<body><div><figure><img src="https://img.particlenews.com/image.php?type=thumbnail_580x000&amp;url=2FS5Mi_0uver0Fm00" alt="https://img.particlenews.com/image.php?url=2FS5Mi_0uver0Fm00" width="840" height="630" ><figcaption>Justin Sullivan / Getty Images A customer loads a pickup truck after shopping at a Costco store on July 11 in Richmond, Calif.</figcaption></figure>Are you craving that <a href="https://www.npr.org/2024/06/03/nx-s1-4990206/costco-hot-dog-price">$1.50 hot-dog-and-soda combo</a> from Costco? Be sure to have your own membership card handy. Over the coming months, shoppers will have to start scanning their membership cards at the entrances to Costco warehouses rather than just presenting them to a store employee, the retail giant <a href="https://customerservice.costco.com/app/answers/answer_view/a_id/1013527/~/membership-scanners-at-warehouse-entrances">announced</a>. The Washington-based company is the latest to crack down on membership sharing, as businesses seek to prevent consumers from glomming onto their friends' and families' paid accounts without forking over membership fees themselves. Costco members with active memberships will have to scan their physical or digital cards at a machine at the store's entrance. Members who have cards without a photo will have to show a valid photo ID, and guests will only be able to enter a Costco store with an active member. "If you have any questions or concerns, there will always be an attendant at the door to assist you!" Costco said in a statement. Costco isn't the only company out to stop some consumers from getting a free ride. Disney recently <a href="https://www.theverge.com/2024/8/7/24215224/disney-password-sharing-crackdown-september">announced</a> that it would start blocking Disney+ account holders from sharing their passwords to the streaming service outside their households. A <a href="https://www.npr.org/2023/05/24/1177848004/netflix-password-sharing">similar move by Netflix</a> last year led to an uptick in subscribers but may also have damaged the company's reputation, Fast Company <a href="https://www.fastcompany.com/90967870/netflix-password-sharing-rules-crackdown-negative-brand-perception">reported</a>. Costco executive Richard Galanti <a href="https://www.marketwatch.com/story/costco-is-the-latest-company-to-crack-down-on-membership-sharing-is-the-freeloading-era-finally-coming-to-a-close-a5cc121b">told MarketWatch</a> in January that the company was aiming to prevent nonmembers from dodging fees by using a member's card to shop, an issue that emerged after the company introduced self-checkout lines. Costco relaxed the enforcement of its rules during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, Galanti said, when people asked others to shop for them to avoid going outside. In response to the problem, the company <a href="https://www.cnn.com/2023/06/28/business/costco-member-card-sharing/index.html">announced</a> that it would begin asking customers in self-checkout lines — in addition to regular checkout lines — to show their membership cards and a photo ID. Costco has 128 million members and <a href="https://s201.q4cdn.com/287523651/files/doc_financials/2023/ar/cost-annual-report-final-pdf-from-dfin.pdf">reported</a> that it earned $4.6 billion in revenue from membership fees last year. Costco’s annual membership fees are <a href="https://customerservice.costco.com/app/answers/answer_view/a_id/1013504/~/membership-fee-increase">set to increase</a> beginning in September, from $60 to $65 for Gold Star members and from $120 to $130 for Executive members. </div></body>

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Costco says it's going to start cracking down on membership sharing

Are you craving that $1.50 hot-dog-and-soda combo from Costco? Be sure to have your own membership card handy. Over the coming months, shoppers will have to start scanning their membership cards at the entrances to Costco warehouses rather than just presenting them to a store employee, the retail giant announced.