Why Costco's Nuts Are Frequently Returned By Shoppers

Costco may be a popular grocery store, but that doesn't mean every item is a home run. For Costco, its selection of nuts has been a consistent minefield of customer complaints. There are years of comments online about the disappointing quality of multiple nut varieties sold at Costco, with stale, bland, or rancid flavors prompting returns and promises to never buy them again.

Customers have noted blackened and shriveled pecans, stale macadamia nuts, bland cashews, and rancid walnuts. The walnuts are particularly unpopular, with one Reddit user saying "it tastes like I'm eating wood varnish." In at least one case, a customer was revolted to find worms in their nuts. The navel orangeworm is a big fan of burrowing into pistachios, almonds, and walnuts, and thankfully they are harmless for humans to consume. But people reasonably expect store-bought nuts to be worm-free. Costco has had supplier issues with other products before, and it seems like nuts can be difficult for the chain to reliably source. But not all nuts.

The myriad problems with several of Costco's nuts are why they are one of the food items that Costco members return most. Nobody wants wormy pistachios or desiccated pecans. But despite all these issues, it would be wrong to say that Costco is a bad place to buy nuts. There are lots of nuts to buy and avoid at Costco. For instance, Costco's bags of walnuts are perfect for rapid spoilage, which began as soon as they were shelled and only happens faster without refrigeration. But customers have great things to say about Kirkland's praline pecans, extra large peanuts, and black label cashews — yes, Costco sometimes has two different Kirkland cashews, and you don't want to buy the wrong one.

Thankfully, if you wind up with subpar Costco nuts, returns are easy to make. But if you don't feel like going back for just a few dollars, it may not be a total waste. Consider the many useful ways to reuse Costco containers, especially the large — and sometimes glass — jars its nuts come in. They are great for organizing utensils, storing pet treats, dry goods, and much more.