# Costco membership

44 Hacker News commenters recommended Costco membership and 18 criticized it, November 2025 to November 2026. It was recommended in 7 of 13 months; owners who said how long report a median of 10 years (4 owners). It meets the Hacker Approved badge rule.

**Verdict:** People recommend it for low prices on bulk groceries and big-ticket items, and the Executive tier's 2% rebate often pays the fee back. The most common caveat is crowding at the warehouses.

## Why people recommend it

- Executive 2% rebate covers the fee (7 comments): "you can get the executive membership which gives you 2% cash back on everything at the end of the year which for me makes the membership completely free" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48054932)) "Most people can do even better with the executive membership if you spend ~$550 a month you'll get the $130 fee back in your rebate." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48052987)) "the 2% rebate on the executive membership always covers my membership renewal price plus $50-$100 off a shop" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47697068))
- Cheaper groceries and everyday staples (5 comments): "I literally make up the cost of my yearly membership in 2 months of shopping there compared to any other grocery store." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47695960)) "Personally I save over $5/month just buying butter there vs buying from my local supermarket." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48052888)) "we saved more money shopping at Costco than the membership cost by a long shot" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48050874))
- Trusted business model and leadership (5 comments): "It's a great model. We get the benefit of low prices, they get sustaining revenue that allows us to get those low prices." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48053063)) "Costco's genius is in building and maintaining trust with their members." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47449370)) "admires their business model and how they treat customers & employees" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46186933))

## What people warn about

- Crowded stores and aisles (4 comments): "Too crowded. Too many people who have no common decency of not blocking the lane." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48052844)) "They've oversold the memberships (which were being abused anyway) and now the stores are always crowded" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48060223)) "it's so incredibly crowded at all times that the savings are only worth it for more expensive items" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48053260))
- Upfront fee deters some shoppers (2 comments): "Membership is an up-front cost. That excludes those who can't part with the cash for no immediate benefit." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48057426)) "Because simply asking to see what it sells requires me to subscribe upfront." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48056724))
- Encourages overconsumption and oversized quantities (3 comments): "I think one danger with Costco is that it encourages overconsumption." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48054938)) "The quantities for certain things are just a bit much." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48053712)) "they just made a killing off of me filling my cart with arbitrary bullshit stuff" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48781300))

## Where to get it

- [Visit the official site](https://www.costco.com/)

## Cite as

Hacker Approved, "Costco membership", https://hackerapproved.com/p/costco-membership/ (counts from 1,795,640 Hacker News comments, November 2025 to November 2026).