Flashback photos show Costco when it opened in 1983 – and the small detail that will infuriate today’s shoppers

When Costco opened to much fanfare in September 1983, the very first members flocked to this entirely new style of shopping, where goods were stacked warehouse-style,

Archive images These photos, taken at the grand opening of the original Seattle store, show shoppers carrying carts filled with large packages of toilet paper, cleaning supplies and giant TVs.

Historic photos of the 100,000-square-foot store show shelves and tables stacked high with brown boxes of merchandise.

Others reveal deals on cordless home phones and 19-inch Panasonic televisions, products that seem old-fashioned compared to today’s smartphones and giant 65-inch flat-screen TVs.

Attentive viewers will notice the surprisingly low membership fees shown in the photo of the first members’ desk.

A display of Costco’s telephone and television products at its opening in the 1980s

Cynthia Glaser, a longtime Costco executive, pictured at the opening in 1983

The original cost of a so-called ‘corporate’ membership was just $25 per year. This was intended for smaller shops, bars and restaurants that bought in bulk. It is no longer offered.

A Gold membership, the current entry level of the same name, cost $30.

That may seem cheap at first, but it is frustrating for members who currently pay much more.

Costco membership will increase in a few weeks to $65 for the basic gold, and it’s $130 for the “executive” level. This tier, which offers cash back and perks, didn’t exist in the ’80s.

But in fact, they weren’t as cheap as they seemed. Adjusted for inflation, those costs would be $79 and $95, according to the Federal Reserve Bank’s inflation calculator.

The opening of the members’ warehouse began on September 15, 1983 with a company show.

Pamphlets from that era read, “Costco Wholesale Club is coming to Seattle.”

‘Wholesale cash and carry membership, lower costs for goods than you currently pay,’ it promised.

“We didn’t have many of the improvements that we’ve made to the company since then,” said co-founder Jim Sinegal the Motley Fool told in 2013.

“It was clearly a warehouse; open beam ceiling, cement floors, industrial steel and forklifts driving through the building,” he recalls.

Archive footage shows shoppers pushing red shopping carts, just like in today’s stores, filled with large quantities of recognizable staples, such as Tide washing powder.

Unlike Price Club, Costco offered membership to both individuals and businesses

The original cost for a standard membership was just $25 per year and $30 for a gold membership

Crates at the first Costco that opened in Seattle in 1983

A crowd gathers to take advantage of the discounts offered by Costco in 1983

Archival photos show what Costco looked like when it first opened in 1983

“It was clearly a warehouse; open beam ceiling and cement floors and industrial steel and forklifts rolling through the facility,” co-founder Jim Sinegal said of the opening

The Legendary History of Costco

Jim Sinegal and Jeff Brotman came up with the idea for Costco in 1982, based on European ‘hypermarkets’.

Sinegal was a retail manager who had earned his spurs under Sol Price, the founder of Price Club.

The Price Club in San Diego opened in 1976 and offers membership to local business owners.

Sinegal and Brotman wanted to take the same idea of ​​wholesale membership, but open it up to non-corporate members as well.

According to SEC filings, the company’s first-year revenue was $101 million and membership fees alone were $1.3 million.

The store’s popularity grew and second and third Costco locations soon opened in Portland, Oregon and Spokane, Washington.

While competitors like Walmart’s Sam’s Club continued to grow, Costco sought to expand.

“When Walmart announced it was going to get into the discount department store market, we had to compete and grow quickly,” Brotman told CNN in 2009.

“That’s why we grew so quickly,” he explains.

By 1985, Costco had opened twelve stores and had six more planned for opening that year.

The company’s revenue reached $101 million in its first year and membership fees exceeded $1.3 million

By 1985, Costco had opened twelve stores and six more were planned for opening that year.

In less than six years, revenue dropped from nothing to $6 billion, the company told Business Insider.

The company went public in 1985, selling its shares at an initial price of $10.

In 1993, Sol Price decided to retire and the companies merged to form PriceCrostco. In 1997, the name was changed to Costco.

At that time, the company had 206 locations and annual sales of $16 billion.

After four decades in the industry, Costco has more than 800 locations, nearly 129 million membership cardholders and reported $237.7 billion in revenue last year.