Both stores run on a predictable rhythm of markdown cycles, coupon books, and seasonal clearance windows — but most members never learn the pattern. Once you do, you stop paying full price for vitamins, paper products, health items, and household staples you buy every month anyway.
After years of paying full price at the warehouse club, most shoppers still don’t know these basics. These answers are short and direct — the full detail is in the sections below.
1 What does a .97 price ending at Costco actually mean? Clearance. The warehouse has decided to sell through that item and not reorder it. It’s already at the lowest price you’ll see. If the tag also has a small asterisk in the upper right corner, the item is being discontinued entirely — buy it that trip or it’s gone for good. ▼
Costco doesn’t post clearance signs. They don’t announce markdowns on the intercom. The only signal is the last two digits of the price tag. A price ending in .99 is Costco’s standard everyday price — a fair deal, but nothing special. A price ending in .97 is a corporate-level clearance decision, meaning Costco’s buying team has directed the warehouse to sell through remaining stock. These items are already at their floor price; waiting for a lower price usually means finding an empty shelf instead.
The asterisk in the upper right corner of the tag — called the “Death Star” by veteran Costco shoppers — signals that once this stock is gone, Costco will not reorder. It might be a seasonal item returning next year, or it might be permanently discontinued. When you see .97 and an asterisk together, that is the single most urgent buy signal in Costco’s entire price language. The item is on clearance and leaving forever. If you use it, buy extras on that visit — there won’t be another chance.
2 What do the letters on Sam’s Club price tags mean — especially “C”? “C” means clearance — the item is being phased out and stock won’t be replenished. “N” means Never Out (always stocked — don’t worry about buying extras). “A” means Always Available. “S” means Seasonal. A price ending in .91 means corporate-mandated liquidation — the deepest mark-down you’ll see. ▼
Sam’s Club’s price tag letter codes aren’t printed anywhere in the store or mentioned in any official member communication — but they’re consistent across the entire chain and tell you everything you need to know about an item’s future on those shelves. The letter is usually printed in a small corner of the shelf price tag. “N” is the one that matters most for seniors who buy staples in bulk — if something you rely on has an “N” code, it’s a Never Out item and will always be there. You can buy your usual quantity without stocking up.
But “C” is the one to act on immediately. Once a “C” item is gone, Sam’s Club has no obligation to bring it back. And prices ending in .91 — a number that appears after a “C” item has sat too long — represent Sam’s Club corporate pushing the item to its absolute floor price to clear shelf space. A .91 price ending is the warehouse version of a final sale. Prices ending in .98 often indicate a local store-level clearance markdown, which can vary by club location.
3 How often do new sales books come out at each store? Costco: roughly every 26–28 days, with the coupon book activating on a Wednesday. Sam’s Club: about 9 times per year, also launching on Wednesdays, each running 3–4 weeks. Both run overlapping periods where an old book is expiring and a new one is beginning — the early days of a new book are when the best-selling items are still in stock. ▼
Costco’s monthly Member Savings coupon book — the “Instant Savings” book that arrives by mail and is available at the entrance — runs on approximately a 26-to-28 day cycle. Each book typically activates on a Wednesday. Deals are automatically applied at checkout for members; no clipping, no scanning, no remembering. The coupon book is also visible at costco.com before the print version arrives. If you sign up for email alerts through your Costco membership account, you’ll receive the upcoming book a week or so before it launches.
Sam’s Club follows a similar pattern, releasing roughly nine Instant Savings books per year, each running about three to four weeks. They also launch on Wednesday mornings — midnight online, 8 a.m. in-club. The first few days of any new book are the best time to shop both stores — items are in full stock, and the current deals are fresh. The last few days of a book are the worst time for availability on popular items, which sell through quickly once discounted.
4 Does Costco price match if I buy something and it goes on sale the next week? Yes — within 30 days. If any item you bought at Costco drops in price at Costco (not at a competitor) within 30 days of your purchase, you’re entitled to a refund of the difference. Bring your receipt to the Member Services desk or request it online through your account. This includes if a clearance price drops further. ▼
Costco’s 30-day price adjustment policy is one of the most useful — and most unused — tools available to members. Costco does not match prices from any external competitor (not Amazon, not Walmart, not Sam’s Club). But if Costco’s own price on an item drops after you bought it, you have 30 days to claim the difference. This applies to both in-warehouse purchases and Costco.com orders (though warehouse and online prices are treated separately — you can only get an adjustment against the same channel where you made the purchase).
