The Best and Worst Things to Buy at Costco

Costco is one of the most popular shopping destinations in the United States. In the past, bulk shopping was largely reserved for small business owners who would go to a store like Costco and buy huge amounts of the items they needed to keep their business running.

Over the years, people quickly realized that buying bulk wasn’t just good for business finances, but also had some applications for personal finance.

However, there are some Costco shopping tips that you’ll want to keep in mind. Whether you’ve been to your nearest Costco dozens of times or you’re just getting ready to join, shopping tips for Costco members are everywhere online.

While there are plenty of steps that you can take to get the most out of your trip to Costco, knowing which items to buy and what to avoid when you’re in the store is among the most important.

Discover more about the best things to buy at Costco and the items that you’re better off getting on a smaller scale today.

Best Things to Buy at Costco

When you walk into Costco, it’s easy to get overwhelmed. According to the company, Costco’s smallest stores are 80,000 square feet while their largest shopping centers cover more than 230,000 square feet. The next time you step through the doors of your Costco, these are the items that you should grab first.

Paper Goods

According to research, Americans spend around $182 each year on toilet paper. While that figure may not seem that high, when you multiply that figure by the number of people in your home, it can increase significantly.

Also, when you account for paper towels and napkins, the amount that you can spend on paper goods at your local grocery store or big-box retailer makes paper goods one of the best things to buy at Costco.

Kirkland, the store brand of paper products that Costco carries is wildly popular with Costco members, thanks primarily to their quality.

In addition to saving on your annual paper-goods spending, buying in bulk ensures that you always have the products that you need in your home. Stocking up on household essentials is an excellent way to cut down on trips to the store, where you’ll probably end up buying more than you went in for. Thanks to the Kirkland commitment to quality, grabbing paper goods at Costco is a must.

Meat and Seafood

Some people insist that they just can’t get quality meat and seafood at big-box stores, and the idea of buying them at a warehouse store like Costco seems foreign. However, Costco takes a very particular approach to ordering and preparing its meats and seafood, making them some of the most popular items in the store.

While buying meat and seafood in bulk is a great option for large families, it’s also an excellent way to improve your meal-prepping. The cost per pound at Costco is probably lower than you’ll be able to find at other stores, and you can grab quality cuts of meat, including filets, for a fraction of what they cost at your local grocery store.

If you have the space in your freezer, loading up on meat at Costco is a great choice. They even have organic and grass-fed options at much better prices than you can find at any local grocery store.

Rotisserie Chicken

After you spend a day walking through Costco, you’ll probably want to grab something for lunch or dinner. Even though you can grab all sorts of food, you may not feel like cooking once you’re shopping is done. Fortunately, Costco’s rotisserie chickens are among their most popular items, thanks to their size and price.

Rotisserie chickens are packed with protein and have minimal calories, which makes them an incredibly healthy option, especially if you peel the skin away.

Typically, these chickens, which are larger than you’ll find at most stores, cost around $4.99. They’re versatile too, as you can eat it on its own, or slice it up and use it on sandwiches, in salads, or in casseroles.

Electronics

Costco isn’t just a huge grocery store. While many people think of grabbing meats, snacks, and other food items, Costco is also one of the leading electronic retailers in the United States.

To make things even more appealing, the store incredible warranties and has a generous return policy that makes buying your electronics at Costco a stress-free proposition.

When it comes to specifics, you can get TVs and laptops for great prices at Costco at virtually any time. They carry plenty of other electronic gadgets, but their most popular sellers are TVs and laptops.

Worst Things to Buy at Costco

Once you’ve got your cart filled with some of the things that we’ve already discussed, you may not have much room for more. But, even if you do, there are some Costco items that you’re better off staying away from.

Produce

Costco has some excellent deals on produce. The problem is when you buy produce in the quantities that Costco makes available, you’re probably going to run into a lot of waste.

Fresh fruit and vegetables are prone to spoiling quickly, and unless you plan on freezing the excess or cooking for a large group, you’re probably not going to save much by buying your produce at Costco.

The price per pound of Costco’s produce is appealing, and this certainly isn’t an indictment on the quality of produce that the megastore sells. It’s simply unrealistic to think that you’ll consume the full amount, and the waste makes the savings minimal.

Baked Goods

A trip through the bakery section at your local Costco can leave you drooling. Costco definitely has some beautiful cakes, cookies, muffins, bread, and other baked goods on display, and the prices are hard to beat.

Unfortunately, just like the problem is with the produce, baked goods typically go bad before you can eat them, at least in the quantity that Costco sells them.

Costco baked goods are an excellent choice if you’re hosting a party or feeding a large group of people. However, if you’re just shopping for yourself and your family, baked goods probably aren’t a great choice.

Spices

This addition to the list is another example of an item that just doesn’t last as long as you need it to. When you remember that Costco was primarily a place for restaurant managers and owners to get supplies that they needed.

Since you’re probably not going to go through spices at the same rate that a restaurant does, your spices are probably going to lose their potency over time.

To make things even more complicated, most people don’t use a huge variety of spices, which makes purchasing the limited spices that you keep on hand at Costco an even worse idea. While the spices you purchase may not “spoil” in a traditional sense, they will become less effective which leaves you needing to buy new spices anyway.

Clothes

Finally, let’s look at another product category that many people don’t associate with Costco: clothing. Most people don’t go clothes shopping at Costco, and there are some stores that don’t even have clothes. Those that do typically don’t have a huge variety, and the limited range of sizes and styles leaves a lot of shoppers frustrated.

Also, while Kirkland, the Costco company brand, offers some great products, customers report that Kirkland brand clothing typically doesn’t hold up well when it gets washed multiple times. You can probably find a good price on a quality item every once in a while at Costco, but for the most part, it’s best to just leave the clothes on the rack.

Shopping at Costco has plenty of benefits, but you need to approach it strategically. These tips can help you pick the right items and avoid those that are better left behind.