Costco Next Marketplace 2026: The Complete Guide to Costco's Best-Kept Secret

In 2017, without much fanfare, Costco rolled out a new membership perk called Costco Next, giving members access to exclusive pricing on merchandise from select manufacturers and suppliers. Today, it remains a lesser-known benefit of Costco membership, sometimes even referred to as a "best-kept secret." Parade

Nine years. Costco Next has existed for nine years. And most Costco members have never heard of it.

"Costco Next, our curated marketplace, also continues to show healthy year-over-year growth. In Q3 fiscal year 2025, our sales on Costco Next equaled our total sales for all of fiscal year 2022, and we are excited about the pipeline of new vendors and development for future rollout," CFO Gary Millerchip said during the company's third quarter 2025 earnings call. MOJO

Q3 2025 Costco Next sales equaled all of fiscal year 2022 Costco Next sales. That is more than double the annual revenue in three years — in a program that most members have never visited, have never heard mentioned in the warehouse, and would never discover unless they specifically looked for it.

That growth — extraordinary by any commercial measure — is happening in a program that Costco does not prominently promote, that does not appear as a navigation option on the main Costco.com homepage for most users, and that the company's own CFO has described as something they are "excited about the pipeline" for — communicating that the best commercial years of Costco Next are still ahead.

This guide is the complete, practical, member-facing introduction to Costco Next in 2026 — what it is, how it works, what is available, how to access it, and why the members who have discovered it consistently describe it as one of the most underrated benefits of their Costco membership.

What Costco Next Actually Is

Costco Next is a curated third-party marketplace that lets Costco members buy directly from select brands and manufacturers at discounted prices, without Costco holding all the inventory itself. Products are offered from hand-selected suppliers chosen for the quality of their merchandise and strong customer service, expanding the variety beyond typical warehouse inventory. MOJO

The simplest description: Costco Next is what happens when you take Costco's institutional buying relationships and apply them to products that do not fit in a warehouse. It is a membership-gated digital marketplace where Costco has pre-negotiated member-exclusive pricing with selected brand partners — pricing that is below the brands' minimum advertised price at any other retailer — delivered through a direct purchase experience on each brand's own website.

Suppliers who want to make their goods available on CostcoNext.com must agree to do so at prices below the "minimum advertised price," which is the threshold manufacturers set to ensure that their products are sold by reputable companies with good customer service. Parade

Below minimum advertised price. This is the specific commercial commitment that makes Costco Next's pricing genuinely exclusive — not slightly discounted, not sale pricing, not clearance, but pricing below the floor that the brand has set for every other sales channel.

The member who accesses Costco Next is accessing pricing that is contractually unavailable anywhere else.

When you click on a brand on CostcoNext.com, you're taken directly to that brand's own online store with Costco-member pricing already applied. You complete the purchase not with Costco but with the supplier. Parade

The purchase mechanics are simple: browse CostcoNext.com using your Costco membership login, find a brand or product you want, click through to that brand's website where your member status has already been verified, and complete the purchase with the brand directly. The brand handles inventory, shipping, returns, and customer service. Costco provides the member access and the pricing guarantee.

How Costco Next Differs From Costco.com and From Amazon

The Costco Next model is different from both Costco's own e-commerce site and from the third-party marketplace model that Amazon pioneered — and understanding the differences helps members use it correctly.

Costco Next vs Costco.com:

Whereas Walmart offers third-party products seamlessly on Walmart.com, Costco members won't see third-party merchandise on Costco.com. Instead, Costco members must go to and search on a separate website — CostcoNext.com. Parade

Costco.com carries products that Costco itself buys, inventories, and sells — the same warehouse product selection available online with home delivery. Costco Next carries products from brand partners that Costco does not inventory — brands that are brought into the membership ecosystem through a pre-negotiated pricing relationship rather than a wholesale purchase order. These are entirely separate catalogs, accessible through entirely separate platforms.