How to use it: if you buy a supplement or a large household item and you notice the price is lower on your next visit or in the upcoming coupon book, bring your receipt to the Member Services desk before your 30 days are up. The adjustment is refunded back to your original payment method. This is especially useful at the beginning of a new coupon cycle — if you bought something the week before it went into the new savings book, you can often recover that discount retroactively.
5 What’s the best day and time of day to shop Costco or Sam’s Club as a senior? Tuesday or Wednesday morning, right when the store opens (or during the exclusive early hour if you have an Executive/Plus membership). This is when fresh markdowns have just rolled out overnight, new coupon books have just activated, shelves are fully stocked, and the crowds are at their thinnest. Avoid Saturday and Sunday afternoons entirely. ▼
Both stores process their price changes and new markdown tags overnight, typically on Tuesday nights. That means Wednesday morning is when fresh clearance deals appear on shelves for the first time — and it’s also the launch day for new coupon books. Shopping at 10 a.m. on a Wednesday gives you first access to new deals with minimal competition from other shoppers. The combination of uncrowded aisles, fully stocked shelves, and fresh markdowns makes midweek mornings the single most valuable time window in the week.
Costco Executive members get one additional hour of early access on weekdays and Sundays (entering at 9 a.m. instead of 10 a.m., a policy that took full effect in September 2025). Sam’s Club Plus members can enter at 8 a.m. — a full hour before the regular 9 a.m. opening. For seniors who prefer a calmer environment, this early window is genuinely meaningful — fewer carts, no lines at the samples tables, and full access to whatever just got marked down before anyone else picks it over. Neither store has age-specific senior shopping hours; the early access is tied to the premium membership tier.
6 When is the best time of year to buy health supplements and vitamins at a discount? January–February and September–October are the two strongest windows for supplements and health products at both stores. January brings post-holiday health-kick purchases that drive deep coupon book discounts. Fall brings immunity and wellness season discounts. Vitamins appear in nearly every Costco coupon cycle throughout the year — they’re one of the most reliably rotated categories. ▼
Tracking Costco’s actual coupon book history from 2023 through mid-2026 shows that vitamins and supplements appear in coupon discounts more frequently than almost any other category — roughly four to five times per year, with the heaviest concentration in January (New Year’s health resolutions drive enormous manufacturer promotions) and in the September–October wellness season. OTC medications tend to follow a similar pattern, appearing most prominently in the fall cold and flu preparation window.
At Sam’s Club, the Health and Beauty Instant Savings category runs during most book periods, with some books specifically emphasizing medicines and supplements. If you take a consistent daily supplement — vitamin D, magnesium, fish oil, or a multivitamin — the best strategy is to buy enough to last through to the next coupon window rather than buying your usual one-month supply. Warehouse sizes already stretch supply, and buying during a coupon event often reduces the effective per-dose cost by 20% to 40% compared to purchasing at a pharmacy or grocery store.
7 Is it worth upgrading from Costco Gold Star to Executive — or Sam’s Club Club to Plus — for the extra savings? At Costco: Executive pays for itself if you spend $3,250 or more at Costco per year (the 2% cashback covers the $65 difference). At Sam’s Club: Plus adds pharmacy discounts, free same-day delivery, and free Weight Watchers access — the calculus depends on whether you use those specific benefits. Early shopping hours alone are worth the upgrade for many seniors. ▼
Costco’s Executive membership costs $130 versus $65 for Gold Star. The 2% annual reward on eligible purchases is the primary financial differentiator — if you spend $3,250 at Costco in a year, the $65 reward check covers the $65 difference in membership cost. Above that threshold, every dollar spent at Costco returns 2 cents in reward, automatically, on your anniversary. Early access (entering at 9 a.m. versus 10 a.m. on weekdays) adds real quality-of-life value that doesn’t show up in the math but matters substantially for anyone who prefers a quieter shopping experience.
Sam’s Club Plus at $120 per year (or $60 for the first year at the senior price for members 50 and older) adds early 8 a.m. shopping hours, free curbside pickup, deeper pharmacy discounts with 10 free generics per month, and the first three months of Weight Watchers Core free as of mid-2026. For seniors managing chronic conditions and multiple prescriptions, the pharmacy benefit alone can exceed the cost of the membership upgrade within a few fills. Run the math on your actual pharmacy spend before deciding — it’s often more compelling than the general retail savings.
