9 Costly Mistakes Savvy Costco Shoppers Don't Make

The warehouse club offers plenty of perks, but next time you shop at Costco beware these tactics designed to get you to spend more.

The exterior of a Costco warehouse club at dusk
(Image credit: Getty Images)

Every year, Costco attracts droves of new members looking to score bargains on everything from personal care products and paper towels to fresh and frozen foods in bulk. Exclusive perks such as deeply discounted gasoline prices, deals on big-ticket electronics and appliances, and access to coveted Kirkland Signature store-branded items are among the major draws of membership to the warehouse club. While these incentives are, indeed, used to reward card-carrying Costco members, many of them are also designed to get shoppers to spend more.

We asked several shopping experts to reveal various methods the warehouse club uses to entice members to shop more frequently and impulsively. The retail pros also offered advice on how to avoid these spending traps that often ensnare newer members. Here's what they had to say.

Andrea Browne Taylor
Contributing Editor

Browne Taylor joined Kiplinger in 2011 and was a channel editor for Kiplinger.com covering living and family finance topics. She previously worked at the Washington Post as a Web producer in the Style section and prior to that covered the Jobs, Cars and Real Estate sections. She earned a BA in journalism from Howard University in Washington, D.C. She is Director of Member Services, at the National Association of Home Builders.