Buy from Costco via API
Programmatically buy from Costco's online store. Access bulk products, electronics, and groceries through Zinc's API.
Install the universal-checkout skill (npx skills add zincio/skills --skill universal-checkout) to buy from Costco and 50+ retailers. Paste the prompt below into Cursor, Claude Code, or OpenClaw.
What is Costco?
Costco is America's largest membership warehouse club, known for bulk pricing on groceries, electronics, home goods, health products, and more. Zinc's Costco API integration enables automated purchasing from their online catalog at warehouse club prices.
Great for businesses looking to automate bulk procurement, rewards programs that want to offer premium products at competitive prices, and platforms that serve cost-conscious consumers via the API.
What you can build with the Costco API
Build with the Costco integration API for search, ordering, tracking, and returns.
Costco Order Placement API
Place orders with a product URL and shipping address. No checkout flows required — Zinc handles the retailer-side workflow and processes orders asynchronously.
{
"products": [
{
"url": "https://costco.com/...",
"quantity": 1
}
],
"shipping_address": {
"first_name": "Jane",
"last_name": "Doe",
"address_line1": "123 Main St",
"city": "San Francisco",
"state": "CA",
"postal_code": "94105",
"country": "US",
"phone_number": "5551234567"
},
"max_price": 39900
}Costco Order Status API
Retrieve order details including item statuses, shipping address, and processing results. Poll to track progress from pending through to delivery.
{
"id": "550e8400-e29b-41d4-a716-446655440000",
"status": "order_placed",
"max_price": 39900,
"items": [
{
"url": "https://costco.com/...",
"quantity": 1,
"status": "shipped"
}
],
"tracking_numbers": [
{
"carrier": "ups",
"tracking_number": "1Z999AA10123456784",
"created_at": "2026-01-15T14:30:00Z"
}
],
"created_at": "2026-01-15T10:00:00Z"
}Costco Shipment Tracking API
Tracking numbers are automatically extracted from retailer shipping notifications and returned in the order response. Supports UPS, FedEx, USPS, Amazon Logistics, and DHL.
{
"id": "550e8400-e29b-41d4-a716-446655440000",
"status": "order_placed",
"tracking_numbers": [
{
"carrier": "ups",
"tracking_number": "1Z999AA10123456784",
"created_at": "2026-01-15T14:30:00Z"
},
{
"carrier": "amazon",
"tracking_number": "TBA123456789000",
"created_at": "2026-01-16T09:15:00Z"
}
]
}Costco Managed Accounts
Use Zinc-managed checkout accounts or bring your own retailer credentials. Managed accounts handle login, 2FA, and payment automatically — no account setup required.
{
"credentials": [
{
"short_id": "zn_acct_a1b2c3d4",
"email": "orders@example.com",
"retailer": "costco",
"has_totp": true,
"has_forwarding": true
}
],
"total": 1
}Costco API Integration FAQ
What can I do with the Costco API integration?
You can search products, place orders, track shipments, and handle returns through a single Zinc API integration for Costco. Search by keyword or product URL to find items on costco.com, then place orders with a shipping address and max price — no checkout UI required on your side.
Use POST /orders to submit a purchase request, GET /orders/{order_id} to poll status, and webhook subscriptions for async shipping and delivery events. Returns are supported through the same API, so you can build search-to-return workflows without maintaining a separate Costco integration.
Do I need to build a checkout flow for Costco?
No. Zinc handles the retailer-side ordering workflow on costco.com, so your app can place orders directly via API calls. Send a POST /orders request with the product URL, quantity, shipping address, and max_price in cents — Zinc manages login, payment, and fulfillment on Costco's site.
Your application never needs to embed Costco's checkout or store retailer credentials unless you choose to bring your own account via managed accounts. This is especially useful for rewards platforms, gifting apps, and AI agents that need to buy from Costco programmatically.
What is the free shipping minimum for Costco?
Costco offers free standard shipping on orders of $75 or more before tax. $99 minimum for grocery items. Orders below the minimum will incur a shipping fee. Note that shipping policies can change, so check Costco's website for the most current thresholds.
When placing orders through the Zinc API, set an appropriate max_price to cover the product cost plus estimated shipping if the order total is below Costco's free shipping threshold. Zinc processes the order at costco.com and refunds any unused amount after fulfillment completes.
Can I get shipment tracking updates for Costco orders?
Yes. When Costco ships your order, Zinc extracts tracking numbers from retailer shipping notifications and returns them in the order response. Each entry includes the carrier, tracking number, and timestamp.
Poll GET /orders/{order_id} for the latest status, or subscribe to webhook events for shipping and delivery updates without polling. Supported carriers include UPS, FedEx, USPS, Amazon Logistics, and DHL — so you can surface tracking in your app or pass it through to end customers automatically.
How do I start using the Costco integration API?
Create an account, get your API key, and follow the Zinc API docs to send your first search or order request. You'll need a Zinc API key (prefixed zn_) for authenticated endpoints like orders and product search.
Start with GET /retailers to confirm Costco is supported, then try a product search or place an order with a costco.com product URL. For AI agent workflows, the /agent/orders endpoint supports MPP payment — no Zinc account required for the buyer.