Neither Costco nor Sam’s Club advertises these codes. They don’t appear in any member handbook. But they’re consistent across every location in the country, and once you know them, every shelf tag tells you whether to buy now, wait, or stock up.
| Price Ending | What It Means | What You Should Do | Urgency |
|---|---|---|---|
| .99 | Standard everyday price — no discount active | Check if item appears in the current coupon book; if not, this is full price | None — wait for a coupon cycle |
| .97 | Clearance — corporate decision to sell through and not reorder | Buy now if you use this product. It’s already at the lowest price it will reach | ⚠️ High — buy this trip |
| .97 + ✱ | Clearance AND discontinued — will not return to shelves once gone | Buy extras if this is a product you rely on. This is the final chance | 🚨 Highest — buy all you need now |
| .88 or .00 | Final liquidation — manager’s last attempt to move remaining stock | Check for damage (may be returns/open box). Deepest discount in the store | 🚨 Extreme — inspect and buy |
| .49 or .79 | Temporary manufacturer promotion — not clearance, item will stay | Good deal, but no urgency — item will be restocked at similar price | Low — buy your usual amount |
| ✱ alone | Item will not be restocked after current stock sells — may still be at full price | If you use this product, buy now at whatever price it’s showing | ⚠️ Medium-high — act before it’s gone |
| Code / Ending | What It Means | What You Should Do | Urgency |
|---|---|---|---|
| N — Never Out | Permanent staple — always in stock, always available | Buy your normal amount. No need to stock up, it’ll always be there | None — always available |
| A — Active | Standard in-stock item — not going anywhere soon | No urgency. Shop your normal schedule | None |
| S — Seasonal | Limited-time item tied to a season — will leave shelves when the season ends | Buy what you need before the season transition. Stock up if heavily discounted | ⚠️ Medium — season-end often means clearance |
| C — Clearance | Item is being discontinued — no restock after current inventory sells | Buy now if you use this regularly. It won’t be coming back | 🚨 High — buy now |
| Ending in .98 | Store-level clearance markdown — local manager reduced price to move stock | Good deal. Available at this location but may not be at others | ⚠️ Medium-high — location-specific deal |
| Ending in .91 | Corporate liquidation — deepest corporate markdown, item is being fully cleared out | Buy as much as you can use. This is the floor price. Stock won’t last long | 🚨 Highest — stock up immediately |
Both stores process their price changes overnight on Tuesdays. Markdowns that were decided over the weekend roll onto shelves Tuesday night. A few Sam’s Club regulars have found it useful to simply ask a manager at their local club: “What night do you do your price changes?” — and then make Wednesday morning the standing shopping day. The tags have just been updated, the stock is full, and you’re seeing deals that weekend shoppers will have already picked through by Saturday. It’s a small scheduling change that pays for itself every trip.
Understanding the rhythm of both stores’ sale books transforms how you shop. Instead of hoping a deal shows up, you can predict roughly when discounts on specific categories will appear — and time your purchases accordingly.
Costco’s Member Savings coupon book runs on approximately a 26-to-28 day cycle, with each new book typically activating on a Wednesday. The discounts apply automatically at checkout — you don’t clip, scan, or present anything. The book is available at the store entrance and viewable online at costco.com before the print version is mailed. Signing up for Costco email alerts through your account gives you advance notice a week before each book goes live. The most important thing to know about the coupon book: the categories rotate. Vitamins might be featured this month and absent next month. Paper products rotate in every 8 to 12 weeks. This means buying a two- to three-month supply when your category appears is almost always the smarter financial move than buying month to month.
Sam’s Club releases approximately nine Instant Savings books per year — not twelve, so they’re unevenly distributed and some months have a transition gap. Each book is released at 12:01 a.m. EST on a Wednesday online, and 8 a.m. local time in-club. The discounts automatically apply at checkout when members scan their membership. The Krazy Coupon Lady and other deal tracking communities post confirmed and predicted Sam’s Club book dates far in advance, making it easy to check whether a specific category will be in the upcoming book before you make a trip. Sam’s Club layering: the Instant Savings book runs alongside continuous store-level markdowns (identified by the .98 and .91 price endings). Both can be active simultaneously on different items — the book gives you category discounts, while the price endings flag individual items being cleared at the store level.
Both stores follow a category calendar that’s remarkably consistent year over year. Knowing which months favor which purchases lets you plan ahead rather than reacting after items sell out or the coupon window closes.
