Here's Why Costco Is In The Middle Of A Class Action Lawsuit

A frustrated Costco member has filed a lawsuit against Costco that is in the process of becoming a class action suit. The plaintiff, Annie Song, claimed that Costco was not forthcoming about certain price differences that may occur for products that are offered both online and in-store. While there are plenty of benefits to having a Costco membership, the lawsuit proclaims that doing your shopping from the retailer's website may not be one of them.

A disclaimer on the Costco website points out possible price discrepancies while shopping, citing that delivery fees and shipping costs may slightly raise the price of an item online. The company also claims that an item offered both in-store and online will have this statement accompanying the product description online: "Item may be available in your local warehouse for a lower, non-delivered price." However, according to the class action lawsuit, this message is allegedly not always displayed and misleads customers from double-checking their local Costco warehouse for cheaper pricing. In the lawsuit, Song claimed that when Costco allegedly withholds this information, it "deceives consumers and gains an unfair upper hand on competitors that fairly disclose [its] true pricing practices online." Some fans already hate using Costco's website, and this may make things even worse for the retailer's online presence.

Shopping from Costco's website has made it extremely convenient for shoppers who can't make it to the warehouse, but it comes at a slightly higher price. According to the plaintiff in the most recent class action lawsuit against Costco, the price they paid for toilet paper was too high. In the lawsuit filed in a U.S. District Court in Washington, Annie Song allegedly paid $33.49 for a 30-roll of Charmin toilet paper, never seeing the message from Costco that the item may be cheaper in the warehouse. At Song's local Costco, the same product was discovered to be priced at $29.99. Song filed the suit on the basis that it isn't fair for Costco to withhold the information that a product may be cheaper in-store before members make online purchases.

At this time, Costco has not made any comment regarding Song's accusations. However, other Costco members on Reddit had quite a bit to say about the impending lawsuit. One user wrote, "Weird allegation. I can't recall a time when I didn't see 'Item may be available in your local warehouse for a lower, non-delivered price' on every item I have bought online." Many other users agreed, claiming that they "didn't mind" a small price hike due to shipping costs and that paying for convenience is "not a big deal."