Thinking about becoming a Costco Wholesale supplier? Before you apply, it’s worth understanding Costco’s supplier requirements and where new suppliers most often get stuck during approval and onboarding.
Getting your products into Costco is attractive. “Costco is highly renowned for providing consumers with a seemingly endless amount of high-quality products at the lowest possible prices,” Joel Goldstein, president of Mr. Checkout Distributors, writes in a Forbes article. “Furthermore, new product brands have found tremendous growth thanks to the unprecedented reputation that Costco's platform has to offer to both consumers and distributors.”Tremendous growth sounds appealing.
Before you apply, though, consider the following.
Costco Wholesale suppliers ship higher volumes to the warehouse vs. other retail stores. Therefore, look at your inventory and production to decide if you can handle the higher volume. Are you able to package and sell your item in bulk?
Costco's big draw is high-quality items at a lower price than anywhere else. Consequently, suppliers must be prepared to sell their merchandise for 15% less in the Costco warehouse and online. Doing so may irk your existing distributors, but it's the only way to be considered.
Your packaging should look different from everywhere else your items are distributed. Consider if you have the resources to create materials just for Costco.
Not a member? To be a supplier, you must have that Costco Wholesale membership card. Gold Star Members pay $60 per year. Executive Gold Star Members pay twice that but receive a 2% reward annually.
Operational readiness matters—but for many suppliers, EDI and compliance are where timelines slip and costs escalate.
Once approved, Costco suppliers must meet strict EDI requirements before products ever reach the warehouse floor. Orders, ASNs, invoices, and shipping labels must follow Costco’s exact specifications, and failures here can delay launch, trigger chargebacks, or stall onboarding entirely. Missed ASN deadlines or labeling errors often result in automatic chargebacks—regardless of order size or intent.
Costco requires suppliers to transmit EDI documents through a certified value-added network (VAN). This includes support for specific transaction sets, label formats, and testing workflows that are not optional.
This is where many first-time Costco suppliers underestimate complexity. EDI that works for Amazon, Walmart, or regional retailers often fails under Costco’s requirements, especially at higher volume.
It’s worth confirming your EDI setup can handle Costco’s expectations without manual workarounds or surprise fees.
Before you apply, most successful Costco suppliers pressure-test three things:
Use this Costco Supplier Readiness Checklist covering the EDI, labeling, and operational requirements you need before approval. This checklist is designed to surface gaps before Costco testing begins—when fixes are faster and far less expensive.
In addition to the warehouse, you can sell on Costco.com. Interestingly, shoppers do not need a Costco membership to purchase from Costco.com. (However, non-members incur a 5% surcharge.) Usually, prices are a bit higher at Costco.com than in the store to account for the cost of shipping. For example, the coat shown below is $39.99 online and $34.99 in the warehouse.
Costco's online store is not a third-party marketplace, unlike Amazon, Walmart.com, Target.com, and the like.
If you’re exploring Costco.com or dropship fulfillment, the requirements and workflows differ from traditional warehouse distribution—especially when it comes to EDI, labeling, and order volume.
Read more here: Are You a New Costco Supplier? Here’s What You Need to Know About Costco Dropshipping.
Unfortunately, Costco Wholesale provides very little information on its website about how to apply.
Many suppliers don’t discover gaps until testing begins—when timelines tighten and chargebacks become real. If you want to validate your EDI readiness before applying, a short readiness review can help identify:
See if your EDI setup is Costco-ready before you apply: No obligation — just a practical readiness review.
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