Costco has 3 ways to shop without a membership, but the math still favors paying the fee

Costco’s Netflix-style crackdown on unauthorized membership sharing over the past two years raises a perennial question about how to access the jumbo packs of toilet paper, tubs of salted caramels, 40-pound bags of dog food, and other staples without signing up for a membership.

Access to the warehouse club and its bulk-price deals is primarily reserved for card-carrying shoppers with Gold Star, Executive, or Business memberships. These memberships start at $65 a year and include access for two shoppers who live in the same household (or work for the same business).

There are still ways to shop Costco’s selection without paying the fee.

Here are three ways.

1. Shop online without a Costco membership

While some items on Costco.com are reserved for members, non-members can shop through the site’s Instacart-powered Same-Day option or Costco’s partnership with Uber Eats. The same-day services offer about 2,000 fresh, frozen, grocery, and household items for delivery.

The best prices on those platforms are reserved for members only, though. Uber says members will pay 15% to 20% less than non-members. On Instacart, non-members may be assessed a 5% surcharge on some orders.

Beyond the fees, pricing online is generally higher than at the warehouse. Costco is upfront about that.

Its pricing policy states: “Item prices are marked up higher than your local Costco warehouse. Instacart uses the markup to pay for their delivery service.”

A 2022 analysis from Insider’s Reviews team found that the best prices on Costco items are found in person. Business Insider also compared online and in-store pricing for a basket of commonly purchased items and found that this is still largely true.

For example, on June 18, a 30-roll pack of toilet paper cost $20.99 in the warehouse. On Instacart, the same pack costs $24.56 for members and $25.79 for non-members.

Other items in the basket included Costco’s famous rotisserie chicken, salted caramels, eggs, dog food, bottled water, and coffee beans.

The pre-tax total for the seven in-warehouse items was $98.43, compared to $120.92 for non-members on Instacart. The difference of $22.49 was made up of $16.73 in higher pricing and a $5.76 5% surcharge. The comparison does not include a driver tip or rush fee.

The savings mean the $65 Gold Star membership fee would pay for itself after three trips to a warehouse, and six trips would cover the cost of a $130 Executive membership.

For non-members, when you add the higher listing prices and surcharges, Costco’s savings compared to other retailers like Walmart or Amazon might not be as substantial.

2. Use a Costco gift card without a membership

Another popular workaround is to use a Costco gift card, known as a Shop Card, which allows shoppers to access the warehouse to use the funds.

The hitch with this approach is that Shop Cards are only available for members to purchase and have a minimum value of $25.

That $25 would quickly be used up in one visit, and it could be a useful hack for helping friends and family stock up on supplies. However, you might catch some pushback trying to buy $200 more stuff than your gift card is loaded for.

It’s an easy way to let someone explore the club on their own without the commitment of membership. If they do decide to sign up, the Shop Card funds can be put toward the annual fee.

3. Visit the Costco warehouse as the guest of a member

Costco’s policy allows members to bring two guests with them to the warehouse. Once again, there is a hitch: only the member is allowed to pay for purchases.

As with the Shop Card hack, this approach depends on a fair amount of trust between the member and the non-member, not to mention coordinating schedules to make a trip to the warehouse and sort everything out on Venmo afterward.

Bottom line: It probably makes sense to just pay the fee

Given the costs and complications of trying to avoid shelling out the $65 membership fee, it may make more financial sense to simply pay the charge, especially for shoppers who expect to make more than a couple of Costco trips a year.

As BI’s Reviews team found, and BI again confirmed, the prices of bulk-size items can add up quickly. Shaving a few percent off in fees means the breakeven point comes after a few trips.

As the company puts it, “rest assured that the cost of membership can be recovered quickly thanks to massive price savings once you start shopping.”

Either way, the real kicker is even simpler: if you don’t think the membership is worth it, you can get a refund.

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