12 things you probably didn't know about Costco

Both alcohol and pharmacy accessibility to non-members is determined by state laws — so depending on where you live, you might be able to shop for just those items at Costco without first becoming a member.

Culver City, California, Costco general manager Thad Kleszcz spoke to Inside Edition about the store layout strategy in 2018 — which he described as being like both a horseshoe and a maze.

This also partially explains why Costco doesn't have the aisle signs that most grocery stores have. There's nothing overhead telling you that cereal is in this aisle and laundry soap is in that one.

Costco subcontracts its product sampling to different companies around the world — for example, in the US, sample workers are provided by a company called Club Demonstration Services.

So if you want to ask where you can find the giant bags of chocolate chips, keep in mind that you're probably better off asking a Costco employee instead of a person giving out samples.

If you're an active Costco memberand you decide at any time that you want to cancel, Costco's official policy is to refund your membership fee in full.

Actual merchandise returns are simple and easy, even on perishable items like produce.

Even more remarkable is Costco's electronics return policy — officially set at 90 days from the date any member received the item, and not including small countertop kitchen appliances. See the full policy for specific details.

As long as you know a current Costco member, you have a couple of options to see if Costco is a place you want to shop on a regular basis.

Costco members can bring up to two guests who are non-members into the store with them at any given time — so it's easy to plan a shopping trip with a friend or family member and check things out.

If you prefer to shop solo, get your Costco member friend to buy a Costco cash card and load some money onto it for you. You can present the Costco cash card at the entrance to the warehouse and shop with it like any member — but with no membership required. Be aware that you can't add money to a Costco cash card unless you're an active member, though.

Most regular Costco prices end in a nine — but as Business Insider learned from several Costco employees in 2018, prices that end in a .97, .88, .00, and/or have an asterisk all require your special attention when deal hunting.

An asterisk — with or without one of the price endings indicated above — means that Costco won't be restocking that item, so you'd better stock up if it's something you like.

Prices ending in .97 are clearance items — the code is so popular that there's even a Costco fan community dedicated to posting new clearance deals regularly at Costco97.

Prices ending in .88 or .00 are local store specials that were marked down by a manager — and are usually the last units of something else that location will no longer be carrying.

Sorry, vodka fans — although Kirkland Signature vodka offers great quality for the money, San Francisco CBS affiliate KPIX found out that it's not Grey Goose after all.

However, KPIX also learned directly from a Costco rep that Kirkland Signature branded beer in the Bay area is made by Gordon Biersch. Since the brand prides itself on being as good or better than national brands, you can probably take this to indicate a relatively high level of quality at your local Costco no matter where you live.

According to the shopping enthusiasts at the Krazy Koupon Lady, it's very possible to use rebate apps like Ibotta and Checkout51 for items you purchase at Costco. This applies whether or not those items are also featured as instant rebate items in the current month's Member-Only Savings guide.

Canadian publication Today's Parent also confirmed that Costco locations in Canada charge the same $1.50 for a hot dog and soda — pop, excuse me — that is charged at their food courts in the US. That price has been in effect since 1985.

Since Canadian prices are usually slightly higher than US ones, that's a nice bonus for Canadian Costco food court enthusiasts.

Check out numerous Reddit AMAs with confirmed current and former Costco employees and you'll see stories like this one from Reddit user jes3se talking about good pay, benefits, working environment, and coworkers at their location who have been there for 15 to 25 years.

Although Insider can't verify these stories, employees saying that they plan to work at Costco as a career is not uncommon on Reddit.

In the past few years, Costco's also regularly made it onto Glassdoor's list of best places to work.

When you stop in for a $4.99 rotisserie chicken at your local Costco, you have to go to the back of the store to pick it up. That means you pass all sorts of other merchandise on your way to the chicken and then up to the checkout — Costco counts on this because the chickens are sold at a loss.

Costco sells millions of these chickens a year — and if most of those buyers also pick up one or two other things on their way to the checkout, those inexpensive chickens have done their job.

If an item you purchased goes on sale at Costco within 30 days of when you bought it, you can request a refund for the price difference.

This can be especially helpful for high-cost items, but keep in mind you can't use the policy to compare online buys to in-store offers.