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I used to work at Costco and I've never heard of this. Then again, I worked at the one in oregon and that's not any of the states listed here.
I used to work at Costco and I've never heard of this. Then again, I worked at the one in oregon and that's not any of the states listed here.
At my local CostCo in Fort Worth, Tx. they actually have an entrance to the liquor sales store separate from the entrance to CostCo itself.
I have found that some of the finer quality cases of beer that can be found within CostCo are not always in the external liquor store which is ran by Western Beverages at my local location.
Great deals though for sure. I couldn't imagine buying the same amount of Makers Mark at a normal package store.
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@George Gdovin: Texas Costco stores all have the \"Western Beverage\" store tacked onto the side. I think this also lets them out of the requirement to allow non-members in to buy beer/wine in the main part of the warehouse, though as a member I have never tried to get in without a membership just to buy wine. There's definitely a broader selection of wine in the main warehouse than at Western Beverage, and you can't even use your Amex there... cash or debit only.
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@George Gdovin: This is true and well-known in San Antonio. Heck, the liquor section is in an entirely separate building! (sharing one wall)
@George Gdovin: The Costco in Newark, DE also has a separate entrance, and they rarely have asked for my Costco card - and now I know why!
@George Gdovin: Costco doesn't do this out of the goodness of their heart. In Texas (as in several other states), \"hard liquor\" (spirits) can only be sold from 10am to 9pm Monday through Saturday; beer and wine is different. Either requires a separate license, and if you sell liquor you must either have a way to completely close off the liquor section outside of sales hours or the entire facility must be closed. If you go the \"close off the liquor section route,\" then there must be a separate TABC license (and, usually, city permit) for the beer/wine \"store\" and the liquor \"store,\" which is why Western Beverages runs the spirits side.
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@rbcat: If I am not mistaken I think Texas also requires the liquor store to bar entrance to anyone under the age of 21, another reason for seperation.
I wish Texas had more simplified laws like Missouri, I can buy a bottle of Vodka on Sunday at a Wal-Mart.
However, my sister told me underage drinking was a BIG problem when she was in school in rural Missouri. The REAL problem was the kids knew all the cops (small town) and had a friend or two that jockeyed the register. So no wonder kids could get ahold of booze without getting caught.
I'm not sure of the law, but I have a friend who claims to do this at Costco in Florida. Here, the booze is in a separate store right next to the regular Costco.
Are the prices really worth the effort? I mean, I'm down with sticking it to the man and his \"Members only\" policy, but is going past a couple state/grocery/county stores to get to said warehouse worth the trip?
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@Darascon: The liquor I buy is the same price/bottle as in the grocery stores, but Sam's has bigger bottles. So it depends on how much more liquor you're willing to drive for.
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@Darascon: Depends on how much you drink :-D
And I'm sure the warehouses really don't mind this because if you are in the stores buying the booze, you might be more likely to sign up for a membership after seeing the amazing amounts you can save on 25 lbs of ketchup.
@Darascon: In states like Texas that don't allow hard liquor sales in grocery stores, the price difference compared to Dons and Bens (or whatever local liquor store) is worth the drive, especially on \"call\" liquors like Jack or Jim or Svedka or whatever. Sometimes they have incredible sale prices on overstocked top-shelf liquors, as well.
@Darascon: Oh yes.. it definitely is.. especially if you're looking to buy liquor and not just beer. For example, my dear Jack Daniel \"Single Barrel\" costs $45+ in Frys and 50-55+ in liquor stores. In costco, I've picked it up for 35 or so. In fact, during last year's holiday season, I picked up three bottles of \"Single Barrel\", \"Gentleman\" and 'Regular' for 70 bucks.. with collector's shot glasses thrown in. Anywhere outside costco, I'd have been poorer by atleast 50-60 dollars.
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@Darascon: Depends on liquor taxes, how many local liquor stores there are, etc., etc., etc.
Where I am, the supermarket has a comprehensive liquor section and the prices are very reasonable. It's not really worth going to the club stores or the liquor warehouse (unless you need something really specific from the liquor warehouse). Where my parents are, even with comprehensive liquor in the supermarket, it's TOTALLY worth going to the Costco or the liquor discount warehouse. But they tend to do stock-ups a couple times a year at the cheap places instead of just dropping by for a bottle of wine or two. It's not worth the gas for that.