January is the single best month to buy items the previous season overlooked. Christmas wrap, gift bags, holiday-themed food, winter decorations, and even warm clothing that didn’t sell in December all hit their deepest clearance pricing the first two weeks of January — sometimes 70 to 80 percent off. Holiday candy can be 50 to 75 percent off at both Costco and Sam’s Club in early January. Seniors who do their holiday shopping in January for the following December save more than any other shopping strategy in this guide. The items are identical; only the timing changes. Both stores need the space cleared for Valentine’s Day merchandise, which creates genuine urgency to move remaining holiday inventory quickly.
Both Costco and Sam’s Club process overnight price changes on Tuesday nights. New markdown tags appear on Wednesday morning. New coupon books also launch on Wednesday. Shopping between 9 and 11 a.m. on a Wednesday — or during the early member hour if you have Executive/Plus membership — gives you the complete advantage: fresh markdowns on the shelf before other shoppers have seen them, new coupon book items fully in stock, and the thinnest weekday crowd. Costco Executive members can enter at 9 a.m. (one hour before standard 10 a.m. opening on weekdays). Sam’s Club Plus members can enter at 8 a.m., a full hour before the 9 a.m. general opening. For seniors who find weekend crowds physically difficult, upgrading to the premium membership tier specifically for the early hour access is a legitimate reason — the calmer environment at 8 or 9 a.m. is genuinely different from what happens by 11 a.m. on a Saturday.
Saturday and Sunday afternoons are the busiest times at both chains — full carts, long checkout lines, sparse clearance shelves, and items already picked over. What reads as a “normal” Saturday shopping trip is actually competing with the week’s peak foot traffic for whatever is left on the shelf. The second costly mistake: shopping in the last few days of a coupon book. By day 20 or 22 of a 26-day book, the most popular discounted items — paper towels, health products, large vitamin bottles — are often sold out at many locations. The correct strategy is to shop day 1 to 3 of each new book, not the final days. Track the book start dates using email alerts or deal tracking sites, and plan your trip accordingly.
These are the specific categories that matter most to older adults on fixed incomes — and the timing patterns that deliver the biggest savings on each one.
Based on tracked Costco coupon book data from 2023 through mid-2026, vitamins and supplements appear in Member Savings discounts roughly four to five times per year — more often than almost any other category. OTC medications (antacids, pain relievers, sleep aids, allergy tablets) tend to appear during cold-and-flu season preparation in September and October, and again post-holiday in January. Costco’s Kirkland Signature supplements — fish oil, vitamin D3, magnesium, B-complex, and CoQ10 — are already priced below most pharmacy and supplement store pricing at full Costco retail. When they appear in the coupon book with an additional $4 to $8 off, the effective cost drops well below anything available at a standard pharmacy. Buying a three- to four-month supply during a coupon book event is the most financially efficient approach for any supplement you take consistently.
Toilet paper, paper towels, laundry detergent, and dish soap rotate through both stores’ coupon books on roughly an 8-to-12 week cycle. The specific brand varies — sometimes it’s Charmin, sometimes Kirkland Signature, sometimes Bounty, sometimes a store-brand substitute. The discount when these appear is typically $3 to $8 off a large format package, which on an already-bulk-sized item represents a meaningful per-unit savings. The key insight for this category: don’t buy paper products at full price at either store if you can possibly avoid it. Keep a 6-to-8 week supply at home at all times. When a coupon book appears featuring your brand, stock up to the point where you’ll last until the next rotation. You will almost never pay full retail for toilet paper or laundry detergent if you track the coupon book cycle.
Both stores carry incontinence products, adult briefs, and protective pads, but Sam’s Club’s Health and Beauty Instant Savings category frequently includes these items at meaningful discounts — sometimes 15 to 25 percent off during book events. The “C” code at Sam’s Club on incontinence products is a genuine buy-everything signal: these items are not cheap to replace at a standard pharmacy, and a “C” tag typically means Sam’s Club is transitioning to a different brand or SKU. Costco carries incontinence products including Depend and Poise under occasional promotional pricing. For this specific category, scanning the Sam’s Club app using Scan & Go before checkout will sometimes reveal a hidden club price or Instant Savings discount not reflected on the physical shelf tag — a quirk worth knowing.
The biggest discount wins come from layering multiple savings tools simultaneously. These are the combinations that experienced warehouse club shoppers use — most of which the store doesn’t publicize.
