 12.5' x 16' bedroom, there was a spare room for storage, there were two hall closets and a pantry and 12' pre-war ceilings...

...and then when the lease changed hands we finally hit the $2000 rent control ceiling, and the landlord said, \"That'll be $3050 please,\" and I moved to a dive in Inwood.

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Burning pakalolo not even noticing the weather
September 29, 2009 4:10 PM
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@Etoiles: I grew up on 111th and Manhattan ave (right across from morning side park). My grandparents still pay around $500 for their apartment (that's because it is owned by the City of New York and my grandfather used to manage buildings for them). Now I would guess the fare market value of that place is well into the $3k range. The good thing is when they pass away (not for many, many moons) I am set to get the apartment :-)

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Falcon5768
September 29, 2009 12:41 PM
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@Dominikanfrank: I never have a issue figuring out where to put shit in my apartment,

I actually rent out a extra storage space specifically so that I free up space in my closets for stuff like this. The savings totally outweigh the cost of the storage space.

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pecan 3.14159265
September 28, 2009 10:52 PM
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@Dominikanfrank: Trust me. City dwellers find a way. We live in a smallish apartment and we buy things in bulk. You just find the room. We have pots and pans in closets above our clothes. You find a way when saving money is involved.

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Elcheecho
September 28, 2009 9:55 PM
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@Dominikanfrank: nm, i misunderstood what you were saying. i thought you saying people in the area don't go to Costco cause they don't stock up like we in the 'burbs do.

BUT. Costco isn't really that bulk. A lot of their items come in pairs or threes if i recall correctly.

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katstermonster
September 29, 2009 1:33 AM
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@Elcheecho: I'm not a citydweller, but used to live in a pretty small apartment (1000 sq. ft for two people. Not tiny, but small), and I still managed to buy in bulk. I had a 30-pack of towels on a shelf in the hall closet, and a 36-pack of toilet paper under my bed. It's all about being creative.

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pecan 3.14159265
September 29, 2009 1:28 PM
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@katstermonster: @Mr_Human: @MostlyHarmless: Yeah, I choked a little too. I agree with the others. Kastermonster, you have no idea what what a small apartment is. 1,000 square feet for two people is a small mansion when it comes to apartment living. We live in a 765 square foot apartment, and we share it with an animal.

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LavenderSoap
September 29, 2009 4:51 PM
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@pecan 3.14159265: Yeah, we're at 450 sq ft. No animal though, unless you count the occasional roach :(

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TheWillow
September 29, 2009 4:33 PM
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@pecan 3.14159265: we have 1600 sq ft (1 bathroom) for 4 people and it's considered palatial.

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MostlyHarmless
September 29, 2009 5:13 AM
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@katstermonster: Yeeeeah... you have NO idea what a \"small\" apartment is. I almost choked when you mentioned \"pretty small\" and 1000 sq. ft. in one sentence.

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Trai_Dep
September 29, 2009 6:55 AM
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@MostlyHarmless: Feet? You measure yours in feet?!
When we want to feel Continental, it's centimeters. Otherwise, it's inches.

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West Coast Secessionist
September 29, 2009 4:56 AM
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@katstermonster: Yeah. LOL. I've never had an apt bigger than 750 sqft for my 2-person family here in the SF Bay. I assume your place was a 2 bedroom. Lucky!

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Mr_Human
September 29, 2009 2:38 AM
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@katstermonster: Hahahahah -- that's a mansion for 2 people in NYC.

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Elcheecho
September 28, 2009 9:39 PM
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@Dominikanfrank: that's why people aren't doing it themselves and are turning to a business to aggregate their orders. did you read the thing?

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ecwis
September 28, 2009 9:39 PM
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@Dominikanfrank: Maybe there's no space for the toilet paper but there's space in the pantry/fridge for pretty much everything else Costco sells.

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wdgasu
September 28, 2009 9:36 PM
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@Dominikanfrank: I think he is selling them individually, but makes the purchase in bulk quantities.

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ecwis
September 28, 2009 9:44 PM
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@wdgasu: No, he's selling exactly the same items Costco sells, in the bulk packaging.

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sven.kirk
September 28, 2009 9:37 PM
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Hope he LLC/incorporated to protect himself.

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smartmuffin
September 28, 2009 9:45 PM
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Wouldn't this technically be considered the resale of items, most of which say right on the packaging aren't permitted for resale?


