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If you’re looking for a way to shop Costco without paying the $60/year membership fee, try using price matching at popular retailers.
There’s a finesse to this since there are a few unbreakable rules of price matching at nearly every retailer I’ve encountered. First, price matching only works for identical items — same brand, size, quantity — everything. Typically, you can’t get a price match on a clearance item at a competitor store, and you can rarely use coupons along with a price match.
By and large, it’s the same with stores that match Costco price, though there are some nuanced exceptions. Save yourself the legwork and use the KCL app to see all the sales prices across retailers.
1. Does Costco price match?
Costco itself does not do price matching.
However, there are a ton of retailers that will price match Costco.
2. Does Best Buy price match Costco?
Yes, they do. Just bring in the ad with the lower price, or show an associate the item on Costco’s website. Best Buy may opt to call Costco to double-check you.
TIP: Is the lower price part of a promotion limited to Costco Members? If so, Best Buy won’t price match. But they will price match Costco’s pricing or sales that are available to everyone regardless of membership status.
If you want to learn more, read up on all the nuances of the Best Buy price match policy.
3. Does Kohl’s price match Costco?
Yes and no. It all depends on the brand and how you’re shopping.
Other than excluded merchandise — mostly consisting of hyper-specific brands, particularly across electronics and sporting goods — you can get in-store Costco prices at Kohl’s when you show a Costco ad to a Kohl’s associate.
Kohl’s does not allow you to price match any of their competitors’ online prices when you’re shopping in-store. So that means Kohl’s will not price match Costco.com under any circumstances.
On Kohls.com, you won’t be able to price match Costco at all. You can price match other Kohl’s competitor websites when you’re shopping online, though – as long as they’re not a wholesaler.
TIP: Learn more about Kohl’s price match policy to take full advantage of Costco prices and those of other retailers.
4. Does Target price match Costco?
Target matches Costco’s in-store price or the Costco.com price. You should be able to claim price matching at any regular checkout line.
Target’s price match policy also allows you to price match Costco when you’re shopping online by calling Guest Services at 1-800-591-3869.
TIP: When you buy at Target, you’ll be able to save an additional 5% off your purchase on top of the price match when you use your Target RedCard.
5. Does Staples price match Costco?
Yes, Staples price matches all major retailers who have both physical stores and online shopping available. That includes Costco. Just visit the customer service desk at Staples or ask any associate for a price match.
6. Does PetSmart price match Costco?
PetSmart will price match Costco. But you can’t mix in-store with online prices.
That means if you’re shopping at a PetSmart location, you can only match Costco’s in-store prices. And if you’re shopping online, PetSmart.com will only match prices listed on Costco.com.
7. Does JCPenney price match Costco?
If the lower price from Costco is available to everyone – regardless of membership status – JCPenney will match it.
As long as you meet that rule, JCPenney will price match both in-store Costco prices and Costco.com prices.
Plus, the JCPenney return policy allows for a pretty incredible bonus: You don’t have to claim the price match at checkout. If you see the same item at a lower price from a competitor, you have up to 14 days to come back and claim a partial refund for the price difference.
TIP: You can also use JCPenney coupons on top of a price match.
8. Does Sears price match Costco?
Yes, Sears does price match Costco. You gotta do a little prep work, though.
First, make sure you have your Costco membership card. This might be an extra requirement compared to other stores. But the plus side is that you’ll be able to claim members-only sales prices, which most other stores won’t let you do.
Then, make sure you have the ad ready to show to the cashier. This can be a paper ad, a printout or the ad displayed on your phone.
TIP: Sears will also price match Sam’s Club. The only membership stores they explicitly won’t price match are PX/BXs. So if you find a better deal on base, it’s going to be better to buy on base.
9. Which stores won’t price match Costco?
We get a lot of questions about price matching Costco here at KCL. Usually, people are looking at a very specific deal from a very specific store.
But not every store will price match retail wholesalers like Costco. Some of the most common disappointments include:
- Walmart does not price match Costco. In fact, whether you’re shopping in-store or online, Walmart won’t price match anyone anymore.
- Lowe’s won’t price match Costco. Lowe’s doesn’t price match any wholesale retailers, including competitors like Sam’s Club.
- Home Depot doesn’t price match Costco. Same as Lowe’s – wholesale retailers like Costco are excluded from the Home Depot price matching policy.
- Petco will not price match Costco. They used to. But, alas, Petco now only price matches Petco.com. Everyone else is off the table.
- Sam’s Club doesn’t price match Costco. Or anyone else. Like Petco, Sam’s Club only matches prices found on SamsClub.com. The Sam’s Club return policy is great, though, so if you find a lower price at Costco later – even a year later – you can always just return the item you bought at Sam’s Club.
10. How long is Costco’s price adjustment window?
The Costco price adjustment period is 30 days. So while Costco won’t match anyone else’s prices, they will offer you a partial refund if they themselves put an item on sale after you purchase it.
Let’s say you bought a mega, 66-oz box of Goldfish for $12.49. Already a great price.
But later in the month, you’re doing another routine grocery trip and see that Costco is selling it for just $9.99. Because you’re still within the 30-day window, you could take your receipt to customer service to get a $2.50 refund.
You also have 30 days to claim a price adjustment for any purchases made on Costco.com.
TIP: The Costco return policy is one of the best on the planet. It gives you literally forever to make your returns.
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