Costco Brand Products to Avoid, According to Shoppers

Costco is great for bulk buying, and customers can be fanatically loyal to products such as Kirkland Scotch whisky or the store’s signature balsamic vinegar. But devoted Costco shoppers know that the discount chain strikes out on a number of items when it comes to quality or prices that aren’t as cheap as they appear after comparison shopping. From bath tissue to tequila that can smell “disgusting,” here are Kirkland brand items that don’t always hit the sweet spot for Costco shoppers.

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Related: Costco Brand Products Shoppers Rave About

A 36-roll of Costco’s Kirkland Signature Bath Paper and a 36-role of Scott 1000 at Walmart each cost $27 when we shopped in late June, and both brands deliver 1,000 sheets. The Kirkland brand is inferior and will run out quicker, says Tess Robinson of the personal finance website Money Done Right.

Related: Things You Never Knew About Toilet Paper

Stick with a name brand — or, better yet, tap water — over a Costco product that customers on Reddit find “musty” and possessing an “unusual taste.” There is a whole string of readers with similar experiences. 

Kirkland Cat Foot gets a mediocre 6.5 out of 10 rating from All About Cats, which reviews all things feline. The product was downgraded for its recall history — in 2012, the cat food was taken off the shelves because of a potential salmonella outbreak — and ranked low on the variety of options.

Related: The Best Cheap Cat Foods

Two 3-pound containers of Kirkland Signature Colombian Coffee for $45? Coffee is best served fresh. Buying it several pounds at a time after it’s been sitting on a shelf for an extended period can push it into the stale range. You can find a similar brand at the local supermarket that is about the same price.

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While a review of Costco’s Signature Silver Tequila by Tequila Tourist was generally positive, many readers weren’t as impressed. “The smell is disgusting, lacking any standard agave [floweriness],” one wrote. “Buy it at your discretion.”

Related: The Best Costco-Brand Liquors to Buy — and Which to Leave on the Shelf

Avoid the tissues at Costco, which don’t hold up to some of the bigger brands. Consumer Reports called Kirkland Facial Tissue “middle of the pack in terms of quality.” It’s too soft and too thin compared with Puffs, which cost about the same.

The first few slices of Costco bread are always good; buying two large loaves at a time isn’t a deal when the bread sits on the shelf at home for a week and starts to get moldy. There is a reason half-loaves of bread have become popular at grocery stores: You can finish them before they turn stale.

Related: Surprisingly Expensive Products From Costco

It’s tempting to saves a few bucks by buying a 194-ounce container of Kirkland laundry detergent, which washes 194 loads. But detergent lasts only six months after the seal is broken, meaning that unless you are washing for a large family, this isn’t worth it. Shoppers also have quality complaints that’ll make you think twice. Buy in smaller batches and your clothes will smell fresher and stay cleaner. 

Diapers aren’t universally cheaper at Costco, with Kirkland Signature diapers costing more when we looked than a box of Huggies Little Movers at Walmart (192 diapers for $40). It’s also not always efficient to buy diapers in bulk, as babies grow fast.

The quality is generally decent, but buying two dozen eggs at a time eats refrigerator space and diminishes their freshness if they sit too long. Buying fewer eggs is cheaper in the long run if you have to throw out old ones.

Fit and quality seem to be an issue for reviewers of the Kirkland Jeans. One review on Amazon suggested the size of the jeans was smaller than their measurements. Another complained about the crotch coming apart. If price is your only barometer, the jeans could be worth it — but don’t be surprised if they fall apart.

The Chicken Bake tastes great, but it’s an artery-clogging meal of fried dough, cheese, more cheese (Parmesan), bacon, and Caesar dressing. That’s 769 calories, 25 grams of fat, and 28 grams of carbs. Unless you want to fall asleep in the middle of the day, stay away from it.

Cold cuts with preservatives should be good for longer than fresh meat, right? But once the package of processed meat is open it has the same shelf life as fresh cold cuts, about three to five days. Stick with the local butcher for your cold cuts.

The price is cheaper, but is buying 2 gallons of milk worth it? It takes up space in the refrigerator, and starts to sour a week after its expiration date. It may be worth a few extra dollars to buy milk in smaller quantities from the grocery store to drink it fresh.

Kirkland mixed nuts come in a 2½-pound canister. Unless buyers can eat that much quickly, there’s a risk of the nuts’ natural oils turning rancid.

Amazon reviews worry about the quality of this razor and blade package  — the handle is “poorly made and … will break long before you run out of blades,” a customer says — and price, with some name brands such as Gillette not much more expensive.

Salmon is best consumed fresh, and Costco sells excellent farm-raised and Atlantic Salmon. But any fish that is brined and frozen risks turning out mushy and soft, according to a chef who explained for Insider why she avoids the frozen fish at Costco.

It’s not that Kirkland Signature Spices are inferior, but that there is too much. The spices come in batches of four and are 18 ounces each — and some people won’t use that much cumin in a lifetime. Spices start to lose their flavor after about six months, so unless you cook for a village, stick to buying spices in 5-ounce quantities.

One reviewer noted this store-brand tuna wasn’t as good as the Wild Planet also sold by Costco, while costing more than Chicken of the Sea. Maybe more importantly, Greenpeace ranks Kirkland’s tuna as a loser when it comes to sourcing practices — one of the 10 worst on the market.

Related: How to Tell When Canned Foods Are Still Safe to Eat