Korean Job Discussion Forums

[dairyairy]

We usually go shopping at Costco on Saturday and we live outside of Seoul. We also have friends who live far away from Costco, so here's what we do.
We go early in the morning to the Yangpyeong Costco ( http://www.costco.co.kr/eng/locations/yangpyung/index.html )and get non-perishables like: cereal, tea, snacks, spaghetti sauce, oatmeal, and even cheese and we then take a taxi from Costco to the Yeouido post office. It is open on Saturdays from 9-1 and the taxi ride costs around 5,000 won. We then mail boxes of stuff to friends, who reimburse us-no profit off friends, and we mail boxes to ourselves. The boxes cost about 1,000 won, at the post office, and they cost about 5,000 each to mail anywhere in Korea. That includes heavier boxes. We usually get the boxes by Monday or Tuesday.
It's a great way to shop at Costco without the hassle of carrying large and heavy bags all day back home, especially for those of us who live outside of Seoul. The Japanese and Chinese tourists do it all of the time in Seoul Station Lotte Mart.

[maximmm]

And then there's internet shopping. Still, if you live in the countryside, it's not a bad idea to visit costco on weekends anyways, so perhaps it's not a bad idea overall.

[Jyang486]

If you have bilingual Korean friends, there are Korean websites that ship Costco items, lists are updated daily, to anywhere in Korea. I haven't used the websites in months, so I couldn't point you where to look (just search on Naver, there should be a few) or what the fees were, but the fees were definitely less than the bus rides to and fro Seoul (10k each way for me at the time), and the back and forth metro fees from the express bus terminal to any Costco and back. Let alone your taxiing and shipping.

[augustine]

Interesting little racket you've created, I bet you could make some decent cash from that. I work a step away from that Costco, I should get some scheme like that going to help you poor mofos who live in the middle of nowhere.

[Weigookin74]

I'll try something similiar this summer, when I visit Canada. I will pack a bunch of food from Wal Mart into a big box and mail it to my school to pick up I arrive back in Korea. Real wheat fiber cereal, Kraft Dinner, spices, etc. The rare things.

[rainman3277]

Little trick I learned when shopping during busy times. Don't push your cart. Park it in a central location and walk around and grab your stuff. Saves loads of time and more importantly patience, when shopping during busy times not having to manouver between carts.

[Jyang486]

[madkisso]

Hi all,
This is a little off topic, but still about Costco. Does anyone know if there is a minimum amount you must spend each time you go? It may sound silly but a Korean person I know said you have to spend at least $50 each time you go. I didn't see anything about it on the Costco site, but I've been scared to spend less than that since she said it. Thanks in advance.

[dairyairy]

[madkisso]

Thanks for the reply. I will go try it out. And in answer, no, 50,000W isn't too much. I just went there, though, and forgot to get one thing. I don't want to spend another 200,000W just because I need muffins. Thanks again.

[kiknkorea]

Unless it's been recently implemented, there's no minimum purchase.

I've forgotten to pick up things before and went back in a spent 10,000-15,000 on something with no problem.