Lots of Costco customers either assume they’re getting a good price just because of the store’s reputation or because they are overwhelmed by the vats of ketchup and the slabs of steak they can purchase. But there are ways to identify items that have been marked down even more than usual, or which might be closeout sales, if you just know where to look.
In an article overstuffed with helpful info about shopping at Costco, HubPages’ Len Rapoport breaks down what to look for when scoping out the price tags on your local Costco shelves.
Here are just some of those helpful hints:
This price tag has both the “.97” ending and the “*” in the upper-right corner, indicating it is discounted and won’t be reordered once it sells out. (HubPages.com)
While Costco doesn’t always end the price with “.99,” Rapoport claims that anything ending in 97 cents has been marked down.
2. Items with an “*” in the upper right-hand corner aren’t being reordered.
That asterisk in the upper right-hand of the price tag means you probably won’t be seeing that product again once the stock is sold out. That doesn’t necessarily mean it’s been discounted, but it likely means the price won’t get any lower.
3. Look for odd pricing.
The 97-cent thing is an indicator of a discount, but Rapoport says that other non-standard prices — like items ending in .49, .79, .89 — can be a sign that Costco got a special deal from the manufacturer, which might mean very low prices for you.
Over on Lifehacker’s coverage of this story, a commenter claims that BJ’s has its own codes to look out for and that prices ending in .90 or .00 are Manager discounts on discontinued items.
Editor's Note: This article originally appeared on Consumerist.