This Little-Known Costco Perk Could Cover the Cost of Membership
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There are a lot of ways to save money at Costco. Indeed, it's actually pretty easy to earn your Costco membership fee back in deals and discounts. You don't even need to shop there every week.In fact, you don't need to shop with Costco at all. You can make back the membership fee simply by shopping the brands in Costco Next.A shopping portal for big discountsCostco Next is essentially a shopping portal. Inside, you'll find dozens of popular -- and niche -- brands, from NordicWare to Anker to Nomatic. Clicking a brand's "Shop Now" link takes you to a dedicated Costco Next shopping page on its retail website offering discounts for Costco members.For instance, say you need a new travel backpack. You can just sign into your Costco account, then click on Nomatic's link in the Costco Next portal. You'll be taken to a special area on Nomatic's website where you'll find, from what I can tell, all of the same products available on the regular Nomatic site. Well, except for the fact that items listed are up to 25% off. You can save your membership fee in one buyThe discounts you find will certainly vary from brand to brand, or even product to product. But all of the stuff I've explored so far has been at least worth the time it takes to log into my Costco account -- and, often, much, much more.For example, remember that travel pack you need? The Nomatic Navigator Travel Backpack (32L) is listed at $399.99 if you go to nomatic.com. If you buy it through Costco Next, you'll pay just $299.99. For those who don't want to do the math, that's $100 in savings. A Gold Star Costco membership costs just $60 a year. So even if you never use your Costco membership for anything else, you're ahead of the game by $40 by getting a membership to shop Costco Next.Caveat: they're not Costco's monkeysOne thing to keep in mind when you're shopping through Costco Next is that Costco's only part in any transaction is getting you that discount. Once you click the link, you're dealing with the other retailer from that point on.Costco gave you discounted tickets, but it's not Costco's circus, and those aren't Costco's monkeys.You are buying from the retailer directly. It handles the purchase and ships your goods. If you have a customer service issue? You need to contact the retailer, not Costco. And yes, the same thing goes for returns and refunds, too. This means Costco's famously awesome return policy doesn't apply to any purchases you make through Costco Next. You'll need to read up on each partner's return policy before making a purchase.A Costco perk for people who don't like Costco?If you're already a Costco fan, you'll probably see Costco Next as another great perk of your membership that (hopefully) already pays for itself with lots of budget savings.But maybe you don't live near a Costco. Maybe you don't shop in bulk. You may not see as much use of the typical Costco benefits. Costco Next may be more your bag, since you can shop online, get great discounts, and you never have to go near a Costco.Either way, if you haven't checked out Costo Next yet, do a little poking around. You never know what deals you'll find.Top credit card to use at Costco (and everywhere else!)
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Click here to read our expert recommendations for free!We're firm believers in the Golden Rule, which is why editorial opinions are ours alone and have not been previously reviewed, approved, or endorsed by included advertisers.
The Ascent does not cover all offers on the market. Editorial content from The Ascent is separate from The Motley Fool editorial content and is created by a different analyst team.Brittney Myers has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has positions in and recommends Costco Wholesale. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.
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