ULPT: If you know someone with a membership to a big club store (Costco, Sams Club, etc.), have them buy you gift cards ($5 or $10). You will be allowed entry and can buy whatever you want and then pay the balance using cash or card without being a member. You can avoid the yearly fee this way.

๐ŸŽ™๏ธ Infini7y ยท 2287 points ยท Posted at 17:52:26 on July 17, 2017 ยท (Permalink)

SANTAAAA__I_know_him ยท 670 points ยท Posted at 23:15:19 on July 17, 2017 ยท (Permalink)

If true, I'd call this a legit LPT. You're just following store policy.

[deleted] ยท 257 points ยท Posted at 19:00:22 on July 17, 2017 ยท (Permalink)

That's unethical?

[deleted] ยท 362 points ยท Posted at 00:07:18 on July 18, 2017 ยท (Permalink)

Costco is one of the good guys, so yeah this is pretty shitty

luckyspic ยท 132 points ยท Posted at 01:14:12 on July 18, 2017 ยท (Permalink)

Big box company is a good guy? Elaborate.

GoCougs3216 ยท 404 points ยท Posted at 02:07:11 on July 18, 2017 ยท (Permalink)

They pay their employees an insanely livable wage with full benefits and paid vacation.

StardustOasis ยท 166 points ยท Posted at 05:31:59 on July 18, 2017 ยท (Permalink)

Jesus fuck, people don't get paid holiday in the US?

1sagas1 ยท 11 points ยท Posted at 14:06:49 on July 19, 2017 ยท (Permalink)

Most do if you aren't on the bottom-rung of the workforce (fast food, retail, interns, etc.)

Basically if there is any competition among companies for employees, you will have it

kickturkeyoutofnato ยท 51 points ยท Posted at 12:03:24 on July 18, 2017 ยท (Permalink)

deleted What is this?

StardustOasis ยท 18 points ยท Posted at 12:07:05 on July 18, 2017 ยท (Permalink)

It should have probably said "some people." Is it a legal entitlement there, or are there actually people who don't get it at all? Because the other person that replied said they don't get it if they don't meet targets.

kickturkeyoutofnato ยท 24 points ยท Posted at 12:21:41 on July 18, 2017 ยท (Permalink)

deleted What is this?

StardustOasis ยท 16 points ยท Posted at 12:34:23 on July 18, 2017 ยท (Permalink)

So in answer to my question, no, it isn't a legal entitlement. It is here, so that's why I'm asking.

kickturkeyoutofnato ยท 8 points ยท Posted at 12:41:04 on July 18, 2017 ยท (Permalink)

deleted What is this?

StardustOasis ยท 1 points ยท Posted at 12:45:57 on July 18, 2017 ยท (Permalink)

It's legally required for all employers to give their employees a minimum of 5.6 weeks paid holiday per year here.

kickturkeyoutofnato ยท 2 points ยท Posted at 12:55:01 on July 18, 2017 ยท (Permalink)

deleted What is this?

StardustOasis ยท 2 points ยท Posted at 12:59:06 on July 18, 2017 ยท (Permalink)

UK, here is the government explanation. This, however, falls under EU law, so it potentially could change in the next two years.

GoCougs3216 ยท 2 points ยท Posted at 13:05:46 on July 18, 2017 ยท (Permalink)

No guidelines and no requirement. When I moved from my last job I got a huge raise but went from 3 weeks to 2 weeks paid vacation. Most people who work hourly get none

TheBlackShit ยท 5 points ยท Posted at 03:04:14 on July 20, 2017 ยท (Permalink)

I work at a big box retailer in the US and I get 18 days of paid time off per year. After your five year anniversary it increases to 25 days.

DragonsAreLove192 ยท 9 points ยท Posted at 06:00:51 on July 18, 2017 ยท (Permalink)

I only get paid time off if I sell 5 memberships in a month, and I usually see less than five new clients in that month... and when it does happen, it's 8 hours. Sooooo. No. It isn't required. I haven't gotten PTO in over 7 months because I always see regulars.

StardustOasis ยท 19 points ยท Posted at 06:16:06 on July 18, 2017 ยท (Permalink)

Fuck. Here in the UK we have to be given 5.6 weeks paid holiday per year, which usually works out as 28 days paid holiday. This explains it better, but essentially paid holiday is a legal entitlement.

DragonsAreLove192 ยท 27 points ยท Posted at 06:43:02 on July 18, 2017 ยท (Permalink)

Yeah, the US is... pretty far behind on that kind of stuff, putting it mildly.

