Does Costco Provide Reliable and Affordable Furniture Delivery?
As a seasoned retail professional, I‘ve helped hundreds of consumers get large furniture items purchased online delivered smoothly into their homes. My recent experience assisting a client with a Costco furniture order prompted deeper research into their delivery services. If you‘ve found that perfect coffee table or sofa on Costco.com, can you realistically get it delivered in a reasonable timeframe without headaches?
Costco offers home delivery on furniture through third parties like GoShare and Roadie. As an expert in retail last mile logistics, I took a closer look at Costco‘s delivery operations to provide insights for the savvy consumer.
Costco Leverages a Delivery Partner Network
Costco has partnered with various regional delivery firms to offer home furniture delivery instead of owning their own trucks and teams. This asset-light approach allows them to offer the service profitability, without infrastructure overhead. However, it does introduce some variability into the customer experience.
I recently helped a client whose couch delivery encountered delays due to brokerage issues between Costco and their Midwestern delivery partner. This highlights potential gaps with relying on a dispersed partner ecosystem, compared to vertically integrated models like Amazon.
That said, most Costco furniture deliveries go smoothly, with the national average delivery timeframe being 1-2 days. Regional availability and specific provider capacity can impact this.
Two Delivery Options With Varying Price Points
Costco offers two furniture delivery options once an order is placed on their website:
Threshold Delivery:
- Driver brings items packaged inside home/garage
- No assembly/setup
- Average cost range $75 – $125
White Glove Delivery:
- Driver brings items inside, unpackages, and assembles
- Removal of all packaging materials
- Average cost range $150 – $250
| Delivery Option | Starting Cost | Services Included |
|---|---|---|
| Threshold Delivery | $75 | Inside home dropoff only |
| White Glove | $150 | Assembly and setup |
As you can see, white glove service comes with a higher fee, but saves customers the work of assembling items themselves. Cost is also driven by mileage, weight/size of items, and order complexity. Those is rural areas can expect to pay towards the higher end of both spectrums.
Knowing these options and costs allow buyers to plan appropriately. The thing I remind all my clients – check that all doorways/hallways/elevators can fit your new furniture before finalizing an order!
Apartment Furniture Deliveries Require Extra Planning
Costco furniture can be delivered to apartments and condos. However, some additional coordination is needed relative to houses.
For threshold delivery with no setup, the driver will drop items in the building lobby if no elevator access is available. You‘ll be responsible for transporting everything upstairs yourself.
White glove service allows the delivery team to bring/assemble furniture directly into an apartment unit. Having helpers to assist and hold doors/elevators smoothes the process.
No matter what, always measure all entry points before a delivery to ensure your new furniture physically fits! Skipping this step risks needing to return large items that get stuck mid-route.
Setting Expectations Around Lead Times
Once a Costco furniture delivery is scheduled, orders are handed off to one of their regional delivery partners who assigns drivers and vehicles. Estimated timeframes provided range from 1-2 days typically. However, no guarantees are provided around precise delivery dates/windows from what I observed.
If receiving your items by a specific deadline is imperative (like for a pending move or event), build in buffer room when placing the order. Holidays and weekends also see more delivery volume which can delay routing.
I advise all furniture buyers to prepare their space in advance of delivery day – remove clutter blocking doorways, assemble help for moving items, and have tools ready for any assembly. This avoids sitting stressed in an empty house awaiting delayed drivers!
As someone who has researched and experienced Costco‘s offerings firsthand, their delivery partnerships enable reasonable pricing while still moving heavy furniture directly into homes with minimal drama or damage – an invaluable service proposition for today‘s consumer.
Let me know if you have any other questions!
Jeremy
Retail Logistics Advisor & Costco Member
