The Costco price tag secrets guide 2026 reveals the specific commercial intelligence system embedded in every Costco price tag — the pricing codes that communicate whether an item is on its last days in the warehouse, whether the price has been marked down from a higher original, whether a manager has applied a special discount, and whether the item is a permanent authorized product or a limited-time buy that will disappear without notice. Most Costco members read a price tag

The best time to find Costco clearance is early on a weekday morning — Tuesday through Thursday — right when the warehouse opens, before crowds pick over fresh markdowns. The biggest seasonal clearance windows are January (post-holiday) and late summer (August through September). For outdoor sporting goods specifically — kayaks, paddleboards, patio furniture, grills, pool supplies, camping equipment, and summer sporting gear — the August through September window is the most d