Costco Next vs Amazon marketplace:

The platform helps Costco offer higher-margin discretionary items while leveraging member pricing perks. A third-party marketplace like the model pioneered by Amazon, Costco Next offers an expanded selection of items that never make it into a Costco warehouse. The program, however, differs from Amazon's approach in important ways. MOJO

Amazon's marketplace is open to any qualified seller — creating a catalog of millions of products from thousands of suppliers with variable quality, variable pricing, and variable customer service. Costco Next is deliberately curated — approaching 100 brand partners, all hand-selected, all required to meet Costco's quality and customer service standards, and all required to offer pricing below their minimum advertised price.

Costco Next, however, differs from Walmart's third-party offerings in a few key ways: Access — anyone can shop on Walmart.com or Amazon.com, but you need a Costco membership to log into CostcoNext.com. Pricing — suppliers must agree to do so at prices below the minimum advertised price. Parade

The exclusivity is real and meaningful. A Costco Next pricing offer from a brand partner is only accessible to Costco members. Non-members cannot see it. Non-members cannot access it. The pricing is not available through any other channel, at any time, at any competing retailer.

What Is Available on Costco Next in 2026: The Complete Category Guide

Costco Next categories are somewhat, but not wildly, robust. Costco Next suppliers offer everything from cat food and camping tents to outdoor playsets and even coffins. Costco Next suppliers include a few established brands such as Dell, Travelpro and Otterbox, but many Costco Next brands are up-and-coming enterprises that are using the platform to leverage their growth. Parade

Costco Next allows members to purchase products directly from selected suppliers at exclusive and discounted prices. Basically, it's a marketplace specifically curated for Costco members, covering a wide range of electronics, clothing, groceries, and products for beauty, gardening, outdoors, and more. BuzzFeed

The Costco Next category coverage in 2026 is meaningfully broader than most members imagine when they first encounter the platform description. Here is the specific category breakdown:

Electronics and Technology:Dell computers and laptops at member-exclusive pricing. Otterbox cases and accessories — Otterbox is one of the most recognizable names on Costco Next and one of the clearest demonstrations of the below-MAP pricing commitment. Garmin GPS devices, smart home technology, and accessories from technology brand partners whose product lines extend beyond what fits in the warehouse's electronics section.

Home and Furniture:Hand-crafted wood furniture, home décor, organizational systems, and premium home goods from brands that would not generate sufficient Costco warehouse velocity but whose pricing and quality credentials make them ideal Costco Next partners.

Outdoor and Sporting Goods:Camping equipment, outdoor furniture, sporting goods, and recreational equipment from brands in categories where the warehouse cannot carry sufficient selection depth to serve the full range of member interest.

Travel Accessories:Travelpro — one of America's most respected travel luggage brands — is a cornerstone Costco Next partner. Hard-sided and soft-sided luggage, travel accessories, and the full Travelpro product catalog at member-exclusive pricing that is consistently below what the brand's products sell for on Amazon or through specialty luggage retailers.

Beauty and Personal Care:Costco Members receive an exclusive value on premium beauty products from PMD Beauty through Costco Next. PMD Beauty is a premier beauty company offering smart beauty tools and skincare products. The beauty category on Costco Next extends the warehouse's premium skincare and beauty savings program into products — particularly beauty devices and premium skincare systems — that would not fit in the warehouse format. MOJO

Health and Wellness:Supplements, wellness devices, and health products from brands whose clinical positioning and premium price points make them better suited to the direct-to-member Costco Next format than to the warehouse floor.

Food and Specialty Grocery:Organic specialty foods, premium pantry items, and food products from brands that serve specific dietary preferences or culinary interests that the

warehouse's broad-appeal assortment does not fully serve.

Pet Products:Cat food and other pet products available through Costco Next. Pet specialty brands whose premium ingredients and specific nutritional positioning make them ideal for the Costco Next curated marketplace format. Parade

Even Coffins:And even coffins. This is the Costco Next detail that genuinely surprises every member who hears it for the first time — and that communicates more about the platform's ambition and scope than any product category description. If Costco is negotiating below-MAP pricing on coffins for its members, the platform's commitment to serving member needs across the full span of life's commercial moments is genuine and comprehensive. Parade

How to Access Costco Next: The Step-by-Step Guide

Step 1: Go to CostcoNext.com

The platform is accessible at costconext.com — a separate website from costco.com. It is also accessible through a link on costco.com by navigating to the "Shop" section and looking for the Costco Next link, though this link is not prominently featured in the main navigation.