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They post signs in both stores to this effect. Been this way for years and years! You can even buy the BEER inside the main store (since most of the time the liquor store at the entrance is just the hard stuff) by telling the greeter that you are just there for the booze and they will let you by.
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I was shopping yesterday in Sam's Club and actually saw a giant sign posted over the beer & wine section pointing out that alcohol can be purchased without a membership.
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I thought a costco membership was a prerequisite for reading this site :-)
(FYI: Kirklands brand 18 year old scotch that they're carrying right now is actually The MacAllan 18 year old sherry cask scotch, just for half the price)
@crycry: I was also curious about this. although I don't drink, I think its interesting that they're using quality stuff. Look at the product website:
It's right there on the label: \"from Macallen Distillery\"
Although some scotch forums seem to indicate that there are still differences between this and \"The Macallen\".
@Underpants Gnome: And the Kirkland vodka is distilled by Grey Goose, and I think even smoother! We did a blind taste test to prove it, no one could tell which was which.
@Underpants Gnome: Except for those of us who are more than a few hours drive from the nearest Costco...
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@acknight: Or worse yet, live near a Costco in a backwards state where Costco can't sell liquor, only beer or wine (thanks Alabama).
@British Benzene: Or any kind of alcohol - including beer & wine! Welcome to the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. Thank you, Liquor Control Board!
It's kind of obnoxious to do this. Just because it's legal doesn't mean it's fair to the store.
@zarex42: Actually, they don't require the store to sell anything OTHER than alcohol without a membership, and the markup on spirits is usually such that they can certainly afford to sell some booze without a membership. If the stores wanted to be 100% members-only, they could just not sell booze. Since they haven't made THAT choice, I think it's safe to say they're still making money at it.
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@zarex42: If they post signs in their stores saying they allow liquor sales without a membership, how is it not fair. In fact, one might even argue that it's in the members-only club's best interest to do this. They get people in the store who otherwise might not visit, and potentially lure them to the dark side.
@NYGal81:
If it's the stores' free choice, then great, I'm all for it. But if it's a dumb law that people are taking advantage of, then it's unfair to the store.
Good luck actually getting through the front door without a membership though.
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@ChrisC1234: The greeter at the Sam's Club in my area is a HELLION BITCH of which I have many a horror story of people trying to cope with her.
I'm going to print this article. I'm going to find the labeled store policy in their own documentation SOMEWHERE, and I'm going to go look at their alcohol section. And she can't stop me for once.
I'm going to ENJOY this.
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@ChrisC1234: Most of the Sam's and Costco's I have been in have this clearly posted on a sign in the liquor area. Some even have it at the front door.
@ChrisC1234: For the most part you can hold up any credit card sized card to get in. I've entered flashing all sorts of cards in a quick instance. Just depends on how well they pay attention.
@ChrisC1234: BJ's doesn't check your membership at the door...or anywhere really unless you go through a manned register. Even then, they don't really look at it.
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@ChrisC1234: ... which is why you let the greeter know why you're entering and bring a copy of the article with you just in case they don't know of the law.
Of course, if you had read the last paragraph of the post here, let alone the article, you'd have known this already.
Didn't that law stem from the amendment of the prohibition? Not sure about that though.
Im in Colorado and our local Costco has a seperate entrance for the liquor section and is available without a membership. The wine is much cheaper than a liquor stor and the hard alcohol is cheaper as well. The beer was about the same cost but they have mixed boxes from different breweries which I cant at local stores.
You can also buy stuff from their cell phone kiosk in the store at Sam's. Its a subsidary of radio shack and usually has much better phones and you don't have to wait on rebates. I buy my phones outright from there.
@corinthos: Not ALL of them are run by Radio Shack anymore, the one I work at is owned by Sam's and Walmart, but we still have pretty stellar deals on phones, outright or not.
Not sure about other states, but in Texas the same goes for prescription drugs...you don't have to have a membership to get them filled at Sam's or the other places.
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Now if only Maryland would allow them to sell in the store. I was in Arizona and I so wanted that bottle of Patron for $99 because it was way less than buying the same amount at a liquor store.
@theblackdog: $99 Patron? I hope it was a *BIG* bottle. I like Patron but I can't imagine a fifth of tequila worth $99.
