Should You Buy a TV at Costco?

Costco has a pretty decent assortment of TV brands, both in stores and online, though it features fewer brands and models than you’ll find at an electronics specialist such as Best Buy. Costco tends to focus mainly on better-known TV brands; its current selection includes sets from Hisense, LG, Samsung, Sony, and Vizio.

That’s a pretty good list, but if you’re looking for a model that has done well in our TV ratings from another national brand, such as TCL, or a lower-priced set from a house brand such as Insignia (Best Buy) or Onn (Walmart), you’ll have to shop elsewhere.

Also, we’ve found that Costco tends to concentrate on larger sets, carrying mainly TVs 55 inches and larger. As of this article update, Costco.com has 27 televisions with 65-inch screens in stock, and 40 sets that are 75 inches or bigger, including a few 86-inch models. It has only one 32-inch set, and just six 40-inch models. So Costco is a good option if you’re looking for a big TV—and of course, many of us are doing exactly that.

No matter what kind of set you’re looking for, you’ll find more options on the Costco website than in the warehouse stores.

It can be hard to know whether you’re really getting a good deal on a TV at Costco and other warehouse clubs. Almost identical televisions from the same manufacturer may have different model names, depending on what store you go into. That makes it hard to compare prices and take advantage of price-match guarantees. A retailer doesn’t have to match a price from one of its competitors if the TVs have different model names, even if the sets are almost identical.

Despite all that, we find Costco to be very competitive with other major retailers when it comes to TV prices. And actually, it’s not hard to decode warehouse club models on your own, so you can compare deals and look up reviews in Consumer Reports’ ratings, which are open to members.

Often, the model designations differ from what you’ll see at stores like Walmart or Best Buy by only a few digits. For example, with LG TVs, the models sold at warehouse clubs typically have an AUA, AUB, or AQA suffix, while sets sold at other types of retailers will use either PUA or PUB endings. That 65-inch LG OLED65C2AUA OLED TV you find at Costco will be very similar to the LG OLED65C2PUA at Best Buy or Crutchfield.com.

Samsung TVs sold at Costco often differ by just one number or letter, usually by adding an extra D. For example, you’ll find the Samsung QN75Q60BD at Costco and other clubs and the Samsung QN75Q60B at Amazon and Best Buy.

This year, Samsung TV models change from having a B in the name to a C or CD (Samsung QN65QN85C), while LG OLED sets move from 2 to the number 3 (OLED65C3PUA), with suffixes staying the same or similar.

Sony TVs also often differ by just a digit or two. For example, the Sony XR-65A80CK is sold at warehouse clubs such as Costco and Sam’s Club, while the Sony XR-65A8K is sold at electronics retailers such as Best Buy and Crutchfield. In 2023, Sony TVs will use the letter L instead of the K we saw in last year’s sets.

In most instances, the TVs perform very similarly, and are often priced within $100 of each other, and sometimes even at the exact same price. For example, the two LG C2 sets above have identical overall scores in CR’s tests, and both are priced at just under $1,600 at warehouse clubs, electronics chains, and mass merchants such as Walmart.

One thing to consider: Sometimes a Costco price might be marginally higher than the comparable model sold at an electronics stores. That’s because sometimes the retailer might request an extra feature, such as a different remote, a Next-Gen TV tuner, or a slightly different sound system. So it makes sense to check the TV’s features and specs sheets. Also, Costco often sweetens its deals by including an extended warranty as part of the purchase price or by bundling a TV with another item, such as a soundbar speaker, at a price lower than if you bought them separately.

Some retailers include installation with the purchase of a TV. However, when you buy a TV at Costco, you get only delivery to the room of your choice, not setup or installation. In the past, Costco offered professional TV setup starting around $90, but we’ve been unable to find current information on basic setups and TV wall mounting. We’ve reached out to the company for clarification.

Costco’s warranty and return policies are among the best in the industry. The warehouse club extends the standard manufacturer’s warranty on TVs, along with other select electronics items, to two years from the date of purchase.

If you have a Costco Anywhere Visa card, you should know that as of January 1, 2023, you no longer get additional extended warranty protection.

However, Costco also offers three-year extended warranty plans, which are administered by Allstate. Unlike some other extended service plans, where the coverage runs concurrently with any other plan—so a three-year plan covers you for only two years after the manufacturer’s one-year warranty runs out—Costco’s coverage begins after all other warranties expire.

So, for example, if you purchase a television and also purchase an Allstate Protection Plan, the total warranty coverage is five years (the first two years through Costco Concierge and the following three years covered by Allstate).

Coverage includes on-site service or fast replacements, and it includes all parts and labor—there are no deductibles or hidden fees. Costco says all replacement parts will be new, not refurbished.

Costco also provides members with free technical support for TVs and other electronic items. The online support is open from 5 a.m. to 10 p.m. ET seven days a week, except for holidays.

In general, Costco’s return policies are as good it gets, though the company pulled the plug on its “anytime” return policy for TVs and some other items in 2017.

Now, you have up to 90 days to return a TV. That’s still quite generous compared with the period provided by many other retailers. At Best Buy, for example, you have only 15 days to return a TV unless you pay for the retailer’s $200-per-year Totaltech support membership service, which extends TV returns to 60 days.

Walmart and Target each have 30-day return policies on TVs. Crutchfield has a 60-day return policy, but if you bought online you’ll have to pay between $125 and $175 in shipping costs, depending on the size of the TV. (Crutchfield has only two retail stores, both in in Virginia.)

One more thing to consider if you’re buying a bigger TV in a Costco store is whether it will fit inside your vehicle; despite having a decent-sized SUV, I had to borrow a truck to get my 75-inch TV home. Costco doesn’t deliver TVs bought in the store, but it has partnered with GoShare for delivery. Prices vary by TV screen size and location. Based on the estimate I received to deliver that 75-inch set, it would have cost me $128 to have it delivered plus $2.50 per minute if the delivery time exceeds 58 minutes.