Methinks it won't take long for Costco itself, or the makers of some of the more popular products, to drag this guy to court and get him shut down.

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24 replies
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The Porkchop Express
September 29, 2009 12:32 PM
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@smartmuffin: Don't restaurants and mom & pop diners do this too?

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johnfrombrooklyn
September 29, 2009 5:19 AM
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@smartmuffin: Yeah - well when I used to markup and sell beer to teenagers when I was in college the cops weren't too impressed when I pulled out the First Sale Doctrine speech.

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West Coast Secessionist
September 29, 2009 5:05 AM
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@smartmuffin: What do you think \"Costco Wholesale\" means? CLUE: Safeway, Kroger, Piggly-Wiggly, Stop & Shop, these kinds of stores (RETAIL stores) buy from WHOLESALE stores. To resell.

Sure, we all know Costco is a different kind of wholesale store, but anyway the point is, they couldn't give a rat's ass if you are selling the merchandise! Why would they want to stop you? They make money when you buy it! Grocery stores, on the other hand, frown upon buying for resale because they have loss leaders and they counter crafty entrepreneurs by limiting quantities on really good sale items.

Also, your lack of knowledge of the first sale doctrine is truly terrifying. I guess if you bought a pair of pants with a label suggesting that you're \"not allowed\" to sell them or give them away, you'd not realize that was meaningless crap too?

I think you'd love DRM music services.

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ecwis
September 29, 2009 2:28 AM
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@smartmuffin: First of all, this guy is not selling the items individually. He's selling the items in their bulk packaging. But if he wasn't, most of Costco's items are marked for individual sale anyway. Their Scott brand toilet paper for example has barcodes on each roll.

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TheObserver
September 29, 2009 4:35 AM
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@ecwis:

Another thing, he really isn't reselling anything from what I read from the article. He's basically a delivery service. Now I don't know if the customer gives him money ahead of time or he just presents the bill, but at any rate, all he is doing is taking what an equivalent item would have cost in Manhattan, taking the difference, and having the customer pay half of that. So if the customer saves 20 bucks on toilet paper, then he'll pay the guy 10 bucks on top of the cheaper price. So again more of a 'delivery charge' than anything.

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treimel
September 29, 2009 12:33 PM
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@TheObserver:


ummm .... what you've just described is re-sale. Replace \"he\" with \"wholesaler\" and \"split\" with margin.

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coren
September 29, 2009 2:09 AM
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@smartmuffin: Even if resale were forbidden (the above make a good case for otherwise), he can argue that he is being given a fee to shop for the customer or something like that and no resale is occurring.

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Real Cheese Flavor
September 29, 2009 12:44 PM
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@coren: Yeah, my take on it was not that he was reselling items but was actually purchasing items at the customer's request and then charging a fee for time/gas/transportation/etc.

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MrEvil
September 29, 2009 1:38 AM
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@smartmuffin: No, the items aren't prohibited from resale. It's just that they aren't labeled for individual sale. The outter carton has the Nutrition info and UPC. The individual items don't have either. Small concessions ignore that labeling all the time especially if they need a restock on a particular item and can't get to Sam's or Costco.

And I doubt Costco would terminate this guy's membership. Costco and Sam's club cater specifically to just these types of entrepreneurs. As long as he's paying for a business membership they have no reason to complain.

I reckon what this guy is doing is taking grocery orders from people in non-bulk quantities. Runs to Costco and purchases at wholesale pricing and quantities. And marks up the goods just enough to cover his expenses and make a tidy profit, all the while keeping a competitive price. Heck I reckon the guy could charge the same as the grocers and still have lots of business.

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Megalomania
September 28, 2009 10:42 PM
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@smartmuffin: Isn't the \"not for individual resale\" stuff more of a barcode thing? Each barcode on a 6 pack of 20 oz sodas is for the whole 6, so you don't want to split them up and sell them if you want to keep inventory sane...

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Rachacha
September 29, 2009 1:34 AM
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@Megalomania: I believe the individual sale is to some extent a barcode item, but also for food (think variety packs of chips/cheetos/doritos, it may also be a nutritional information thing where some of the nutritional information is located only on the exterior packaging and not on the individual package.

