Costco Mexico Hacks
Save yourself some time and aggravation
Dealing with the crowds and lines at Costco in the Guadalajara can be daunting. This post is intended to provide some useful hacks for when to visit, how to determine what’s in stock, and how to save money. Make your visits the most efficient with just a few basic tips.
General Information
Costco is headquartered in Issaquah, Washington and has stores throughout the United States and in a number of other countries including Mexico. Until mid 2012, Costco shared ownership of the Mexico stores with another company.
If you’re coming from the US, you’ll find many of the Kirkland branded products in the Mexico stores. They are imports so expect to pay a lot more money for them. Even items manufactured in Mexico but sold in the US are more expensive. To make matters worse, many individuals and companies buy up mass amounts of items at Costco and resell them in their own restaurants and stores or other platforms at even more of a markup. Try getting pies or cookies from Costco Sanzio in Guadalajara any morning of the week. People will be lined up in three different locations to the back of the store with bakery goods they plan to resell. I have been to many Costco's but I’ve never seen anything like that store. I was certain this was the busiest Costco in the world but someone “in the know” confirmed to me that the busiest one is not in Mexico. There is a second store in the suburbs and it feels more like a normal US Costco most of the time. The trade off with the store in the suburbs is that it is on Lopez Mateos which is a “highway” of sorts and always an adventure.
Anyone who has been in a Costco will recognize the store’s layout and design.
Tips and Tricks
I ran across a post on Facebook recently where foreigners who had been here for a long time were giving out bad information about shopping Costco online with their US membership. I’ve noticed some other things while shopping that I don’t think everyone is aware of. If you know of anything I fail to list, feel free to comment and I’ll add it.
The Adictos a Costco Jalisco is one of the few good reasons to have a Facebook account. If you don’t speak Spanish, Facebook randomly has a translate option on posts. Its seems to be on vacation today so YMMV. Because Costco technology is terrible and antiquated, you can’t see what inventory is in stock. Common items like dog food, cat litter, tower fans, etc. are often missing. The group is handy for notifications when these things show up on the floor or when things are sold out.
Hack - find when things are in stock via the Facebook group The Costco Sanzio (aka Galerias) store shares a parking lot with a huge Soriana grocery store. When you drive in, you’ll get a ticket. Just outside of the store, you’ll see machines to pay for parking. There will be people lined up to pay before heading back to their cars to leave. Don’t be one of those people. Take your ticket inside the store and hand it to the cashier when you checkout. They will validate your ticket.
Membership is a lot cheaper in Mexico and the card can be used in warehouses all over the world. Same as the US card. If you spend time in the US, you won’t be able to order online from Costco.com with your MX card. That is one of two reasons to keep your US card. The other reason is if you use the Costco branded credit card (currently issued by Citi but formerly Amex). If your US membership doesn’t exist, the card is disabled. More on how to order online from Costco Mexico with your US Costco account later. Also worth noting, your checks for executive membership and Costco card kickbacks cannot be used anywhere but US warehouses. I’m debating sending mine to someone I know in the states and having them transfer the cash to me if they are able to use it.
Google maps is exceptionally useful for checking traffic from your starting point to your destination. Sanzio is 15 minutes from me at worst but I live south of it. I’m the same distance from the other store but the time to it ranges from 20 minutes to 2.5 hours. Many of the foreigners here live in what they call the Triangle where traffic is always horrendous.
Google maps is also very handy for seeing how busy the store itself is. (Thanks Google for tracking us everywhere we go.) Simply open Google maps and search for the location you want to check. Scroll down on the locations page and you should see a section that looks like this:
Hack - find the time with the fewest people The worst times to go are first thing in the morning and weekends. The resellers line up before the store opens to get in and buy up all the bakery items. One PM in the middle of most weeks is a good time to arrive. There will likely still be huge lines but hopefully by the time you grab what you need, it’ll be cleared out. Never go on the 1st, 15th, or last day of the month. Avoid going on the day before big holidays or sporting events. The only easy time to drive to the store in the ‘burbs is Sunday afternoon. The store will be busy but the drive is less likely to kill you.
On occasion at Sanzio, the gate has not gone up after I inserted my validated ticket. If that happens, simply press the help button and tell them politely in your language of choice that you were validated inside Costco but its not taking the ticket. I’ve never tried this in Spanish but I expect the same results. They will raise the gate without any further questions.
Like all Costco stores, a portion of the inventory is left to the manager’s discretion. Additionally, the store in the suburbs tends to have the short supply products for longer because its not as busy. If you’re looking for Kirkland’s box wine, go to Sanzio because they don’t have it at Lopez Mateo.
Costco Mexico does not match prices. There are some Costco USA and Canada policies that do not apply here in Mexico. The match price policy is one of them (among others). This is in compliance with Mexican laws and regulations. At Costco in the US if you buy something today and they drop the price tomorrow, they will give you the price difference if you ask. Or you return the item, get your original price credited, and pick up the new one. No questions asked. That will not happen here.
Something true in all countries is that the online price is often higher than the in store price.
For common things like TVs and kitchen appliances, I can almost always find them cheaper outside of Costco. Check Suburbia.com.mx for one.
Make a list of the things you will buy at Costco and stick to that list. If you just randomly buy things you find in the aisle, you are probably overpaying. My list includes the Kirkland brand coffee, seaweed snacks, bacon, vinegar, body wash, shampoo, and conditioners.
There are some tricks for when the line is long but you’re going to have to figure that one out yourself.
There will be men outside in yellow safety jackets over a uniform who will assist you taking the cart to your car and unloading it. If you decline that, there will be someone near your car who will guide you backing out and taking your cart for you. Please tip these guys. You don’t have to tip the workers in the store.
Getting an online account at costco.com.mx is easy if you have a US membership. Simply go to the website during normal business hours and click the chat button. Don’t bother registering or creating an account first. Don’t try to do it in the store. Feel out the chat form and click the button at the bottom. Costco has bilingual staff if you need it. They may take your phone number and have someone who speaks English return your call if they don’t have someone immediately available.
Hack - buy online in Mexico with your US or Costco membership
