Costco price tags tell you what’s on sale, a floor model, a returned item, or last stock

Shopping at Costco can lead to some great bargains if you understand what the .99, .98, .97, or .00 price tag endings mean.

Items ending with 99 cents, 89 cents, 79 cents, and so forth: Those are usually Costco’s regular priced items.

Items ending with .98, .88, .78 and so forth: Those are manager specials because the items might have been returned to the store, are floor models, or are close-out items.  

Items ending with .97, .87, .78 and so forth: Those are items that are marked down because they are going out of sale.

Items ending in .00, like $179.00, are similar to those ending with an “8.” If you are looking for a great deal, Costco no longer wanting them might be a great bargain for you. Costco will usually put the items in an area of the store where they do not take up valuable space. Some of the merchandise will have the original price posted or a close-out price sign on it.

Costco price tags that have an asterisk * in their upper right corner: Those are items that will not be restocked. Whatever you see is what the store has left. Most often the prices end in “.97, .87, .77,” and so forth. Sometimes the price tag will say “Existing Inventory Only.”

So what happens when you buy an item ending in .99 one day just to find out a week later (when you return to the store) that the price has changed to a .97, .98, or .00 ending? As explained above, you might be looking at the last inventory, a floor model, or a returned item.

If Costco’s price tag does not indicate why the item has been marked down, ask a store assistant. If you provide him or her with the item number (you can take a photo with your smartphone), you can usually find out why the price has changed. If the difference in price makes it worth the hassle, return the first more expensive item that you bought to the store and then get the cheaper one.

Please note: If you have have Costco shopping tips to share for others, contact us at Exploration@cox.net. For more "News You Can Use," follow us on Facebook.

Dynamic pricing: Internet companies use a shopper’s browser history, IP address, online shopping habits to change prices (Video)

Dynamic pricing is the opposite of what one might call static pricing. Dynamic means change and internet companies change their prices according to information collected from an online shopper. When shopping online, internet companies can generally see what computer a person is using, where the computer is located, what other websites the computer user has visited, what action a computer user takes after visiting a website, and how fast someone is buying something.

Ever wondered why if you look up an item on Amazon.com, the same  item all of a sudden appears on advertisements on other internet pages? 

If you are a fast buyer using the same computer, the chance is that you will pay a higher price than a shopper who looks around for the best price. 

As long as a shopper uses the same IP address, most often from the same home, online businesses know what they need to know about a person in order to get the most money.

As San Diego’s 10News video report from July 30, 2013, highlights, in the end -- finding the best price is up to the savvy shopper. However, being aware about dynamic pricing and knowing that online businesses collect information about one’s shopping habits (and much more) might help turn unsuspecting shoppers into savvy and dynamic shoppers.

Self-checkout machines at grocery stores: Don't pay for someone else's groceries

Self-checkout machines at grocery stores have become a favorite among shoppers that hate having to wait in long lines.

However, don't forget to to push the FINISH button when you are done using the self-checkout machine. 

If you do not push the FINISH button, the machine will continue to ring up the groceries and you are paying for them until someone else pushes "Finish."  

Once you swipe your credit card at the self-checkout machine in order to pay for your groceries your credit card number will be valid to use until you do click the FINISH button. If you do not click it, the machine assumes you are continuing shopping and will continue to add up the cost of the groceries of the next person. 

The importance of clicking the Finish button was part of an investigation by San Diego's 10News team which  was alerted by a customer who got his groceries free because it went on someone else's credit card. To read more about their report go to the July 2, 2013, 10News article and video.