Visitors to Costco Next have been met with confusion and consternation over the past several days after the wholesale giant’s curated marketplace for select third-party goods appears to have abruptly shut down without notice. Here’s what you need to know.
What’s happened?
Earlier this week, visitors to CostcoNext.com noticed the website appeared to be offline. The website was the home of Costco Wholesale Corporation’s third-party marketplace, which has operated since 2017.
With no clear explanation for why the site was unavailable, customers turned to social media for answers. Multiple Reddit threads have reported that Costco Next ceased operations over the weekend.
Now, when visitors go to CostcoNext.com, they are redirected to a customer support page on Costco’s main website. That page states that “Access to Costco Next store fronts is no longer available.”
The page goes on to list Costco Next vendors with active return policies, and instructs customers to contact the vendors directly with inquiries about returns and warranties.
Vendors listed on the customer support page include Anker, By Sophie, Gorilla Shed, Priority Bicycles, and dozens more.
Fast Company has reached out to Costco for comment. We have also reached out to multiple brands that sold their wares via Costco Next, and will update this post when we hear back.
What was Costco Next?
Costco Next was Costco Wholesale’s curated third-party marketplace. Such marketplaces were popularized by Amazon and allowed virtually any brand to sell on the tech giant’s website.
But Costco Next was a more curated third-party marketplace than Amazon’s. A June 27 capture of the website on the Internet Archive shows Costco describing Costco Next as follows:
“Costco Next showcases a selection of limited products from some of Costco’s most trusted suppliers. Designed to complement both our inventory and quality standards, Costco Next features suppliers and products that have been hand-selected by our buyers for their quality of merchandise and exceptional customer service.”
Unlike Amazon, Costco itself did not fulfill the products sold by brands on Costco Next. The brands themselves fulfilled the products.
The advantage for customers buying products through Costco Next rather than the brands themselves was the discounts offered by the program.
And for the brands, the advantage was exposure to Costco’s legions of customers.
What has Costco said about the apparent closure?
Besides confirming in a customer support document that “Access to Costco Next store fronts is no longer available,” the company doesn’t seem to have addressed the issue publicly.
Costco Wholesale Corporation (Nasdaq: COST) last reported quarterly earnings in May. Shares are up roughly 10% year to date but down about 14% from their 2026 peak in May, when the stock topped $1,096 a share.
This story is developing…