New Costco Rules Take Effect, Only These People Can Enter the Stores

In the increasingly competitive Australian retail market, Costco has rolled out a major new rule that has become a hot topic in the public sphere! The global warehouse retail giant, which operates on a membership model, has officially implemented its controversial "exclusive morning shopping" policy, which only allows higher-paying premium members to enter stores during specific hours. This move has not only disrupted the shopping habits of thousands of consumers but also triggered a chain reaction within Costco's employee ranks.

According to the new policy, as of September 1, customers with a premium membership (AU$130 annual fee) will be allowed entry during the weekday morning hours of 9 am to 10 am and on Saturdays from 9 am to 9:30 am (with the latter period being shortened to 30 minutes). Customers holding a standard AU$65 Gold Star membership or a business membership will be denied entry during these restricted times, with no exceptions.

Costco has defended this controversial move, stating:
"Our premium members are the most loyal, and we want to reward their commitment to Costco."

However, this "reward" comes at a significant cost, as the premium membership fee is twice that of the basic membership. In addition to the exclusive morning shopping perk, premium members were also given a AU$10 monthly discount voucher earlier this year, further enhancing the benefits for top-tier members.

It’s worth noting that this is not Costco’s only major change recently. This policy follows another widely discussed change: the replacement of PepsiCo beverages with Coca-Cola products across all stores. As consumers adjust to these changes, the U.S. experience has also served as a warning to Australia.

Starting June 30, Costco in the U.S. began offering early access at 9 am to premium members at core warehouse locations and extended the Saturday shopping hours until 7 pm. Although these changes were publicly framed as a way to "ease store crowding and improve shopping experience," they have actually sparked concerns among employees about work hours and workload.

A Reddit thread revealed a key concern:
"Are you ready for the 9 am opening? Mainly for the staff. How are your warehouses going to manage opening at 9 am every day? I’ve heard the 9:30 am opening is already hard enough, imagine how busy the sales floor will be at 9 am with little time to adjust the schedule."

This comment was met with nearly 400 responses from employees, with some workers from the meat department describing the issue in detail:
"As a meat department worker at Costco, things are already tough. We used to start at 5 am, but now we have to come in at 4 am… and the store opening time has been pushed back an hour. These changes may seem small, but it makes it even harder to balance day and night shifts."

Other departments shared similar concerns. One worker, who juggles two jobs, said:
"As someone who works from 4 am to 10 am handling refrigerated goods, then goes to the front line, I only get 4-5 hours of sleep. No, I’m definitely not ready for this!"

A worker in the optical department questioned the necessity of the early opening, stating:
"I hate this policy. The optical department doesn’t even need to open early as there’s hardly any business. Now we have to face the angry non-premium members who are denied entry."

New Scanning Machines at Costco: Targeting These People

Recently, some loyal Costco customers noticed that Costco Australia has installed new scanning machines at store entrances. These devices require customers to scan either the physical member card or a digital member QR code from the Costco app, which will display the registered member’s information and photo in real-time.

In the past, customers only had to show their membership card at the entrance, but now, with the new equipment, "card sharing" no longer works. Whether it’s couples or friends, anyone not the registered cardholder will be denied entry if the cardholder is absent. Additionally, when paying, the staff will cross-check the member’s details, and if discrepancies are found, the membership will be blacklisted, and access will be banned.

This new behavior has angered many Australian netizens who are displeased with Costco’s approach. But why has Costco suddenly started cracking down on membership cards?

The answer is not entirely about targeting Australia. Back in August last year, Costco issued a statement saying it would strictly limit entry conditions globally to prevent non-members from entering with false pretenses.

Over the next few months, these membership scanning devices will be rolled out to Costco locations worldwide. Once deployed, all members will need to scan the barcode or QR code on their membership card before entering. Guests must also be accompanied by a valid member to gain entry.

In addition, Costco has ramped up monitoring of expired memberships. If your membership is invalid or expired, staff will ask you to visit the membership counter for renewal before entering the warehouse. If your card doesn’t have a photo, you’ll need to show valid photo ID, and Costco encourages members to take a photo at the membership counter and add it to the card.

Besides the "no card sharing" rule, there’s another point that members should pay attention to: Do not lend your Costco membership card to others!

Chinese Member Lends Card, Police Raid His Home

Many people might think that lending their Costco membership card to a friend isn’t a big deal. After all, it’s just helping someone out without any direct personal loss. But one Chinese man, Mr. Yang, learned the hard way that this seemingly harmless act could lead to serious consequences.

One day, a large number of police officers arrived at his house, showed their credentials, and demanded entry for a search. Mr. Yang was shocked and confused when he learned that he was now a suspect. The reason? He had lent his membership card to another Chinese person at Costco.

Mr. Yang explained that while he was in line to check out at Costco, a fellow Chinese customer asked to borrow his membership card to pay for their items, showing an Apple Watch as a reference. Although Mr. Yang wasn’t sure how the person had entered without a membership card, he agreed to help out, thinking it was a small act of kindness. To avoid trouble, he even asked for separate receipts when paying.

However, this seemingly innocent act led to disaster. After the transaction, Costco discovered that the iWatch was counterfeit. Since Mr. Yang’s membership card was used for the transaction, Costco flagged him as a suspect, and the police arrived at his home for a search.

Even more frustrating, Mr. Yang couldn’t prove that he had no connection with the fraudster. He ended up having to pay compensation and bail, facing three charges including fraud.

This isn’t an isolated incident. Costco has faced multiple similar cases, with customers purchasing expensive electronics only to return counterfeit products. One case involved Chinese nationals Zhimin Liao and Zhiting Liao, who bought over 10,000 iPhones and iPads from multiple Apple stores, returned them after a short period, and managed to deceive Costco staff into accepting fake products as genuine.

The fraud resulted in a loss of over AU$6.1 million for Apple. The Liao brothers were eventually arrested and sentenced to 41 months in prison.

Now, the same fraudulent tactics are being applied at Costco. Mr. Yang, simply trying to help a fellow countryman, became an innocent victim of this scheme, facing legal consequences for something he thought was harmless.

Conclusion

Costco’s new membership tier strategy reshapes the consumer experience, but it also raises concerns about employee rights and fairness.
However, Costco’s stricter policies are not only in place to protect their own interests but also to safeguard their members from being exploited by fraudulent activities.