BOTTOM LINE FROM GRANDPA:
\nBEST BUYS: 0.x7 :: 0.00
\nGOOD BUYS: 0.88 :: Upper Right *
\nUNKNOWN STATUS:\u00a0 0.49-0.89 :: Date Bottom Right
\nFULL PRICE: 0.99<\/p>\n
People love Costco because they can find amazing deals on thousands of items for everyday needs, the prices stay relatively stable, and the return policies are fair, if not generous. What most shoppers don\u2019t realize is that the retailer\u2019s price tags contain hidden information beyond an item\u2019s cost. The secret? It\u2019s in the numbers.<\/p>\n
We scoured Reddit posts authored by current and former Costco employees, in addition to content from personal finance creators such as @ecommjess and @financeunfolded, to crack the retailer\u2019s price tag code. Keeping just a few of these tips in mind can help you understand when to jump on a deal, when to wait, and when an item is saying \u201cfarewell\u201d forever.
\n–<\/p>\n
If a price tag ends in .99, you\u2019re looking at a full-priced item. The price tag means that this is the best deal Costco was able to get from the supplier, and there haven\u2019t been any further markdowns. You\u2019re still getting a great deal compared to other supermarkets with less leveraging power, but as far as Costco goes, you aren\u2019t seeing added savings on top of the already-low price.<\/p>\n
–<\/p>\n
Products ending in .49, .59, .69, and so on (up to .89) represent special offers from manufacturers. This is done for a variety of reasons, from trial runs on new items to attempts to boost low sales. It\u2019s not guaranteed that these products will stay at that price \u2014 they could go up
if sales do well and the manufacturer sees a need for more, or they could drop even lower if they don\u2019t fly off the shelves. If it\u2019s a product you\u2019re interested in, it\u2019s a good idea to grab it now, in case the price goes up later.
\n–<\/p>\n
You\u2019re likely to see full-priced items sold at a discount if you can wait to make your purchase. Costco managers will mark certain products down for faster sales before they replenish their inventory, and these decisions are reflected right on the price tag. You\u2019ll sometimes see price tags ending in an 8, which means an item has been reduced for quick sale.
\n–<\/p>\n
![](\"https:\/\/assets.content.technologyadvice.com\/635254875264895329_688166b734.webp\")
You\u2019ll also notice price tags ending in .00, which signals that a product has been marked down to get it off the shelves fast. Tags that end in an 8 or .00 generally represent discounts on a local level, which are, again, determined by management to get products out of the store as quickly as possible. If you spot tags ending in these numbers, those items are nearly out of stock and probably won\u2019t be there if you come back for them later.
\n–<\/p>\n
If you see a tag ending in the number 7, such as .97, you\u2019re looking at a fantastic offer that won\u2019t last long. These tags represent clearance or markdown items that didn\u2019t sell well, and management wants them off the shelves to make space for something fresh. These discounts may include perishable goods that are about to expire or overstocked items.
\n–<\/p>\n
–<\/p>\n <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" The Secret Code To Understanding Costco Price Tags BOTTOM LINE FROM GRANDPA: BEST BUYS: 0.x7 :: 0.00 GOOD BUYS: 0.88 :: Upper Right * UNKNOWN STATUS:\u00a0 0.49-0.89 :: Date Bottom Right FULL PRICE: 0.99 People love Costco because they can find amazing deals on thousands of items for everyday needs, the prices stay relatively stable, … Continue reading “Costco Price Tags”<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-23646","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-grandpas-private-collection"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.grandpacooks.com\/recipes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/23646","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.grandpacooks.com\/recipes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.grandpacooks.com\/recipes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.grandpacooks.com\/recipes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/4"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.grandpacooks.com\/recipes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=23646"}],"version-history":[{"count":8,"href":"https:\/\/www.grandpacooks.com\/recipes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/23646\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":23654,"href":"https:\/\/www.grandpacooks.com\/recipes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/23646\/revisions\/23654"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.grandpacooks.com\/recipes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=23646"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.grandpacooks.com\/recipes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=23646"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.grandpacooks.com\/recipes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=23646"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}An asterisk on a price tag, regardless of the number, means the item number is pending delete in the system, according to a Costco employee\u2019s Reddit post<\/a>. This happens for a few reasons \u2014 either an item is being discontinued, they\u2019re changing the packaging (the most common cause), or it\u2019s only available seasonally. The item won\u2019t be restocked in its current form, however, so if it\u2019s something you really love, you may want to ask a manager for clarification.
\n–<\/p>\nRelated: Who Actually Makes Your Favorite Kirkland Products? <\/a><\/div>\n7. Don\u2019t Overlook the Bottom Corner<\/h2>\n
![](\"https:\/\/www.mashed.com\/img\/gallery\/costco-price-tag-secrets-explained\/the-little-date-on-the-bottom-right-of-the-price-card-tells-you-when-the-price-was-last-updated-1697040470.jpg\")
Already-fluent Costco tag readers will want to keep this tip in mind \u2014 look for the date listed on the tag. You\u2019ll see it in the bottom right corner, and it will tell you in an instant when the price was last changed. If it\u2019s been weeks without any movement, the item may be set for a price drop soon.<\/p>\n