# Costco

171 Hacker News commenters recommended Costco and 50 criticized it, November 2025 to November 2026. It was recommended in 11 of 13 months; owners who said how long report a median of 1 years (4 owners). It meets the Hacker Approved badge rule.

**Verdict:** Recommended for a small, well-vetted selection at fair prices and for treating customers and staff well, though stores and parking lots are often packed.

## Why people recommend it

- Curated, vetted product selection (9 comments): "Costco only has a couple options but they are well better and you don't have to do extra work to make sure you're not buying a piece of crap." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49352686)) "For stores with strong curation, you could just skip the research phase and buy whatever Costco or Lee Valley is selling." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48115760)) "The quality of the product is good, the prices are good, there's little "choice paralysis" and it's all under one roof." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48063802))
- Consistently good value (7 comments): "The quality of the product is good, the prices are good, there's little "choice paralysis" and it's all under one roof." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48063802)) "They're selective with what they stock, their margins are capped so I know I'm not getting fleeced buying abject junk." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47781524)) "Costco's real benefit is that everything they sell is pretty good stuff, and nothing is outrageously overpriced." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48080087))
- Treats customers and employees well (7 comments): "I expect I will never buy a major appliance from any other retailer as long as Costco continues to care like they do today." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49121987)) "Costco's code of ethics makes this really simple, it is too bad it, or a variation thereof, isn't more commonly observed." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48394284)) "Costco is a rare example of a company doing the right thing and succeeding under late stage capitalism." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47648906))
- Bulk trips cover a month (4 comments): "Because of the large quantities my family with 4 children is able to go to Costco once a month and purchase almost everything our family will need" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48779472)) "It's quite efficient use of land. Costco parking lots tend to be full, people tend to leave Costco with full carts and go once or twice a month." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48779459)) "One of the greatest feelings for me is returning from a Costco and knowing I have enough in the house to last a month" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46788015))

## What people warn about

- Crowds, lines and packed parking (6 comments): "the crowds at Costco are much, much worse (in quantity mainly) than any other grocery or big-box store I've ever been to." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48056183)) "they often have solid inventory, and the samples used to be a nice touch until all my local locations got way too crowded" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46110782)) "fighting for space everywhere: fighting for a parking lot, avoiding people seeming to ram you with their shopping cart" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48053314))
- Encourages buying more than needed (3 comments): "If you don't think Costco encourages people to buy things they don't need you've never shopped at Costco." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48780681)) "it's just a place that takes advantage of suburbanites' love of buying excessive amounts of crap" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48057404)) "a warehouse full of stuff I don't particularly want in quantities I'll never be able to use" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47463843))

## Cite as

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