Does Costco Beat Big Box Store Prices On Kitchen Appliances?
You might already be familiar with Costco's great prices on food when purchased in large quantities. You can also purchase home products at Costco at good prices and of good quality. But should you focus on using Costco for your kitchen appliance purchases instead of big box stores like Best Buy, Home Depot, or Lowe's? We took a sample of the online prices for each of these major appliance retailers for kitchen appliances and found that Costco's prices are usually lower than the same appliances at the big box stores. Our research showed you can expect to save an average of $50 to $250 per appliance. However, it's not a guarantee that you'll save on every appliance, so it's worth shopping around.
Additionally, Costco offers some advantages that other stores may not have available for every appliance. Costco always offers free delivery and installation, as well as a free haul-away of the old unit. Costco also gives you a free two-year extended warranty on every purchase. The other stores offer some of these advantages, but usually not all of them.
However, if you want to purchase an appliance at Costco, you must have a membership. Costco memberships are available for either $60 or $120 per year. If you are hoping to do some price comparisons, you will have to enter your membership number before you can see the price on most appliances that carry a "Member Only Item" tag on the Costco website.
Comparing prices on an LG refrigerator at Costco and other retailers
If you are ready to purchase the right refrigerator for your kitchen, Costco offers numerous popular brands, including LG, Samsung, Whirlpool, GE, and more. For our refrigerator comparison, we randomly selected the LG 22.5 cubic foot refrigerator with an InstaView display window. It has French doors and a dual ice maker with craft ice.
At Costco, you'll pay $3,050 for this model, which is available in black or stainless steel. When you are comparing prices at the Costco website, we noticed during our research that the site would provide different prices as we switched locations of the base store associated with our membership. If you're going to purchase the unit online for delivery, you may want to try this trick. For this unit, we saw a price reduction of $200 by switching base stores.
The other big box stores carrying the LG refrigerator had prices of $3,300 at Home Depot, $3,200 at Lowe's, and $3,300 at Best Buy. The Costco price is about 5% lower than the Lowe's price. However, if you purchased the more expensive membership of $120, your savings over the Lowe's price is only about $30, or 1%. (If you plan to use the membership for more than just buying a refrigerator, though, you'll receive a better value.) And don't forget about the hidden costs. Home Depot, Best Buy, and Lowe's do not offer free haul-away services for your old refrigerator.
Where to find the best price on a Whirlpool dishwasher when comparing Costco to big box retailers
When comparing prices on a dishwasher, which can be a trickier installation process than a refrigerator, you'll want to be sure you're receiving a free delivery and installation with your purchase if possible. When shopping at Costco or one of the big box retailers, you can select from a range of brand names, helping you find the right dishwasher for your kitchen. Costco carries a wide range of brand names for dishwashers, including Whirlpool, LG, Samsung, Bosch, KitchenAid, and more.
For this comparison, we selected the Whirlpool Top Control Dishwasher with a third rack. At Costco, the Member Only Item price is $700. It's available in a stainless steel finish. It includes delivery and installation. As mentioned earlier, you must have a Costco annual membership, which costs either $60 or $120, to see the price for this item and to purchase it.
The comparison prices were $888 at Home Depot, $799 at Lowe's, and $800 at Best Buy. Costco again won this price comparison, as its price was 14% lower than the Lowe's price. However, if you purchased the $120 membership at Costco, your price would be slightly higher than the prices at Lowe's and Best Buy. If you shop at Home Depot or Lowe's you receive free delivery and installation on appliances that cost more than $396. Best Buy does not offer a free installation, although it has free delivery.