The Price Hack All Costco Shoppers Should Know About

Heading out for a trip to Costco can only mean good things. Your wallet might be a little lighter than when you walked in, but you'll take home a 4-pound pumpkin pie that's bigger than your head, and enough toilet paper to last well into next year!

While the deals at the warehouse giant are already amazing, industry insiders say smart shoppers can score even better bargains by paying close attention to store price codes. According to Apartment Therapy, these codes and symbols will not only give you vital information about a product's discount and return status, but also tell you if a favorite product is about to be discontinued permanently. But since you're already getting a deal at Costco, they don't like to advertise any additional discounts to shoppers. That means that in order to get the best deal, you also need to pay attention to the pricing. For example, any Costco item that has a price ending in $.97 is almost always marked down from its original price, whereas any item with a price ending in $.99 is likely full price.

But without a doubt, the price hack that every Costco member should know about is the asterisk (*) symbol. If your favorite store item has this symbol on its price tag, you're going to want to stock up, because you might not be able to buy it in store again.

There's nothing quite as frustrating as hitting up your local Costco to restock on your favorite items — only to find that some of the things you were intending to buy are no longer in the store. For this reason, according to a Tough Nickel piece by Costco expert Len Rapaport, you need to keep your eye out for an asterisk on an in-store item's price tag when you're shopping. This tell-tale symbol will appear on the right-hand corner of the sign and is company code for an item that is not being restocked. That means that whatever you see of this product in the store is the last of what they will carry.

While you might be disappointed to learn that a favorite item is no longer going to be sold at the superstore, this insider information allows you to stock up so you have a personal supply until you can find it at another retailer. However, Rapaport stressed that just because an item is going to be discontinued does not mean it is marked down additionally. So keep your eyes peeled for an asterisk and a price ending in $.97, if you want to be sure you're getting the best deal possible before buying your favorite items in bulk.