Lifestyle
A Costco shopper took to TikTok to reveal the meanings behind the prices of Costco items.
In a video with 1.3 million views and counting, Ryan Quinlan, @butthatsmyopinion, translates for wholesaler customers what each price quoted based on cents means.
“Never miss anything great again,” Quinlan captioned the video.
The secret behind prices lies behind the period – which acts as an identifier for potential discounts.
“I first became aware of the rule after noticing patterns in Costco’s pricing,” Quinlan told FOX Business.
“My wife and I enjoy going to Costco frequently, and eventually when we noticed the little star sign I wanted to know what it meant.”
This interest led him to an online forum where users explained prices.
“If you’re at Costco and you see the star or the prices don’t end at 99 cents, it could be a crazy deal,” Quinlan said.
Prices ending in “.99” are considered a full price or a regularly priced item.
Anything ending in “.97” is counted as a “Store Manager Transaction.”
“It’s exclusive to this store and probably won’t last long,” the TikToker continued.
Prices ending in “.49” and “.79” have the same meaning – a special offer from the manufacturer.
These prices indicate products that are going through a trial run to see how they sell — and are “usually cheaper than the retail price,” Quinlan noted.
Items ending in “.00” are believed to be low in stock; The management team is trying to get these items off the shelf.
The mystery behind the asterisk appearing on Costco price tags has also been addressed.
Price tags marked with an asterisk serve as notification of discontinued items, which are priced very low in hopes of selling quickly.
“They just want it gone, so they usually make some weird deals about it,” Quinlan added.
Costco shoppers shared their thoughts in the comments section on TikTok.
“I work at Costco. Can confirm. Also, if you purchase an item at full price within 30 days and we still have the item in stock, you can adjust the price.
“I call it the ‘asterisk of death’ — RIP to my favorite discontinued products,” another TikToker shared.
Quinlan also joined the conversation to share another trick about special pricing.
“Anytime I see special pricing, I always check the retail prices online,” he noted.
“So I can see what it’s going to cost me at other retailers. Like, if it’s $100 in the store but $200 on Amazon and Best Buy, I know it’s a great deal.”
Others pointed out that this breakdown applies to most stores.
“Best Buy does the same thing with the first three points,” one commenter wrote.
After testing this theory, Quinlan wanted to share the news with his thousands of TikTok followers.
“Only after a few Costco trips did I realize that all of the great deals were using special deal pricing codes and I thought others would love knowing about them because it helped me find great deals,” Quinlan commented.
“While I don’t think there are exceptions to the pricing codes they use, that doesn’t always mean it’s a must-have deal.”
Costco declined to comment on the meaning behind the price tags at this time.
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