Did you know there is actually a way to decode the pricing at Costco?! I stumbled on to this little decoding gem on King5.com {a Seattle news station} a while back, and thought it was so cool I just had to share.
It all basically comes down to paying attention to the cents part of the pricing. The amount of pennies on the price tag will let you know exactly what kind of deal you are getting.
Prices ending in .99 are full price items. {That doesn’t necessarily mean they are a bad deal, it just means that it is the standard set price for Costco to sell the item.}
Prices ending in .97 indicates a deal decided by the manager. So, this price might vary from location to location.
Prices ending in .49 or .79 mean the item is a manufacturer’s special. The price is lower than Costco would typically sell it for, because the manufacturer has set the price so that they can test it out at Costco.
Prices ending in .00 means the item is about to go. These are probably the best deals you are going to find on that item, and once they are gone, they are gone. The manager wants those items out of the store.
A price card with an asterisk {*} means the item has been both discounted and discontinued. It’s an indication that this is your LAST chance at that deal.
This is totally going to change how I look at prices at Costco. Did you already know this? Has it changed the way you shop at Costco?
~Mavis
Butterflyweed says
Hey Mavis, Years ago my son worked for Costco before he went off to college, so I have been telling all of my friends for years about the asterisk. It doesn’t always mean it’s gone forever, it just means there is no plan to restock when the inventory is gone. Lots of times things come back in new packaging or because it is a seasonal product. The .49 and .00 are new to me and I’ll be looking for them! Love, love, love me some Costco!
Mrs. Mac says
So I went to Costco today (and for the past several weeks looking) for canned wild Alaskan pink salmon. After about the third visit with it no longer on the shelf .. visions of the nuclear disaster in Japan drifted through my mind .. could they be pulling this because of radiation? I don’t really know .. but today I saw that a BIG DISPLAY on the end isle with Atlantic FARMED (crap) canned salmon. I need to get to the bottom of this! Thanks for the heads up on the price codes 🙂
Mavis Butterfield says
Let us know what you find out Mrs. Mac.
Mrs. mac says
I can’t find out much on-line .. other than it could be considered unsustainable .. and that’s why they are switching to farmed. I wouldn’t eat farmed fish if you paid me to eat it.
ML says
I noticed the furniture price tag has an asterisk *. Does that mean it has been discounted and will be discontinued?
Amy says
Wow thanks for posting this! I shop at Costco all the time and I’m always wondering if I’m getting the best price there. I’m definitely looking at the price tags closer next time. My favorite tip as about the asterisk. I’ve always wondered what they meant.
Lea says
I wonder if the same rules apply at Sams? We don’t have a Costco.
Helen in Meridian says
I have been aware of this for about 5 years. We bought our leather power theater seats in late Jan or early Feb when they were clearing out the furniture they put out Dec 26 after the Christmas stuff is gone. Also I love their Raspberry Chipotle sauce which they hadn’t stocked for 2 years. They finally got it in last summer, then in Nov they clearanced it, making room for other sauces. I bought 5 bottles to keep my pork tenderloin I cook on the panini special. A couple weeks ago I got dh wool sweaters down to $12. Also the fall men’s jackets and winter men;s coat went on sale in store for a couple of weeks, then went back to full price. It is worth it to check weekly, while grazing, for their markdown items.
Heidi Hopkins says
So I would love to hear what are the real deals at Costco? I am always wondering if it really is a deal. The best one I have found there are tortilla chips ( 3 lbs for 3.79) compared to (1 lb for 3-4 at the regular grocery). But organic milk is cheaper at grocery than at Costco. What has everyone else found?
Susie says
I was going to say the asterick means they are not getting it again, but others beat me to it!