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@GearheadGeek: Patron makes a bottle that is MASSIVE. I think it priced at $160 last time I saw one in an NYC store (before tax), so $99 is a great price.
That said, I wouldn't do it. If I ever tripped & broke something on my way out of a liquor store, it would be the day I was cradling $100 worth of premium tequila.
@GearheadGeek: Oh this was, I would guess it was about four or five of their regular bottles. If I still had the coupon for it I could give you the quantity for sure.
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In Michigan Costco has a large sign near the entrance that informs people of this. At the two that I visit there is not a separate booze store near the front. All of the booze is near the meat in the back.
You can also buy prescriptions from Costco pharmacy without a membership. I called the pharmacy and they said just to come in and pick it up and let the guard/greeter know I was headed to the pharmacy.
The \"greeter\" was uninformed about this policy and was super aggro. The veins in her temples looked about to rupture when I walked past her to the pharmacy.
That trip would definitely be more enjoyable with a buzz on.
@kateblack: Costco greeters have always been cool from what I can tell. It's Sam's Club greeters that look either angry or with fear in their eyes that their family will be executed if they let a minor in to go look for their parents.
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@kateblack: If they really hassle you, just go to customer service and get a guest pass for the day. Always good if you have the munchies and the samples are out.
Connecticut Costco doesn't sell alcohol.
I'm not sure if the law has changed, but when I was in college in Charleston, South Carolina, Sam's used to have a giant sign saying that you did not need a membership to buy either tobacco or alcohol in the state of South Carolina. There are a few Costco's in South Carolina. Maybe we can use the new, fancy factcheckers to see if there is a law on the books.
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@ReverseCarpetbagging: Oh hi, I went to College in Charleston! Couldn't afford a Costco membership though. Ot alcohol for that matter.
NJ left out again.
@IH8M_SteveDave: Off the list yes, but you dont need a membership here either. It blatantly says on the doors when you enter either of them no membership required.
List is wrong.
@Jim Topoleski: I shop at the Clifton and Willowbrook (Wayne) Costcos in NJ. Clifton has a liquor store outside and Willowbrook sells wine, liquor, beer etc. inside. The difference is that Costco is both the buyer and seller of wine, etc. inside the store.However, I do not know if you need to be a member to purchase it-never noticed any signs. The liquor store in Clifton is like a sub contractor to Costco-it has no other connection to them and therefore you don't need a membership to purchase. The wine (which is all I buy) they sell is neither as good nor as well priced as that sold by Costco in Willowbrook.
In New Jersey each municipality has its own set of laws governing liquor sales and licenses. NJ is a very complicated state as far as liquor laws are concerned.
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I dare anyone to try this in the Tustin, CA store. I can't even get lunch from there without a card.
I'm in California, and I have been doing this for quite some time. The employees seem to be familiar enough with the rule, although I haven't seen any signs informing the general public. As mentioned above, similar laws also apply to prescriptions at the pharmacy.
Florida is one of the states that doesn't require membership in order to purchase alcohol. The Tallahassee Sam's (and at least one of the Orlando) Sam's have massive signs hanging from the ceiling indicating \"membership not required to purchase alcohol\". However, the signs are located *inside* the store, where non-members wouldn't see them unless they explicitly said they were entering to buy alcohol.
Minnesota Sam's Clubs all have signs about being able to buy booze without a membership. They also have separate entrances- but that's Minnesota state law.
Unfortunately, they don't sell beer in a 6-pack. And thier wine prices aren't always that great (aside from super popular stuff like Yellowtail).
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We used to swing by BJ's for liquor when we were traveling through Delaware. Bonus points for no sales tax!
Add Tennessee to the states that you can buy liquor from Costco without a membership. Costco doesn't actually own the liquor store because of stupid state liquor laws that protect the existing alcohol industry from competition. The liquor stores at Costco in Memphis, TN are independently operated, and are adjacent to the main Costco building. I don't know about the availability of liquor outside Memphis. Sam's Clubs in Memphis don't have adjacent liquor stores. Wine in TN is sold only in liquor stores so the same rules apply.
It would be nice for a Consumerist reporter to do a story about how 3 tiered distribution systems created by regulation protect the liquor industry from outside competitors. Instead of protecting the consumer, the consumer is force to purchase from what essentially is a liquor cartel. I've worked in both liquor service, as bartender, and retail at a liquor store and I've witnessed how the cartel operates to lock competitors out of the market and stick it to the consumer.