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TechnoDestructo
September 28, 2009 10:52 PM
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@Megalomania:

Also, there's often no nutrition information on the \"not for individual sale\" items.

But yes, you're right about the bar codes. I've found that out the hard way when someone broke up a 6 pack of something and left it in the case for individual bottles.

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nakkypoo
September 28, 2009 10:11 PM
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@smartmuffin: First sale doctrine: once I buy something, I can do whatever I want with it -- blow it up, eat it, rent it out, or even resell it. As much as some retailers and manufactures would love to dictate what you may or may not do with the items you purchase from them, they can't. Period.

First sale doctrine is what makes libraries and garage sales legal.

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Alessar
September 29, 2009 12:44 PM
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@nakkypoo: I think the only restriction that could vaguely apply is food items in [food service] packaging such that each individual serving is lacking the government required nutrition info. Even so, if he's selling the entire box and not splitting it up, that wouldn't apply.

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billy
September 29, 2009 5:03 AM
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@nakkypoo: The First Sale Doctrine only really applies to copyright law. It only helps the reseller avoid copyright infringement claims.

State licensing and retailer laws apply when people are selling/delivering.

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StanTheManDean
September 29, 2009 2:40 AM
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@nakkypoo:


Good lucking think you way.


Products sold by weight, volume or count for profit are regulated by your state's weight and measure board


Products deemed a human consumable food are regulated by the state's weight and measure board as well as the state's health department.

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TechnoDestructo
September 28, 2009 10:51 PM
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@nakkypoo:

That doesn't mean the party from whom you bought it has to keep selling to you.

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RandomHookup
September 28, 2009 10:26 PM
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@nakkypoo: True, but Costco is a membership driven club, so I'm sure there are some provisions in the contract that limit how you can dispose of them. If that holds up in court is another matter.


There are some things you are limited by law from reselling...Rx, for example, and I'm sure there are others that you can't sell without a license of some sort.

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Rachacha
September 29, 2009 1:36 AM
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@RandomHookup: Costco and other warehouse stores cater to small businesses (restaurants and vending machine stockers), heck, half of their food items are tagged with \"It Vends\" on it.


For things like paper products or cleaning supplies, they are simply packaged in larger containers or multiple jars per sale package.

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bender123
September 28, 2009 9:50 PM
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@smartmuffin:

Most bulk items at Costco/Sams are labeled for resale, so this would eliminate that problem. Thats why they sell soda in flats and retail display packs of snacks and sundries.

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nycaviation
September 28, 2009 9:49 PM
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@smartmuffin: I believe Costco business accounts allow you to resell items.

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meadandale
September 29, 2009 4:45 PM
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@nycaviation:

Yep, and if you have a resale license and show it to costco, you can buy stuff tax free. Of course that means that YOU have to charge sales tax when you resell it...something tells me that this guy isn't doing that...

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gparlett
September 28, 2009 9:49 PM
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@smartmuffin: I dont' know about that... Sam's Club and CostCo market heavily to small businesses. Go through the snack aisle, for instance, and look at how many items are marked specifically as being convenient for vending machines. I don't see how this is any different.

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StanTheManDean
September 29, 2009 2:37 AM
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@gparlett:


The products sold by Sam's Club for retail vending are labelled in compliance with State labelling laws for products for resale


(manufacturer name, location, manufacturing code, product weight, serving size, health label etc)

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joshuadavis
September 28, 2009 9:48 PM
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@smartmuffin: Is that legally enforceable? I would think if I own something I could sell it.

I believe it exists more as a warning to consumers. And perhaps Costco could revoke his membership.

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JessMeNU
September 28, 2009 9:49 PM
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it won't be long before costco start offering delivery.

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1 replies
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Triterion
September 28, 2009 11:36 PM
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@JessMeNU: They deliver to businesses, at least in California...

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nycaviation
September 28, 2009 9:51 PM
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If New Yorkers didn't constantly vote the same union-bought \"progressive\" politicians into office year after year, they would have Costcos and Wal-Marts in convenient locations where they could reap the whole savings, not just half.

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10 replies
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Trai_Dep
September 29, 2009 7:00 AM
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@nycaviation: It'd be so adorable watching a Wal-Mart deliverer trying to get anywhere past the Teamsters and the Mob. Or if he's really unlucky, trying to cut in in front of a taxicab driver. Like watching calves splashing in the piranha-festooned Amazon waters!

