Kirkland Signature Items to Avoid at Costco

We love shopping for Costco bargains, but it turns out some of the warehouse store’s Kirkland Signature house brand offerings are not the sweet deals they seem to be.

Often it’s just too much of a good thing. You won’t use up the item before it goes bad. Or you might be able to eat nearly 4 pounds of peanut-butter-filled pretzel nuggets for under $10 before they go stale, but should you?

Costco says it launched Kirkland Signature products in 1995 to meet or beat national brands “by controlling every element of the item’s creation, including packaging and transportation.”

We scoured the shelves at a Costco warehouse, checked online offerings at Costco.com and pored over product reviews from The New York Times’ Wirecutter, Consumer Reports and others. We found plenty of great savings on quality Kirkland Signature items.

Here are some other Kirkland Signature items, however, that likely are not worth your dollars.

1. Coffee

That 3-pound can of Kirkland Signature 100% Colombian Coffee, recently selling for $19.99 online, might appear as a bargain until thoughts of freshness and per-unit pricing percolate through your mind.

Coffee connoisseurs might argue that ground coffee is already past its peak when you buy it, regardless of expiration dates. But think about how quickly you will use it up once it’s opened.

We found smaller containers of Folgers and supermarket house brands at the same price per ounce, especially when using coupons or cash rebates from apps like Ibotta.

2. Tequila

You may raise a glass of Kirkland Signature whisky, but experts advise that you pass on the Kirkland Signature tequila.

The tequila has “an unnatural sweetness like it does not come straight from an agave field or distillation,” one reviewer told The Seattle Times.

“It’s like wearing clown shoes or something. It’s out of place,” said another of the tequila’s taste.

One reviewer branded the anejo, a type of tequila that is aged in oak barrels for one to three years, as tasting like a cheap brandy.

The website Eater slammed the anejo as “essentially tequila-flavored vodka with a dose of artificial coloring to mimic the barrel-aged color.”

3. Milk

Finding room in your fridge for two awkwardly-shaped square gallon jugs of Kirkland Signature milk and pouring it without spilling may be enough to sour you on its bargain price.

But like other bulk items, will you really use up both jugs before the milk spoils? Many of us toss dairy products when the date on the label has passed even if it has a few more days of shelf life.

Depending on your family size and milk consumption rate, you might get more out of smaller containers at just a few pennies more per ounce.

4. Eggs

Like other fresh foods, buying eggs in bulk can be tricky. You might go through a five-dozen pack during their shelf life. But are Kirkland Signature eggs really cheaper by the dozen if you end up tossing some?