10 Reasons You Should (And Shouldn't) Buy A Fridge From Costco

Costco isn't just for food, folks. The big-box retailer sells pretty much anything you could think of, from saunas to vending machines to all of the ultimate holiday goods, and it's also got an impressive selection of appliances available to its customers. This includes a wide range of fridges, with Costco stocking units that can suit the needs of pretty much anyone: From huge French door units to compact, under-the-counter options that you can place in a dorm room, the store's got you covered.

Or does it? Costco's fridge options are certainly pretty extensive, but that doesn't necessarily mean that it's the best place to purchase one of these appliances. The supermarket does provide a range of perks to customers when they buy fridges from it, including an impressive warranty offer, a generous return period, and helpful extras like free delivery and installation. However, buying a fridge from Costco can also make life harder in some cases, and customers have reported that its delivery process is a lot less smooth than it makes it out to be — and if you do need to return your refrigerator, things can become pretty complicated. Join us as we figure out whether getting your fridge from Costco is worth it or whether you should head elsewhere.

If you've ever bought a fridge before, you'll know how overwhelming it can be. Most of us only have to do this a couple of times in our lives, and purchasing fridges usually occurs years apart — so when you come to it, the selection out there can be baffling. Some retailers take this to the extreme: Best Buy, for instance, has just under a thousand refrigerators on its website, and while this level of choice may seem good at first, the task of trawling through them can quickly become a chore.

By contrast, Costco has a streamlined, well-curated fridge selection for sale on its website. There are around 150 to choose from, with each product section striking the balance between having plenty of options but not feeling overwhelming. According to Antje Eggersdorfer, Seton's senior marketing manager, this is to the customer's benefit. "They have filtered the noise, locked in pricing through supplier contracts and anchored everything to their trust model," said Eggersdorfer to Reader's Digest. "So instead of endless options, you get two or three great ones with baked-in value and predictable pricing." That works for us.

When you buy an expensive item, you'll want to make sure that you're protected in case something goes wrong. That's why a generous warranty period is important. Warranties give you peace of mind that if your appliance malfunctions, you'll be able to get it repaired or replaced without any extra cost. Costco knows that its customers need that assurance, and the warranty period on its fridges is pretty impressive, compared to other stores. The retailer offers a two-year warranty on all of its refrigerators, and you can extend that to five years by purchasing an Allstate Protection Plan.

Importantly, that two-year warranty is an extension of the one that the manufacturer originally offers, so it's by no means useless. It just gives you more time should something break, which is never a bad thing. Other stores aren't quite as generous. If you buy a refrigerator from Lowe's or Home Depot, you'll only get the manufacturer's warranty included. If you want to extend it, you have to buy an additional plan. You may find that the manufacturer's warranty is perfectly sufficient for your needs, but we'd always prefer to have longer. Of course, you can avoid all of this if you steer clear from the least reliable refrigerator brands. 

We've all had buyer's remorse from time to time — and it can be particularly painful when you're dealing with expensive items like fridges. If you've dropped thousands of dollars on a new appliance, only to decide that you don't like it or that it doesn't suit your kitchen, then you want to have the opportunity to return it in good time, right? Costco thinks so as well, and that's why it offers a 90-day window to return your fridge. That 90-day window exists separately from the two-year extended warranty, too, which can be used if your refrigerator breaks.

How does this stack up to other stores? Quite well, in fact. If you buy a refrigerator from Best Buy, you have 15 days to return it to the store if you're not happy; this period does extend significantly if you're a My Best Buy Plus or My Best Buy Total member, but only to 60 days. Home Depot's returns window is way less generous: You have just 48 hours to submit a returns claim, otherwise you're gonna have to keep it for good (or find someone else to buy it from you). Plus, Home Depot stocks a pretty garbage kitchen appliance brand, so maybe it's not to be trusted at all.

Fridges are expensive, and can at times be overpriced. We know you don't need us to tell you that, but it bears repeating. When you're spending thousands of dollars on a new appliance, the last thing you want is to have to put down additional cash just to get it to your house — and most people don't have a vehicle large enough to drive it themselves. That's why we love the fact that Costco offers free delivery, which is included in your order for shipment to most areas in the United States. Once it arrives, you'll also get free installation, and the delivery people will take away your old fridge for no extra charge.

If you buy your fridge from another retailer, you won't get the same kind of treatment. Best Buy charges $39.99 for delivery and installation, but if the technician is installing a waterline, then this price can skyrocket to just under $200. Haul away isn't included as standard, either, and you may have to purchase it. Home Depot charges you for installation, while at Lowe's, you have to pay for delivery and installation services.

