St. Cloud Costco Cracking Down Even Harder on Non-Member Shoppers

We have been hearing about so many subscription and members only programs cracking down on non members using services that they haven't paid for.  This extends from Netflix, HULU and more, and also Costco.

This we first announced months ago when Costco started asking members to show their membership card, and in some cases their IDs as well when using the self-check out stations.  People were super annoyed by this, and now it's getting even more strict.

Costco is testing out a new system where members would need to scan their membership cards upon entering the store instead of just flashing their card to a Costco employee like usual.

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Right now, as far as we can tell, this system is just in Washington, but if it works well, will be implemented into all of the Costco stores across the country.  This would include the St. Cloud store.  And if people react even slightly like they did regarding the self-check ID check, this is really going to tick people off.

Right now... and this will continue... as a Costco member, you can bring up to two other people who are non-members into the store with you.  And generally they can buy things at Costco using your card, as the member is with them, and using their card.  You just cannot give your card to someone else to use without you being along for the store visit.  That's a big no-no.  But people have been doing that for years.  Costco is tired of people who are not paying for the service are using the service and getting the discount benefits offered to members.

And let's be honest, people were getting very upset over this policy because they could no longer "cheat the system".  You may not see it like this, but that is what it is.  Cheating the system.

For paying members of Costco, this might look and seem like an inconvenience, but it's really Costco making sure that they can continue to give their members the discounted benefits that they like, and keep them coming back.

It's just a matter of time...