Hidden in plain sight, Costco Next is a Costco member perk that I think few members have ever tried. It's a discount shopping portal where members can find deals on hundreds of items from popular and niche brands.

Want to save 40% on a Viking cookware set? Costco Next can help you. Looking to get a Nomatic travel backpack for cheap? Check out Costco Next for a 25% discount.

Although I found tons of great deals in the portal, I've also run into some important drawbacks that everyone should know before they use the service. Here are some of the biggest.

1. Your order isn't handled by Costco

You need to sign into your Costco account to get to the special Costco Next pages at each retailer. Once you click the link to go to the retailer's site, though, Costco's proverbial hands are washed.

You'll make your purchase through the retailer. The retailer will fulfill your order. Any issues? Yep, talk to the retailer. Costco isn't responsible for handling any of the customer service related to your Costco Next purchases.

Since part of why people love Costco so much is the (generally) great customer service, this is a big bummer. Instead, your service experience will likely vary based on which retailer you shop. If you're particular about this sort of thing -- and/or spending a ton of money -- it could be worth it to do a bit of snooping into the specific retailer's customer service reputation.

2. Costco's return policy doesn't apply

Arguably the most important result of Costco not doing the customer service for these purchases is that it means Costco's return policy won't apply to them. Each retailer will have its own return policy that you'll need to follow instead.

Costco's return policy is one of the most generous I've seen. It's very unlikely you're going to get as great of a policy shopping the retailers in the portal.

In any case, make sure you read up on the retailer's individual return policy before you make your purchase, so you know what you're getting yourself into when you buy. (I'd also recommend choosing the right credit card. Something with a nice return protection policy and/or purchase protection would be handy, especially for large purchases.)

3. Prices don't include retailer sales

I'll admit that I was pleasantly surprised by how good the deals I found through Costco Next were as a whole. However, that doesn't mean every single discount was a good deal.

For example, I saw an Anker product listed for about $88 through Anker's link in the Costco Next portal. That same product was regularly around $110 through Anker's regular website. It just so happened, though, that Anker was holding a sale on that item on its own website. That sale price was lower than the Costco Next price.

Long story short, always comparison shop your purchases, even if you're shopping somewhere that normally has bargains. (This applies to the things you buy directly from Costco or costco.com, too, by the way. Never assume Costco has the best price on something!)

4. You can't earn Costco Executive rewards

Upgrading from a Costco Gold Star membership to an Executive membership costs an extra $60 a year (that's on top of the $60 a year you pay for the Gold Star membership). The big reason why folks pay this extra cost is because Executive members earn 2% back on Costco purchases.

Unfortunately, since Costco Next is just the portal, and Costco doesn't handle the actual purchases, you don't get any of your Executive benefits -- which means no 2% reward. Looking at the prices of some of the items in there, this could be a big loss.

On the bright side, Costco's credit card restrictions don't apply to Costco Next purchases, either. This means you can use any rewards card you want to maximize your return.

Costco Next is still worth checking out

Although I've spent a few hundred words talking about the downsides of Costco Next, I still think it's well worth checking out.

The majority of the deals are substantial -- I saw Viking cookware sets for 40% off! A lot of the featured brands are quite pricey normally, so these kinds of deals could easily be worth hundreds of dollars. Even if you're not already a Costco member, these discounts could make it worth the cost to join.

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We're firm believers in the Golden Rule, which is why editorial opinions are ours alone and have not been previously reviewed, approved, or endorsed by included advertisers. The Ascent does not cover all offers on the market. Editorial content from The Ascent is separate from The Motley Fool editorial content and is created by a different analyst team.Brittney Myers has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has positions in and recommends Costco Wholesale. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.

4 Big Drawbacks to Shopping Costco Next was originally published by The Motley Fool