Costco has a fine balancing act to perform: it was originally known for its imported goods… that’s why many people joined back in the day when imports were pre-WTO. Tariffs made some things more expensive and/or unavailable because of non-local demand.
But once membership passed a certain threshold, they started to really localize the store to get people to keep coming back and buying more stuff. This also means that import products from the US are going to take up less shelf-space by definition, they reflect local demand much more in terms of stock, too because Costco wants to sell as much volume as possible, and you may not find the deals you really want. It’s not personal. It’s just business.
If you find you can’t use your membership, just ask for a membership refund or don’t renew. I’ve considered it, esp. after my bank lost the contract for ccs.
Also note that the stores aren’t mirrors of each other: there is some variety between stores:
Neihu offers more furnishings,
Nangang seems more SOHO/Biz,
Beitou store seems more local products,
Zhonghe store is superbusy (I don’t go there any more – too busy a store).
I’ve never been to the Xinchuang store.
We’re lucky in Taipei: there are many stores to choose from. We can even visit Taoyuan if we don’t mind the drive.
