Costco is a wholesale enterprise known for offering a wide range of goods and services. Costco was widely known back in 2021 for its in-store passport photo services. Sadly, it no longer offers passport photo services. Due to the ongoing online transition in photo services, Costco began experiencing a decline in profits. What use would a business be without profits? This forced the Costco passport photo center to close down permanently. Now the question is Can You Get Passports At Costco Anymore?
When did the Costco passport photo center close down?
Costco photo center closed down on February 14th of 2021. All its photo departments also closed down.
Why did the Costco passport photo center close down?
With digital technology taking over, and with more and more people acquiring smartphones, Costco no longer finds the importance of printing passports anymore. This is because people can now use their smartphones, mostly android or iPhones to do the same.
Accessibility to social media and camera phones has enabled people to do more than just take photos. People can now print their passports online, and create stationery, calendars, photobooks, and greeting card.
Can one still order photo products from Costco?
Of course. There are various products offered online. These may include;
- Prints
- Photobooks
- Calendars
- Photo blankets
- Greeting cards.
Are there other alternatives for obtaining passport photos?
Costco passport photo center is not the only passport photo retail service that prints passports. There are other means through which one can have passports taken and printed. They include the following retail stores;
- Staples
- Walgreens
- Walmart
In these retail stores, once you upload your own passport photo, they do the printing for you at relatively fair prices.
Are there online alternatives to having passports printed?
If you wish to have your passport printed in the comfort of your home, then you have no reason to worry. This is because there are some online servers to do that job for you. These may include;
Passport photo online, visa photo.com, iVisa.com, and photo aid.
One beauty of using online passports is that you control how you look by capturing the best photo. This is advantageous since some people find their passports embarrassing. Online passports take less than 5 minutes to acquire using online tools.
The best one as far is photo aid. This tool converts homemade photographs to perfect passports within minutes. Simply take photos using your android and upload them to photo aid. immediately, it sends you id photos that are perfectly formatted and have met US requirements.
Always keep in mind that whenever you use an online passport, it must meet the requirements of the US state department.
Can one take their own passport photos?
Yes. One can take their own passport photos from the convenience of their homes or workplaces. Imagine getting perfect passports without even stepping outside. Nothing could be more convenient! After taking the photos, upload them online to photo aid or any other photo printing service. This can be done as long as one adheres to all the requirements. However, selfies are not recommended.
Some of these requirements may include;
- white backgrounds
- good lighting
- high-resolution photo
- a slightly natural smile
- no make-up on the face
- no glasses
- Headscarfs are only allowed for religious reasons
If one possesses a printer at home, it’s much easier. You can take care of everything without leaving your house.
Conclusion
It is not a happy thing for Costco to decide to close down its passport photo service. Even with Costco’s photo service closed down, people can still find ways to have their passports taken and printed. Some of the ways discussed are through other offline outlets and online outlets. As discussed, you can also do it in the comfort of your home. Remember, once done online, it should meet the united states state requirements for a passport.
FAQS
- Does Costco offer passports for infants?
As of 2021, Costco no longer offers any passport for either infants or any other group of persons.
- Does Costco offer printing services for non-members?
Yes. Costco does not require membership in order to offer any services. Costco offers its online services to any customer it has.
- What are the cheapest ways of getting passport photos?
You can obtain very cheap ways of getting passport photos. One of the ways is through retail passport photo services. The following are outlined outlets with the amount of money they charge.
Staples charge $14.99, UPS $11.99, Walgreens $14.99, CVS $16.99, and Walmart $7.44.
Even if Costco’s offline outlet collapsed, they still keep the online outlet where once you have your photo online, they can do the printing for you. Costco’s best deal is the use of 4 times 6-inch template for only 17 cents. This means you will obtain 2 passports but they will come out as a single photograph.
