Overview
Costco Wholesale is a membership warehouse club, not an Amazon-style marketplace. Cross-border sellers cannot open a Costco storefront, upload a catalog, and start taking consumer orders. The consumer sites — costco.com and the warehouses — require a paid membership. If you want Costco to sell your product, the path is a buyer-managed vendor / supplier relationship. If you want to buy Costco goods to resell on Amazon or elsewhere, that is a different job: a Business membership plus resale paperwork, not Gold Star.
Founded in 1983 and based in Issaquah, Washington, Costco runs warehouses in the United States and other markets (Canada, Mexico, the UK, Japan, Korea, Taiwan, Australia and others). Kirkland Signature is the private label. There is no public Seller Central equivalent. Prospective vendors of non-food items contact corporate; food and sundries go through regional buying offices listed on Costco’s Vendor Inquiries page. Completing an intake form does not guarantee a partnership.
In 2026, treat Costco as either a high-bar retail account or a sourcing club. Do not list it next to Walmart Marketplace as “another place to open a shop.”
Core features and advantages
Membership retail, not 3P listings
Shoppers pay an annual fee to enter. Costco’s own Gold Star product page marks Resale Use: No. Official customer service states that a Business Membership allows purchases for business, personal, and resale use, with business identification required at signup. Gold Star is for household shopping; using it as a wholesale account is the wrong product.
U.S. membership prices shown on costco.com (plus tax where applicable): Gold Star $65/year, Executive $130/year (Gold Star plus a $65 upgrade). Executive adds a 2% annual reward on qualified Costco, Costco.com, and Costco Travel purchases, capped at $1,250. Business is listed at the same $65 base as Gold Star, with optional extra cards. Confirm the live join page before you budget.
Vendor and Supplier Inclusion path
To sell to Costco, you pitch a buyer. Non-food / non-sundry vendors use the corporate channel (Issaquah / Seattle mailing addresses on Vendor Inquiries). Food and sundries use the regional office for the geography. Supplier Inclusion is a separate intake for small and diverse suppliers; questions go to supplierinclusion@costco.com. Costco says a merchandising team member will reach out if they need more information, and that applying does not guarantee a deal.
There is a vendor portal for companies that already supply Costco. It is not an open application marketplace. Expect Costco-specific packaging, volume, EDI, and audits if a buyer is interested — those operational rules are in the supplier relationship, not on a public fee table.
Costco.com and warehouses as a demand or sourcing surface
Costco.com extends the club online; warehouses remain the core assortment (the “treasure hunt”). Cross-border FBA / wholesale operators often use Business membership and Business Centers to source bulk consumables, then resell on Amazon or Shopify. That is retail arbitrage / wholesale sourcing, not “selling on Costco.” Kirkland-branded goods, quantity limits, and membership terms still apply. Do not assume every warehouse SKU is cleared for resale in every destination.
Supported platforms
Consumer: Costco warehouses worldwide (membership required), costco.com, Costco Business Centers, Costco Travel, and related services (gas, pharmacy, optical). Seller: Vendor Inquiries, Supplier Inclusion, and (once approved) the vendor portal / EDI. Costco is not Amazon, Walmart Marketplace, eBay, or Shopify. There is no self-serve 3P catalog.
Who it's for
- Brands that can fill warehouse-scale POs with unique packs and a buyer relationship: vendor track.
- Small / diverse U.S. suppliers who fit Inclusion criteria: try the inclusion form, then wait.
- Amazon / multi-channel sellers sourcing in the U.S.: Business membership for resale, not Gold Star.
- Skip it as a “store”: factories expecting to open a Costco seller account from China the way they open Amazon; Gold Star holders treating the club as a wholesale license; anyone who needs a public commission table.
Concrete use case: a U.S. snack brand with GS1 barcodes and a plant that can run Costco-only club packs contacts the regional food buyer, sends a one-pager and samples, and is ready for a facility audit. A Shenzhen 3P seller who only has FBA inventory should not fill the vendor form and expect listings on costco.com.
Pricing and value
There is no public marketplace commission schedule. Consumer-side cost is membership (see figures above). Vendor-side economics are wholesale cost, promotional funding, and logistics terms negotiated with the buyer. Do not invent a “Costco referral fee.”
Value for vendors is club traffic and Kirkland-adjacent trust, paid for with volume, pack-out, and price. Value for resellers is bulk landed cost versus Amazon/Walmart retail — only after membership, tax/resale certificate, and quantity limits are modeled. If your unit economics need a 3P cart on costco.com, this is the wrong channel.
Community feedback
r/FulfillmentByAmazon and r/AmazonSeller treat Costco mainly as an OA / wholesale source, not as a sales channel: membership type, Executive 2% math, and which SKUs actually profit after Amazon fees. Vendor-side public threads are thinner than Walmart or Amazon; most “how to get into Costco” content is agency blogs, not Costco’s own playbook. Consumer forums focus on membership value and Kirkland quality, which is not a seller rating.
Competitive positioning
Walmart and Target have vendor and (in Walmart’s case) a real 3P marketplace. Amazon is the default open 3P. Costco’s moat is membership plus a tight SKU count. That is why getting in is a buyer decision. Costco will not replace Seller Central for a typical cross-border catalog.
Alternatives
- Walmart: U.S. general merchandise with a true Marketplace plus 1P vendor paths.
- Amazon: self-serve 3P and FBA when you need an open store, not a club buyer.
- Target: 1P vendor or Target Plus — still application-based, still not Costco.
Limitations
No self-serve seller account. Gold Star is not a resale license. Vendor approval is slow and not guaranteed. No public fee card for suppliers. Assortment is narrow versus Amazon. International warehouses are separate buying organizations. Costco.com dropship, where it exists, is still a Costco vendor workflow, not an open marketplace.
Verdict
Use Costco in 2026 if you are pitching a buyer or sourcing with a Business membership. Do not treat it as a marketplace. If you need a U.S. 3P shelf this quarter, go to Amazon or Walmart.
Next step: read Vendor Inquiries or Supplier Inclusion; for resale buying, compare Business vs Gold Star on costco.com before you join.
Data notes
Rechecked 2026-09-06 against costco.com membership pages (Gold Star $65; Executive $130 with 2% reward up to $1,250; Gold Star Resale Use: No), Costco customer-service copy on Business membership, Vendor Inquiries, and Supplier Inclusion (supplierinclusion@costco.com). published (2024-03-15), monthlyVisits, domainRating, and authorityScore are catalog placeholders and unverified. Exact product launch day of Costco Wholesale is widely given as 1983; the catalog date is unverified. Third-party blogs that claim a fixed “15% below other channels” rule are not treated as Costco’s public price list.