StardustOasis ยท 5 points ยท Posted at 08:30:00 on July 18, 2017 ยท (Permalink)

Why isn't anybody doing anything about this?

No-Spoilers ยท 23 points ยท Posted at 09:37:28 on July 18, 2017 ยท (Permalink)

Because this costs the people who make the rules money. And they like their money and not us.

[deleted] ยท 1 points ยท Posted at 16:16:01 on August 23, 2017 ยท (Permalink)

It costs everyone money to have everyone work less. If we switched to it the economy would slow down fast. It would be fine after a while, but everyone would complain during that adjustment.

Chilapox ยท 19 points ยท Posted at 14:22:27 on July 18, 2017 ยท (Permalink)

Because the people who benefit from not having these policies in place have convinced poor people that there isn't enough to go around and the country will go to hell if everyone is provided for adequately. Same reason people think socialized medicine could never work here. costs are so artificially high that people assume that's just what healthcare costs. Other people just go down to mexico and pay a tiny fraction of what things cost here.

DeniseDeNephew ยท 6 points ยท Posted at 12:33:05 on July 21, 2017 ยท (Permalink)

They've also convinced us that unions, who fight for worker compensation, are bad things. So instead of seeing someone else's great benefits and saying, "I want that, too!" most Americans will say, "I don't get that, so someone should take that away from them!". The 1% doesn't need to hold us down, we're more than happy to drag each other down -- and who benefits from that?

RustedCorpse ยท 19 points ยท Posted at 08:51:09 on July 18, 2017 ยท (Permalink)

Cause gotta watch game of thrones.

PantShittinglyHonest ยท 6 points ยท Posted at 15:35:53 on July 23, 2017 ยท (Permalink)

Because you're allowed to work for whoever you want, and employers are free to offer whatever incentives they want to get you to work there. If you want paid vacation, negotiate it.

If you don't have it at your job and that's a problem, no one is forcing you to continue to work there. This is America.

not_so_plausible ยท 0 points ยท Posted at 09:03:37 on September 11, 2017 ยท (Permalink)

Some things shouldn't have to be negotiated. That's the point.

PantShittinglyHonest ยท 1 points ยท Posted at 23:02:41 on September 11, 2017 ยท (Permalink)

Ok, I'm an employer. Instead of offering you a job without paid vacation time, I can now not afford to offer you any job at all because we cannot negotiate terms. Congratulations, you now have less jobs in your economy, and someone doesn't have work.

There is a reason we are the greatest economy in the world.

not_so_plausible ยท 1 points ยท Posted at 23:26:30 on September 11, 2017 ยท (Permalink)

The UK has a similar unemployment rate to the United States, and Germany has an even lower unemployment rate. So I don't think your correlation checks out.

BelindaBlinkedThrice ยท 1 points ยท Posted at 05:55:59 on July 23, 2017 ยท (Permalink)

Can you roll it over to the next year?

JeamBim ยท 4 points ยท Posted at 16:44:09 on July 18, 2017 ยท (Permalink)

What do you think we are, a bunch of well adjusted, happy, sane Europian scum?

/s

Sno_Jon ยท 4 points ยท Posted at 10:04:27 on July 18, 2017 ยท (Permalink)

So much for the land of the free

delantinist ยท 7 points ยท Posted at 14:58:12 on July 18, 2017 ยท (Permalink)

Plus they give the most bang for your buck. Buy a truck load of trail mix for $19.95 say no more

postfish ยท 3 points ยท Posted at 07:05:44 on July 19, 2017 ยท (Permalink)

Golden handcuffs

Mesues ยท 2 points ยท Posted at 01:35:31 on August 24, 2017 ยท (Permalink)

13 bucks is hardly livable

luckyspic ยท 0 points ยท Posted at 03:11:20 on July 18, 2017 ยท (Permalink)

Different story in Canada.

[deleted] ยท 11 points ยท Posted at 03:35:13 on July 18, 2017 ยท (Permalink)

Explain.

luckyspic ยท 2 points ยท Posted at 05:45:08 on July 18, 2017 ยท (Permalink)

Costco here just pays +2-3 over minimum wage lol

Listerine_ ยท -11 points ยท Posted at 05:06:48 on July 18, 2017 ยท (Permalink)

No

sweetb00bs ยท 1 points ยท Posted at 00:12:14 on December 10, 2017 ยท (Permalink)

Well I ainโ€™t never had a tool, but I had to be the man at school Like I was doing shit I had to do so when I finished undergrad Iโ€™m cool and I can get whatever job I wanted

fr33dom35 ยท 11 points ยท Posted at 04:34:32 on August 2, 2017 ยท (Permalink)

