This has to be astoturfed or something. There is literally a Costco in Manhattan and several in suburban Queens and Staten Island. Nothing stops you from going to Costco and just getting a cab back for a once a month trip.
This sounds so American. Why not just do a home delivery?
The idea of Amazon astroturfing an HN thread to get more retail customers.
It's also possible its not a conspiracy and you and the other poster just have different opinions.