If a routine run to the local grocery store was on your agenda this weekend, chances are, you didn't have plans to go to Costco (COST) .
Thanks to higher grocery prices, a routine trip to procure food staples each week can feel more like stress test than a fun opportunity to meal prep and plan.
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But if you're a member of Costco, a trip to the discount warehouse can feel more like visiting an adult amusement park than an exercise in blood pressure regulation.
Costco members pay $60 or $120 a year for the pleasure and savings opportunity that shopping at the warehouse offers. And while $5 a month may seem steep for some, once you're inside, you start to understand why you have to pay for the privilege. There are few other stores that sell kayaks, grills, flat-screen TVs, diamonds, toilet paper, and organic strawberries under one roof.
Of course, the cost savings benefit is also a big draw. Costco offers a wide range of samples throughout the store, so customers can try a product before they buy it. And its in-house Kirkland brand products offer quality at typically bargain prices.
A three-pound container of Kirkland Signature Milk Chocolate Covered Almonds, for example, costs just $16.99.
Image source: Brooks Kraft LLC/Corbis via Getty Images
Costco sells out of new stuff – a lot
If you come for the strawberries, paper products, or chocolate covered almonds, however, you probably stay for the novelty items. At least for a look.
Costco's reasonable pricing makes even the more unique items deserving of a second look. And often, those products will sell out quickly. In January, the warehouse began selling out of an ornate gold floor mirror – which looked awfully similar to the $1,200 Anthropologie Primrose mirror – except the Costco version retailed for just under $150.
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And in April, Costco began stocking Kimbap, a Korean-style frozen sushi – which also routinely sells out at fellow discount grocer Trader Joe's.
New Costco product goes viral
It's not every day that Costco stocks a new product that gets scooped off the shelves quickly and sells like hot cakes. But it's not uncommon, either.
Now, customers have been snapping up a new product; and it's not a baked good or a home decor item. It's a kitchen appliance.
Costco's latest popular item, the BlendJet 2 Portable Blender, is a pack of mini blenders that blends and processes smoothies, shakes, margaritas, baby food and other soft frozen foods. It's rechargeable via a USB port and markets itself as completely portable. And since it's available at Costco, it comes in a bulk set of two blenders per package.
The BlendJet 2 Portable Blender retails in stores and online for $49.99 and features a patented TurboJet technology, which claims to cut through frozen items like fruit and ice seamlessly.
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The blender currently has an average rating of five stars on Costco's website, though some users claim to be unhappy with their purchase of the blender from past seasons.
"Last ones I got there got recalled because they catch fire," one Instagram user commented on CostcoBuys' post, which has over 1 million followers.
"Tried it, was not impressed," another wrote.
Still others were excited about the prospect of the new blenders.
"We need 1 each," another user wrote.
It appears that older versions of the BlendJet blenders were recalled due to a safety issue whereby the appliances could catch fire.
"BlendJet 2 units subject to this safety recall were distributed from approximately October 2020 through November 2023," BlendJet's website reads.
The United States Consumer Product Safety Commission addressed the concern in 2023, recalling the blenders.
"The recalled blenders can overheat or catch fire and the blender blades can break off, posing fire and laceration hazards to consumers," the Commission wrote, suggesting a remedy of replacement.
About 4.8 million products had been sold in the United States, and over 100,000 were sold in Canada. The replacement version is out and has been available since January 2024.
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