As a New York City resident, I've been hesitant about becoming a Costco member.
I finally joined over the summer and decided to compare city and suburb locations.
The two stores had similar layouts but there were some major differences between what they stocked.
When I was a kid on Long Island, New York, I grew up going to a wholesale club with my parents: BJ's.
I loved running around the store and was always shocked by how it seemed to carry anything you could ever want. Then, when I was in college in New Orleans, I'd tag along with friends to the Costco there, which was just as fun to wander around.
Over the summer, I finally signed up to Costco myself, joining the 2.5 million other millennials and Gen-Zers who have decided it's the newest "hottest club."
Costco's CFO Gary Millerchip said in September that half of its new members over the last year are under 40. As Business Insider's Dominick Reuter noted, the younger generation is more concerned with finding deals and saving money than ever before.
I now live in New York City and, after joining Costco, assumed I would order products online. That was before I learned there was a Costco in Manhattan. I couldn't quite grasp the concept of Costcos — which are more common in suburban areas — in the city: How could you transport the giant bulk items without a car?
Still, I needed to know: Is a New York City Costco the same as the suburban Costco I've visited in the past? Did both locations sell the same items? And would I see people on the city streets lugging giant packs of toilet paper?
In September, I paid two Costcos a visit: the one in East Harlem, and one in the Long Island town of Westbury.
Here's what it was like to shop at both locations.
There are eight Costco locations on Long Island. I visited the Westbury location, which is about 33 miles outside New York City.
The Westbury location is one of eight on Long Island, and one of 19 in New York State.
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When I arrived, I was struck by just how large — and full — the parking lot was. I went on a Tuesday in the middle of the day, and it was a zoo.
I had to park rows and rows away from the entrance.
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The shopping carts were in front of an attached but separate liquor store. In New York, grocery stores can't sell hard alcohol.
This location also has a tire center.
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After flashing my membership card and being waved in by an employee, I saw just how large this location is. It felt like an airplane hangar.
For how busy it was, it didn't feel that crowded.
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One of the first sections you see when you walk in is the technology section with laptops and tablets.
If you wanted to buy a big-ticket item, you needed to speak to an associate.
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There are also plenty of huge TVs.
The TVs ranged in price.
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From across the floor, I could see a hearing-aid center, which I didn't even know Costco had.
Costcos typically have pharmacies, too.
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This location was also offering flu shots.
It can be cheaper to buy an Apple product at Costco, and it has a better return policy.
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I wandered through the aisles, struck by how huge this place and its products were.
The aisles felt endless.
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There was a display of gift cards for well-known brands like AMC, Instacart, and DoorDash, and there was also a Topgolf section. There is one Topgolf location on Long Island.
I've never seen so many gift cards.
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In the center of the store was the clothing section. It seemed endless, with sweaters, jackets, pants, activewear, and more.
Unfortunately, there's nowhere to try them on, so you have to eyeball everything.
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I was immediately drawn to the Costco merch. I ended up purchasing a sweatshirt for $19.99.
The furniture section was also in the center. However, according to Costco devotees, the store's layout changes constantly, making shopping there like a "treasure hunt."
I was taken aback to see that a giant couch was for sale. Would I find the same selection of furniture at the Manhattan store?
There were couches, recliners, bookcases, desks, TV stands, and more.
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Nearby was a large table filled with books — I didn't even know Costco sold books.
I might start buying my books solely from Costco.
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It wasn't just dingy paperbacks, either. I could've bought the Pulitzer Prize winner "Demon Copperhead" for $12.99. The same book is $21.99 at Barnes and Noble.
There was also a variant of the romantasy novel "Fourth Wing" I'd never seen before.
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There was a sizable outdoor section with tents, firepits, a blow-up tub, and more.
Costco is a one-stop shop for a backyard oasis.
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Another surprise was the garden section. There were rows of trees, mums, and other flowers.
I wanted to buy some flowers, but you had to purchase a four-pack, which I didn't need.
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There were even delicately wrapped orchids.
Orchids can be expensive, so $21.99 is a good price.
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And, of course, as it's officially fall, there were bins and bins of pumpkins.
One of the pumpkin bins had a reference to Charlie Brown's Halloween special.
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Fittingly, the Halloween costumes were nearby. There weren't that many options to choose from.