They pay their employees relatively well yes, but their membership fees and pricing are a complete scam. People think they're getting a good deal cause they're buying in bulk, but dollar for dollar their prices are significantly worse than many similar outfits like winco and cash & carry. They keep the prices of a few things they're known for low in order to b8 people in and get them to overpay for everything else

PM_MeYourAvocados ยท 8 points ยท Posted at 02:31:34 on August 13, 2017 ยท (Permalink)

It is not a scam. The fees largely go towards paying their employees well, including the benefits. Also their prices are better than most places. Just depends on what you buy.

fr33dom35 ยท 3 points ยท Posted at 17:10:29 on August 15, 2017 ยท (Permalink)

winco pays their employees the same, has good benefits, is open 24 hours a day, has better prices and no membership fee. Costco is making huge money off people like you that think they're getting a good deal when they aren't

PM_MeYourAvocados ยท 5 points ยท Posted at 17:16:03 on August 15, 2017 ยท (Permalink)

What's Winco? Never heard of it.

fr33dom35 ยท 3 points ยท Posted at 02:47:09 on August 19, 2017 ยท (Permalink)

employee owned grocery store on the west coast

[deleted] ยท 1 points ยท Posted at 16:44:29 on August 23, 2017 ยท (Permalink)

Yeah, I have some friends who love Costco and insist they get great deals.

I've gone several times... The prices on a few things are worth buying but the vast majority of stuff is the same price or slightly higher cost than going to other stores, except it's in prohibitively large quantities that make using it more difficult.

I just don't see the upside outside of going a few times a year for specific deals.

Capcombric ยท 1 points ยท Posted at 02:49:49 on August 6, 2017 ยท (Permalink)

Yeah but Sam's Club is owned by Walmart and treats their employees almost as badly.

Toxic4704 ยท 66 points ยท Posted at 22:37:16 on July 17, 2017 ยท (Permalink)

From what I know here (it could be different somewhere else) but if you have say a gift card for costco you're only allowed in like 3 times a year or so without a membership. I don't know how they enforce it but that is what I have heard.

N-XT ยท 41 points ยท Posted at 23:22:53 on July 17, 2017 ยท (Permalink)

That's probably something members or employees say to get you to join, but there's no way they could stop you.

adudeguyman ยท 18 points ยท Posted at 00:39:15 on July 18, 2017 ยท (Permalink)

They can say no

N-XT ยท 20 points ยท Posted at 00:52:07 on July 18, 2017 ยท (Permalink)

I meant that it would be difficult to detect you, especially with so many different employees at those kind of stores

JeamBim ยท 9 points ยท Posted at 16:44:53 on July 18, 2017 ยท (Permalink)

Yeah like they add you name to a list of names every time you do this, and then call you on it? Not likely

DignifiedDingo ยท 0 points ยท Posted at 04:38:36 on July 18, 2017 ยท (Permalink)

If they scan your card, they might have a fixed amount of visits you are allowed.

StardustOasis ยท 19 points ยท Posted at 05:32:25 on July 18, 2017 ยท (Permalink)

Buy a new card.

N-XT ยท 29 points ยท Posted at 05:39:01 on July 18, 2017 ยท (Permalink)

It's a gift card

DeniseDeNephew ยท 3 points ยท Posted at 12:35:30 on July 21, 2017 ยท (Permalink)

They might but they don't.

DeniseDeNephew ยท 6 points ยท Posted at 12:36:29 on July 21, 2017 ยท (Permalink)

Costco does not train their employees to do stupid things like turn away paying customers. Any "3 times a year" rule would only hurt them.

ThatBelligerentSloth ยท 3 points ยท Posted at 15:07:43 on August 23, 2017 ยท (Permalink)

Depending on your jurisdiction I believe it's illigal for companies not to let you pay with company issued credit if you've been allocated it.

DeniseDeNephew ยท 4 points ยท Posted at 12:34:46 on July 21, 2017 ยท (Permalink)

Not true. I buy them for my sister all the time and they don't care. She goes in and spends money, that's all they care about.

syoung925 ยท 1 points ยท Posted at 15:28:38 on November 11, 2017 ยท (Permalink)

Actually, no it's not all they care about. Costco charges a membership fee, for the basic, it equates to $5.00 a month. That fee pays for their employees, their benefits, and outstanding vacation and sick time. Costco has a mark up no more than 14 percent. On a lot of products they lose money to be able to provide a service to the members. So, no, not all they care about is money spent on merchandise, it's money spent on memberships. Costco is a club, get a membership card to be in the club, or buy nothing. You can't beat the quality or prices at Costco. If you want to buy merchandise, buy a card, don't be an entitled prick.

