If you like to buy in bulk, Costco is basically heaven on Earth. But there's that one tiny caveat: It's a membership-only store that costs $55 annually to join. While you'll likely make your money back in all the savings you'll score, there's actually another way to get those deals. It turns out that some other stores are willing to match Costco's prices — meaning you can skip the membership fee altogether.

Here's how it works: Since you don't have a membership, and thus can't visit your local Costco to investigate their prices, costco.com is your best friend. Use it to research how much items cost at the wholesale retailer, and once you find the item you want, print off the product page with the price and bring it to the store that participates in price matching.

So who participates? Check out Best Buy for electronics, Home Depot and Lowe's for home improvement supplies, or hit up Office Depot and Staples for office essentials. Even the other major membership store, Sam's Club, will price match (meaning you don't have to belong to both to make sure you're getting the best deal available).

Kyle from Rather Be Shopping has compiled a full list of the stores that will price match Costco (check it out here) — and the stipulations that apply for each store. Yes, sometimes there are catches: For instance, for Best Buy to approve a price match, there must be a Costco within 25 miles of your local Best Buy store.

Of course, no shopping tricks will ever fully replace the Costco experience. For instance, bulk food and toiletries are much harder to find elsewhere than televisions or microwaves. (Not to mention free sample day — a Costco membership perk that's more fun than we'd like to admit). But price-matching is a helpful tip to have in your back-pocket when you have a specific purchase in mind.

[via Rather Be Shopping, h/t/ Lifehacker

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