I Set Foot Inside Costco for the First Time Ever Today as a New Member. Here's What I Learned

According to February 2024 data from Costco, the warehouse club boasts 130 million card-carrying members across 73.4 million households. Make that 130 million plus one. That's right, after years of reading and editing seemingly endless articles about Costco and all its perks, I finally made the decision to join the fray and see what all the fuss was about.

I recently made my first shopping excursion to my local warehouse club. There were a lot of takeaways from that trip, but here are three big ones that other prospective Costco members might be interested to know.

1. Allow time to stop at the membership desk before shopping

I, like many Americans, am a big fan of shopping online. So, naturally, I bought and paid for my $60 Costco Gold Star membership using a credit card on Costco's website. Upon completing my purchase, I was sent an email with a purchase confirmation and instructions to take a copy to Costco's customer service desk to collect my membership card.

When I reached the store, the greeter directed me to where I could find the membership desk and I headed on over to get my card. I had to stand in a short line while representatives helped other customers, but when it was my turn, I was helped by a very friendly associate. While she looked up my info, she directed me to download the Costco app and showed me how to use it to set my local store and check Costco's (historically lower) gas prices, and other neat app features. Handy!

While the associate assured me she doesn't get commission for upgrading memberships, she did give me a spiel about the benefits to upgrading to an Executive membership (at an increased price tag of $120 annually), and also a brief sales pitch for the Costco credit card. I politely declined both offers and explained that I'd never visited a Costco store before and really needed to get my feet wet before I could determine if it would be worth it for me to upgrade.

After that, she snapped my photo, my ID card printed from the machine, and I was on my way. In total, I spent about 10 minutes at the membership desk completing membership housekeeping tasks before my shopping adventure could really begin.

2. Prepare to be overwhelmed

If, like me, you've never set foot in a Costco warehouse store, prepare to be overwhelmed. The warehouse is vast, and the layout was unlike any I'd experienced before. Upon entering, it looked a lot like a Best Buy, with electronics and appliances aplenty. I even spotted a mobile service provider with his own stand and materials. As I continued through the store, it turned into what resembled more of a large clothing retailer, except instead of items neatly hung on racks as far as the eye can see, garments were folded and displayed on tables, more akin to a yard sale.

It wasn't until I made it to the back of the store (well, my local store anyway) that I finally hit the produce and grocery section. As I followed that around, I came to the refrigerated dairy, paper goods and cleaning supplies, pantry staples, and finally the pharmacy and over-the-counter meds right before hitting the checkout area.

If I had entered the store that day with a short list of items and hoped to make it in and out quickly, I would have been sorely disappointed. It took me an hour and a half to navigate, familiarize myself, and check out all sections of the store.

3. Checkout was a breeze

When you check out at your local grocery store, what are you used to? Likely, you enter a narrow lane with your cart, unload all your items, and wait as the sales clerk scans each item and bags it before you pay and return the bagged items to your cart.

That's not how it works at Costco. At Costco checkout, the shopper enters on the left side of the checkout lane, while their cart goes to the right side, behind the checkout where the cashier stands. During my experience, two clerks worked together to separate and scan each item, and thoughtfully rearranged my items into neat stacks in my cart. I didn't have to unload my items myself, and there is no "bagging" process, as Costco doesn't provide them. Despite my cart that was near bursting with Costco's bulk goodies, the whole checkout process was complete in under a minute. Impressive!

I'll note that I did notice some self-checkout lanes as well, but due to it being my first visit, I didn't quite have the confidence to give those a go yet.

Ready to take on future visits

My first Costco visit was a total sensory experience. A giant warehouse full of new sights, sounds, and smells awaited me that day. That first trip took me longer than I anticipate future trips will take, as I'm now a card-carrying member with a better idea of where to find the items I need and how to quickly pay and exit the store upon completion of my shopping.

One thing that I don't expect to be different in future visits is the value I got from my Costco purchases. As it turns out, Costco was a boon for my personal finances, and I ended up saving more than the cost of an entire year's membership fee in just one shopping trip. But alas, you'll have to stay tuned, as that's a story for another article.