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by Maurie Backman | Published on May 31, 2022

It pays to look to the warehouse club giant for your electronics needs.

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As someone who shops at Costco on a weekly basis, I've gotten familiar with the various products offered at my local warehouse club. And while I mostly stick to the usual array of groceries, paper products, and household goods, sometimes, I'll make more of a one-off purchase at Costco.

A few years back, for example, my husband and I opted to purchase a new TV for our home at Costco. And it ended up being a good decision. While you may not associate Costco with being a great place to shop for electronics, the reality is that it could pay to do so for a few reasons.

Costco won't always have the best price on electronics. But sometimes, it will. And so if you're looking to make a major purchase, it pays to research prices and see if Costco's is the most competitive.

Keep in mind that you won't always find the lowest price at Costco during shopping events like Black Friday. But if you're buying electronics during a non-shopping event (meaning, at a time when most retailers are not running a sale), you might get a better deal at Costco. That's because the warehouse club giant simply offers good prices all year round.

It's common for new electronics to come with built-in warranties. But one lesser-known benefit of buying such items through Costco is that you'll often get an extended warranty by making your purchase there.

When I upgraded my laptop a few years ago, Costco threw in a three-year warranty. Another retailer had the same laptop available at a comparable price to Costco's, but it only came with a two-year warranty.

If you have an Executive Membership through Costco, you can earn extra rewards on the items you purchase. That's on top of any credit card rewards you might snag.

Specifically, with an Executive Membership, you'll pay an extra $60 a year but snag 2% rewards on all Costco purchases. If you shop at Costco often, upgrading to an Executive Membership will often make sense. And so if you have one already, you might nab extra rewards on electronics purchases.

Whenever you're buying electronics, it's a good idea to do some comparison shopping to identify the lowest prices. But when you do that research, make sure to put Costco on the list of retailers you look at. You may find that you're able to reap multiple benefits by buying your electronics there.

There's also the convenience factor to consider. If you tend to shop at Costco every week or several times a month, you should have an easy opportunity to check out the electronics it carries in person. With another retailer, you may need to make a separate trip to look at an item in person, and given the way gas prices are soaring, that alone makes the case for looking to Costco for your electronics needs.

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Maurie Backman writes about current events affecting small businesses for The Ascent and The Motley Fool.

We're firm believers in the Golden Rule, which is why editorial opinions are ours alone and have not been previously reviewed, approved, or endorsed by included advertisers. The Ascent does not cover all offers on the market. Editorial content from The Ascent is separate from The Motley Fool editorial content and is created by a different analyst team.

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