The Self-Checkout Scheme Costco Can Banish Customers For

Owing to our affinity for all things warehouse-shopping, we run into a lot of Costco tips and tricks. Our favorite one involves a viral TikTok trend of wrapping the food court pizza around a hot dog. Occasionally, some of the hacks run a little too deep into that gray area between "unethical, but okay" and "plain wrong." Take, for instance, the gimmick of getting a free year of Costco membership by claiming dissatisfaction and getting your plan refunded with very little time left to go — that one is iffy.

Where we draw the line is on non-members using Costco members' cards to make purchases at the self-checkout. While this seems initially like a solid trick (the employees likely won't catch you sneaking a purchase if you use the self-scan machines), getting caught risks the member getting banned from the warehouse, along with yourself. We simply can't condone any hack with such dire potential consequences. And the word on social media is that you will, in fact, get caught. According to Costco's own website, stores have begun checking membership cards against picture IDs in the self-checkout line.

Reddit users report that employees have been stationed in the SCO line to pre-emptively check member IDs before they can access the machines. In a separate thread on the same topic, another Redditor reported "almost [being] banned for life for bringing a friend w/o membership who wanted to score some of the bulk Ouija board packs on my card."

The benign rules you are probably breaking when using the self-checkout, like bringing too many items into the area and hogging the machine, or scooting too close to other shoppers, are small potatoes compared to defrauding Costco by trying to make a purchase without a valid membership. A personal Costco membership starts at $65 annually, which can understandably be a hefty chunk of change for folks on a budget. With a basic membership, Costco members can bring two non-members into the club with them, but they may not make purchases. Only a Costco member with an ID can use the self-checkout.

The good news is that there are ways around the rule, and they aren't even illegitimate. Anyone can gain access and shop at Costco without a membership if they have a Shop Card, which is the store's gift card, in hand. Shop Cards can only be purchased by members, but there's nothing stopping you from giving cash to your membership-holding friend to buy one on your behalf. Alternately, with the rise of fast-pay apps like Zelle, CashApp, and Venmo, you could always have a member make purchases for you using their own debit or credit card, and quickly pay them back. You could, of course, break down and buy a Costco membership as well, because Costco is pretty cool. The choice is ultimately yours.