8 Foods Not to Buy at Costco According to Experts

Attention Costco shoppers: buying in bulk isn’t always a good idea. Sure, there are plenty of items at Costco that are amazing deals. You’re getting an incredible value when you choose the famous hotdog and drink combo for lunch before leaving the store, and you can even save on things like travel and movie tickets, but not everything is a good deal.

Here are 8 items that experts say you should be wary of buying at Costco.

  1. Cereal

    First of all, the box of cereal is at least double the size you’d get at the grocery store. They might make it seem like a good deal, but unless you have a big family who eats a lot of cereal, it’s probably going to go stale or expire before you eat it all. Plus, if you pay attention to store sales, you can probably find it cheaper at a grocery store or a big box store like Target or Walmart.

  2. Coffee

    We love our coffee, but coffee tastes best when it’s fresh. If you’re buying a huge Costco-size quantity, it’s probably not going to taste its best by the time you get even halfway through it.

  3. Condiments and Sauces

    Take soy sauce, for example. Are you really going to use that much soy sauce before the expiration date? It’s not a good deal if you end up throwing most of it away.

  4. Flour

    At Costco, flour comes in a 25-pound bag. That’s a ton of cookies, cakes and bread. We like to bake, but it would take us a year to go through that much flour. The logistics of even storing that much flour in the pantry is a little daunting. Unless you have a major bake sale coming up, you’re better off sticking to the 5-pound bag at the grocery store.

  5. Milk

    At Costco, milk comes in a pack of 2 gallons. That’s a lot of fridge space, and the expiration date usually isn’t so far out that you can take your time drinking it. Once again, it’s not a good deal if you’re not going to use it before it expires, and the price at a normal grocery store to close to the same value as buying it at Costco.

  6. Eggs

    The exception here might be Easter if you plan on decorating a lot of eggs with the kiddos. Eggs at Costco come in a pack of 2-dozen as opposed to the typical 1-dozen at the grocery store. When you break down the price per egg, it’s actually similar to what you’d find at a typical grocery store.

  7. Fresh Produce

    The fresh fruit and vegetables at Costco usually look and taste pretty good, but it can be easy to buy way more than you can eat before it starts to rot. We know from experience.

  8. Spices

    A normal spice rack will not be able to handle the huge quantities of spices sold at Costco. Sure, they seem like a great deal, but most likely, you’ll never eat that much salt, cinnamon or pepper before it expires.

Besides Costco, where do you shop for groceries?