If you're kitting out an entirely new kitchen, or you just want to freshen up your appliances alongside your new fridge, then Costco's the place to go. One of the best things the big-box retailer offers for customers who find it hard to make a choice is its kitchen appliance packages, which take all of the work out of selecting them yourself. These packages come in loads of different configurations, so if you need a new stovetop with your fridge but not a built-in microwave, or you prefer to have a double-wall oven, then the store's got you covered. Plus, you can choose between gas, electric, and induction stovetops, so you're not bound to just one option.

These bundles may also save you money. If you opt to buy them all in one, then Costco offers an additional saving, which can add up to hundreds of dollars off the price of purchasing them all separately. Costco's kitchen appliance packages also include all of the same perks that you get if you buy your fridge on its own, and you'll still get free delivery, installation, and haul away, as well as that extended warranty. They may not be super useful if you only need a fridge, but for a full refresh, this retailer's got the edge.

We all like getting cash back on our purchases, especially when we're spending as much money as most people do on refrigerators. That's why buying one from Costco is a fabulous choice, if you're looking to get some money returned to you — well, if you're a certain type of member, that is. Costco offers 2% rewards on major appliances if you have an Executive Membership. If you're buying your fridge with a Costco Anywhere Visa Card, you'll get an additional 2% cash back.

All of this can add up to a pretty penny. If you spent $4,000 on a fridge from Costco using its Visa card and as an Executive Member, you'd end up with $160 back in your pocket. That amount's not to be sniffed at, guys. It should be mentioned, though, that if you're buying an Executive Membership with the sole intention of getting cash back on a fridge, then you might not see much of a saving. An Executive Membership costs $130 per year before applicable sales tax, so you should make sure that it's a membership perk that's worth the cost.

Buying a fridge online can be a pretty risky game. When it turns up, it can look completely different from what you expected, and if you really hate it, you can be left with a massive appliance that's a nightmare to return or get rid of. That's why checking out the fridge you want in-store before putting money down can be really useful – and this is where Costco suffers. The vast majority of the fridges it sells are online-only, and while it does stock some appliances in its stores, they're pretty few and far between. On the other hand, places like Lowe's have a way more extensive selection of fridges in their locations.

As a result, if you're the kind of person who wants to get their hands on a fridge before buying, Costco may not be the best choice. Having said this, some customers have figured out a canny workaround to this problem, and suggest checking whether Lowe's or Home Depot has the model that you want to buy from Costco, and then heading to its stores to check it out in person. This way, you might be able to get the best of both worlds.

Most people don't like to wait around for the fridge they've bought. A lot of the time, fridge purchases are made because the one that you've been using has broken down beyond repair, making swift delivery a must. This is where you may well suffer if you're buying a fridge from Costco. Costco doesn't ship refrigerators from your local store and instead sends items through Costco Logistics, and does so using third-party delivery services. This centralized approach, which is combined with outsourcing, means that delivery times can be incredibly variable, and in some cases, very long.

Some Costco customers have reported online that fridge deliveries have taken almost two months, with others telling tales of deliveries being cancelled or rescheduled. What's even worse is that Costco appears to deny any responsibility when it comes to its deliveries. When customers call to complain about cancelled shipments, it deflects to the delivery company. We understand why it would do this, but is it too much to ask for the store you're spending a lot of money at to help you out when things are going wrong? If you value speedy arrival times, it may be worth buying your fridge somewhere else.

Costco's third-party approach when it comes to delivery and installation is perhaps the biggest reason not to purchase a fridge from the store. It states on its website that "delivery and installation may be performed by a third-party carrier or installer," but it seems rare that it will actually carry out the installation itself. What customers are therefore left with is an unknown quantity when it comes to installation, and the internet is rife with terrible tales about the experiences customers have had with its chosen carriers and handymen.

In a few cases, customers have stated that the contractors who they expected to install their fridge didn't even bother, and have instead walked out before finishing the job, leaving them with a heavy appliance to try and navigate themselves. When you combine that with tales of fridges arriving with massive dents in them, late deliveries, and packaging that's left everywhere, it's clear that the retailer isn't excelling when it comes to the companies it entrusts with its deliveries and installation.

Costco makes a lot of its 90-day returns policy, and it's certainly true that this is way more generous than most other retailers. Having said this, the practice of actually returning your fridge may well be harder than you think. You can't just put your fridge in the back of your truck and take it to your local store; instead, you have to submit a return request online, and then arrange for it to be picked up.

That's where the fun starts. Customers have stated that pickup of Costco items can take weeks, and sometimes well over a month (or even longer). Nothing about the process seems smooth, and when customers call to complain about their experience, they don't get much by way of compensation for their inconvenience. This is the case even when they've had to return things because the wrong items have been delivered, adding insult to injury. It's a real shame, as if Costco didn't rely so heavily on third-party parties to deliver and pick up, then things might be so much easier.