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twophrasebark
September 29, 2009 5:28 AM
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@nycaviation:

I dunno about that. Bloomberg never saw a big box retailer he didn't like...

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Phipps6505
September 29, 2009 2:30 AM
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@nycaviation: Costco is relatively union friendly - the Teamsters staff some locations. The articles I've read in the past, the union can't say enough good things about the company.

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Trai_Dep
September 29, 2009 7:02 AM
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@Phipps6505: Costco is what Wal-Mart would be, if they had scruples, community concern or a soul.

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Brazell
September 28, 2009 11:03 PM
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@nycaviation: #1 rule of Consumerist: never defend Wal*Mart.

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cuiusquemodi
September 28, 2009 10:02 PM
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@nycaviation: Yeah, because it's those politicians that keep Wal-Mart and Costco out of Manhattan. Not the fact that the big-box business model is thrives on the availability of huge... tracts of inexpensive land and the ability to get large numbers of trucks in and out on a fixed schedule.

There is a Costco in Brooklyn and another in Queens, and yet a third on Staten Island, all under the jurisdiction of these \"union-bought 'progressive' politicians.\"

Although I suppose keeping Central Park as a public green space instead of developing it does indeed constitute socialism.

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nycaviation
September 29, 2009 4:12 AM
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@cuiusquemodi: Sorry, the supermarket owners are pretty active, too. The owner of Gristedes, for example, is a powerful Democratic donor. The last thing he wants is to compete with stores that actually sell stuff at fair prices.

Costco was prevented from building a store on the Upper West Side of Manhattan. Walmart has been blocked no matter where it tried to build in the city, yet Target is opening a store in Manhattan soon. How does that happen?

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Excited_Utterance
September 29, 2009 1:18 PM
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@nycaviation: \"How does that happen?\"

Um... democratic processes?

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Falcon5768
September 29, 2009 12:58 PM
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@nycaviation: You have to understand, it aint just Unions or Government people keeping Walmart out.

Its ALSO residence, NO ONE wants Walmart, because with Walmart comes unfair pricing (great for the consumer but impossible for the retailer to compete) and loss of jobs.

Walmart is a cancer, its just eats up normal retail killing off anything that stands in its way.

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NeverLetMeDown
September 29, 2009 4:37 PM
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@Falcon5768:


Funny, if NO ONE wants WalMart, then who's shopping there?


Bottom line, the message is \"I don't want to shop at WalMart, so I don't think you should be allowed to.\"

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econobiker
September 29, 2009 2:48 PM
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@Falcon5768: The Walmart business model has been called \"retail strip mining\" i.e. remove all the profits from an area and ship them to the Walton family, etc. unlike the grocers of old who lived and worked in the town, city, region...

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Falcon5768
September 29, 2009 1:05 PM
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@Falcon5768: and yes the pricing is unfair. There was a excellent CNBC report on Walmart which showed how evil their pricing was (in an effort to make Wallyworld look GOOD)

They make you slash your overhead, fire your workers and take a paycut in order to get the pricing down to a barely there profit, then sell your item for your normal retail value making them more profit than they would have had they just bought the item for what you sold it to other people.

their justification? That you are selling in Walmart, so the bulk of sales will make up your profit loss. And they do this for everything. My father-in-laws firm was hired to do market research for them and walked out on them when they tried to get him to cut his profit to the point he was working at a loss once travel and staff overhead was factor in. Said it was the best decision he ever made despite the millions he could have potentially made from it.

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NeverLetMeDown
September 29, 2009 4:38 PM
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@Falcon5768:


Interesting, and would make sense, if it weren't for the fact that WalMart's gross margins are _lower_ than comparable stores.


Also, your father-in-law wouldn't have \"made millions,\" he would have generated millions in revenue. Big difference.

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johnfrombrooklyn
September 29, 2009 5:21 AM
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@nycaviation: K-Mart has had a store forever in Astor Place. Target has been in Brooklyn for a long time.

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Trance1861
September 28, 2009 10:07 PM
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@cuiusquemodi: Beat me to the post! I was too busy confirming that I wasn't going crazy and that there are, indeed, Costcos in Brooklyn and Queens.


Also, I don't know how a Costco would even survive in Manhattan. The overhead for the type of space they would need would be insane. Also, no one has space in Manhattan to store bulk and, more importantly, no one can get bulk packages back to their buildings without a car.

