The Costco Hack That Will Get You Through The Checkout Faster
Costco is a place of epic proportions. Where else can you buy massive packs of astonishingly good cookies, cheap healthy goods like almond butter, plus inexpensive wine and spirits ... not to mention visit a food court that's affordable and actually good? Nowhere is the answer. Which is why, in 2020, this bulk food and merchandise chain claimed more than 105 million members (via Statista), and frankly we're not surprised by that number given all of the store's positive attributes.
The only downsides that come from shopping at Costco are pretty few in number. For one, it can be frustrating to only buy things in bulk. Not everyone has the freezer space for 10 pounds of chicken breast or 30 frozen breakfast sandwiches. The shopping centers can also be huge, meaning it takes a while to roam the aisles and find what you need. (We really recommend a "divide and conquer" system if you are able to go with roommates, family members, or significant others). Lastly, the checkout can sometimes take some time, especially if everyone ahead of you is unloading their carts at a painstakingly slow pace.
This is the expert trick to speed up your trip at Costco
There's no guarantee this will work every time, but one Costco frequent shopper posted a smart hack (via Reddit) about speeding up the checkout process. They recommend placing all the items in your cart with the barcodes facing up to help the cashiers scan everything quicker, and to possibly prevent the need for taking every item out by hand. Of course, this won't work if you have an overstuffed cart. Also, cashiers may take everything out regardless due to how they've been trained (according to some Reddit users), but the hack is still worth a shot, especially if you only have a few large items that could be cumbersome to place on the conveyer belt.
And if the checkout trick works, think of all the extra time you'll gain that you can use to shimmy over to the food court for one of their to-die-for hot dogs (according to Today), delicious acai bowls, or a piece of pizza. After all, you should reward yourself for making it through the Costco gauntlet once again.