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Being a Costco member is worth it for some people, but not for others. Here are some signs that giving up your membership could be the right move.
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Costco earns top marks for customer satisfaction, but that doesn’t mean shopping at the warehouse club works for everyone. Once you’ve become a Costco member, it may be tempting to stick with the status quo and just keep your membership forever. But that’s not always the right move for your bank account.
Giving up your Costco membership in 2024 may be the right move in a few key circumstances. Here are some signs that remaining a Costco member isn’t the right choice for you.
1. You want a warehouse club with a cheaper membership fee
Costco membership costs $60 for the Gold Star membership, which is the cheapest membership available. By contrast, Sam’s Club offers a $50 membership and you can often get discounts on that if you’re signing up for the first time. You may be able to get as much as 50% off your membership cost depending on what promotions are available when you sign up.
If you just want a membership to buy household basics, you aren’t loyal to Costco’s Kirkland brand, and you want to pay a rock-bottom price to be part of a warehouse club, you may want to give up Costco and switch to Sam’s.
2. You want to save by buying generic brands
Costco’s Kirkland brand offers around 345 products, which is a good number, but not when you consider that around 20% of Sam’s Club’s inventory is made up of Member’s Mark products (its store brand). That’s thousands of products. Walmart also has more than 29,000 products under its private labels.
If you want to get the widest selection of generics possible on every shopping trip, then you’ll want to visit other stores like Sam’s and Walmart. It may make sense to cancel your Costco membership so you can do that.
3. You’re hoping to use coupons to help you save
Costco does not accept manufacturer coupons. If you want to use coupons you clip from the paper or print from the internet to buy your personal or household products, it may make sense to give up your Costco membership so you can shop at stores that accept them.
4. You want to start shopping online more often
Costco offers many products online, but those products come at a premium. Costco makes clear you pay more for most items bought online versus in-store to account for the added shipping and handling costs.
If you prefer to use the internet to get most of your products and don’t want to see higher credit card bills just to pay the inflated prices at Costco.com, you may prefer to cancel your Costco membership. You can buy more stuff at online retailers (like Amazon) that don’t charge you more just for the privilege of shopping from the comfort of your home.
5. You aren’t shopping at Costco much
Finally, you’ll want to give up your Costco membership in 2024 if you simply haven’t shopped there enough to make continuing to pay the $60 a year worthwhile.
Costco is cheaper than the grocery store on some products, but not all products. For example, you might save around $0.50 on a dozen eggs at Costco compared with buying them at Trader Joe’s, but Aldi’s milk may be around $0.42 less than the cost of a gallon at Costco.
You can check your receipts from Costco against your local grocery store prices to see how much you’re saving, and then figure out how many trips to Costco you’d need to make to break even. For example, if your staples are $10 a month cheaper at Costco than at your local grocery store, you’d have to buy your basics at the warehouse club for at least six months of the year to make up for your membership fee.
If you’re only going to Costco a few times a year or aren’t buying much on your visits, it may make sense to give up your membership since you’re simply not getting your money’s worth.
If you decide to cancel, you can do so by calling member services at 1-800-774-2678 or talking to someone in-store. Don’t be afraid to give up your membership if you have doubts about whether it’s worth it, as you can always rejoin later.
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