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NeverLetMeDown
September 28, 2009 10:17 PM
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@Trance1861: True for Costco, but the politicians are DEFINITELY keeping WalMart out of NYC (not just Manhattan).

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NeverLetMeDown
September 28, 2009 10:18 PM
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@NeverLetMeDown:


Also, Costco wanted to open a store on the UWS, but got shot down by the local politicians (concerns about traffic, etc.).

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adrew
September 28, 2009 10:07 PM
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I wonder if he has a Costco Executive Membership and Costco American Express card?

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2 replies
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katia802
September 29, 2009 1:37 PM
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@adrew: If he's smart he's got an Exec. membership. They give you a rebate (believe it's 5%) at the end of the year on how much you spent during your membership year. My son uses Costco for some items at his store, the rest of the family just use my membership for basic bulk shopping, i get a nice rebate at the end of the year from it.

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ecwis
September 29, 2009 2:32 AM
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@adrew: Well the 2% reward from the Executive membership is capped at $500. And the cash back from the credit wouldn't provide him with much profit since he has to give up about 2% anyway in order to accept credit cards from his customers.

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krunk4ever
September 28, 2009 10:09 PM
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After reading this it got me thinking... why all the complicated math to calculate what it'll cost. Why not have a set of prices on items you're willing to deliver. If there's a request for a particular item, you can research in and add it to the list of your offerings.

As someone previously mentioned already, space isn't cheap in Manhattan, so he could also make some extra money by splitting the bulk items. Stuff like Charmin toilet paper comes conveniently wrapped in packages of 6 already.

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Megalomania
September 28, 2009 10:43 PM
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@krunk4ever: The complicated math allows him to prove to his customers they're always going to save money.

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Jerry Vandesic
September 28, 2009 10:40 PM
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@krunk4ever: I think he does it this way to point out that the process is fair. Each side splits the savings. People like fair deals.

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Esquire99
September 28, 2009 10:12 PM
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30 rolls of Charmin via Fresh Direct appears to only be $26.64. (Though they only come in 18 roll packs, so you'd actually get 36 rolls for $32). I suspect the $40 for 30 rolls is relying heavily on the Duane Reade and CVS pricing.

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pecan 3.14159265
September 28, 2009 10:54 PM
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@Esquire99: But if that's where a lot of people have to go, it makes sense to use that comparison. People don't always have the time or ability to be picky. And a lot of city dwellers don't even own cars, making it hard to actually transport anything larger than 18 rolls of toilet paper.

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Burning pakalolo not even noticing the weather
September 29, 2009 4:05 PM
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@pecan 3.14159265: we also have zip car and old lady shopping carts. When I am doing regular grocery shopping I break out my shopping cart and walk to Foodtown or the hardware store, or wherever. For IKEA and Home Depot runs I get the zip car.

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huadpe
September 28, 2009 11:38 PM
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@pecan 3.14159265: Fresh Direct is a delivery service akin to what this is providing.

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ecwis
September 29, 2009 2:34 AM
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@huadpe: Except FreshDirect doesn't refuse the enormous amount of customers who don't have doormen...

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Starfury
September 28, 2009 10:23 PM
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This guy is pretty smart. I'm guessing there are a fair amount of people that live in NYC that don't own a car and this service is a good deal for them.

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calquist
September 28, 2009 10:25 PM
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There is a sign in our break room for a company that buys things that you order from Trader Joe's and then you can pick up your loot in downtown Kansas City. Except you pay for delivery and everything is more expensive, they just bank on people wanting to be part of the Trader Joe's fad, I guess.

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FaustianSlip
September 29, 2009 8:50 AM
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@calquist: The \"Trader Joe's fad\"? I love Trader Joe's but have only had the opportunity to use them with any regularity when living briefly in Delaware and when visiting family in New Jersey. I live in Maine, and the closest one to us is in Boston- everyone I know who's been there is dying for one to open up by us. Their products are great, their prices are reasonable, and they have really good customer service. I didn't know wanting cool stuff at low prices with cheerful service was now a \"fad.\"

The only thing I have against Trader Joe's is that every time I ask a cashier when they'll finally open one in Maine, because I really need somewhere where I can get their turkey chili and the TJ's brand of pesto, they laugh. A delivery service like the one you mention would probably do very well here- even with service charges, it would still be less expensive than shopping at Whole Paycheck.

