This Is the Only Time Costco Will Price Match

There are so many perks to having a Costco membership, from wholesale discounts to gasoline savings to free samplesthat satiate mid-shopping hanger (plus food court pizza, if you could still use a bite!). The cherry on top of all these benefits would be a Costco price matching program—a promise to match lower prices of the same items sold at other stores—but as of right now, the retailer is holding out on that front.

Does Costco Price Match? 

The short answer here is, no, according to a question answered on Costco’s online customer service portal. “Because we already offer competitive prices at the point of purchase, we do not price match with other retailers,” the site reads. It also doesn’t help that many items sold at Costco are from the in-house Kirkland Signature brand, which eliminates a potential price match for much of their inventory. 

How to Save Money at Costco

However, Costco will price match its own sales—meaning, if a purchase of yours later gets discounted, you can ask for a price adjustment and Costco will return the difference. Naturally, though, there are a few catches: Price adjustments can only be requested within 30 days of your original purchase. Also, if your purchase was made online, it can’t be matched to in-store prices and vice versa—in-store prices can’t be matched to those found online, which take into account shipping and handling, per Costco’s site. 

 Additionally, any price adjustment inquiries have to be taken up with the point of purchase. That means if you want to dispute the cost of something you bought online, you should request a price adjustment on Costco’s site. (Costco recommends first making sure the promotional price wasn’t already deducted from your order.) On the other hand, if you want to be partially refunded for something bought in-store, Costco advises inquiring in person at the Returns counter—and not just any Returns counter, but that of the location where you bought it. The final catch? Gold bars sold at Costco are excluded from price adjustments, and Costco reserves the right to deny any adjustments at their discretion. 

To take full advantage of Costco’s price adjustment promises, you do have to keep track of ongoing sales and your past hauls, which can be a bit tricky. But in a lot of cases—think Thanksgiving turkey or the backyard games you just picked up for summer—it’s worth it.