7 Costco Items That Shoppers Say Are Overpriced

Costco offers impressive deals on a huge amount of items, but not everything at the warehouse chain is the absolute best deal you can get. Customers who compare prices for goods between Costco and local grocery stores find that in some specific cases, it’s actually better to get certain items elsewhere, even with the store’s generous return policy. So which products do members feel are just not worth the Costco rates? Here are seven Costco items members say are too overpriced for what they are.

Fresh Produce

Shoppers frequently complain about the price of fresh produce compared to local grocery stores, especially with how quickly the produce goes off. “Look. I get that you can freeze the veggies. But I get cheaper produce at my local Asian mart and I can actually choose the amount I need. I don’t have to buy 6 bell peppers at once,” one member said.

Batteries

Costco’s batteries are notorious for having issues, customers say. “Their batteries are terrible. They will ruin whatever you put them in as they leak really easily. Sometimes they just leak sitting on the shelf in their container,” one member said. “I was just complaining about this yesterday! Went to change batteries on my scale and I had to toss 13 new batteries away due to leaks or because they were simply dead! I was so annoyed,” another commented.

Bread and Bagels

Bakery items like bread are not worth it at Costco, shoppers say. “Bread and bagels. The prices are better at Trader Joe’s,” one shopper said. “Trader Joe’s and Costco are near each other for us so we often go to Trader Joe’s to get bread, bagels, arugula, soy chorizo, soy sausages, and other items where we prefer smaller quantities; before going to Costco.”

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Indoor Furniture

Reviews are mixed about the Costco furniture options. “I find all their indoor furniture to be overpriced and of poor quality,” one Redditor said. “Have you tried their online selections? The ones they usually display in store are pretty basic. I’m pretty impressed by some of their modern/mid-century looking leather sofas for a decent price. Curious about their quality,” another said.

NY Strip Steaks and Ribeyes

Great Southern Grass Fed Beef, ABF NY Strip CC Steak — Costco

Meat is no longer as cheap at Costco as some grocery stores, members say. “If you’re willing to pay for prime it’s true Costco has it while many grocery stores do not, but my local grocery stores (Harris Teeter most notably) often offers good specials on their choice beef to get people in the door and the marbling is decent. Can get choice strips or ribeyes (they’ll cut them as thick as you like) for $8-$9 and you don’t have to buy 4lbs worth to get the deal like you do at Costco,” one shopper said.

Yogurt Melts

Amara Organic Yogurt Smoothie Melts — Costco

Costco’s yogurt melt snacks aren’t worth the money, shoppers say. “I got tricked by some yogurt melts for my kid. It was a big box so I thought dang this is another great Costco deal – get home and it’s like 5 tiny bags of yogurt melts that cost like 20. Way overpriced,” one Redditor said. “Just got those, too. I don’t understand the point of feeding them as they don’t seem to be very filling, either,” another agreed.

Costco Chicken

Kirkland Signature Fresh Boneless Skinless Chicken Breasts — Costco

Costco chicken has taken a dip in quality and is not worth the price, customers say. “The beef and chicken at my store in socal is cheap but not worth it. Yes it has plenty of fat, but the chicken is super woody and the steaks have no flavor,” one shopper said. “The chicken! Stopped buying it 2 years ago because the texture was so gross always. Went down a rabbit hole and discovered woody chicken,” another agreed.