As I noted earlier in the thread, you can also order Costco items via Instacart, without a membership. This includes both grocery and non-grocery items. Instacart has significant markup and fees. However, Instacart also regularly gives 30%+ off type discounts, and you can pay with Instacart gift cards purchased at 10-15% off. This can make Instacart prices without membership lower than in store prices with membership.
We gave our kid some gift cards so he could shop in Costco as he no longer is living at home. Can anyone confirm whether there is a 10% charge to use a gift card if you are not a member?
There might be some confusion about the 5% surcharge for non-members who place orders online (see https://customerservice.costco.com/app/answers/answer_view/a_id/1155/~/why-am-i-being-charged-a-non-member-surcharge%3F ). This 5% surcharge for online orders is not specific to gift cards. I am not aware of any surcharge for paying with a gift card in store. The Costco website and employee manual both state that non-members should be able to pay with gift cards without mention of a surcharge. However, the manager has to come over and enter a 99 when checking out. Some specific warehouses add other limitations or restrictions, seemingly not following the employee manual.
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Do you get notices from instacart or Costco when they are having these sales?
The merchants promote these sales in an effort to get new customers and/or more sales revenue. Costco has a flyer that lists the store items that are discounted each month, which also mentions the SameDay sales. You can also find a list of discounted items and code for SameDay discount at www.costco.com/o/-/warehouse-savings or on the home page at sameday.costco.com . Costco also promotes their SameDay sales by sending emails about the discount (in subject line of email) to registered email address of Costco members. This type of sale will also get posted on sites like SlickDeals.
Instacart has several different types of discounts . Some are targeted for a specific member. Some are general or promote specific events, such as the Superbowl. Some are manufacturer discounts or initiated by 3rd parties, including specific grocers. Instacart will send promotional emails for many of the sales. For others you need to login to your Instacart account to see the offer.
Examples of offers available to me in the past week include:
- Costco Warehouse Sameday: $10 off $35 order with code WINTERSAMEDAY26
- Costco Business Center Sameday: $10 off $35 order with code BDSAMEDAY26
- Instacart Game Day Promotion (expired): 50% off $20 order of Superbowl supplies, can be stacked with 15% off for paying with gift cards. I bought a $20 roll of Bounty paper towels. Could be used for Bounty towels at Costco as well, which is on sale this month
- Instacart: Free 3 months Instacart+ and $10 off a $10+ order each month for signing up with a Mastercard (I used my Citi 2% cashback). This includes Peacock, so get free streaming of Olympics.
- GrubHub: Free 1 year with 30% off x3 for Instacart groceries (purchased within GrubHub), Can be stacked with 15% off for paying with Instacart gift cards
- Others including Uber Eats and My Local Supermarket: Better than many of above, but does not support Costco, so off topic for this thread. Note that you can buy Uber gift cards at Costco, adding an extra 20% off beyond Uber Eats discounts of as much as 60% off.
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This is the only open Costco thread and I don’t feel like creating another. 
Doesn’t actually have anything to do with Costco either lol!
I found a wine that I really like that Sam’s Club has. Can I buy wine at Sam’s if I don’t have a membership?
I’m in Michigan if that makes a difference
I have been to Costco twice in the last few weeks. I like to pick up extra toddler pajamas to have on hand for the grands. Today was to pick up berries and cold fruit pouches for the grandkids.
I have been considering the Ninja Deluxe Kitchen System for a while, but I couldn’t justify that I really needed it. Been forty dollars off this month, ending today. I caved and got it. Let the chopping, blending, and mixing begin!
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A few years ago, I was cashing a check drawn on a Wells Fargo account at a Wells Fargo branch. I do not bank at Wells Fargo so two types of ID were required; the branch manager specifically requested a state issued driver’s license and my Costco membership card. At the time, I was not a Costco member so I had to deposit the check at my own bank. True story. Not kidding.
(As a side-note: That branch closed about a year later. I wonder where the branch manager works now.)
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My bank requires 2 pieces of photo ID; I suspect many others do. Since most commonly carried cards with the name and photo are DL and Costco membership cards, that was not an unreasonable request. 
I like Costco. We were buying for our office also. I get good value on many item’s. But wouldn’t use it for major grocery. I use mostly Aldis for that. My wife will go to our Jewel store for other major item’s she needs she’s the cook).
