- If you just want to check out the inside of a Costco before you purchase a membership, you’re in luck as long as you know a current Costco member.
- Those people giving out samples aren’t Costco employees – so don’t be confused if they can’t tell you where to find the sugar.
- Costco uses price tag codes to indicate discontinued and clearance items – and they’re easy to learn.
If you’ve never shopped at a Costco, it can be a slightly overwhelming experience the first time. There’s just so much to take in – and everything seems gigantic, including the shopping carts. Small business owners frequently shop there, so it’s not unusual to see someone walking out with cases of bottled beverages or cleaning products.
But even if you’re a Costco regular, there are still some things you might not know about the international chain – and here are a few of them.
The Costco store layout design is totally deliberate — and aimed at making you fill your cart with more stuff.
Culver City, California Costco general manager Thad Kleszcz spoke to Inside Edition about the store layout strategy – which he described as being like both a horseshoe and a maze.
That’s also part of why Costco doesn’t have the aisle signs that most grocery stores have – nothing overhead telling you that cereal is in this aisle and laundry soap is in that aisle.
You don't have to be a Costco member to purchase everything in the store.
Both alcohol and pharmacy accessibility to non-members is determined by state laws - so depending on where you live, you might be able to shop for just those items at Costco without first becoming a member.
The people handing out free food samples at Costco work for a completely different company.
Costco subcontracts its product sampling to different companies around the world - for example, in the US, sample workers are provided by a company called Club Demonstration Services.
So if you want to ask where you can find the giant bags of chocolate chips, keep in mind that you're probably better off asking a Costco employee instead of a person giving out samples.
Costco's return policy is pretty generous.
If you're an active Costco member and you decide at any time that you want to cancel, Costco's official policy is to refund your membership fee in full.
Actual merchandise returns are simple and easy as well - even on perishable items like produce.
Even more remarkable is Costco's electronics return policy - officially set at 90 days from the date any member received the item, and not including small countertop kitchen appliances. See the full policy for specific details.
If you're not sure if Costco membership is right for you, there are a couple of ways you can try it out before you commit.
As long as you know a current Costco member, you have a couple of options to see if Costco is a place you want to shop on a regular basis.
Costco members can bring up to two guests who are non-members into the store with them at any given time - so it's easy to plan a shopping trip with a friend or family member and check things out.
If you prefer to shop solo, get your Costco member friend to buy a Costco cash card and load some money onto it for you. You can present the Costco cash card at the entrance to the warehouse and shop with it like any member - but with no membership required. Be aware that you can't add money to a Costco cash card unless you're an active member, though.
There are money-saving secrets on some Costco price tags — if you can decipher the codes.
Most regular Costco prices end in a nine - but as Business Insider learned from several Costco employees earlier in 2018, prices that end in a .97, .88, .00, and/or have an asterisk all require your special attention when deal hunting.
An asterisk - with or without one of the price endings indicated above - means that Costco won't be restocking that item, so you'd better stock up if it's something you like.
Prices ending in .97 are clearance items - the code is so popular that there's even a Costco fan community dedicated to posting new clearance deals regularly at Costco97.
Prices ending in .88 or .00 are local store specials that were marked down by a manager - and are usually the last units of something else that location will no longer be carrying.
Kirkland Signature-brand alcohol rumors abound — and some of them are true.
Sorry, vodka fans - although Kirkland Signature vodka offers great quality for the money, San Francisco CBS affiliate KPIX found out that it's not Grey Goose after all.
However, KPIX also learned directly from a Costco rep that Kirkland Signature branded beer in the Bay area is made by Gordon Biersch. Since the brand prides itself on being as good or better than national brands, you can probably take this to indicate a relatively high level of quality at your local Costco no matter where you live.
Costco doesn't accept manufacturer or other coupons at its stores — but you can still use rebate apps on your phone to save extra money.
According to the shopping enthusiasts at the Krazy Koupon Lady, it's very possible to use rebate apps like Ibotta and Checkout51 for items you purchase at Costco. This applies whether or not those items are also featured as instant rebate items in the current month's Member-Only Savings guide.
The famous $1.50 all-beef hot dog and soda deal is the same throughout Costcos in the US and Canada.
Canadian publication Today's Parent confirmed that Costco locations in Canada charge the same $1.50 for a hot dog and soda - pop, excuse me - that is charged at their food courts in the US. That price has been in effect since 1985.
Since Canadian prices are usually slightly higher than US ones, that's a nice bonus for Canadian Costco food court enthusiasts.
Costco is known for treating its employees well throughout the retail world — and employees frequently say so in public.
Check out numerous Reddit AMAs with confirmed current and former Costco employees and you'll see stories like this one from Redditor jes3se talking about good pay, benefits, working environment, and coworkers at their location who have been there for 15 to 25 years. Although INSIDER can't verify these stories, employees saying that they plan to work at Costco as a career is not uncommon on Reddit.
Read more: Costco employees share the 7 best parts of working at the retail chain with a cult-like following
The famous $4.99 Costco rotisserie chicken is placed in a strategic spot.
When you stop in for a tasty $4.99 rotisserie chicken at your local Costco, you have to go to the back of the store to pick it up. That means you pass all sorts of other merchandise on your way to the chicken and then up to the checkout - which is what Costco counts on, according to TIME magazine.
Read more: Why Costco only charges $4.99 for a rotisserie chicken
The chain sells an estimated 157,000 rotisserie chickens per day in the US according to TIME - and if most of those buyers also pick up one or two other things on their way to the checkout, those inexpensive chickens have done their job.
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