Tag: Costco Placement

Costco.com Vendor Advantages

By vendorco

First, Costco.com offers greater buying potential to manufacturers. If your company is unable to land a Costco in-store account, you can always attempt to pursue Costco.com. And while Costco in-store items must serve a larger demographic, Costco.com items have the potential to fit in a more niche category.

Costco.com items can also help reduce return rates for impulse buys, and an optional survey is provided at the time of a return request. This option allows Costco and your company to pinpoint exactly why members are returning your product to locate areas of growth and improvement.

Additionally, Costco.com offers members the opportunity to review your product. If you are able to land an account with Costco.com, chances are good that your product is high quality. Member reviews allow potential customers to hear firsthand accounts of how great your product functions for the Costco member.

Costco.com also offers advertising and sales opportunities that are not available through Costco in-store, and are delivered directly to the member. To read more about advertising and sales opportunities, check out our next blog post.

Costco.com Member Advantages

By vendorco

Costco members have the added advantage of a wider product offering on Costco.com as compared to the warehouses. While the warehouses only carry a few thousand items at a time, Costco.com is able to host a myriad of additional items that cannot be found in the stores. These items still provide the high quality guarantee that Costco is famous for amongst their members, with only a 20% product overlap.

Additionally, Costco.com is able to offer special order items and additional services that would not be realistic for in-store sales. From wedding services to health care offerings, Costco.com can provide quick and cost effective solutions to Costco members. And like all eCommerce sites, Costco.com offers all of these benefits from the convenience of the member’s home, without having to fight the checkout lines and crowded aisles.

If you have a product or service that would be a good fit for Costco.com, contact VendorCo today. We can help you present your product to the appropriate people, with the required information, in Costco’s preferred format. Contact us at [email protected], or (949) 326-8909.

Costco Regional

By vendorco

If you are interested in regional distribution, or if your item is a foods item, then you should focus on Costco regional sales. The regional sales buying group is separate from the national buying group, so you will need to keep this in mind before you move forward.

Additionally, you should understand the distribution of each region, including the number of warehouses per region and how the regions are geographically broken up. Once you understand how Costco regions are separated, you will have a better idea of which region(s) to target.

If you would like more information about whether or not regional distribution is right for you, contact Vendorco at [email protected]

Costco.com

By vendorco

Costco’s ecommerce products do not necessarily match the warehouse inventory. Not all products that you see on Costco.com are available in the warehouses, and vice versa. Costco.com offers a higher SKU count and a wider demographic, as you do not have to be a Costco member to make a purchase on Costco.com. This makes Costco.com an attractive option to manufacturers having difficulty with in-line sales placement.

Before you get too eager, you should know that Costco.com does pose certain challenges for the hopeful vendor. For example, you are typically expected to be responsible for your own fulfillment with capabilities to drop ship to any US address, included Alaska, Hawaii, and Puerto Rico. It is important to account for this, and many other responsibilities that you will have as a Costco.com supplier.

For more information about what is required for Costco.com sales, or to speak to VendorCo sales representative, call us at (866) 883-4480 or e-mail [email protected]

Become a Costco Supplier

By vendorco

When you become a Costco supplier, you have the potential to help your business grow in many ways. Costco serves millions of members throughout the United States from a high end demographic. These members continually renew their memberships from year-to-year (with a renewal rate of over 85%!), and their shopping habits are generally resilient to the changing economy. For these, and many more reasons, becoming a Costco supplier can be extremely beneficial and lucrative.

However, you cannot simply walk into Costco and ask to sell your product. You have to know who to talk to, how to talk to them, and you must have a valuable product that is in high demand. Equally as important, you must understand the Costco business model and follow appropriate guidelines. But this is not always so easy to do. Information about how to become a Costco supplier is not readily available for research. Many important pieces of information are considered to be trade secrets, and information that IS available may not always be completely reliable or accurate.

So how do you become a Costco supplier? You can do what many companies do, and spend hours upon hours researching information that may not be available regarding Costco’s procedures, and hope that your product in its current package is Costco material. OR you can seek help through a Costco professional, and gain an edge against the competition. This is where VendorCo comes in. Having VendorCo on your side provides you with access to a team of experts that are committed to helping you become a Costco supplier. If your product is not appropriate for Costco, then we can steer you in the right direction rather than allow you to waste your precious time.

Give one of our representatives a call today to get started! Contact VendorCo: [email protected] or (949) 326-8909.

How to Sell Your Product to Costco

By vendorco

If you have stumbled upon our website looking for information about how to sell your product to Costco, then you have come to the right place.

