The Small Detail To Look For On Costco Price Tags For Smarter Shopping

Costco is a big retailer. As the third-largest retail chain in the world, its warehouse stores are located in more than a dozen countries. It's logical Costco has an organizing system for its price tags, and there's a lot you can learn from studying them closely. Smart members can use clues like specific symbols, numbers, or codes to save money. One aspect not to overlook: Take note of the date printed on the price tag (typically bottom right under the price) to plan for better savings.

The warehouse chain tends to label its price tags with the date they were printed. Generally, it can be a clue to the last time the price was changed. If the price has never changed, like on a newer product, it may simply indicate when the product hit store shelves. An unchanged price with a date several weeks old can indicate a product may be marked down soon, even if that price was already discounted. That's especially true if the inventory of that product remains plentiful. That's a particularly helpful strategy for shoppers who visit Costco regularly, because prices (and stock levels) can change in a matter of days.

A note of caution: Tags that contain the so-called "Costco death star," or an asterisk in the corner, indicate products have been discontinued and likely won't be coming back. In other words, it's probable that what you see on the shelves is all that's left. If it's a product of interest, it may not be worth waiting, as it will likely sell out before any type of markdown occurs. 

So if you notice a tag with a weeks-old date, plenty of inventory left on the shelves, and no asterisk, you may want to hold off on buying the product. That holds true even if the product's price ends in .97, which indicates it's already been discounted. And in some stores, final manager markdowns may show up with prices ending in .00 or .88, though these reductions vary by location. There's unlikely to be much downside to waiting in this case.

When it comes to saving extra money at Costco, patience is key even if it feels counterintuitive. The best approach might be understanding how the dates, pricing numbers, and symbols work together to signal when waiting could save you money.