With the way food prices increased between 2019 and 2025, it’s no wonder consumers are looking for all sorts of ways to save money at the grocery store. While many stores offer sales and their own coupons, there’s another option that savvy bargain hunters will use for extra savings: the manufacturer’s coupon. Unfortunately, those won’t work at Costco. The company explains on its website, “Costco Wholesale doesn’t accept general manufacturer coupons for a simple enough reason: We distribute our own offers and savings to our members by mail and at our locations on many occasions throughout the year.”
Although Costco doesn’t accept manufacturer coupons, manufacturer rebates are a different story. That’s one way to get an extra discount — you just have to remember to fill out a form and send it in within the specified time period, then wait for the rebate to hit your account. Very occasionally, there will even be an instant rebate, which effectively works like a manufacturer’s coupon. Also look for products whose prices end in 9, such as .39 or .59, but not .99 (which is Costco’s standard price). When you see one of the nonstandard cases, there’s a good chance the manufacturer has already discounted that item or otherwise provided special pricing.
Other ways to save at Costco
Even if the company doesn’t accept manufacturer’s coupons, there are other ways to save money when buying groceries from Costco. Be sure to check out the member savings coupon book or the membership promotion page for additional discounts as well as download the Costco app onto your phone to check for additional digital offers. There is also a nifty website that will let you in on Costco’s upcoming bargains early, usually around two weeks ahead of time so you can plan ahead. For the biggest savings when you’re at the store, avoid the center of the store and shop the sides and back walls of the stores instead.
Don’t forget to take advantage of Costco’s price adjustment policy, which has you covered when you miss a sale — you can get the difference back for items that subsequently go on sale within 30 days of your date of purchase. If you have a large household or purchase a lot of items, it may be worthwhile to consider the Executive Membership, which offers 2% cash back on purchases — when you purchase more than $3,250 from Costco per year, then the 2% back will cover the extra cost of the Executive Membership, which is $65 more expensive than the regular Gold Star membership.
