Costco has always been known for delivering an assortment of generously sized products at conveniently low costs. Whether you’re on the hunt for some outdoor furniture equipment or a family-sized package of bakery treats, Costco never fails to provide shoppers with quality products at a fraction of the price offered by most other retailers.
As budget friendly as most of Costco’s items already are, many eagle-eyed shoppers might notice some slight differences in certain products’ price tags at the popular warehouse chain. While most might overlook such minor pricing discrepancies, there is actually a very simple explanation behind the differences in Costco’s price tags—one that could end up saving you a decent amount of money the next time you head to the checkout lane.
Why Costco's price tags aren’t all the same
There are a few subtle distinctions that characterize every Costco price tag. Perhaps most famously, veteran shoppers might recognize the famous Costco “death star” asterisk that may signify an item will soon be out of stock. But there are also similarly minor details that might be found on certain Costco labels.
The biggest example of this can be most readily seen in Costco’s standard listing for most of its warehouse products. When navigating the store, you’ll notice that a majority of items feature a price ending with $.99. As Journalist Jeff Rossen pointed out, this price point is the standard, full-priced listing for most Costco items, meaning that there are no discounts or markdowns associated with that product.
Conversely, any item that doesn’t end with $.99 typically denotes some kind of sale, signifying potential deals and lucrative savings for shoppers in the know.
How to spot clearance and sale prices
There are three key ways to tell if a Costco item has seen some kind of discount. When looking at the product’s label, if the price ends with $.97, that means that item has seen a lowered price as part of a clearance sale. One Reddit user who claimed to be an employee of the warehouse explains, “If it ends in .97, that's not a ‘store manager special,’ that's clearance. Our warehouse doesn't decide what to mark down with a .97, corporate/buyers do.”
In contrast, any items that end with $.09—as in $.49, $.59, $.89 (except $.99)—have seen a temporary drop in price as determined by the manufacturer. In some cases, Costco bloggers have explained that brands might use these discounted price tags when introducing a new product to stores, gauging shoppers’ interest before setting its final cost.
Which Costco discounts are store-specific
Finally, there are labels with either $.88 or $.00, which typically indicates a manager’s special of some kind. More often than not, this pricing label means the item is a floor model, the last in Costco’s current inventory, or has been returned to stores from a prior purchase. With that in mind, you might want to carefully inspect the product for damage before adding it to your cart.
Critically, any items ending with $.00 are also unique to that warehouse, meaning that you’re unlikely to find the same product sold at that specific price at another Costco location.
“If it ends in .00, that is warehouse-specific; the store management has decided to get rid of it as quickly as possible,” the Costco employee on Reddit clarifies. “But that also means that just because you see something priced at .00 in one Costco doesn't mean you'll see that same price at another Costco.”
The takeaway for Costco members
As anyone who has had the pleasure of visiting Costco is sure to tell you, there’s nothing quite like happening across an unexpected item or finding a product that features a lower price tag than usual. In this sense, Costco’s expert handling of its cost labels are all part of the brand’s desire to cultivate a “treasure hunt” mentality for its frequent shoppers, encouraging members to look for deals, savings, and/or unusual items that might soon be going out of stock.
By doing so, Costco seamlessly delivers a unique shopping experience few retailers are able to offer, ensuring members have plenty of the things to keep on the lookout for whenever they turn down a new aisle.
Richard Chachowski is an entertainment, travel, and lifestyle writer who has written for such publications as Parade, Allrecipes, Complex, Fangoria, and Looper, among many other outlets. He received his BA from The College of New Jersey and has been a professional writer since 2020. When he's not busy lounging around in an airline seat, he's likely to be found at home engrossed in a book, all the while fending off his ornery Shih Tzu, Molly.