We encourage you to stop now, and ask yourself how much time you have spent thus far researching answers and information regarding how to sell your product to Costco. Now imagine how much more time and effort you will put in before you are ready to actually move forward. Now think about eliminating all of that time, effort and energy spent researching a topic that is virtually inaccessible without firsthand experience.

You CAN eliminate the guesswork, by teaming up with VendorCo. With over 20 years of Costco specific expertise and experience, we have already done the research required to help you understand Costco. Whether you are interested in Manufacturer Representation, or you just want answers to your questions, VendorCo can help! We work with the Costco buyers on a daily basis, and we understand how to sell your product to Costco.

You may be able to locate general, public information about how to sell your product to Costco, but this information may not be accurate, and is certainly not tailored to your company, product, and specific department. VendorCo is your premier source for Costco help – tailored specifically to your items!

Contact us today, at [email protected] for more information about our manufacturer representation, or view our services page to sign up for a consultation.

Costco Returns

By vendorco

f you are a Costco shopper, you are likely familiar with Costco’s guaranteed return policy (with the exception of certain electronic equipment). You may read Costco’s full return policy here: http://www.costco.com/returns-replacements-refunds.html.

How does this policy affect you as a vendor, or a potential vendor? Many manufacturers and service providers find the guaranteed return policy to be intimidating; however, the percentage of sales to returns is often much lower than many vendors anticipate. If an item has a larger than expected return rate, this is likely due to an issue with the product or the instructions, rather than the member simply changing their mind.

All in all, Costco’s guaranteed return policy should not be a reason to avoid the enormous potential a Costco program has. If this is a large concern, VendorCo can help put you at ease by efficiently planning for inevitable returns, reviewing your product instructions and packaging to keep the return rate low, providing data to explain typical return rates and reasons for return, and answering any unique questions you may have.

To take advantage of our expertise and understand of Costco’s return policy, contact us today at (949) 326-8909 or [email protected].

Costco Product Submission

By vendorco

Could your product or service be the next big item at Costco Wholesale? The best way to find out is through submitting your product for Costco review. However, navigating Costco’s product submission process is not always an easy task, and you must be sure to adequately meet Costco’s presentation standards. Doing so requires a clear understanding of Costco’s pricing structure, packaging requirements, sales expectations, shipping volume, geographic distribution, additional costs and fees, and much more. This can be exceptionally complicated, even for the most successful executives and sales representatives. If you are not specialized in Costco’s processes, it can be very easy to overlook or misunderstand many of these points, ruining your chances at a successful presentation.

Make sure that your company does not make this mistake by partnering with VendorCo. Our Executive Account Managers are experts in the Costco product submission process. With nearly 24 years of experience and daily communications with Costco’s key decision makers, we can provide you with the knowledge required to sufficiently submit your product to the Costco buyers. Contact VendorCo today to get started, and increase your chances at successful Costco product submission.

(949) 326-8909 or [email protected]

Costco’s Pricing Structure

By vendorco

Costco is a business that has strategically created its own market for bulk buy at a great price. When you think “Costco” what comes to mind? Most people think of great value. Costco focuses on providing members with the best bang for their buck, and does so by working with businesses that supply reliable and well priced products.

Founding a business that supplies its consumers with the best possible price point is part of what makes Costco so successful. Even without advertising, Costco has managed to reach the top of the US sales charts. From eCommerce to warehouse sales and more, Costco has becomes a retail superpower with a sterling reputation.

Talk to us at VendorCo today to discuss how you can grow your business through working with one of the fastest growing and already successful businesses on the planet!

[email protected] | (949) 326-8909 or visit out Contact web page

Rejected Programs: lack of POTENTIAL

By vendorco

Becoming a Costco vendor certainly has its benefits, one of which is the potential for a long term relationship with Costco, the number one warehouse chain in the United States. In fact, Costco appreciates and places a higher value on manufacturers and service providers that offer the potential for multiple placements down the road. So, if your company currently offers only one product, then your chances of becoming a Costco vendor are significantly more difficult than a competitor offering multiple products. Sure, you can make the argument that you will continue to transition the same product in and out of Costco for a long period of time, but the scope of your relationship remains limited.

If you are a company with only one product or if you have been turned down because your potential relationship is perceived as limited or temporary, there may still be an opportunity to gain a relationship with Costco. VendorCo is constantly researching unique ways to assist hopeful Costco vendors, and we have developed a unique program specific to smaller companies, or companies with a limited scope. If your company falls in this category, contact us today for more information on how we can help you.

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