It’s worth noting that, even if you’re not a Costco member, you can still purchase items from Costco by shopping on its online storefront. However, all purchases made by non-members on Costco’s online storefront come with a 5% surcharge. Therein lies the game: the more you’re potentially spending on a TV at Costco, the more worthwhile a membership becomes over buying without one.
As a reminder, Costco offers two individual membership tiers, one for $60 a year and one for $120. The basic membership eliminates the surcharge and gets you into the physical storefront, while the higher tier may net you some additional discounts.
If the particular TV you want has some kind of promotion running, that definitely makes the higher tier more attractive, but for the sake of simplicity, let’s assume there aren’t any additional promos running. In this case, a Costco membership for a TV purchase only really becomes worthwhile if the TV you’re buying costs at least $1,200. 5% of 1,200 is 60, after all, so at that point, you might as well just pay the $60 and get the membership rather than pay the surcharge and get nothing.
If you’ve got your eyes on a cheaper set, you might want to shop around a bit first before paying the surcharge or getting a membership. Just remember that Costco has some products that aren’t available at other retailers, so you might not have a choice.