What Does Costco Do With Unsold Kitchen Items?

Costco is one of the only places where you can get a slice of pizza, a lifetime supply of toilet paper, and car tires in one place. You can find just about anything at this popular wholesale membership store, but that also means there's lot of stock leftover, as well as items returned in semi-rough condition. Thanks to Costco's fabulous return policy, the store gets lots of appliances, kitchen goods, and furniture back that can't be put onto the sales floor. So what does Costco do? They sell them at liquidation auctions.

Costco sells damaged, seasonal, or returned items by the pallet at liquidation auctions online. The store uses a B2B online marketplace called B-Stock Solutions, where business owners can bid for up to 10 4x4 wooden pallets, stocked with non-perishable name-brand and Kirkland Signature items. The catch? You can only bid on pallets if you have an official Resale Certificate, meaning not just any old shopper can participate. 

If you've registered and received a certificate — aka a Sales Tax ID or Seller's Permit — you can bid on pallets nearest you. A quick search through the auction listing will tell you where pallets are shipping from (typically larger cities like Atlanta, Dallas, Salt Lake City, and West Palm Beach) and the SKU numbers of each items included, so you know exactly what you're bidding on. And depending on its grading code, A/B, C/D, or New/Overstock, you'll know whether products are untouched, in mint condition, lightly used, or not worth the bid.

While Costco's liquidation auctions tend to be more expensive than other stores, like Amazon or Walmart, they often have higher quality items in each bundle. Meaning, more earning potential for you when reselling. You'll find Costco kitchen items worth looking out for, like refrigerators and dish washers, along with small kitchen appliances like blenders, air fryers, and even pots and pans! You might also score tech items, laundry machines, and cleaning supplies like vacuums, too. It's all about doing your research and bidding at the right price and time.

But is this how Costco treats other leftover items? Not exactly. When it comes to food and produce, the chain is a little more generous. For example, Costco sends unsold produce to organizations like Feeding America, food banks, and local shelters, and ships unsellable fruits and veggies to farms for their animals to eat and enjoy. It also sends leftover bakery items to food banks and charities, as well, so food never goes to waste.