14 Things You Should Buy at Costco (And 13 to Avoid)

Costco offers members tons of ways to save money. It's also filled with a number of potentially bad purchases. If you're going to join the warehouse club, make sure you really think about each purchase you make so you don't end up regretting what you buy.

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Most (but not all) Costco locations have gas stations located in their parking lot. These generally offer lower prices than nearly any other station and using them will almost certainly save you money.

Costco sells clothes but does not have dressing rooms. That makes buying fitted items a risk. Yes, you can return something that does not fit, but the chain's ever-changing merchandise means you're not likely to be able to exchange what you buy.

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Single-cup coffee pods are expensive. Costco usually has a good selection of them at lower-than-grocery-store prices. You may not be able to get all your favorites, but there should be a decent selection of well-known brands.

Being able to buy in bulk makes sense for many items. You have to be careful, however, when it comes to purchasing perishable items. Understand how much you will use and pass when the quantities are higher than what might be reasonable for you.

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If you like the occasional adult beverage then you should check out Costco's selection of spirits. The warehouse club offers a selection of house brands that offer high quality for low prices. You might have to experiment a bit to find what you like, but once you do the values are tremendous.

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You can score a deal on electronics at Costco. You can also end up buying a television or computer that looks like the one you want but is actually a stripped-down model that's not what you think it is.

Costco's warehouses have food courts that offer cheap meals. You can get hot dogs, pizza, and a handful of other things for very low prices.

Don't buy a mattress you can't test. Costco sells mattresses, but they are generally stacked against the walls with no way for you to test them. The price may be right, but does that matter if it ends up being uncomfortable?

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You can buy inexpensive prescription eyeglasses at Costco. The prices are generally quite low and the quality is decent. That makes this a smart place to shop if you wear glasses.

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Where exactly will you keep a giant Teddy bear? Would your kid actually play with it? The answers to these questions suggest that this purchase is probably a terrible idea.

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Toilet paper does not go bad. If you have the room to store it, you can save a decent amount of money by buying in bulk.

Costco often has really good prices on kayaks and canoes. Are you really going to use a kayak if you buy one? Do you have easy access to water? Will you have any place to store your new purchase?

Costco does not sell a lot of books, but the ones it has are sold at very good prices. You can usually find bestsellers and popular books in a handful of genres.

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Can you eat a bag of oranges before they go bad? If you have a big family or really eat a lot of fruit then maybe buying it at Costco makes sense. For most people, however, the quantities you have to buy make this a bad deal for most people.

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You can buy decorations and cards for all the major holidays at Costco. In some cases, you can buy them a day or two after the holiday at even better prices.

Costco generally isn't the cheapest place to buy diapers, and the quantity you need to buy makes storage difficult. You are, in most cases, better off buying online using a subscription so you have what you need but don't have too many at once.

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Costco locations have pharmacies. These are generally cheaper than your other options for filling your prescriptions and sometimes they have good prices even if you don't have insurance.

While the chain sells milk, it's generally not cheaper than buying it elsewhere. You will also have much less selection than if you buy milk at your regular grocery store.

Costco often offers bundles of gift cards where you can get more than one for a total that's less than face value. Sometimes this is multiple cards to one place and, at other times, it's a package containing multiple stores.

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A lot of things expire that you would not realize. Even soap, for example, can expire if it sits around long enough. Be careful when you buy in bulk because it's possible that things you buy may expire if you don't use them fast enough.

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You can use the Costco website to book travel. It's generally one of the cheapest ways you can book a vacation package and it's also a rare way to save money on a theme park package.

Grocery stores often have coupons for cereal that bring the prices near or lower than what Costco charges. They also don't force you to buy in multi-packs or quantities that might go stale before you eat them.

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Kids (and maybe some adults) lose a lot of hats and gloves. Costco often sells these items for less than they cost at traditional department stores. If your kid is going to go through a bunch of these during the winter season, it's not a bad idea to stock up.

Bottled water is generally not cheaper at Costco and you will have less selection to pick from. In most cases, you're better off just buying from your local grocery store -- especially if you want to buy in a relatively small quantity.

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You can book a cruise at a discount through Costco. The biggest concern you have doing this is that dates generally can't be changed once you book.

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Coffee beans don't have a long shelf life. They generally start to lose taste if you let them sit without being ground for longer than a few weeks.

You may not think of Costco as a place to buy office supplies, but it has a decent selection. Pens, pencils, and paper don't generally go bad so you can stock up without worrying.

Daniel B. Kline has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool recommends Costco Wholesale. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.