You Wish You Knew These Secrets About Costco's Free Samples
NEWS
BY KATIE MELYNN
Employees
The folks who hand out Costco's free samples aren't part of the direct Costco team, but are employed by Club Demonstration Services (CDS), a product marketing company.
CDS works directly with Costco, but its team is not employed by the warehouse store. The sample providers get different benefits, pay, and training than other Costco staff.
There aren't actual limits on the number of samples you can try at Costco. Sample providers are typically happy to let you try as many as you need to make a decision.
Costco times its offerings to coincide with higher traffic in the store, so the best time to snag samples is the weekend, particularly Saturday and Sunday.
The folks who hand out samples don't get a bonus if you buy the product. However, they are evaluated on sales techniques, so try to let them tell you about their item.
Boosting sales is the primary reason why certain products are chosen for samples, so some sample products are items that aren't selling as well in the store.
If you try a sample that you don't like, it's generally better to be upfront rather than taking a product and ditching it later. This only creates more work for the employees.