Does Costco Sell Dry Ice? Availability Explained

Here’s the Costco dry ice information. Costco does not have a companywide policy on selling dry ice; your local warehouse location may or may not carry it. None of the 21 stores we contacted sold dry ice, but some stores do. For more on dry ice and Costco’s store policy, see below.

Does Costco Sell Dry Ice?

Dry ice isn’t really ice at all. Dry ice is made up of frozen carbon dioxide. It stays super cold in solid form — around -109.3 degrees Fahrenheit, to be exact. When it “melts,” it simply evaporates, only leaving behind condensation. Dry ice can be used for transport or special effects — like at concerts and theater performance. So, does Costco sell dry ice?

Costco doesn’t have a companywide policy about selling dry ice. A search for “ice” on Costco’s website returns other products, but not dry ice. So, we reached out to customer service whether or not Costco sells dry ice. It turns out that some stores do and some don’t. “It would vary by warehouse, so you would want to call your closest (Costco),” customer service told us.

For a better idea of how many Costco stores may carry dry ice, we called nine locations in Florida, eight locations in Georgia, and four locations in the Carolinas. None of the stores we called had dry ice in stock. An associate in Matthews, S.C. noted that while some Costco stores do carry dry ice, this location has not stocked dry ice recently, confirming that the availability of dry ice can vary even at Costco stores that do sometimes stock it. We have an article you may want to look at: Where to Buy Dry Ice? 20+ Places That Sell Dry Ice

The Hazards of Dry Ice

Though dry ice sounds harmless enough, the U.S. Department of Transportation classifies it as a hazardous material. Here’s why:

While it’s often considered a plus that dry ice shifts straight from a solid to a gas, sublimation (the technical term that describes the process) can cause problems. The volume of carbon dioxide released can break containers and potentially cause injury. It can also displace oxygen and cause breathing problems.

Additionally, because dry ice is so cold, it can potentially harm skin. If your hands come in contact with dry ice for an extended period of time, you can suffer frostbite.

In Summary

Your local Costco may or may not carry dry ice. None of the Costco warehouses we contacted had dry ice in stock, but customer service representatives confirmed that some locations do sell it. Contact your local Costco for current stock information. For a list of other places that sell dry ice, see our comprehensive article on where to buy dry ice. Want to quickly find out if or Publix sells dry ice? See those article.