fyi, you can talk them down on the annual fee, I did. You can do the free membership, see if you find it useful, and if you do, tell them you are going to cancel because you can't see spending the money on the annual fee...they will drop the fee and perhaps to a level you will find makes it worth it for you. If the fee doesn't drop enough, then just don't sign up for membership. I started with them because they had a big discount on first order. I don't live near a Costco, so these kinds of online stores offer some products I like at a discount.