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econobiker
September 29, 2009 2:51 PM
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@FaustianSlip: Sad to say Maine probably does not fit a streamlined and efficient logistics model along with having enough of the target market of people living there. Heck, TN only recently got a single Trader Joe's installed in the Gold Coast area of Nashville...

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flyingember
September 29, 2009 2:19 PM
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@West Coast Secessionist:
From KC the closest one is 4 hours by car in St. Louis. That's good for dry food but what interests me every time is some of the frozen stuff they sell.

They're looking into the KC market apparently, finally. Though they're not cheaper than the existing stores around here and there local Hy-Vees are big into organic food already. What I'm interested in are the unique products only TJs has.

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lajoan
September 28, 2009 10:30 PM
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the website is pretty cool. I might consider using it if I lived in NYC.


I live in the suburbs and CostCo is literally the closest store to my house. Which is weird. I find myself going there for just 1 or 2 items on occassion. Or free lunch thanks to the ample samples.

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econobiker
September 29, 2009 2:54 PM
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@lajoan: I take my son's there for the food court pizza which is no worse than higher priced mcPizzas from the chain pizza places. Plus we can hang there for a long time and not get hasseled by waitstaff (since there is none!) which works well when they have activities scheduled earlier in the day prior to my dropping them back off at their mother's home...

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GC
September 28, 2009 10:52 PM
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@smartmuffin: The 'not for resale' thing refers to the actual contents of a given package. For example, if you buy a box of miniature chocolate bars, the individual bars not not labelled for resale as they don't have all the required nutritional information, etc.

This situation doesn't apply since people are still purchasing the entire case - the items just aren't able to be broken down and sold individually.

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vitonfluorcarbon
September 28, 2009 10:53 PM
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This is actually a good idea. I live in a small town of 30,000 and literally am only 10 minutes from anywhere. But, if I lived in New York (I've been there, and can't believe so many choose to live there. I'd just go nuts) I can see how this is appealing. I imagine that this ends up a good deal, especially if you consider that people are probably taking a bus, cab, or subway to get the most basic things at the store.

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FaustianSlip
September 29, 2009 8:57 AM
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@vitonfluorcarbon: I love NYC- I have a job that would potentially allow me to move there, and I've come really close to doing so a couple of times. The only thing really stopping me is that the cost of living (specifically rent) is pretty prohibitive, and I don't really want to have roommates 'til I'm forty. Love visiting, though.

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johnfrombrooklyn
September 29, 2009 5:23 AM
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@vitonfluorcarbon: Funny. I grew up in a town of 25,000 people and now live in New York City. Every time I visit my folks I can't wait to get back to NYC - THE WORLD'S GREATEST CITY.

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Brazell
September 28, 2009 11:05 PM
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Great idea. If it isn't a good deal, the business won't last. If it is a good deal, everybody will work out better for it, hopefully, some enterprising individual can turn it mass-market profitable, bringing down the cost of living in the city.

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Rachacha
September 29, 2009 1:43 AM
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This guy should also look at selling this service to businesses and office buildings to stock breakrooms or to have refreshments on hand for business meetings.


A couple of years ago we had a large meeting/seminar and wanted to buy 30 cases of bottled water. We thought about going to Costco, but the closest one was way out of the way and required membership (of which the company was not a member so we would have been relying on an employee's personal membership. We ultimately ordered it from Peapod by Giant, a grocery delivery service run by our local grocery store. It was convenient, and saved us a lot of time and hassle.

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econobiker
September 29, 2009 2:55 PM
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@Rachacha: There are \"coffee services\" which do just that thing.

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DePaulBlueDemon
September 29, 2009 2:25 AM
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@smartmuffin:

Absolutely not. That's why Costco exists in the first place, to cater to the small business (i.e. the coffee houses, vending machine suppliers, etc). These warehouse stores used to ONLY be open to businesses. The \"no resale\" stickers indicate that the item is not MARKED for resale, but that doesn't mean it's prohibited.

This man is doing nothing wrong.

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StanTheManDean
September 29, 2009 2:29 AM
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Products sold in bulk packages, unless the products within are specifically labelled for resale, may not be split from the bulk package and resold. Doing so is a violation of the NY State Weight and Measure Board (or whatever they call it in NY) and subject to a fine of typically $100 per violation.