@ganjablue: That would make a really interesting article.
I lived in Virginia (one of the states with ABC/state run liquor stores) for years and rarely drank liquor because it was prohibitively expensive.
Mid grade liquors were usually $35-50 in my area ABC store. My friends in DC, where they had independently owned stores could get the same things for $25-40. And in NYC the same things would be even less because of the amount of competition.
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@kateblack: It's always nice to live where there's a state run monopoly. What's worse is that NC is the same way, which is the closest to me...
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@ganjablue: This would be a great article; I see it working in the liquor business (retail wine), and having family members in enforcement (an uncle who is an ABC officer in another state), it's amazing how consumer-unfriendly the 3-tiered system is.
It's been this way in Michigan forever. I thought it was common knowledge.
There's not, though, much to be gained, as the state liquor control commission enforces minimum sale prices (entire catalogue is available on line with prices!) for all liquor (not beer or table wine). And many, many, many places already sell it at the state minimum.
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For the Canadian readers of Consumerist, I don't know about other provinces, but the same applies here in Alberta.
This has been around at Sam's Club (at least my local club) since Labor Day 2006 (eg: 2 Labor Days ago). I bought a bunch of booze for a party I was throwing and was told my card wasn't needed anymore to buy stuff from the package store.
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Umm...sweet?!
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too bad NC liquor is ALL sold by the state. there's loads of price competition for beer and wine but every drop of liquor [legally] sold in the state is sold by the state at controlled prices. while they sometimes have sales, there's no competition to induce discounting or big sales. and as far as i have been able to determine, we pay about 10% more than FL, where i used to live
At the Parker, Colorado Costco, the liquor store is adjacent to the main store, with a separate entrance. I was disappointed at the pricing, which did not appear to offer any discount to full retail. And the selection was fairly limited. I was looking for Tanquerey Gin and they didn't have a clue what I was asking for. Turns out they don't carry it.
Problem is....you cant get in the store without a card.
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Here in the magical state of Washington, the sale of hard alcohol is restricted to state-run liquor stores, which means that we can't get those great prices at places like Costco. It's interesting to note, however, that Costco is challenging the state's monopoly in the courts.
I found out about this a few years ago. I've utilized the policy a few times; every time the cashier has had no idea what I'm talking about, calls a manager over who reads the article and gives the cashier an okay to sell the alcohol to me. It was actually a much more painless process than it sounds... I just wish I could get something besides beer and wine, which is on sale in other places often anyway. Stupid NY laws.
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Good luck finding a CostCo or BJs selling alcohol in MA. They're not allowed to.
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Dammit! No Georgia!
But we can't even by alcohol on Sundays, so...yeah.
@shorty63136: However, Georgia has a crazy \"equal-access\" distribution law which restricts brands of alcohol from being available only at certain outlets (such as why you can buy Charles Shaw at outlets other than Trader Joe's here, even though TJ's is the sole distributor). I bought some of the Costco Kirkland Vodka (repackaged Grey Goose) a month or so ago, but the other day I saw it at a liquor store in Atlanta for the same price. Now I don't have to drive to the 'burbs to get my Costco-brand liquor.
You can also use their pharmacy and eyecare centers at Costco without membership, not sure if it has the same state restrictions though.
I emailed the DLC in the State of Vermont about this because I could have used this!
Someone didn't do their research, however, because the state told me...
Thank you for your question. According to our Chief of Education, Licensing and Enforcement, Bill Goggins, there is no such law in Vermont. Liquor laws are very different from state to state; so, it very well could be that there are laws against requiring a membership to purchase alcohol in other states, but it appears that Vermont is not one of them.
Thank you,
Marcia
Marketing/Customer Service Supervisor
Vermont Department of Liquor Control
My Costco, in New York City, has a separate liquor store (with an unrelated name) situated separate from (but in the same building complex as) the Costco itself. The liquor store has a vaguely limited selection, typical of Costco, but the prices are not as low as I would expect at Costco. In fact, I see no advantage to shopping there; better prices on wine are available at Trader Joes and on hard liquor the prices at the Costco-ish place are competitive at best.
