4 Reasons to Shop at Costco on Black Friday

It pays to make your local warehouse club store your shopping destination on the biggest sale day of the year.

As we inch closer to the end of November, we start to count down to a very important event -- Black Friday. (And you thought I was talking about Thanksgiving, huh?) Like it or not, Black Friday is a prime opportunity to stock up on holiday gifts and items on your personal wish list at a lower price than usual. And if your goal is to close out the holiday season with as low a credit card balance as possible, then it could pay to take advantage of those Black Friday deals.

Now there are a number of different stores that tend to be popular shopping destinations on Black Friday, from Target to Walmart to Kohl's. But here's why you may want to do your Black Friday shopping at Costco instead.

1. You'll enjoy a variety of deals

The Black Friday deals you see at Costco might run the gamut from electronics to apparel to toys to higher-end food items. If you shop elsewhere, the available deals may be limited to a more narrow pool of categories. Plus, remember that Costco tends to offer low prices to begin with, so once those Black Friday discounts take effect, you might end up with a really low tab.

2. You'll have an easy time returning items you don't want

Costco tends to have a very flexible return policy across the board -- and that extends to Black Friday purchases. In fact, even if you buy electronics, you can generally take them out of the box, try them out, and bring them back if there's something you're not satisfied with.

3. You can stock up on food and essentials while shopping for gifts

If you're the type who goes all out for Thanksgiving, then you may not need to stock up on many food items the day after. But if you're simply an invited guest to someone else's gathering or you tend to keep your Thanksgiving meal small, then you may need to stock up on food for the week ahead once Thanksgiving is over. And if you do your Black Friday shopping at Costco, you'll have an opportunity to buy a tablet and some milk all under the same roof.

4. You can shop online if you don't want to leave the house

You won't just find great Black Friday deals at Costco's warehouse club stores. You can also find them online. And if the idea of having to leave the house the day after Thanksgiving sounds unappealing to you, you can go to Costco.com instead and load up a digital cart. In fact, some of Costco's most impressive Black Friday deals are actually online-only exclusives, so staying home and shopping on your phone might work to your benefit.

Costco is a terrific shopping destination at any time during the year. But it especially pays to shop there on Black Friday this year. Not only might you enjoy a host of deals, but you can sample some free food while you shop. And it's hard to beat that combination.