and you don't need a membership for that.

(funky music)

- Hi, my name is Ozcar,

and I'm a former employee at Costco for three years.

- Hi, my name is Oscar with an S, not a Z,

and I'm a former Costco employee

of about five and a half years.

- My name is Sequoia, and I'm a current Costco employee

of about 14 years, a manager of about five years.

- And today we're gonna share some tips and tricks

on how to be a better shopper.

- Tip number one:

The best time to shop at Costco would be early afternoon

or early evening, between like six and seven.

- If you go in the morning,

it's always full of these hordes of zombies

just waiting for the store to slowly open

and make it impossible to shop in.

- Go midday, 'cause everyone's at work,

or they're busy picking up kids from school,

so anytime between 11:00 to 1:00 p.m.,

I would suggest you guys go around that time as well.

Tip number two:

You can use your membership anywhere in the world:

Mexico, China, Australia.

- Anywhere there is a Costco

and you're a current Costco member,

you're able to use your Costco card.

- [Oscar] Tip number three:

Costco Business Centers are not just for business owners.

- The benefit of the Business Centers are their hours.

You can shop as early as 7:00 a.m., roughly,

to about 6:00 p.m.

- Especially during the pandemic,

it's always good to shop early,

and they always open up earlier

than the regular Costco warehouses.

- They're full of lots of people,

and they have better snacks than the other Costcos.

- Tip number four:

You can return nearly anything at Costco.

Be mindful that nothing is meant to be

a lifetime warranty.

There are certain exceptions also,

in regards to our 90-day return policy

for electronics and things of that sort.

- When I was working at Costco,

I remember people returning half-eaten chickens,

half a case of water because it tasted funny.

- And for me, that means if I have produce that goes bad

right away, I take it back and just get a fresh one.

- [Producer] Wait, you can do that?

- Yeah, you can return perishables.

- [Ozcar] Tip number five:

items are constantly being moved around.

- Oh my goodness.

I know that it is extremely frustrating.

You come in.

You see an item in a certain place.

You come in the next day, and it has been moved.

I get it.

It's extremely frustrating for us as employees as well.

- Costco has this treasure hunt mentality,

where basically, they like to move things around the store,

have customers look around for them, so that way,

they're exploring the store and the merchandise.

- And as an employee, that was the most annoying thing,

because when a customer comes up to you and asks you,

"Hey, where can I find this?"

it might be in the same place you thought it was yesterday,

or you know what?

It might be on the other side of the warehouse.

So it's kind of annoying as an employee,

having to always have to move the whole warehouse around

and products.

Tip numbers six: items at Costco aren't always cheaper

than they are at retailers.

For example, markets usually mark down produce

if they're not in season or if they're running out,

but at Costco, everything stays the same price

when it comes to that.

- We also have additional services that are available

for all of our members,

from auto buying, rental cars, water delivery.

Most people don't know about those things, so dig deep in.

- Trust me, it's worth it.

- Tip number seven:

If you buy an item before it goes on sale,

you can go back to Costco within 30 days

and get a price adjustment.

Costco's really looking out for you, the customer,

and they want to make sure that you're happy

at the end of the day.

- So you don't have to worry.

If you buy something and you see that it goes on sale,

you can always take your receipt back and get the refund.

- Tip number eight:

If you hear a bell go off in the deli,

it means a new batch of chicken is coming out.

- Rotisserie chickens are one of our most popular item.

They're amazing.

You can smell them fresh as soon as you walk in nearly.

- I feel like it's Costco culture

to eat the rotisserie chicken, just 'cause it's so good.

- It's super popular.

It's super delicious, juicy, flavorful.

I advise you to check it out.

Tip number nine:

if you see a price tag ends in a 97,

it's something that has been marked down.

- Because it didn't do well,

and the customer is getting the best price possible

at that point.

- So if you see 97,

buy 'cause that is the best price that you will find.

Tip number 10.

- If the price ends in zero-zero, or 88 cents,

it means that it's a manager's special.

- Although it's a good deal, be sure to look them over

before you pick it up,

because you don't know if it might be returned

or it might be damaged,

and that can happen in various ways.

- Tip number 11: If there is an asterisk on the price tag,

it means the item won't be coming back.

This applies a lot to seasonal items.

- Whether it's like Halloween time or Thanksgiving time,

you usually find a lot of decorations that have an asterisk

because they're only seasonal.

So just make sure that you keep an eye out for that,

because then that means

that we won't be restocking it again.

- [Ozcar] Tip number 12:

Almost everything goes on sale eventually.

- So if you don't see something you're looking for,

just hang tight.

It'll typically come up on another coupon mailer.

- Just be patient.

- Tip number 13: The farther you walk through the store,

the better deals you'll find.

If you notice, at every Costco,

the bestselling item, toilet paper,

is in the back of the store.

That way, it gets all the customers

from the front of the store to the back

to explore everything that's going on.

- What you want to do is avoid the front,

'cause that usually has the highest markups.

- But the further and further you go into the store

or the center of the store,

you'll see some of our seasonal promotions

and things like that.

- [Ozcar] Tip number 14: If you don't have a membership,

there's still things you can do and buy.

- For example, you can always buy alcohol

and you don't need a membership for that,

which is always great for those college students

who can't afford a card.

Just go there and buy your alcohol.

Call it a day.

- Also, just a tip.

If you don't have a membership

but want to go buy other things,

you can have someone buy you a Costco gift card

and you can use that to shop in the store

until it runs out.

- [Oscar] Tip number 15:

Technically, the samples are unlimited.

- Costco encourages all of the vendors

to give samples or as many as they want.

- But what you don't want to do

is upset the little old ladies

that are giving you these samples, so--

- Just be mindful of the people around you.

We love for you to try the items before you buy it.

Costco wants you to be completely satisfied.

- Tip number 16:

Some shoppers are actually undercover security agents

looking out for people trying to commit theft

or trying to damage the warehouse in some shape or form.

So just one person comes in,

dressed up as a normal person and walks around.

They actually look a little bit shadier half of the time,

'cause you just see them casually looking at the items

and then looking over at people.

They don't do a very good job at it,

'cause I can always spot them out whenever I go to a Costco.

So if you're walking with your cart,

the person next to you might be a secret shopper

and might be onto you if you're trying to steal something,

so don't steal.

- Thanks for watching.

I hope these tips and secrets

will help you be a better shopper at Costco.

- When you're not trying to kill each other

over toilet paper.

I'm like, I'm not gonna wake up and stand in line

for two hours to (beep)ing buy toilet paper.

This is ridiculous. - Yes.

(upbeat music)