I think a mountain is being out of a molehill with this topic. The idea of buying Costco HA’s and going to another audiologist is not going to be an earth-shaking consideration for MOST people. Hard to find statistics on what % of the U.S. population lives within, say, 50 miles of a Costco. There are something like 572 Costco’s in the U.S. There are only ~65 nuclear power plant sites currently running. Something like 65% of the population lives with 50 miles of a nuclear power plant. Want to bet how many people in the U.S. live within 50 miles of a Costco? So considering the other distances folks drive for various reasons, an occasional 50 mile drive to Costco to get your HA’s serviced for free under warranty vs. going somewhere closer and paying more for the additional service is not the life-rending problem it’s cut out to be for the great majority of the U.S. population.
It seems it’s agreed if you want warranty service on your Costco HA’s, you’re not going to get it at your non-Costco audiologist. But fitting adjustments and 2nd opinions from non-Costco HCP’s is a big thing (because we all know the service at Costco is so bad -> sarcasm). In my experience, which is limited, you usually quickly find a fit that works well and it’s the HA’s themselves that break down. Maybe a non-Costco HCP could replace a receiver or a wire or a dome - I have no idea how customized those are for Costco HA’s but you’re certainly not going to get the HA body refurbished or replaced through a non-Costco HCP, and that’s where all of my HA repair problems have been-with the HA body.
And if you’re into DIY, that’s a whole different matter. But that’s not the point of the thread. Yes, for DIY, you’d certainly want to buy unlocked HA’s and Costco would give you a good price. But you’d be throwing away all the Costco expertise and REM adjustment. The general opinion on the forum is that you’re not getting the best possible fit unless REM is performed and you can’t do it yourself at home.
So, yes, if you’re in the minority of the U.S. population and live really far from a Costco but want to travel 200 miles to get an inexpensive but top-notch HA there and never go back again, do buy an unlocked HA from Costco and try to get warranty service out of a non-Costco HCP and see what a great strategy that was all along. And if you’re into DIY, by all means forgo REM and the best fit possible and pat yourself on the back for doing that.
Sometimes being close to a full-service HCP provider who can do any needed warranty service and perform REM as needed is the most important consideration, even if it means paying a higher price for your HA’s (you can get a considerable discount through an online service like TruHearing, still nothing like Costco pricing…) and, hopefully, the OTC revolution is (still) just a year or two away. That should reduce prices on quality HA’s and hopefully quite a few non-Costco HCPs (and maybe even Costco, Walmart, etc., as well), will provide fitting and warranty service on OTC brands they sell for HA fitting problems that confound some users - just like Best Buy has the Geek Squad, a successful retailing strategy for a major OTC brand would hopefully involve HCP backup and hopefully being able to get a good OTC HA, do the basic adjustments yourself and go to a nearby HCP or nationwide retailer for special service, REM, or warranty replacements might be a successful marketing strategy and bring good, inexpensive HA’s closer to everyone than their nearest Costco.
