3 Items Costco Doesn’t Carry – but Should

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You can’t cross off every item on your shopping list. 

There’s a reason so many people like shopping at Costco — and are willing to bear the expense of a membership for the ability to walk in the door. Costco tends to offer a wide range of products at affordable prices.

Need to load up on tissues and cold medication for the winter? Costco’s got you covered. Have a household of hungry kids to feed? You can buy everything from granola bars to huge blocks of cheese to fruits and vegetables in bulk at a fraction of what you might spend at a supermarket or big-box store.

But while shopping at Costco might leave you with a lower credit card tab than what you’ll get by shopping elsewhere, the warehouse club giant may not have every item you’re looking for in stock. In fact, here are a few things you probably won’t find at Costco.

1. School supplies

You can buy plenty of household essentials at Costco. But have you ever tried to stock up on things like notebooks, pencils, and glue sticks? If so, you probably weren’t successful.

Costco doesn’t tend to offer these items in bulk. If you need school supplies for your kids or school classroom, you may be better off heading over to Target or seeing what prices Amazon has to offer.

You can also try looking at office supply stores, like Staples, and seeing what deals they have. Some retailers offer extra discounts for teachers during certain times of the year, so those are worth looking into as well.

2. Allergy-friendly baked goods

Costco’s in-house bakery offers a host of delicious goods that are made fresh every day. You can buy everything from gigantic muffins to assorted cookies to sheet cakes to bread. But if you have allergies in your household, you may be out of luck.

While you may find some packaged baked goods at Costco that are allergy-friendly, Costco’s bakery is most certainly not nut- or dairy-free. And even though many of its bakery items don’t actually contain nuts, you’ll face issues with cross-contamination no matter what.

3. French fries at the food court

Shopping at Costco can help you work up an appetite — one that those free samples just won’t satisfy. Thankfully, you can always head over to Costco’s food court to fill up on things like frozen yogurt, pizza, and the chain’s famous $1.50 hot dog and soda combo.

But oddly enough, Costco doesn’t include french fries on its food court menu. And so if you want them as a side for your hot dog, you’ll have to stop by a fast food joint to pick some up.

Costco truly offers an impressive range of products, from groceries to electronics to apparel. But if you’re in need of school supplies or allergy-friendly bakery items, you’ll have to look elsewhere. And if you have a hankering for french fries, the best you can get at Costco is a massive package of frozen ones that you have to haul home and make in your own oven.

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The Ascent does not cover all offers on the market. Editorial content from The Ascent is separate from The Motley Fool editorial content and is created by a different analyst team.Maurie Backman has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has positions in and recommends Costco Wholesale. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.

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