But once in awhile I go to Costco for what I call, a Costco lunch. Nope. Not the hotdog or pizza but I have been known to indulge. It’s just walking around doing the taste tests. Sometimes they have really good thing’s to try and by the time I am done I am not hungry anymore …..
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I’ve had the same Costco membership card with my picture for probably 20 years. I no longer look like the photo. Also, it is a Business Membership card, and I don’t think they even have those anymore!
I’ve been a Costco member since ‘92 and my photo still looks pretty much like me. My D has used her Costco card for ID periodically.
Not sure but they have business warehouse clubs.
This was from the days when they had 3 levels of membership (basic, business, executive). My brother has a business and I could have the second card as a worker at the business (I never was). I think back then the business and elite memberships could enter earlier in the morning to shop.
Anyway, still have the same card even though I think it is now an executive membership. I got it in Colorado but used it in California and Florida when I lived there too. No one ever questions it. The only thing surprising is that I haven’t lost the card in 20 years and living in 3 states!
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Costco still has a business membership.
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Spouse and I were at Costco the other day - got a whole pizza ($9.95) to go. Boy that pizza hit the spot!
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Stopped by our local Costco. While I was waiting to exit the store, I overheard a woman arguing with the worker at the return counter. She was trying to return a Dyson stick purchased 6 (!!) years ago. Wow. Some people have no shame.
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I shopped in-store at Costco today for the first time since renewing my membership in February. I was pleasantly surprised by my experiences shopping in store at a Costco Business Center. I rarely shop at Costco in store. In addition to being out of the way, I dislike how the store is always packed with people, with amusement park style parking lots. I can’t make a quick trip in and out. I was expecting a similar experience at the Business Center, with it being a Saturday afternoon. However, the Costco Business Center was far less crowded than I’ve ever seen our area Costco warehouse. The parking lot was mostly empty, so I was able to park ~6 spots away from the door. There was also no line at the checkout, and there were few people in the aisles – both few customers and few employees. Nobody inspected my cart on the way out, so no related delay. It may have been the quickest Costco shopping trip I’ve ever had.
I favored Costco Business Center this time because I happened to be in the area, and there are some items sold at the Business Center I like that are not sold at the Warehouse, such as Pierre Frozen Sandwiches. There are also some items sold at Warehouse, but not Business Center including deli items (rotisserie chicken) and gas station.
While this shopping trip was a pleasant experience, it’s not clear whether I’d financially benefit from a standard membership. I mentioned renewing in February because Costco offered me a $45 shop card for renewing and I’d forfeit my previous year’s cashback if I did not renew. The combination exceeded the annual membership cost. Since renewing I’ve rarely shopped at Costco because I find that the financial benefits are not worth the extra time and effort for general shopping.
For example, with Costco’s limited grocery selection and not wanting to buy most grocery items in bulk, I don’t want to do my full weekly grocery shopping at Costco. Instead Costco needs to be a special trip, in addition to my usual grocery shopping. I also rarely buy gas at Costco. I usually buy gas during hiking road trips at the lowest price gas station on the route, which is generally not Costco. While Costco is always on the lower end, it’s usually not the lowest priced option. And if I do get gas at Costco, it always takes much longer than all other alternatives, with the longer lines.
Instead of general shopping, I’ve been getting a small handful of specific items at Costco. These are items that I want to buy, I don’t have a problem with buying in bulk, and Costco offers better value than alternative sellers. An example is Quaker Oats. I bought a 10lb package today for $7.92. This is a lower price than everywhere else except Sam’s Club, which sells quick oats instead of old fashioned oats. Amazon’s and Walmart’s price per lb are both 2.7x Costco’s price. While Costco has a great deal on Quaker Oats, I don’t have enough of these specific items for the financial savings to exceed standard membership cost. This would change, if I have a special one time purchase in the future, such as hearing aids.
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We live 2+ hrs away. But, I buy my hearing aids, tvs, laptops, paper products, shampoo/conditioners, vitamins, walnuts, honey, etc. Costco online and have it shipped. I even use Costco as vetting an item for purchase at Walmart pickup or Amazon delivery. It is just worth it for us. I sometimes go to a Seattle one when visiting. However, the L.A. one near D is so incredibly busy that she just has diapers, etc shipped.