Michigan Costco Shoppers: Prepare For a Membership Crackdown

Corporations don't like it when you share the stuff you paid for guys. First Netflix cracked down on password sharing, now Costco is doing something similar when it comes to its memberships.

This stricter enforcement of rules from Costco doesn't impact just Michigan shoppers, but it could affect how you use your membership in the Mitten nonetheless.

Effectively, Costco wants members to be the ones paying the bill in the checkout lane, not your cousin Ed who borrowed your membership card.

Costco is aiming to enforce pre-existing rules surrounding its membership more closely to preserve the integrity of the membership experience. A quote from a statement released by the store points out that with self-checkout kiosks came the ability for non-members to use a membership card to make purchases while avoiding the photo ID step.

While the AI takeover climbs another hurdle in the self-checkout department, Costco is using this endeavor to point users back to "Household" memberships. With the household membership, the primary member can designate someone 16 years old or older who lives with the member, with proof of residence, to share in the membership for no extra cost. The household member also gets a membership card with a photo ID with

Think back on that Netflix account and why it has profiles, except instead of Bojack Horseman and Stranger Things profile pictures, you have your actual face with full verification steps before deciding on something to watch.

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Of course, non-members have ways to shop at Cosco, though the convenience of the experience can be called into question.

This enforcement will largely impact folks who don't live close to Costco but have friends or family who do, eliminating the justification to pay for a full membership. After all, there are just 16 Costco locations in Michigan. Not everyone is within a reasonable distance to the nearest store to justify a full membership. It's similar to Netflix users who may only watch one show on a friend's account who uses the service all the time and doesn't mind sharing.

But much like the decision to use self-checkout kiosks to save on paying cashiers, Costco is watching those profit margins on memberships. The circumstances of how paying customers come to use the products don't matter as much as the bottom line.

Make your adjustments Michiganders.