Costco shoppers have been left reeling after the retailer abruptly shut down part of their online marketplace with no notice or explanation.
The warehouse chain appears to have quietly axed its Costco Next program — the curated third-party platform that offered exclusively discounted products to Costco members, according to a message on the marketplace’s website.
“Access to Costco Next store fronts is no longer available,” the site read as of Thursday. The message then directed members to a list of vendor contact information regarding return policies for information about their warranties.
First launched in 2017, Costco Next allowed third parties to sell their products at discounted prices to Costco’s large customer base. It is unclear why the platform was taken down. The Independent has contacted Costco for comment.
Shoppers were not happy with the news that they would be missing out on the exclusive deals, with many complaining on a Reddit discussion thread dedicated to the store that there was no warning that the platform would shut down.
“This is super disappointing,” one Reddit user wrote. “The prices from many of these brands were really good. I outfitted my entire landscape with Volt lights and saved many hundreds vs buying direct from Volt without Costco in the middle.”
Another shopper added: “Man, I loved seeing what new items would pop up there.. bummer.”
“Oh no! I bought quite a few Briggs & Riley pieces and all my Anker/Soundcore stuff through Costco Next. What a bummer!” another complained.
Some trusted brands that were sold on Costco Next included Anker, Barco, Briggs and Riley, Caraway, Cuckoo, Jupiter Bike, Kettler, Mixt Pantry, Nomatic, Paragon Outdoor, Tailor Vintage, Thomas Kinkade Studios, Travelpro and Pure Love Pet Co.
After expanding in 2021 with heavy promotional deals, the online hub had around 100 third-party sellers at the time of its shut down, which appeared to happen in late August.
Costco — which has 626 locations across the U.S. — has made several big changes in recent months. Just last month, the wholesale retailer announced that it would start to sell Medicare plans in stores, partnering with nonprofit Medicare plan provider SCAN Group to offer the coverage.
Several new stores also opened in August as part of Costco’s push to open 26 new locations in 2026. Cities with new Costco warehouses included: Lee's Summit, Missouri; Albany, New York; Oconomowoc, Wisconsin; Otsego, Minnesota; Mansfield, Texas; Celina, Texas, and Stone Mountain, Georgia, according to the company.
