Bad news if you’re mooching off of someone else’s Costco membership: The retail giant is cracking down.

When you enter Costco, you need to show your membership card to an employee to shop. Costco membership cards are non-transferable, but the company allows members to give a second household card to one other person in their home. Anyone with a card can bring up to two guests to the club during each visit, the company stipulates.

But Costco has noticed that non-members have been sneaking in with membership cards that don’t belong to them — particularly since Costco expanded self-checkout.

Costco recently started asking for shoppers’ membership cards along with a photo ID at the self-checkout registers, the same policy as regular checkout lanes, to crack down. “We don’t feel it’s right that non-members receive the same benefits and pricing as our members,” Costco said in announcing the change.

And now, Costco is testing out a system that requires members to scan their membership cards at the store entrance — instead of just flashing the card to employees. Shoppers have spotted the new scanners at a store in Washington State and posted photos on Reddit.

  • Carobu@lemmy.world
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    1 year ago

    One of the last times I was in, I was asked for my photo ID and Costco membership card no less than 5 times by employees. I literally got asked while I was in an isle looking at items. I’ve never had this happen before and made me honestly a bit irritated having to constantly pull my ID out of my wallet. This policy needs to chill.

    • FlavoredButtHair@lemmy.world
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      1 year ago

      Damn I so gotta use my friends account on instacart? But I like holding the product and seeing what I’m buying.

      I share my Sam’s Club with my gf and her family. They share their Costco with us and just walk by or shop online.

      • scottywh@lemmy.world
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        1 year ago

        Instacart lets anyone order from Costco and Sam’s without a membership… You just have to pay overinflated Instacart prices and be cool with the fact that you’re exploiting someone’s labor.

      • 5in1k@lemm.ee
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        1 year ago

        Yeah exactly, people are so afraid of confrontation these days, you can tell people to fuck off and they generally will.