Step 2: Log in with your Costco membership number

There is no specific Costco Next membership or special Costco Next eligibility — you just have to be a Costco member. You log onto CostcoNext.com using your Costco member number. Parade

Any current Costco membership — Gold Star or Executive — provides full Costco Next access. No separate enrollment, no additional fee, no application process. Log in with the same credentials you use for Costco.com.

Step 3: Browse by category, brand, or Hot Deals

The Costco Next interface allows browsing by product category, by brand partner, or by the Hot Deals section that highlights the most aggressively priced current offerings across the platform.

Step 4: Click through to the brand's website

When you select a product, you are redirected to the brand partner's own website with your Costco member status verified and the member-exclusive pricing already applied. The purchase is completed with the brand directly — using whatever payment method the brand accepts.

Step 5: Shipping, returns, and customer service with the brand

Costco makes clear on the CostcoNext.com site that it is the supplier, not Costco itself, that handles these matters, so it is a good idea to do a search on Google to learn a little about the brand before you buy and check its ratings. Parade

The Costco Next experience is only as good as the individual brand partner's shipping, return policy, and customer service. Before purchasing from a brand you are not familiar with, a quick search for the brand's reviews is a good practice — not because Costco's curation has been poor, but because any transaction with a relatively unknown brand warrants basic due diligence.

The Smart Shopping Strategy for Costco Next

Check Costco Next before purchasing any major item online. The five minutes required to browse Costco Next before purchasing a laptop, luggage, outdoor equipment, or beauty device from Amazon or a brand's own website frequently identifies member-exclusive pricing that is genuinely superior. The member who checks Costco Next as a standard step in their online shopping process before committing to a major purchase is the member who captures the most consistent Costco Next value.

Focus on the established brand partners for first purchases. Dell, Travelpro, Otterbox — these are the brand partners whose reputation, shipping reliability, and customer service quality are most consistently documented. New members to Costco Next who start with these established partners get the most reliably excellent first experiences before exploring smaller brand partners.

Watch the Hot Deals section seasonally. Like every Costco program, Costco Next has seasonal promotional moments — typically aligned with major consumer shopping events (Black Friday, holiday shopping, back-to-school) — when the most aggressively priced offerings across the platform are surfaced. Checking the Hot Deals section at these moments can identify time-sensitive member-exclusive offers that provide the most dramatic single-purchase savings.

Remember that Executive Members earn 2% on Costco Next purchases. The Executive Member 2 percent annual reward applies to qualifying Costco Next purchases — adding an additional layer of savings on top of the already-below-MAP member pricing.

Why Most Members Have Never Heard of This

Many members only discover Costco Next because the company "started mentioning it during earnings calls, which most members do not listen to or read transcripts of." MOJO

The paradox of Costco Next's obscurity — a commercially successful, genuinely excellent member benefit that the company underpromotions — is both puzzling and, on reflection, very Costco. The institutional culture that holds the hot dog at $1.50 without advertising it, that offers the most generous return policy in retail without promoting it, and that makes the pharmacy savings available to non-members without publicizing it is the same culture that has grown a nine-year digital marketplace to record sales without ever making it a prominent feature of the membership marketing.

Most Costco members have never heard of Costco Next. Costco itself does not prominently promote the program — it surfaces primarily through mentions on earnings calls, quiet updates to the Costco.com navigation, and word of mouth among members who discovered it and share it with the same enthusiasm they bring to every other Costco discovery. MOJO

The word-of-mouth dynamic — one member tells another, who tells another — is exactly how Costco's most genuinely valuable member benefits spread. This guide is now part of that spread. Visit CostcoNext.com, log in with your member number, and discover what your membership has included for nine years that you have never accessed before.

At MOJO Sales & Branding, we understand every dimension of the Costco ecosystem — from the hidden digital marketplace that most members have never visited to the roadshow brands that create the discovery moments that keep members returning to the warehouse.

Contact us at 732.433.7873 or Susan@MOJOSalesandBranding.com.

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