Costco Price Tag Codes Decoded 2026: What .97, .88, .00, .49 and the Asterisk Actually Mean

Costco does not explain this on any sign in the warehouse. It is not mentioned in the app. It is not covered in the new member welcome materials. It lives almost entirely in the collective knowledge of the Costco member community — passed from experienced shoppers to new members on Reddit threads, TikTok videos, and whispered conversations in the warehouse aisle.

Costco's price codes are read from the last two digits: .99 = full retail price, .97 = clearance (manager markdown), and .00 or .88 = final liquidation. An asterisk (*) in the tag's top-right corner means the item won't be reordered. Costco doesn't advertise this system, but the patterns are consistent nationwide.

These patterns are not accidents. They are a deliberate, institutionally consistent pricing communication system that tells every member who knows how to read it exactly what stage of the product's commercial lifecycle they are looking at — full price, clearance, final markdown, or discontinued. The member who understands this system is reading information that the price tag communicates silently at every position in the warehouse, on every visit.

This guide decodes every price tag symbol and number you will encounter at Costco — completely, specifically, and with the practical guidance for what to do when you see each one.

.99 — Full Retail Price: The Standard

A price ending in .99 is typically the standard, everyday price. It may still be a good value, but it's not a special deal.

The .99 ending is Costco's full retail price — the price the buying team set when the product was authorized for the assortment, reflecting Costco's standard markup above the cost of goods. It is not a sale price, not a promotional price, and not a clearance price. It is simply the price.

For everyday essentials — Kirkland Signature staples, household paper products, fresh food, consistently restocked items — the .99 price is the only price these items will ever carry at Costco. There is no waiting for a clearance markdown on the rotisserie chicken or the paper towels. These products sell at full margin and are continuously restocked.

For discretionary purchases — electronics, furniture, seasonal goods, clothing, and non-essential items — a .99 price tag is the signal to consider waiting. These are the categories where clearance cycles happen, where .97 eventually appears, and where the patient member can capture meaningful savings by deferring a purchase to the clearance window.

If you're eyeing a big-ticket item like a TV, furniture, or seasonal gear, take a closer look. A .99 tag means you are paying full retail. If you don't need it right this second, it pays to wait.

.97 — Clearance Price: The Signal Every Member Hunts

This is the number you are hunting for.

A .97 price tag at Costco usually means the item has been marked down at the store level.

These are often some of the best deals available, but they can vary by location.

The .97 ending is the most commercially significant piece of information on any Costco price tag — and the one that the most experienced members scan for automatically on every warehouse visit. A product marked .97 is in active clearance: the buying team or store management has reduced the price below full retail to accelerate the sale of remaining inventory, typically because the item is being discontinued, rotated out for the next season's merchandise, or simply not moving at full price.

The .97 price is Costco's way of saying: this item's time at this price is limited. Buy it now at a discount, or wait and potentially find it at an even deeper discount — or not at all.

Prices that end in .97 are special, limited-time deals created by local Costco store managers at their discretion. This is typically for getting rid of slow-selling or seasonal merchandise.

These clearance prices are local to that one store only, although they could be on clearance at other stores as well.

The warehouse-specificity of .97 pricing is commercially important: the clearance markdown at your local Costco reflects the inventory situation at that specific location. The item may or may not be on clearance at a neighboring Costco. Members who spot a .97 item they want at one location and then check another location to confirm the price may find it still at full .99 pricing.

The .97 progression strategy:

There is actually a date code on the Costco price tags. These are usually in the bottom right corner of the price card. The date tells you when the price was last updated. Did you know that a .97 price can change and go even lower? It can! If the date is at least a few weeks old and there is still a lot of inventory on the shelf, there's a good chance another round of discounts is coming soon.

The date in the lower corner of the price tag is one of the most underutilized pieces of information on any Costco price card. A .97 tag that was set three weeks ago with substantial inventory remaining has a meaningful probability of dropping further — to a .00 or .88 final markdown — before the inventory clears. A .97 tag that was set this morning on a nearly empty shelf is likely in its final hours at even that clearance price.

