This has been why I've started to really like Costco -- they're essentially acting as product curators (and back it up with a generous return policy.)

Well, I like how local bookstores go about curation more than Costco.

I don't know if we can say that a store with unlabeled aisles can be a source of curation.

it's curation in that the products they do offer are generally trustworthy.

Let me clarify what I mean: Costco chooses products based on their ability to get a bulk contract and their mass appeal, not whether the product is the best available option. Curation isn’t done for the customer, it’s done to limit the SKU count to simplify warehouse operations.

While the products are often above average and maybe even the best in their category, that reflects Costco’s affluent demographic more than an unusual commitment to quality or trust. For the most part Costco is the exact same as a Target or Walmart but with fewer SKUs and fewer items that are popular with low income individuals.

Is Tide Original trustworthy? It’s banned in New York for having too much of cancer-causing chemical. Sold in Costco.

Are products with artificial colors trustworthy? Costco is happy to sell you a case of Gatorade with Red 40, which is linked to ADHD in children.

Compare the ingredient list for Costco bakery croissants to Whole Foods. Costco’s product has a bunch of unpronounceable chemicals, I don’t find that all that trustworthy. Also, they’re not very tasty croissants.

What are Costco’s ethical standards for the treatment of animals used in their meat and dairy department? We don’t really know of any, while most natural foods stores publish some kind of guidelines. For example, I can buy visibly better eggs from pasture raised chickens at natural foods stores that beat the quality of Costco’s organic egg product. The yolks have a deeper color, and eggs from pasture-raised chickens are known to have more nutrients.

Here’s the other thing I can’t trust about Costco: they’re going to frequently sell out of the common items I buy every day, change suppliers on a whim, or rearrange the store to make the pallets fit.

Having aisles unlabeled is not very trustworthy because it shows how the goal of the store is to get you to get lost, impulse purchase, and over-consume. It’s a less extreme version of IKEA, whose store layout is a basically a dark pattern in itself.

This is the store that has third-party salespeople hawking free samples of products they want you to buy and nagging you about solar panels and DirecTV.

The wonderful return policy is there so that you come back in and shop some more. They know that once you fight the ridiculous Costco traffic and actually get in the store you “might as well stock up.”

Then on your way out the food court sells food that’s somehow lower quality than a typical county fair. Does a chicken bake even exist outside of Costco? Like, it’s a product inspired by the manufacturing convenience rather than something people actually cook in their homes.

As a member I’d like the cult of Costco to go away. It’s just a store. I’m just there because the cost of certain staple goods make the membership make fee worth it. That’s all.

There’s a big difference between limiting SKU count to simplify operations and products being curated to be “the best” and most trustworthy options.

Natural foods stores have much more stringent standards on things like artificial colors, animal treatment, and use of chemicals.

For example, Tide Original is banned in New York for having too much of a cancer-causing chemical. Costco sells it. Costco sells products with artificial colors linked to ADHD in children. Costco’s best organic eggs are visibly and nutritionally inferior to eggs from pasture-raised chickens.

The fact that Costco doesn’t sell low quality private label and discount brand items has more to do with customer demographic than trust and curation.

This is also the store that allows third-party companies’ representatives to harass customers about solar panels and DirecTV in the store. “Trustworthy.”

They’re really no different on “trust” than Walmart or Target, and I think people need to stop being a part of its retail cult and take it for what it is: a store with good prices on staple goods.

No one said Costco offers the very best product in any or all categories.

What they said is that Costco is upfront about what they're selling, rarely sells defective products, and offers a very generous return policy in the (rare) case you are dissatisfied with a purchase.

Those aren't that far off from Walmart or Target, because those are also generally reasonable retailers. I would say Costco offers better value on their products overall.

If you ask more of that from any retailer, good luck finding anyplace to purchase anything.

It sound like we agree that Costco is pretty much just like any other typical US retailer. In that case it doesn’t make sense to highlight them as especially trustworthy.

I think that's an ok workaround, but I don't want to go to physical bookstores, and I don't want physical books. As much as I do like the feel of a physical book, I much prefer the convenience and portability of a digital book.

And speaking of convenience, it would be a big shame if we had to go back to physical stores for non-trivial purchases because we can't trust anything online.

Many physical bookstores have web pages where they sell e-books as well. Find the store that serves what you want, instead of finding faults with the ones who don't and going with the huge sell-everything-store.

Or I can go with the huge sell-everything store because I'm perfectly fine with the service it provides. Not everyone is looking for some bespoke curated experience when buying a product.

In short, the store that serves what I want is usually the huge sell-everything store.