Yes, each sale from the bulk package would be considered a violation.


However, if the person is keeping the products within their original bulk packaging (or split if the product within is properly labelled), the person is not in violation of the Weight and Measure Board.


BUT, the person may still be in violation of the State Health Department which regulates the sale and resale of consumable food products.


Since this website is well read, we can assume that at least one reader is a member of the law enforcement community, specifically the State of NY law enforcement community, and is seeking a promotion as a result of finding a significant criminal element. The business will now be placed under the proverbial microscope and any findings of wrong doing will be quickly discovered.

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Rectilinear Propagation
September 29, 2009 4:11 PM
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@StanTheManDean: smartmuffin already asked about this. Costco caters to businesses; they expect the bulk items to be sold individually.

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Panamapeter
September 29, 2009 2:44 AM
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StanTheManDean
If this is a significant criminal element, we all need to live in the ultimate safety of NYC.

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StanTheManDean
September 29, 2009 2:52 AM
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@Panamapeter:


And the jab about the LEO seeking a promotion. You know it will be a wet behind the ears new enlistee that will be following up with this crime.

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StanTheManDean
September 29, 2009 2:50 AM
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@Panamapeter:


One must assume a little sarcasm or humor in every post.

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Doug Nelson
September 29, 2009 4:08 AM
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Does Costco, Sams, etc., accept tax ID numbers? Otherwise he'll be paying double sales tax (or not charging it to his customers, therefore violating the law).

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ironchef
September 29, 2009 8:13 AM
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Too much publicity might get the NYC tax peeps to clamp down on this gem of an idea.
shhhhhhhhhh!

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FaustianSlip
September 29, 2009 8:55 AM
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When I lived in Japan, the Costco outside of Osaka had an in-store service to do much the same thing. You did your shopping, paid and then went over to a \"shipping\" area where you could give your address, let them estimate how many boxes your eighty pounds of oatmeal or whatever was going to take up, then charge you to ship everything to your door. The prices were really reasonable- something like ¥500 a box (about five bucks), as I recall, and the stuff was usually delivered within a day or two. If Costco were to offer something similar at its more urban stores here in the States, they'd probably make a killing. The only real problem is that the various delivery services that exist here in the U.S. don't really support a set-up like that as well as those in Japan do, so Costco would probably have to start its own delivery system.

And to whoever was saying that people living in small apartments could never find space for Costco-sized orders of soda or laundry detergent, I have to disagree. My apartment was fairly small (though big by Japanese standards), and I had Costco root beer stowed all over the place. Apartments in cities like Osaka are positively tiny, but Costco was doing a booming business every time I went there.

We don't have Costco in my neck of the woods right now, but they've forever earned my affection for providing me with mac & cheese, root beer and instant oatmeal during my two years in Japan. Thanks, Costco!

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nstonep
September 29, 2009 11:06 AM
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But delivery is going to be a muthafrigger.

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GMFish
September 29, 2009 12:22 PM
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New York City government shutting him down in 3, 2, 1....

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Rectilinear Propagation
September 29, 2009 4:19 PM
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I would have loved a grocery delivery service back before I bought a car (I've only had it for a few weeks).

In fact, I'd like it now for when I'm sick and don't feel like driving to the store for OTC meds.

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Quidnam
September 29, 2009 6:03 PM
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Fortunately there is a Costco opening in Manhattan on 116th & FDR Drive by Thanksgiving this year.

Not sure how the prices will compare with other places, but perhaps this delivery guy won't have to go as far.

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seattlemaninblue
September 29, 2009 10:54 PM
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My apartment was so small I had to step outside to change my mind...

(rim shot)

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Carlee
October 1, 2009 12:30 AM
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You can buy items from Costco for resale (assuming you have a resale license, I think) and not have to pay sales tax. My parents used to have a vending machine and instead of buying soda from Pepsi (at insane prices), they would buy soda from Costco.

Not sure about NY, but I think in CA, if he is \"reselling\" the items (and therefore didn't pay the sales tax to Costco), he should collect from the customers and then pay it to the State Board. But if he does pay sales tax, then I don't think it's an issue - the customer would just pay the sales tax to him. But he has already paid the sales tax to the state.

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