Big box stores are pretty much a necessity in today’s society. It’s the era of walking into a single store and picking up everything on your shopping list in one convenient location.
But as great as Walmart, Target, and The Real Canadian Superstore are, none of them hold a candle to Costco.
Revealed by former employees and shopping pros, these Costco secrets will help you get the most out of your next trip.
1. You can cancel your membership at anytime and get a 100% refund.
Many Costco customers assume that they are roped into a year-long contract when they decide to become a member. But, the good news is, you are free to cancel at anytime and get your money back, even after you’ve already reaped the benefits of being a member for most of the year.
2. You can return almost anything and get a full refund.
Want to go camping, but don’t have any camping gear, and will probably never need to use it ever again in your life? Not a problem. At Costco, you can buy a tent, sleeping bag and a cooler, and return it the following weekend, or five years from then if you want to. Costco hardly ever refuses the return of sold products, with the exception of electronics and diamonds. An employee says you can buy an entire patio set, use it for 10 years, return it — sun damage, rust and all — no receipt, and still get a full refund. We don’t suggest it, but the option is there!
3. Costco treats their employees extremely well.
You can work at Costco your entire life, and retire comfortably. An employee says that there is tons of room for growth in the company, and eventually you’d make more than $25/hourly, earn up to $500 in bonuses, weeks of paid vacation, and benefits.
4. Costco employees get a free executive membership.
This one seems kind of obvious, but it isn’t uncommon for companies not to give their employees the full perks of working for them, free stuff especially. But at Costco, they make sure their staff are taken care of.
5. Costco rearranges their products almost daily, and doesn’t use any signage to provide a “treasure hunt” effect.
Whoever thought of this one is a bit of a genius. It’s a simple strategy, but it does ultimately force customers to wander the halls. On their way to whatever they’re looking for, they are bound to spot a few other things along the way that catch their eye, as well as some things you should always buy at Costco.
6. The people who give out samples at Costco, don’t actually work for Costco.
An unpopular fact, but the people who hand us samples at Costco, also known as brand ambassadors, are actually outside sources, contracted by the company or Costco vendors, and have no other affiliation with Costco.
7. The best day and time to get samples are Saturdays and Sundays between 1pm and 2pm.
A Costco “sample guy” says that over the weekend is when you’ll see the most samples for testing and trying. If you want to ensure a snack smorgasbord, go between 1pm and 2pm as that’s when all of the shift employees will be out.
8. Costco and Amazon are rivals.
It seems that in this new-age of retail, Amazon has been nearly monopolizing the industry, reshaping the way everyone shops, and it’s forcing companies to find new strategies in order to compete. However, Costco has stuck to a tactic that has been working for them for the last decade, and that is using membership fees to offer better prices on merchandise. Back in 2015, Amazon was seen as Costco’s biggest threat, as they have an incredibly sizeable customer overlap. Since then, Amazon has taken the lead in net-worth, but the two have gone back and forth in the past.
9. Costco does not price match.
Although there are several benefits to shopping at Costco, price-matching is not one of them. Unlike most big-box stores, Costco doesn’t think it is necessary to offer price adjustments because they claim to already offer the most competitive prices.
Featured image: Instagram/@aya1ove7