The decision matrix for .97 items:

• New .97 date + substantial inventory = consider waiting for a further markdown

• Old .97 date + nearly empty shelf = buy now before it sells through

• Any .97 date on something you actively need or use = buy it immediately

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00 and .88 — Final Liquidation: The Holy Grail

The holy grail of discount tags, these specific double digits signal sales on sales.

A price ending in .00 or .88 indicates that the item is really cheap right now. Typically, store managers decide these markdowns based on the items they want to clear quickly.

.00 and .88 are the deepest markdowns in Costco's price code system — final liquidation pricing set at the store manager's discretion to move the last units of an item off the floor immediately. These prices appear when a .97 clearance has not generated sufficient sell-through, when items are floor models, customer returns, or slightly damaged merchandise, or when the manager simply needs the floor space for incoming new product.

A rare .00 tag. This is the final price drop before the item disappears. The items attached to .00 and .88 tags are often the last remaining stock — sometimes one or two units, sometimes a small cart's worth — that the manager has priced to sell in the next few hours rather than the next few days.

You'll most likely find most of the .00 discounts in the apparel section, with .88's shuffled off to the perimeter or end cap displays at the start of each aisle. If you like what you see attached to these tags, make your move because you're probably looking at the last remaining stock.

Prices that end in .00 or .88 are usually store returns, floor models, or the last few units remaining that the manager is trying to get rid of. These items are rare finds, which means their stock goes quickly. If you end up finding one with a .00 or .88 tag, make sure to grab what you want before they go.

The .88 vs .00 distinction:

.97 is standard clearance. .88 typically indicates returned merchandise, damaged packaging, or a local manager discount. Both are deals, but .88 can be more warehouse-specific.

The subtle distinction between .88 and .00: both signal final liquidation, but .88 is more frequently associated with returned merchandise, open-box items, or products with minor cosmetic imperfections — items that are perfectly functional but whose visual or packaging integrity has been compromised in a way that makes them unsuitable for full-price display. Members who find .88 items should inspect them carefully for the specific condition issue that triggered the manager's markdown before purchasing.

The Asterisk (*) — Discontinued: The Most Urgent Signal of All

With some shoppers calling it the "death star," the asterisk — found in the upper right corner of the price tag — alerts you to a product that's on its way toward being completely out of stock, no matter what numbers are listed with it.

An asterisk (*) in the upper right corner of a Costco price tag is the single most urgent commercial signal in the entire price code system — more urgent than .97, more urgent than .88, more urgent than .00. The asterisk means the item will not be reordered. It is on its way out of the Costco assortment permanently, regardless of what price the tag currently shows.

Price cards that have an asterisk in the upper right corner denote products that are discontinued and will not be returned. Either the product is discontinued because it didn't sell or a newer version of the product will be introduced in the future.

The asterisk can appear on an item that is still at full .99 pricing — a product that has been authorized for deletion from the assortment before its remaining inventory sells through. In this case, the asterisk is the only warning signal that this is the member's last opportunity to purchase the product.

It can also appear alongside .97, .88, or .00 pricing — the combination that produces the most urgent action signal in the entire warehouse:

When the clearance signal registers — when you spot the .97 or see the asterisk — stop.

Look at the product. Is it something you use, would use, or could use? If yes, act immediately.

The .97 + asterisk combination:

The single most urgent buy signal in Costco: clearance pricing combined with confirmed discontinuation. This item is being sold at a discount AND will not return. Whatever inventory is on the shelf is the totality of what is available. The member who wants it must act now.

The asterisk on seasonal items:

The asterisk also appears on seasonal items that are destined for a triumphant return next year. Still, if there's no sign of holiday cheer in the vicinity, this (*)'s about to be gone for good.

Seasonal asterisk items — Halloween decor returning next Halloween, holiday items returning next holiday season — are the exception to the "never returning" interpretation of the asterisk. If you see an asterisk on a product surrounded by seasonal merchandise at the end of its season, it likely means the item is being cleared for the season and will return when the season comes back. This seasonal asterisk is not the same urgent signal as a year-round product asterisk.

