costco online shopping without membership

#Costco online shopping without membership trial#

A 24-pack case of pint-size Guinness cans for $23.99? You bet. Having bought alcohol at Costco – I can vouch for the deals to be had. Update: find out more on this policy in my Costco alcohol price list post. Are there alcohol sale regulations around this Costco policy? I’m not quite sure.

This may vary by state, but as far as I can tell, it is a national policy. In fact, the idea for this post was spurred by a conversation from someone who had done just that and told me about the exception, much to my surprise. I was not able to find any official Costco messaging on this, but it appears from my research that Costco allows alcohol sales to non-members (of legal drinking age, of course). You can do so at a Costco membership desk any time.īut, what if you just want to get in the door and walk around to see what Costco has to offer, pricing, and all that good stuff – but you don’t know a member you are comfortable tagging along with? Buying Alcohol at Costco without Membership

#Costco online shopping without membership trial#

So, you could pay your membership fee, give it a trial run, and if you feel you are not getting the value from it that you’d like – ask for a refund. On Membership: We will cancel and refund your membership fee at any time if you are dissatisfied. The Costco return policy states on membership fee refunds: Of course, you might not be comfortable asking for that and it could get old quick for the member. Also, for those interested, I since have published a list of ways you can shop at Sam’s Club without a membership too (also, see my Costco versus Sam’s Club review). What if you don’t want to commit to a $60 membership and just want to see if a membership will be worth your while? It turns out there are a few under-the-radar ways to shop and buy from Costco, without a membership. The more food essentials you buy and eat from Costco, the more you benefit (just stay away from most of the other stuff). Costco’s markups on food pricing are razor thin, which benefits its members. In fact, their 2022 annual report indicates that 78% of Costco’s net income comes from its membership fee revenue from over 118 million members worldwide. And they just so happen to be how Costco makes a good share of its profits. Costco memberships range from $60 (Standard Gold Star) to $120 (for Gold Star Executive, which comes with a 2% cashback rebate each year).

To get access to that kind of pricing – there’s a cost. Nevertheless, there are some great deals to be had. It’s not an apples to apples comparison – Costco does have limited SKUs and the items you purchase are often in bulk volume (sometimes in quantities that no normal human family can finish before going bad). These are just a few examples of the great value that Costco can provide.Ĭostco prices can commonly be anywhere from 15-50% lower than prices found at Trader Joe’s per volume – with even larger savings in comparison to other grocery stores. Costco gasoline (which cannot be bought without a membership), has typically been about 10% lower than most popular gas stations nearby, in my experience. I wrote an entire article comparing Costco’s Kirkland dog food & cat food to similar products from other brands, and found prices to be a third to half the price of comparable brands, per pound. Chicken of the Sea canned tuna: 12 – 7 oz.

Just check out some of the Costco prices that I highlighted in my best warehouse deals post in comparison to the reputably inexpensive Trader Joe’s: