This is how they transfer wealth from consumers to corporations
We pay the tariffs Corporations get the tariff refund
Trickle up economics as usual
this post was submitted on 01 Dec 2025
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If you look at Costco's actions in the past they have been pretty fair for their customers. Costco is actually in a very good position where they know exactly who bought what and Costco can issue refunds to their customers based on that data. Even if they just do it as 'store credit' it would still be very welcome to most of their customers and that would help to offset Costco's administrative costs of determining the refund amounts for everyone.
I like Costco as much as the next person but they will absolutely not be refunding us based on what we purchased lol
I’ll happily eat these words but im fairly certain I won’t have to
The article states that on a bunch of items they’ve just been eating the cost so they’ve been paying the tariffs instead of passing them on. For those cases, there is nothing to refund to the consumers.
Yeah but it doesn’t state they’ve eaten the tariffs on everything just certain staple items
And I would wager those items they've eaten the cost on, is what they're seeking compensation on.
Probably not, but they did state last year that the extra money they made from the gas station (they kept it competitive with other places) was used to keep the yearly “admission” price the same.
I've also heard that costco doesn't suck to work for as far as retail goes and many will actually work most of their career there.
Fwiw the people seem cheerful enough. At least not dead inside like Wal mart or any other big chain.
My stepson works for Costco. They are a fantastic employer compared to other retailers. They also do legitimately promote from within, including for business office professional positions.
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From the article:
In May, on Costco's earnings call, Chief Financial Officer Gary Millerchip told investors that about a third of Costco's sales in the U.S. are imported products. Millerchip said items imported from China represented about 8% of total U.S. sales.
Millerchip said that while Costco was seeing a direct impact from tariffs on imports of some fresh food items from Central and South America, it decided not to increase prices "because they are key staple items" for its customers.
Some of those fresh food items included pineapples and bananas. "We essentially held the price on those to make sure that we're protecting the member," he said.
In September, Millerchip told analysts: "We continue to work closely with our suppliers to find ways to mitigate the impact of tariffs, including moving the country of production where it makes sense and consolidating our buying efforts globally to lower the cost of goods across all our markets."
Honestly, that's pretty decent of them.
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Maybe. It depends on if they raised prices first to capture the losses. I know that seems like what a business would do first and what everyone predicted, but did they?
If it's true, then Costco just needs to give away free hot dogs meals (drink and side) to their patrons for a year.
My small business did not raise prices, and recouping that $6k would make a HUGE difference for us. But I know most companies probably aren’t in the same boat.
Same here. We sold several computer systems at our original quoted price, and just ate the price increase from our vendors.
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Maybe we need a class action saying the same
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Tbh that’s pretty based. Solid move, Costco.
But also, why are the the first large company to do this?
They're not. Read the article. Or at least the first line of the summary.
From the bottom of the article:
Global cosmetics giant Revlon, eyeglass maker EssilorLuxottica, motorcycle manufacturer Kawasaki, canned foods seller Bumble Bee, Japanese auto supplier Yokohama Tire and many smaller firms have also filed similar suits.
That probably does make Costco the most "known" company to sue.
That probably does make Costco the most "known" company to sue.
Revlon and Kawasaki are well known international brands....
I didn't say they weren't known, just that Costco is certainly the most known (for the US). If you just look at revenue Kawasaki has 5% of the footprint of Costco and Revlon hasn't posted anything since it's bankruptcy in 2023 (from what I could find). Revenue might not directly relate to if a company is a household name, but I think it gives a general sense.
Also, I was just noting that Costco is a bigger name. All the companies listed are notable.
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EssilorLuxottica might be "unknown" but it is the eyeglass maker with a functional monopoly on the industry and parent company to the many better known 'companies' such as: Ray-Ban, Oakley, Persol, Oliver Peoples, Vogue Eyewear, LensCrafters, Pearle Vision, Sunglass Hut, EyeMed etc.
I'm aware, I was just pointing out that Costco is more of a household name (and much larger company).
Costco is apparently the third largest retailer in the world. . So it's a slightly bigger deal when they sue over the tariffs.
Walmart switch to electronic price tags making more sense now, to quickly manipulate prices on every taco maneuver
It so they can profile you and adjust their pricing depending on how wealthy you are and if you really need the product. Dynamic pricing is coming and it's going to be brutal. They're not collecting these enormous datasets on every household for marketing only.
And so they can do really evil stuff like gouge you on water when it's hot out.
Not familiar with those price-tags, but how should they do this? Detecting your presence at a product and raise price? What if two ppl are standing there? Three?
I just don't see that happening when we have Shipt and Instantcart. Will they be profiling the shopper or the shoppers customer? Will we have professional "shoppers" that get discounts for their customers? Amazon tried the regional pricing long ago and it didn't go over well for them.
Given the price I've seen for those services, that will be the first group to get gouged. People are apparently willing to pay a massive premium for them.
I came here to post this article. Glad I searched before posting. Dear Costco, please fuck the Trump administration anally with the barbed wire wrapped dildo of courtroom justice.
What aisle can I find that on? Asking for myself.
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"reciprocal tariffs"
He just pre-reciprocal-ed the tariffs before the other countries.
If Costco doesn't refund the tariffs to customers, instead bringing back the Kirkland beef lasgana and big muffins, I would be alright with that. The last three or four years had some shrinkflation and loss of variety at Costco, which disappointed me.
While Costco is still one of the best stores to shop at, the American decay is still touching them. It doesn't feel good.
It has been an evolution at my store: Big lasagna for the last few decades, then a twin pack of smaller ones the last three or four years, and now this flavor is simply gone.
Its a helpless feeling to lose a food you love 💔
I bet you they'll bring it back bro, I believe in your cause.
I really hope that this goes through.
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