California startup No Tip delivers Costco’s $1.50 hot dog combo for $18
Southern California startup No Tip offers delivery service for Costco food courts, pricing the store’s $1.50 hot dog and drink combo at $18, an increase of about 1,100%. The company was founded by Jack Chen and has no affiliation with Costco. Users do not need a membership to place an order, and delivery workers line up in the store to buy the items before delivering them.
Other items are also marked up sharply: a whole pizza goes from $9.95 to $30, and a rotisserie chicken salad from $7.99 to $28. The prices are all-in, with no tip or other fees, and the company promises refunds for late deliveries. The service mainly targets large orders such as corporate lunches and parties, up to about 200 people, and currently covers most of Southern California through 66 fulfillment points.
Original source:
Title: Calif. startup promises Costco food court delivery — for 1,100% markup Publisher: SFGate (Farley Elliott) Publication date: 2026-11-09 URL: https://www.sfgate.com/food/article/costco-food-delivery-22517137.php Source nature: English local media report Verification status: This article was read in full for this translation, confirming details such as pricing, founder, service model and coverage area; verification date 2026-11-10 Supporting content: Supports the facts that No Tip prices Costco’s $1.50 hot dog combo delivery at $18, marks up other items, offers all-in pricing with no tip, and mainly serves corporate orders
ABAB AI Insight
Jack Chen is a software engineer who founded No Tip near Venice Beach after a trip where he wanted Costco pizza but found the hassle too much. The service model sends people to line up at the Costco food court and buy the items before delivering them, filling a gap because platforms such as Uber Eats and DoorDash do not currently support delivery of Costco hot food. Chen said many orders come from offices using company funds, and customers care more about convenience than absolute low prices.
Costco has long used the $1.50 hot dog combo as a traffic-driving item to attract members into the store. No Tip’s high markup reflects the market pricing of time costs and waiting: for users who cannot or do not want to go in person, especially corporate group meals, $18 may still be lower than the combined cost of other delivery or going out to eat. Chen said early orders were used to test price tolerance, and the price was gradually adjusted to its current level.
Compared with informal purchasing services on task platforms such as TaskRabbit, No Tip is trying to establish a more standardized service with a fixed website, all-in pricing, and refunds for late deliveries. However, Costco’s terms require the purchaser to be a member, and Chen said the delivery workers themselves hold memberships. The company currently uses the founder, friends, and temporary workers for deliveries, and if demand continues it may consider expanding to full-time drivers.
Whether this model is sustainable depends on customers’ willingness to pay for convenience, Costco’s attitude toward resale, and competition from official delivery platforms. Points to watch include whether orders expand from corporate group meals to individual users, and whether similar high-markup purchasing services appear in other regions.
ABAB News · Cognitive Law
No Tip prices Costco’s $1.50 hot dog combo delivery at $18, an increase of about 1,100%.
The service was founded by Jack Chen, mainly targets Southern California businesses and large orders, and uses all-in pricing with no tip.
Users do not need a Costco membership to place an order, and delivery workers are responsible for lining up in the store to buy the items.