We are very fortunate in the West to have a variety of stores we may choose to shop from. Where do you shop? Warehouses? Or the typical supermarket? Two good examples of well known stores in the United States are Costco and Safeway. Costco, being the warehouse and Safeway, being the typical supermarket. Costco and Safeway have similarities, yet they differ from each other, which makes shopping in one store a qualitatively different kind of experience than shopping in the other. .

             My visit to Costco was early one Sunday morning. The store was just about ready to open. As I pulled into their 2-floor parking lot, I noticed the lot was already crammed with cars, leaving only a few empty parking spots. The customers looked like they were ready to hit the ground running as the store rolled opened their huge metal doors. I started walking towards the door and saw customers grabbing shopping carts. There were two types of carts. A regular medium sized cart you"d see at a grocery store, but only larger and more solid and a large flatbed push cart that allowed you to stack big items on. .

             Upon entering, every customer had to show their Costco membership card to the workers. This card has your picture on it and you must be a member in order to shop there. They have three types of membership: Gold, Star, and Executive. The different memberships entitle you to certain services. They range between $45-$100. .

             Once admitted inside, the first thing I noticed was its massive size! The ceilings were extremely high and every aisle had extensive high shelves stacked with packaged products halfway up to the ceiling. Costco"s warehouses average 133,000 feet in size. Amazed with its size, I began wandering around in hopes I wouldn"t get lost. I felt like a kid running around in a candy store. There was so much to look at. They categorize their products into sections; electronics, home appliances, furniture, health and beauty products, computers, books, music, movies, toys, clothing, accessories, sporting goods, hardware, outdoor items and foods.