3 Mistakes You Might Make on Your First Costco Shopping Trip

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Going to Costco for the first time? Read on for some blunders you’ll want to avoid. 

So you’ve joined Costco and are ready to tackle your first adventure at your local warehouse club store. Woo hoo! You’ll want to wear comfortable shoes, since you may end up doing a lot of walking. And you’ll also want to be mindful of these newbie mistakes that it really pays to avoid.

1. Picking out your most perishable items first

Grocery stores are usually pretty large in their own right. But Costco is downright huge. And if you’re not familiar with your local store’s layout, you might end up spending hours walking around during your first visit.

That’s why it’s not a good idea to start in the dairy, meat, or produce section the first time you go to Costco. When you’re buying perishable grocery items in bulk, you want to keep them unrefrigerated for as little time as possible.

Now, Costco warehouses tend to have decent climate control in general. But still, you really don’t want to be walking around for 90 minutes with items like deli meat and milk in your cart if you can help it.

After all, if you’re spending the money to buy these things in bulk, you want your haul to last. So make a list of the items you need to buy and order it from non-perishable to most perishable. And then fill your cart accordingly.

2. Skipping the free samples

You may be inclined to say “no thanks” when you’re offered free samples at Costco if you’re not used to shopping there. After all, no one wants to come off as greedy.

But actually, Costco encourages members to try out its products before buying them, because if you go this route, you’ll be less likely to make a return due to not being satisfied. And sampling food items before buying them in bulk quantities could help you avoid wasting money in the course of your Costco trip.

So if you see a granola bar brand you’re not so familiar with and you’re inclined to take a chance on a pack of 40, do yourself a favor and first try the bite-sized sample to make sure you really like the taste. Otherwise, you’ve potentially just brought home 40 paperweights you didn’t need.

3. Steering clear of Kirkland products

If you’re brand new to Costco, you may not be at all familiar with Kirkland, which is the store’s signature brand. And that’s understandable. But one thing you should know is that buying Kirkland products could be a good way to free up more cash for your savings account. Don’t make the mistake of bypassing those products just because they have a more generic label on them.

For one thing, plenty of Kirkland products taste great and work well in their own right. But more so than that, if you look closely, you may find that several Kirkland products are actually made by name-brands you already know.

Take Kirkland’s Signature House Blend Coffee. All you need to do is look closely at the label, and you’ll see that it’s actually made by Starbucks.

It can take some time to get used to shopping at Costco, so don’t worry if, come the end of your first shopping trip, you’re still feeling a bit lost and overwhelmed. At the same time, it pays to do what you can to avoid these mistakes so you don’t lose out on savings during your first Costco visit.

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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 and Starbucks. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.

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