The no membership policy makes sense, in that the liquor store appears to be designed to be partially or entirely independent of Costco itself. Note that in New York, a grocery store, which would seemingly include your typical Costco, cannot sell wine or hard liquor.
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@Elbee23: Costco can't sell liquor in New York; the liquor stores adjacent to them are not part of Costco, so they don't have the items/prices that Costco has elsewhere. (Somebody told me they'd hoped to get the law changed or get around it, and so built their stores with the space for accompanying liquor department, and when they weren't able to get around New York's laws, they rented the space to other liquor stores.)
State liquor laws are a crazy patchwork. Keeping track of what is legal in which state can be a full-time job.
This has to do with liquor license laws, which in many cases say that in order to get the license you must sell to all members of the public, not just members.
The idea is that since a liquor license is valuable, and controlled by the state, a business shouldn't be allowed to set rules. (This is of course different from a license for a restaurant, country club, etc.)
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I worked at a Costco in California (Gilroy to be exact) for a summer during college and I was occasionally the front door greeter. They're usually not informed about such things as allowing people inside to buy liquor. The instructions we received were as follows:
1) Make sure people have memberships
2) Count the membership cards (had a little clicker in my hand)
3) Write down the count every hour
4) Tag returns
That was it. I had someone once that wanted to buy liquor and I had no idea. He knew he could, so I called a manager over and they said it was fine. The only odd thing was how anal the front-end manager was - he actually called someone off the front end to escort these people to the liquor section and make sure that they didn't try to buy any other merchandise.
The same applies to their eyeglass stores. You can go and purchase glasses/contacts/get an eye exam in Arizona at least any any Costco because of the way the doctor contracts with Costco.
I figured buying beer (Corona) at Costco would be a great deal, then I went there and notice you are required to buy a \"case\" of beer, in this case 2 12 packs. Luckily I needed the 2 12-ers, otherwise it would have been a wasted trip.
Considering they are no cheaper than my local grocery store and/or liquor store, Ill stick to buying at the local places.
Add NJ to that list for all. BJs Sams and Costco all allow you to buy alcohol here without a membership. They even say as such right on the door to the liquor store area.
Ever since our Sams Club was built I completely stopped going to the local liquor store in our area for anything but wines since Sams has some amazing selections of beers and liquors I have never seen before. The just have a crummy wine section.
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in delaware you can't buy alcohol anywhere except liquor stores. i think there is one costco that has a seperate liquor store partition.
![\"user-pic\"](\"http://consumerist.com/assets_c/userpics/userpic-358755-100x100.png\")
Worth mentioning......since alcohol is considered a drug to some.....
You can also use the pharmacy at BJ's, Sam's, and Costco without a membership....this is nationwide. You can save a good deal on most prescriptions....or at least used to be able to before everyone went to $4 meds.
Not sure about the other states, but in Michigan there is a MINIMUM charge on all alcohol purchases and there is ZERO volume discount. A 750 ml bottle of Absolut MUST sell for at least $21.97. Stores can actually go above that, but generally do not due to competition.
There are some ridiculous laws still around in some cities a restaurant can not serve liquor period (beer and wine is fine) and the dumbest is no alcoholic beverages served after 9pm Xmas eve. Xmas and XMas eve are when you NEED alcohol
![\"user-pic\"](\"http://consumerist.com/assets_c/userpics/userpic-107356-100x100.png\")
At my local Sam's Club they have a sign by the beer stating this as well.
I used to work at Costco and they told us that if you are just buying alcohol you don't need a membership.
This indeed works in California.
I would double check the California thing. I've been in multiple SoCal Costcos where the liquor is sold inside the Costco and not separate. In order to get into the Costco, you need a membership. So I assume you need a membership to get into a costco to buy anything other than hotdogs or pizza in California.
Boy, oh boy, you \"progressives\" sure have it good! If only I could buy beer at my local Costco! None of that here in good ol' Pennsylvania. No sirree! Tell me, can you buy it in quantities less than a case (24-pack) too?!
Same with loyalty card discounts at grocery stores in NY. If you see a deal for a discount on alcohol with a \"value card\" of some sort, chances are (in NY) that you don't actually need the card to get the discount.
![\"user-pic\"](\"/mt-static/support/assets_c/userpics/userpic-321187-100x100.png\")
I guess it would be too much to ask where SmartMoney actually got their information, since they are dead wrong on Vermont.
