I visited Costco in Sydney while vacationing in Australia and was amazed at the fresh meats and the bulk quantities that were massive even by US standards

Dominick ReuterAug 23, 2023, 15:56 IST

Costco has 14 locations in Australia.Richard Truong

Richard Truong is a software engineer in Pennsylvania who has been a Costco member since 2016.
On a recent trip to Australia, Truong visited a Costco warehouse near Sydney to see the differences.

This as-told-to essay is based on a conversation with Richard Truong. The following has been edited for length and clarity.

I work as a software engineer in Pennsylvania right now for a large insurance company, and I've been a member of Costco since 2016. I started taking lots of pictures of the signs and the prices because that's how I would budget my food expenses in college.

After checking out Costco on a recent trip to Japan, I traveled to Australia to visit family and also because Sydney's one of the most well-known Australian cities.

The Sydney Costco is about an hour west of town and I actually went to it accidentally.

I had gotten on a bus that I thought was headed downtown, but instead it took me an hour in the other direction, so I figured I'd just drop by this warehouse.

The first thing I noticed was the food court was right outside.

Richard Truong

A lot of the items were huge – even by US standards.

Richard Truong

There was also a giant bucket of Chupa Chups lollipops for 184 Australian dollars, or about $118 US.

Richard Truong

These assorted KitKat flavors were a popular souvenir when I was in Japan.

Richard Truong

There were a few familiar products in the electronics section.

Richard Truong

There seemed to be more products geared toward commercial customers than I typically see.

Richard Truong

Appliance-wise, it was pretty much the same as what you see in the US.

Richard Truong

There was the familiar Tiger rice cooker.

Richard Truong

The bakery had these items called chocolate lamingtons.

Richard Truong

They had a cheesecake with lemon passion fruit on top that I'd never seen.

Richard Truong

The meats were mostly local and they looked good. Very fresh and pretty massive.

Richard Truong

There were some meats that weren't cut.

Richard Truong

A three-pack of these sashimi-grade rock lobsters cost 500 Australian dollars, about $320 US.

Richard Truong

There was a new employee who was walking around, and even he seemed surprised by how large the food was.

Richard Truong

There were cases of this Australian ginger beer that is pretty popular.

Richard Truong

The Smith's chips are actually from a US company.

Richard Truong

Clothes were pretty similar to those sold in the US.

Richard Truong

I knew Costco sold coffins but I'd never actually seen them displayed.

Richard Truong

They didn't accept cash in the food court, so I had to use my credit card.

Richard Truong

The food court had run out of the mango smoothie because it was actually closing time, so they gave me a taro tea instead.

Richard Truong

I got the chicken burger and the Korean wings to eat.

Richard Truong

If I come back to Australia, I'd want to stay somewhere with a kitchen so I can cook.

Richard Truong

Costco history: How a wholesale warehouse in Seattle grew into the third-largest retailer in the world and redefined retail

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I visited Costco in Sydney while vacationing in Australia and was amazed at the fresh meats and the bulk quantities that were massive even by US standards

The first thing I noticed was the food court was right outside.

A lot of the items were huge – even by US standards.

There was also a giant bucket of Chupa Chups lollipops for 184 Australian dollars, or about $118 US.

These assorted KitKat flavors were a popular souvenir when I was in Japan.

There were a few familiar products in the electronics section.

There seemed to be more products geared toward commercial customers than I typically see.

Appliance-wise, it was pretty much the same as what you see in the US.

There was the familiar Tiger rice cooker.

The bakery had these items called chocolate lamingtons.

They had a cheesecake with lemon passion fruit on top that I'd never seen.

The meats were mostly local and they looked good. Very fresh and pretty massive.

There were some meats that weren't cut.

A three-pack of these sashimi-grade rock lobsters cost 500 Australian dollars, about $320 US.

There was a new employee who was walking around, and even he seemed surprised by how large the food was.

There were cases of this Australian ginger beer that is pretty popular.

The Smith's chips are actually from a US company.

Clothes were pretty similar to those sold in the US.

I knew Costco sold coffins but I'd never actually seen them displayed.

They didn't accept cash in the food court, so I had to use my credit card.

The food court had run out of the mango smoothie because it was actually closing time, so they gave me a taro tea instead.

I got the chicken burger and the Korean wings to eat.

If I come back to Australia, I'd want to stay somewhere with a kitchen so I can cook.