Do You Tip The Costco Furniture Delivery Guy? Full Guide

furniture delivery (3)

Costco now stocks a wide variety of furniture products including beds, cabinets, desks, sofas, and even fireplaces.

If you’ve ordered furniture from Costco and are wondering whether you need to budget for a tip when the delivery arrives, then this post has got you covered.

We’ve looked at what the custom practice is for tipping Costco delivery, how much you should tip them (if anything), how much delivery will cost at Costco, and how much Costco delivery drivers earn.

Keep reading to find out…

Do you Tip Costco Furniture Delivery? The Short Answer

Costco furniture delivery is usually done by FedEx, UPS, or USPS and there is no requirement to tip them, although tips are welcomed if offered. If you do wish to tip your Costco furniture delivery driver then we’d suggest $5 – $30 depending on the size of the delivery.

How Much Do Costco Furniture Delivery Drivers Earn?

If you’re considering tipping your Costco furniture delivery driver you may be wondering what they earn – this is usually an important factor when deciding when to tip.

Some delivery drivers, like grocery delivery drivers, expect tips as a matter of course as we found out when looking at the etiquette for tipping Kroger drivers.

Other drivers such as flower or fruit arrangement delivery don’t expect or generally receive tips.

As above, Costco usually ships furniture with FedEx, UPS, or USPS.

It is not common practice to tip drivers from these companies, albeit it’s not unheard of either.

Drivers at these companies generally earn reasonable salaries so there is normally no need to tip them to boost their income.

For example, according to Comparably, FedEx drivers earn $52,717 per year.

According to Comparably, UPS drivers earn even more at $67,369 per year.

On that basis, there isn’t really any need for the drivers of these companies to receive tips – they are adequately remunerated already.

According to PolicyAdvice, the average US salary is $51,916 per year so these drivers are earning close to that and more.

This is in contrast to drivers from Bob’s Furniture who earn less and probably do warrant a tip based on their earnings.

How Much Is Costco Furniture Delivery?

Delivery from Costco is usually free for the standard service according to our research:

However, if you select the express 2 – 3 business day delivery option then you are charged a fee but it’s fairly competitively priced in our view:

2-3 day delivery cost $16.50 for some patio furniture

Free standard delivery on furniture is fairly rare within the market, with many of Costco’s competitors charging anything from $50 – $250 depending on the size of the goods.

We found that delivery charges can be eyewatering when we looked at whether to tip Jordon’s, Crate and Barrel, and City – with delivery fees up to $500 at those stores.

Given how cheap Costco furniture delivery is, you may consider that you can stretch to offering a tip to the driver with the money you’ve saved.

Related article: Costco Bed Return Policy

How Much Should You Tip a Costco Furniture Delivery Guy?

Usually, it’s custom to tip 10 – 20% of the cost of the goods or services.

However, given that Costco delivery is free in most instances, you will obviously need to offer a fixed sum rather than a percentage if you are looking to tip.

If you do wish to tip then we’d suggest $5 – $30 is reasonable depending on the size of the delivery.

If it’s a huge chest of drawers that weighs a ton then we’d suggest tipping toward the top end of that bracket.

If it’s a bedside cabinet, then towards the lower end.

Alternatives to Tipping in Cash

Of course, you could also decide to tip with something other than cash.

Anything is likely to be well received as Costco delivery drivers won’t generally be expecting a tip.

You could offer:

  • Food or drink;
  • A thank you card;
  • A positive review on Google or to their employer;
  • Gift vouchers;
  • Verbal praise.

Should I Tip Costco Whiteglove Assembly?

If you’ve chosen the white-glove service then you should certainly consider tipping.

Assemblers usually earn a lower than average wage and are often outsourced by companies like Costco to gig economy companies such as TaskRabbit or Handy.

We’d recommend tipping $10 – $30 depending on the job at hand (the more complex the more you should pay).

Received furniture from Costco Want to Return?
Check out our guide to Costco’s furniture returns policy

When Should I Tip More or Withhold a Tip?

There will be some instances where you mind find that tipping is definitely required or that you should tip more than usual:

  • If the driver has come in bad weather such as heavy snow;
  • If the driver has taken the delivery to some remote location in your house (i.e. the back of the garage or up a few flights of stairs);
  • If the driver was polite and professional;
  • During Christmas time.

On the flip side, you might decide that a tip isn’t warranted if:

  • The delivery is damaged or mishandled;
  • The driver is discourteous, rude, or unprofessional;
  • The delivery is outside of the allocated time slot;
  • The delivery is made to the wrong house.

Final Thoughts

While it certainly isn’t customary to tip the Costco furniture delivery guys from FedEx, UPS, and USPS, you may consider it is in good conscience to do so if they’ve carried out the service well and have been polite and professional.

However, there isn’t really any need to tip these delivery drivers as they already earn around or even above the national average yearly salary.

If you do tip your Costco delivery driver then we’d suggest $5 – $30 is adequate depending on the size of the delivery.

Costco delivery is usually free unless you opt for the faster service and even that is fairly cheap.

You therefore may consider that a tip falls within your budget because you’ve saved on the delivery costs.

We would certainly recommend tipping at Christmas or Thanksgiving and also if you’ve chosen the white-glove service.

If you’d prefer to make a non-monetary tip then this is also likely to be well received.

About the author

Oliver graduated from law school in 2008 and has practiced exclusively in the field of civil litigation for the last 10 years. He has a wealth of experience and expertise in litigation involving large financial losses and a special interest in consumer law. He has achieved numerous 7 figure settlements and has been involved in multi-billion dollar class-action consumer lawsuits against companies such as the Volkswagen Group. Away from the law, he is a consumer information and personal finance writer, having been featured in key publications such as Yahoo Finance, GO Banking Rates, NewsBreak, MEL Magazine, and many more.



-Chief Editor and Founder

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