.X9 Endings (Not .99) — Manufacturer Promotional Deals

If a Costco item price ends in 9, such as .39 or .79, it indicates that the item is part of a special promotional offer from the manufacturer.

Prices ending in .49, .79, or .89 are typically manufacturer-supported deals. If you see these price endings, it's often a limited-time offer.

The .X9 endings (any price ending in 9 other than .99) signal manufacturer-funded promotional pricing — typically a time-limited deal where the brand has contributed a co-promotional budget to reduce the member price for a defined period. These are not clearance prices; the item is not being discontinued. They are promotional windows where the member can purchase at a discount before the price returns to the standard .99 level.

These sales may or may not be part of a good deal. Honestly, it ranges from item to item.

The promotional nature of .X9 pricing means the discount is returning to full price when the promotion ends — but the item remains in the assortment. There is less urgency to purchase immediately than with .97 clearance, but the promotional window does create a time-limited purchase opportunity worth capturing for items you regularly buy.

The Green Price Tag: Organic Certification Signal

Bright green Costco price tags signal that an item is indeed organic. But while these tags separate the sustainable (green tag) from the conventional (white tag), the system isn't exactly fail-safe. Not every organic item always gets the green tag designation and some warehouses have yet to adopt the practice at all, according to shoppers.

The green price tag is Costco's visual communication of organic certification status — a quick visual scan of a product's certification without requiring the member to read the full USDA Organic label. In warehouses that consistently use the green tag system, the tag color provides immediate visual sorting of organic versus conventional across an entire section of the food area.

The caveat: the green tag system is not universally implemented and is not 100 percent reliable as a sole organic verification. Always verify USDA Organic certification on the product packaging itself — the green tag is a helpful visual cue, not a substitute for label reading.

The Complete Price Code Quick Reference

Price Ending	What It Means	What You Should Do
.99	Full retail price	Standard purchase; consider waiting for discretionary items
.97	Clearance — store-level markdown	Buy if you need/want it; check date for potential further drops
.88	Final markdown — often returns/floor models	Inspect carefully, buy immediately if it's what you want
.00	Final liquidation — manager's last markdown	Buy immediately — very last units, will not last
.X9 (not .99)	Manufacturer promotional pricing	Good deal for the promotional period; item remains in assortment
Asterisk (*)	Discontinued — will not be reordered	Act immediately if you want it; this is your last chance
Green tag	Organic certification	Verify with USDA Organic label on packaging
.97 + Asterisk	Clearance AND discontinued	The most urgent buy signal in the warehouse

The Shopping Habit That Makes All of This Work

Experienced Costco members train themselves to glance at the bottom right of every price tag as they move through the warehouse — not to read the full price, but to register whether the ending is .97, .00, .88, or another clearance signal. This peripheral price-code awareness, practiced over multiple warehouse visits, eventually becomes automatic — a constant low-level scan that catches clearance opportunities without disrupting the rhythm of the shopping trip.

When the clearance signal registers — when you spot the .97 or see the asterisk — stop.

Look at the product. Is it something you use, would use, or could use? If yes, act immediately. The most consistently repeated piece of advice from every experienced Costco shopper on every Costco forum, subreddit, and social media community is the same: clearance at Costco moves fast. The item you walked past at .97 on Thursday morning may be gone by Thursday afternoon.

Clearance items (.97) qualify for price adjustments within 30 days. You can even get adjustments if a clearance item drops further in price — for example, $9.97 to $4.97.

The price adjustment policy adds one more dimension of value to the price code system: members who purchased an item at .97 can return to request a price adjustment if the same item drops to .00 or .88 within 30 days of their original purchase. The markdown progression — .97 to .00 — that was discussed in the .97 section is not just a purchase timing strategy. It is a price adjustment opportunity for members who already bought at the higher clearance price.

At MOJO Sales & Branding, we study every dimension of the Costco member experience — from the price tag codes that reward savvy shoppers to the roadshow brands that create the discovery moments members come back to the warehouse for.

Contact us at 732.433.7873 or Susan@MOJOSalesandBranding.com.

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