6 Costco Tech Items You Should Steer Clear Of (According To Reviews)

Without getting embroiled in the Gold Star vs. Executive member debate, one thing about Costco remains true: there's this assumption that if it graces the warehouse floor, Costco is vouching for that item's quality. From its generous return policy to its long-lasting product warranties, shopping at Costco just has a certain higher standard about it. And it seems that shoppers naturally trust the store's inventory to match that standard. That trust extends to electronics, as well.

Costco usually has some really attractive deals on top trending tech, but even at this warehouse giant, not every item lives up to the expectations. Once it's taken out of the store and brought into real people's homes, cars, or daily routines, there are some Costco tech items that flat-out disappoint. Based on customer reviews, common complaints, and even professional opinions, we found six tech products sold at Costco that you might not want to risk adding to cart. While none of these items are guaranteed failures for every buyer, there's a notable amount of negative feedback that you need to be aware of.

On paper, the ASUS Vivobook S16 looks like a good enough bargain: a large OLED display, a modern AMD Ryzen AI processor, generous storage, and a $1,200 price tag that undercuts other online sellers. But looking at Costco customer reviews, things start to look a little worse. With an average rating of 2.7 out of five, over half of which are one-star reviews, this is one laptop you may be better off avoiding. It's not just users, either: Even professional reviews from sites like Laptop Mag admit this thing only gives you decent performance, with a lackluster display and weird keyboard feel.

One of the most common Costco customer complaints is that the laptop fails during initial setup. People have reported numerous hard crashes, blue screens of death, and even bricked devices on arrival. One even said their laptop simply refused to power on, even when plugged into the charger. Of course, some of the criticisms are more about shipping and handling rather than the device itself. We can probably brush those off, but they still factor into the low rating.

Samsung's Frame TV gets marketed like a work of art. It's part television, part digital display, and the brand clearly wants you to use it as a centerpiece in your home. And when you buy through Costco, it even comes bundled with extended protection plans and special promotions for the TV's Art Store — the place you're supposed to buy the actual artwork displayed on the framed screen. But even with the extra add-ons, Costco reviewers still aren't happy with the TV. They have it at an average rating of 2.8 out of five, which echoes the middling reviews it gets from pros at places like RTings. (Who, for the record, also thinks this TV is mediocre and worth avoiding.)

A lot of the negativity on Costco's site revolves around the Art Store incentive. Multiple buyers say their promotional subscriptions don't activate properly, and that leaves them stuck in customer service limbo between Costco and Samsung. Others complain about the sheer amount of intrusive bloatware on the Samsung TV, including crowded menus and an ad-riddled interface that isn't easy to navigate. This is the same company that puts ads on its fridges, after all. 

The PetSafe Guardian GPS 2.0 Dog Fence + Tracking Collar says it'll give your dog all the backyard freedom with none of the backyard fences thanks to satellite tracking that keeps pets within virtual boundaries. However, Costco customer reviews seem to suggest it may be too good to be true. While some owners say the tracking map itself works reasonably well, the core safety features (like alerts and virtual boundary corrections) are very unreliable.

These aren't mere annoyances, either. Multiple users reported that the app outright delayed or forgot notifications when their dogs left designated areas. That undermines the whole purpose of buying the entire system in the first place. Costco reviewers also say that GPS performance drops off sharply in areas with trees or light forest cover, even when other GPS devices work fine. Confusion around Wi-Fi requirements is another common frustration, especially those who expected it to be a purely GPS-based solution. All in all, it's resting at only a 3.1 out of five on Costco's site — not that great, considering the sheer amount of near five-star items.

Did you know Costco sells dash cams? Who are we kidding: Of course, Costco sells dash cams. Sadly, they aren't all winners. The Type S Dual View 4K Dashcam is the most negatively reviewed of the bunch, currently sitting at a three out of five stars on Costco's site. Looking at the ratings snapshot, the one- and two-star reviews outweigh the four- and five-star ones.

Some of the most helpful critical reviews say the dash cam has an annoying amount of software problems, too many app connectivity failures, and confusing setup requirements to boot. Some users say the camera also fails to recognize SD cards, freezes up during regular operation, and even randomly stops recording altogether. Privacy concerns also come up, with at least one reviewer saying the companion app asks for way too much access than one would reasonably expect. Sounds like a real disappointment, unfortunately.

As if Costco user reviews for the Frame TV weren't enough to convince you not to buy a Samsung from the warehouse, just look at what customers have to say about Samsung's Crystal UHD TVs. Customers have brought up all sorts of things like display defects, burnt-in vertical lines, dead pixels, and cracked screens. Some of these problems came straight out of the box, too. Even if you chalk those up to the panel lottery, there's an even worse issue people brought up: overheating TVs and melted components. That's a serious safety concern.

Even when people are lucky enough to get an intact unit, some buyers feel like the TV has washed-out colors, low contrast, and a lackluster picture that doesn't match how it looked in the store. Professional reviews back these critiques up, with RTings taking serious issue with the TV's brightness, motion handling, and performance in both bright and dark rooms. With an average rating of 2.8 out of five stars, there are plenty of other better-rated TVs at Costco worth thinking about instead.

The Ultrahuman Smart Ring got a lot of attention for trying to beat Oura Ring at its own game. Now, you can get one at Costco. But just because you can, doesn't mean you should. Costco customers have found the Ultrahuman guilty of short battery life, weird connectivity issues, inconsistent data tracking, and an all-around unfriendly app experience. Many say the ring works well initially, but quickly nosedives over the weeks and months to come.

Bad customer service experiences also come up a lot. Costco reviews talk about how annoying it is that Ultrahuman seemingly relies on chatbots, not to mention slow response times and bad troubleshooting steps that don't even resolve the problems. Even professional reviewers at places like Runner's World question the ring's value compared to Oura, saying it overcomplicates basic health habits while falling short of more established competitors on the market in both accuracy and usability.

To determine which Costco tech items to include here, we looked at products carried a low average customer rating at or below three stars. Among those low-rated products, we focused specifically on ones with a high volume of negative reviews, with a wide variety of criticisms included. 

Professional reviews from sites like RTings, Laptop Mag, and Runner's World were also considered to provide some additional context and confirm whether Costco customer complaints were in line with broader industry opinions. The goal was not to single anybody out, but rather to highlight things that stood out as particularly unpopular compared to Costco's typically higher standards.