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Zowie! At last, I can go purchase that 55-gallon drum of red wine I've always wanted!
Here in Alberta, Canada, our less than a year old Costco features the first attached liquor store in all of Canada. Probably because they knew our city was just a bunch of drunks...
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I'm jealous; in Washington you can't sell liquor on Sundays OR Mondays! And you can ONLY buy it in State-run liquor stores!
@aaron8301: Not sure where you live, but you should check your facts. In fact, there are many state liquor stores open seven days a week.
![\"user-pic\"](\"http://consumerist.com/assets_c/userpics/userpic-307133-100x100.png\")
@aaron8301: I'm in Pullman - the liquor store here is Mon - Sat. And here is a list of WA liquor stores open on Sunday: [liq.wa.gov]
Not in Maryland, where liquor is licensed and sold only in liquor stores. Note to self: vote this Prohibition holdout down ASAP.. and drive to the VA Trader Joes for decent wine deals!
This is a great way of preventing the minors from getting their hands on alcohol. It also provides a way to avoid health problems caused by alcohol.
In NY, each Costco store has right next to it a \"totally separate\" liquor store, because state law doesn't allow grocery stores to sell anything more alcoholic than beer. You don't go through the Costco store entry card check. In fact, you go in a separate entrance entirely.
Well, it's true. Costco Wholesale and Sam's Club here in Michigan will allow me to purchase alcohol without a membership. Wow!! Just in time for the holiday....CHEERS!
P.S. Why has this been so hush-hush? Im telling everyone.
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Why does this law exist? Its kickass none the less, but I'm curious of why it's possible.
@Suttin: Probably because of prohibition I'm guessing. During prohibition there were lots of \"clubs\" that required membership to purchase alcohol. These laws were probably put in places as another way to prosecute them.
@Suttin: If there's a state more backwards than Pennsylvania when it comes to alcohol restrictions, someone lemme know. We just recently (a few years ago) were able to buy liquor on Sunday's, but only at a select few stores. We still:
- can't buy any alcohol of any kind in grocery stores
- must go to a State-run \"State Store\" to buy liquor or wine (which will never change because of the ridiculous amount of money the state gov't makes on those sales)
- must go to a beer \"distributor\" for 24 packs or higher (but nothing lower than a 24 pack is allowed)
- must go to a \"bottle shop\" or licensed bar or restaurant to purchase 192 oz. or less of beer (you can buy more, but you have to take it out to your car first and then come back in and put it on a separate transaction... no joke!)
- I'm sure I'm missing something else...
I'm not sure any more what the limits are on alcohol sales (beer, liquor, wine, etc.) and bar hours on Sundays, but they're likely just as backwards. \"Thanks a lot, Puritans!\"
@Hooray4Zoidberg: My favorite location for blue laws is Bergen County NJ. NOTHING is open on sundays and because of such the surrounding counties have a massive boost in sales revenue thanks to people leaving the county to shop elsewhere.
Its to the point that the surrounding counties go out of their way to prevent Bergen from repealing their blue laws because of the drop in revenue it would create!
Talk about idiots.
@Suttin: In Indiana, the law has something to do with offering sale price of liquor to everyone, regardless of a discount card. So, if you purchase alcohol at Kroger or CVS, they are required to give you the sale price, even without the store's \"club card\". They know this, and rarely argue. I'm assuming the same applies to big box membership stores.
@Suttin: Liquor sales are licensed separately than general sales. In states that were particularly restrictive about this, it's not unusual for the \"liquor\" part of the store to be physically separated from the rest of the store and have separate cashiers, or even to have a separate entrance.
Presumably in these states, the liquor license won't allow you to do \"membership only\" sales -- it's a general license or nothing. In states where alcohol has been at grocery stores for evers and evers, it seems to occur much less often.
@Suttin: Since most blue laws are about restricting alcohol sales I'm gonna guess it was originally meant to curb the sale of alcohol via clubs that could offer large discounts on booze and allow people to purchase large quantities.
Ironically it looks like it might actually do the opposite, but that's why most blue laws have been repealed, they're just dumb. My favorite repealed law here in MA was when liquor stores had to be closed on Sunday. This forced those who'd like to have a few drinks to drive to the bar and get drunk rather than doing so at home. Brilliant!