Some markdowns

Posted on May 23, 2014

http://www.rather-be-shopping.com/blog/2014/05/13/best-day-of-the-week-to-make-purchases/

Best day of the week for shopping. See link above for tips:

Have you ever been staring at that awesome blender at Costco, dreaming of blending your fruit smoothie with ease, and notice the odd price tag of $149.97 and wonder how the heck they came up with that price? If you are normal, probably not. But after you read this article you’ll be checking out every price tag you see because if you know what to look for, you can quickly determine if the price might go even lower or if it’s as low as it’s going to go. How? Well, many stores use an internal pricing system which shows you if an item has been marked down, if it will be marked down again, or if it’s a final markdown. You just gotta be able to crack the price tag code. Thanks to former employees and code crackers like me, you too can join the ranks of price tag checkers. Here are the details from some of your most popular retailers (in alphabetical order):

Here is another one important:
http://www.rather-be-shopping.com/blog/2013/09/24/retailers-big-secret-crack-the-price-tag-code/

Costco Wholesale

I found the Costco pricing system to offer the most potential savings if you are a diligent and always examine the price shelf tags before making a purchase. Here is what I discovered:

• Prices ending in .99 – this is the full retail price of items at Costco.
• Prices ending in a 7, namely .97 – means it is a buyer designated markdown and offers substantial savings over the full retail price.
• Prices ending in .00 – this is typically a “returned unopened item that has already been deleted from the system or a one-of-a-kind item.” Usually it’s a marked down price and a great buy. Thanks to Eric for passing this tip along.
• Price Tag with an Asterisk (*) on it – if you can find products ending with a 7, along with an asterisk in the upper right hand corner of the shelf tag, you are getting the best price at Costco. The asterisk means the item is “Pending Delete” and will be removed from the warehouse once it sells out. The above Costco price tag has an asterisk in the upper right hand corner.
• All other pricing – If the price ends with something other than a .99 or 7, it is typically a manufacturer’s special or manager’s special. These ending prices will vary from store to store. I am currently attempting to get more concrete details on these.
• Date Under the Price – In small print, under the price, is a date which tells us when the shelf tag was either created or had a price change. If the item is regularly stocked and has a fairly recent date on the shelf tag, you can typically take that to mean the price was lowered on that date and is a smart buy.
• Bonus: To save even more at Costco, check out our article 10 Best Way to Save Money at Costco.