Kiplinger - Editor's Query: For consumers, what are the best strategies for luxury goods shopping in warehouse clubs?

By Jane Clark, associate editor, Kiplinger's Personal Finance magazine
(www.kiplinger.com)

As part of its mission to provide personal finance advice to its readership, Kiplinger's Personal Finance is investigating the subject of luxury goods shopping in the warehouse club environment, and looking to the RetailWire community and BrainTrust panel for professional insights.

Our inquiry is focusing on three areas that concern club shoppers, increasingly drawn to the channel for high-end item purchases:

PRICES:
Warehouse clubs rely on the so-called treasure hunt concept: Shoppers expect to get great, one-time-only deals on everything from bathrobes to hot tubs. But these deals don't necessarily apply across the board, and the selective, rapidly changing inventory makes comparison shopping difficult.

Meanwhile, most other stores offer sales and discounts, rendering the term "suggested retail price" increasingly meaningless. Do warehouse clubs really offer significantly better prices on higher-end items -- say, diamonds, flat-screen TVs and digital cameras? Should consumers price compare among different clubs, or are prices fairly consistent across the channel?

EXPERIENCE:
You can't try things on, ask questions, compare prices or even know that the item will be there on your next visit. You give up the luxurious atmosphere and the expertise offered by high-end retailers like Tiffany's and Talbot's -- a significant negative when it comes to a big-ticket, emotion-fraught purchase like a diamond ring.

On the plus side, warehouse clubs offer the thrill of the hunt, a sense of discovery and excitement, and even a carnival-like atmosphere. Do the pluses outweigh negatives, especially when it comes to buying luxury items? Which clubs do the best job of playing to their strengths and minimizing their weaknesses?

SELECTION:
Costco prides itself on offering quality over quantity; typically, it stocks about 4,000 units per warehouse, compared with 40,000 to 60,000 units at discount retailers and supermarkets. By design, it carries fewer brands per category than other large specialty stores, like Best Buy or Circuit City, or dedicated sites like Blue Nile. Do warehouse club shoppers miss out on value when they forgo the selection offered by those other stores?

Discussion Question: In the areas of price, experience and selection, as detailed above, what are the best strategies for consumers shopping for luxury goods in warehouse clubs?