NeedHelpWithCredit1 ยท 2 points ยท Posted at 00:19:49 on August 23, 2017 ยท (Permalink)

This is incorrect. My parents just use my costco membership now that they don't have kids at home. I buy them a $100 gift card every now and then and they go in whenever they need to get something and I am not available to go with them for the membership.

bolotieshark ยท 8 points ยท Posted at 03:40:30 on July 18, 2017 ยท (Permalink)

This doesn't work for all Costcos, but it does work for Costco locations in the US. In other countries, you need to have a membership to make any non-food court purchase - such as in Japan.

j0hn13 ยท 6 points ยท Posted at 05:03:31 on August 2, 2017 ยท (Permalink)

I work at Sam's and this isn't a thing lol

I don't know about BJs and Costco, but it didn't matter how you pay at Sam's, you still have to either pay for the membership or the non member fee of 10 percent extra on your total price

May differ from state to state though

spachuga ยท 1 points ยท Posted at 03:45:14 on November 20, 2017 ยท (Permalink)

This. I have been working at Sam's in member services for almost 2 years. Every now and again if you're not a dick I'll just use the store card so you leave quickly. But no cashiers have these cards. So it really wouldn't work unless you came to member services and they were feeling generous

aidanmac8 ยท 14 points ยท Posted at 20:19:05 on July 17, 2017 ยท (Permalink)

pretty sure this is a repost

either that or it was on SLPT or LPT

Zaquarius_Alfonzo ยท 4 points ยท Posted at 20:21:52 on July 17, 2017 ยท (Permalink)

What's slpt?

[deleted] ยท 2 points ยท Posted at 20:26:53 on July 17, 2017 ยท (Permalink)

Shitty Life Pro Tip

Zaquarius_Alfonzo ยท 1 points ยท Posted at 21:13:06 on July 17, 2017 ยท (Permalink)

Oh of course

[deleted] ยท 24 points ยท Posted at 00:06:57 on July 18, 2017 ยท (Permalink)

This is stupid. A Costco membership is like $55 annually and they will refund you if you are dissatisfied.

DoomKey ยท 16 points ยท Posted at 03:20:52 on July 21, 2017 ยท (Permalink)

this is ULPT. saving money is saving money

MemeIord_ ยท 6 points ยท Posted at 05:42:53 on July 20, 2017 ยท (Permalink)

the real ulpt is always in the comments.

megamanxoxo ยท 11 points ยท Posted at 20:16:35 on July 17, 2017 ยท (Permalink)

doesn't the cashier ask to see your membership card at those places?

๐ŸŽ™๏ธ Infini7y ยท 26 points ยท Posted at 20:17:29 on July 17, 2017 ยท (Permalink)

Unless you have a gift card.

megamanxoxo ยท 10 points ยท Posted at 20:18:28 on July 17, 2017 ยท (Permalink)

So I need a stack of gift cards and consume one every single time I go to the store? How about I just buy the membership for $40/yr lol. Way less effort.

๐ŸŽ™๏ธ Infini7y ยท 21 points ยท Posted at 20:23:59 on July 17, 2017 ยท (Permalink)

I only go to these stores maybe 5-10x a year. If it were more then it would probably be a hassle. I keep about 10 of these on me. I'd rather that $40 go towards tissue or laundry detergent for the year instead. Not all that much effort IMO.

megamanxoxo ยท 2 points ยท Posted at 20:27:36 on July 17, 2017 ยท (Permalink)

And what do you get out of that instead of just going to Walmart or use Amazon?

adudeguyman ยท 14 points ยท Posted at 00:36:53 on July 18, 2017 ยท (Permalink)

Walmart quality is shit compared to Costco

๐ŸŽ™๏ธ Infini7y ยท 25 points ยท Posted at 20:30:34 on July 17, 2017 ยท (Permalink)

How about tissue for 3 months for only $14 (6 packs of 9 rolls) instead of paying Walmart $4-$6 for only 6 rolls...

Shit adds up.

[deleted] ยท 5 points ยท Posted at 23:38:11 on July 17, 2017 ยท (Permalink)

Amazon membership - $99 a year. Costco - $40 a year.

And Costco generally has better price-per-unit than Walmart, and a lot better than Amazon.