It was mainly unlicensed costumes, like astronauts or firefighters.
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But the decor is where Costco really shines. I walked by a 7-foot-tall werewolf and almost jumped.
This cost $249.99.
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There was more candy than at Willy Wonka's Chocolate Factory.
Chocolate as far as the eye can see.
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There was also a lot of Disney merchandise for Halloween, which I didn't expect.
There were clocks, figurines, and more.
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For example, there were huge "Nightmare Before Christmas" plushies. That's my hand for scale.
There were Jack Skellington and Sally plushies.
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Even though it was only September when I visited, a lot of Christmas decorations were already out.
This Christmas village retails at $129.99.
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Like, a lot.
There were lawn reindeer, multiple trees, blow-up snowmen, and more.
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There were also lawn ornaments, like this 3-foot penguin.
It even lit up.
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If you ever need to wrap presents, Costco is the place to go.
Even though it was 75 degrees out when I went, I was somehow ready for Christmas after walking down this aisle.
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As I made my way toward the back of the store, I started seeing more food and drinks, like these crates of beer.
If I had a garage and was throwing a giant party, I could see how this might be cost-effective.
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There's a bakery, a rotisserie section, a deli, and another meat section at the back of this location.
Costco is known for its food.
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There are aisles and aisles of meat products.
Items here would be better suited for a family of four or more.
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I am a single person who lives with a roommate. It would take us months to get through all of this pork shoulder.
More likely, it would go bad before we could eat it all.
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I have a car available on Long Island, so it would be relatively easy and quick for me to transport all this refrigerated food home — but not in NYC.
Carrying around frozen or refrigerated groceries in the city can be difficult. It's why I normally get groceries delivered.
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I turned around to see just how big the store was once more. This is only half of it.
I was surprised when I finally reached the back of the store.
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And I didn't even mention the separate produce room.
It was colder in there than the rest of the store.
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That's where there were crates of fruits and veggies. The large containers of strawberries would rot before I could eat them all.
I couldn't believe how much food I was seeing.
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There's also a milk and eggs room. This area was particularly crowded during my visit.
It was surrounded by toilet paper, which was also flying off the shelves.
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As I exited with my meager single bag of purchases — a sweatshirt, a book, a pack of cookies, ornaments, and a box of egg bites — I wondered how I would fare at the NYC location.
These ornaments were one of my favorite purchases.
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As I walked to my car, I noticed people loading up their trunks with cartfuls of items. Would — and could — people be doing that in the city, too?
Could they fill up a taxi or Uber with bags?
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A week later, I visited the East Harlem Costco, one of four Costcos in New York City. There's another one in Brooklyn and two in Queens.
It's on 117th Street, across the river from Randall's Island.
Google Maps
As I walked from the bus stop, I noticed people pushing their own carts, like this one, toward the store. That's the easiest way to transport groceries in NYC.
I've thought of buying my own one of these many times.
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This Costco is located inside the East River Plaza, a shopping complex that opened in 2009.
It's a multi-level mall with an Aldi, Bob's Discount Furniture, and Planet Fitness.
I didn't realize this Costco was in a mall until I arrived.
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There is a parking garage that all shoppers share, but it's not free. According to the US Census' American Community Survey, just 22.7% of Manhattan households have a car anyway.
I took the bus to get to Costco. On my way up, I was already thinking about how difficult it would be to transport multiple bulk items without a car.
I had to walk one-and-a-half longer avenue blocks to get to the Costco.
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However, the view of the East River and Randall's Island was much nicer than the one I had on Long Island.
On a clear day, this would be downright beautiful.
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Unlike at the location in the suburbs, I had to physically scan my membership card to get in. I was lucky it wasn't that busy since this could easily create a bottleneck at the entrance.
This location had self-checkout, which I hadn't noticed at the Long Island store.
Only people with a few items could use self-checkout.
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Overall, this store was smaller and lacked some items I'd seen in the suburbs, like big furniture, outdoor items, books, and plants. It makes sense that an urban store wouldn't stock most of these.
The exterior of the NYC Costco.
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I'm seriously questioning my Costco membership now — I might keep it so I can get certain items shipped. But buying in bulk is difficult in NYC from both a transportation and storage perspective.
This box would take up almost half of a shelf in my kitchen.
