7 Things You Should Never Buy at Costco

Over the years, big-box retailers like Costco have become increasingly popular with families and small business owners who are looking to save extra money.

From its much-celebrated $1.50 hot dog and soda combo deal to its affordable prescription drug program, there’s a lot to appreciate about Costco, especially if you have a large household or are trying to stick close to a budget.

But not everything the retailer offers is a great deal. In truth, there are still some items at the store that you should probably steer clear of. Below, we rounded up some of the products you should consider skipping the next time you hit up your neighborhood Costco.

1. Bagels
2. Spices
3. Bulk Fresh Produce
4. Flour
5. Cooking Oil
6. Mattresses
7. Something You’ve Never Tried

Bagels

Kirkland Signature-brand bagels come in a two-pack made of two six-bagel sleeves (12 in total). Unless you have a large family or you’re buying these for a work event, chances are that you’ll never get through all those bagels before they start to get moldy.

Customers who opt to go for these jumbo bags often have to throw out a lot of extra bagels, which negates the value of buying in bulk in the first place. In fact, there’s even a Reddit challenge for two-person households, wherein they race to try and finish a two-pack before signs of mold start to show.

Spices

Spices start to lose their potency over time, so it’s unlikely that buying spices in bulk at Costco would be beneficial for most average households. Longevity varies depending on the spice. For dried herbs like oregano and rosemary, you could get between a year to three years of quality shelf life. Powdered spices—such as chili powder and ground cinnamon—last a bit longer but only up to about three years. Given how much you’ll get at Costco, you should probably skip these unless you’re running a restaurant.

Bulk Fresh Produce

You probably already have a tough time using all of the bags of potatoes and other veggies you pick up at the grocery store. If you’re the kind of person who rarely gets through a whole package of strawberries before they start to get icky, the amount of bulk fresh produce you’re liable to get at Costco won’t make the problem any better. Chances are, it will make it seem worse—and more wasteful.

Though you can always freeze ripe strawberries (and other fruits) to prolong their lifespan, buying fresh (or flash frozen, meaning it was quickly frozen) is always better. So instead, stick to small quantities at your local store or farmer’s market that you know you have a better chance of actually conquering.

Flour

Although most supermarkets sell 2-pound to 5-pound bags of all-purpose flour, Costco sells Kirkland Signature-brand flour in a two-pack of 10-pound bags, or 20 pounds of flour total. This is far too much flour for the average baker to get through before it goes bad, which usually happens after a year (though some types of flour expire faster than others). Unless you’re making fresh bread on a daily basis, you should probably stick with your local grocery store instead of Costco.

Cooking Oil

You might think you need a lot of cooking oil, especially if you’re a foodie who whips up dishes for the whole family on the regular. But you’re really getting a lot of oil when you buy at Costco—the retailer sells olive oil and extra virgin olive oil in 2-liter to 3-liter containers. You can also find 3-quart bottles of canola oil and vegetable oil.

For an average household, that’s just too much. Most cooking oil goes rancid within a year, so an entire bottle will likely spoil before you even get a chance to put it to use. Do yourself a favor and skip this buy, tempting though it may be.

Mattresses

Yes, Costco sells mattresses. However, unlike with brick-and-mortar mattress stores, you can’t try before you buy. The retailer doesn’t have a showroom floor where you can lay down and test beds until you find the right one that fits your sleep style.

While you can always buy one and then return it to Costco (a process that some Redditors claim is pretty easy to do), is it really worth hauling a mattress home, setting it up, deciding against it, re-packing it, and then carting it all the way back to Costco for a refund? Instead, you could skip the hassle altogether and just go to a proper mattress store.

Something You’ve Never Tried

When you go grocery shopping, it’s always tempting to splurge on some things that are not on your list. You know—something enticing on an end cap that you maybe just feel a sudden urge to try. Though dropping a few extra bucks at a supermarket checkout to try a new candy bar or soda is mostly harmless, spending more than a few dollars for something you’ve never tried in bulk—like, say, Organic Blue Agave—feels like more of a waste.

If you end up hating it, then you’re stuck with something in bulk. In the worst-case scenario, you’ll end up throwing it out after it has been sitting in your kitchen cabinet for months. So, a good rule of thumb when you’re at Costco? Stick to those tried-and-true products you know and love—just as long as it’s not something we’ve already mentioned in this article.

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