MrWillard ยท 1 points ยท Posted at 06:34:16 on July 18, 2017 ยท (Permalink)

Try Jet. Same Costco stuff but no membership fee

Joseiscoollike ยท 5 points ยท Posted at 16:23:05 on July 19, 2017 ยท (Permalink)

Jet is Walmart, fwiw.

Zaquarius_Alfonzo ยท 10 points ยท Posted at 20:21:35 on July 17, 2017 ยท (Permalink)

Not if you only go once or twice a year

N-XT ยท 2 points ยท Posted at 23:21:46 on July 17, 2017 ยท (Permalink)

The money you pay in membership fees can't be used to pay for goods, like a gift card can. Basically you're throwing away the membership fee.

megamanxoxo ยท 15 points ยท Posted at 23:24:46 on July 17, 2017 ยท (Permalink)

You're actually helping the company support low prices... but whatev

N-XT ยท 9 points ยท Posted at 23:34:42 on July 17, 2017 ยท (Permalink)

Well, this is ULPT, but if it were another sub I might agree with you

megamanxoxo ยท 2 points ยท Posted at 02:21:46 on July 18, 2017 ยท (Permalink)

for sure but it's a lot of effort for little reward, IMO -- and on top of it all that little effort does help keep prices down.. that's why I phrased it like that. otherwise you're right, this is ULPT.

Whaty0urname ยท 1 points ยท Posted at 00:29:12 on July 18, 2017 ยท (Permalink)

They stand there but you don't need to show anything. Much like you don't need to show them your receipt when leaving.

adudeguyman ยท 7 points ยท Posted at 00:38:23 on July 18, 2017 ยท (Permalink)

You do a Costco. It's part of the membership agreement as well as for the gift cards

Whaty0urname ยท 2 points ยท Posted at 01:10:37 on July 18, 2017 ยท (Permalink)

Yeah you got me there. Wal-Mart you don't have to.

BelindaBlinkedThrice ยท 1 points ยท Posted at 06:02:00 on July 23, 2017 ยท (Permalink)

Does the gift card have an agreement that says you have to show your receipt too?

turoxy ยท 3 points ยท Posted at 08:06:44 on August 2, 2017 ยท (Permalink)

I work at costco. This works in my warehouse. I never notice if someone's kid (who was given a costco card) comes back more than once. Parents do this for their college kids all the time and I honestly dont stop them. I couldn't even if I cared enough to.

ElevenFives ยท 2 points ยท Posted at 08:00:44 on July 19, 2017 ยท (Permalink)

If they trust you enough you can just be a secondary member on their account I believe it's free

Po1ar ยท 2 points ยท Posted at 03:58:36 on September 17, 2017 ยท (Permalink)

Wouldn't work at Sam's Club, they scan your card when starting the transaction

donniegunz ยท 3 points ยท Posted at 20:45:21 on July 17, 2017 ยท (Permalink)

...or avoid the hassle of inconveniencing a friend and go buy membership. It's like $50 and you can go whenever you want.

๐ŸŽ™๏ธ Infini7y ยท 21 points ยท Posted at 20:51:51 on July 17, 2017 ยท (Permalink)

I was thinking more like a "Hey next time you are there can you pick these up for me", but to each his/her own. $50 is alot for some people.

Edit: grammar

GoCougs3216 ยท -12 points ยท Posted at 02:10:12 on July 18, 2017 ยท (Permalink)

To which I would say politely. No, you cheap ass

๐ŸŽ™๏ธ Infini7y ยท 18 points ยท Posted at 07:00:54 on July 18, 2017 ยท (Permalink)

The tissue I purchased in bulk using gift cards feels really soft against my cheap ass. Tyvm.

BlendeLabor ยท 1 points ยท Posted at 11:41:23 on July 18, 2017 ยท (Permalink)

pretty sure you can get in without having a membership?

Epic_Meow ยท 1 points ยท Posted at 14:15:24 on July 18, 2017 ยท (Permalink)

... Or you can just ask to buy food/visit the pharmacy and iirc they are legally obliged to let you

QuiveryNut ยท 1 points ยท Posted at 04:05:02 on August 2, 2017 ยท (Permalink)

BJs makes you scan your member card before checkout

SilverStream97 ยท 1 points ยท Posted at 22:18:13 on August 23, 2017 ยท (Permalink)

I've worked at Sam's for a year supervising the front end, and this wouldn't work. You have to have a membership to shop, gift card or not. Unless you get a one day pass where your charged 10% extra on your order.

bloodwalt ยท 1 points ยท Posted at 00:41:28 on August 24, 2017 ยท (Permalink)

What if you did this the one time and just bought a $5 gift card every other time you went by yourself