Costco allows members to stack four legitimate savings mechanisms simultaneously:
- Instant Savings (coupon book) — automatically applied at checkout, no action needed
- 2% Executive Reward — automatically applied to your annual cashback check on qualifying purchases
- Credit card cash back — the Costco Anywhere Visa by Citi gives 2% back on all Costco purchases; combine with the 2% Executive reward for 4% effective return on qualifying purchases
- 30-day price adjustment — if the item drops further in price within 30 days of your purchase, request the difference at Member Services; even if a clearance item drops from $9.97 to $4.97, you’re entitled to the $5 difference
Costco does not price match external retailers. It does not accept manufacturer coupons. It does not stack multiple coupon book discounts on one item. But the four mechanisms above are all simultaneously valid.
Sam’s Club’s savings combination works differently but has its own powerful layers:
- Instant Savings book — automatically applied with membership card or Scan & Go app scan
- Plus cashback rewards — Plus members earn rewards on eligible in-club purchases
- Sam’s Club Mastercard — 5% cash back on eligible Sam’s Club purchases for Plus members, 3% for Club members
- Scan & Go app — sometimes surfaces member-only prices not visible on shelf tags; also reveals which items are in the current Instant Savings book before you reach the register
- Price check before buying — Sam’s Club app allows you to compare online vs. in-club pricing before checkout; occasionally the online price is lower
This is a complete routine that takes less than five minutes per shopping trip and captures most available savings at both stores:
- Step 1: Check the current coupon book online before leaving home — confirm which items are discounted this cycle
- Step 2: Shop Wednesday morning (day 1–3 of the new book) for best availability
- Step 3: Scan every tag in categories you buy regularly — look for .97 or asterisk at Costco; “C” or .91 at Sam’s Club
- Step 4: Use the Scan & Go app at Sam’s Club to confirm final price before placing anything in your cart
- Step 5: Keep your receipt. If you see the same item at a lower price within 30 days at Costco, request the adjustment at Member Services
- Step 6: Track what you buy and when — a simple notepad or phone note listing “last bought [item] on [date]” is all you need to anticipate when the next coupon window will appear
For supplements specifically, Costco’s Kirkland Signature line is already among the best-priced in the country at full retail — and when vitamins appear in the monthly coupon book (roughly four to five times per year, most heavily in January and September), the discount on top of that represents genuine savings over what any pharmacy or supplement store can offer. Buy enough during a coupon book event to last until the next appearance. For actual prescription medications, Costco’s pharmacy cash prices are often lower than generic copays at other pharmacies — and Sam’s Club Plus members get 10 free generics per month. Neither store’s supplement pricing can be used with Medicare Part D, but for OTC health items and supplements, no insurance restriction applies. Ask the pharmacist at both stores to quote the cash price on any prescription before filing insurance — it’s often cheaper, especially for older generics.
The fastest fix is two things done before your next shopping trip. First, go to costco.com or samsclub.com and find the current savings/coupon page — look at what’s discounted right now and compare it to what you typically buy. Second, on your next visit, look at the last two digits of price tags on everything in your cart before it goes in. At Costco: is any item you’re about to buy priced with .97? That’s clearance pricing; if you want it, you’re getting a deal. Is it .99 without being in the coupon book? You might want to wait for its coupon window. At Sam’s Club, scan each item with the Scan & Go app before putting it in your cart — the app will show the current member price and any active Instant Savings discount, which sometimes differs from what the physical shelf tag shows.
Absolutely — you just need to be selective about what you stock up on. The items worth having a 60-to-90 day supply of are the ones you use daily or weekly without exception: toilet paper, paper towels, laundry detergent, dish soap, and any daily supplement. These take consistent space but generate consistent savings over time. Focus your warehouse club buying on those category anchors and buy everything else in smaller quantities. Both stores also offer home delivery — Costco through Instacart same-day delivery, Sam’s Club Plus through included same-day delivery — so items you don’t have room to store in quantity can be ordered for delivery as needed without requiring a warehouse trip. The in-store savings strategy still applies to the items you can realistically store.
Look for a small date printed on the price tag, which indicates when that specific price was set. If the date was recent — within the past week or two — there’s likely still good stock. If the date is weeks old and the item has a .97 tag plus an asterisk, the remaining inventory may be limited. You can also ask a warehouse employee or check the CostLow app (iOS/Android), which tracks current clearance items by warehouse and provides alerts when new .97 items appear at your specific location. Clearance pricing at Costco is warehouse-specific — the same item might be full price at one location and .97 clearance at another based on local inventory levels. If you shop at multiple locations, this is worth checking before a long drive.
Both stores have become meaningfully more accessible for members who can’t or prefer not to shop in-warehouse. Costco.com carries the vast majority of its product lineup with free shipping on most items, and Instant Savings book discounts generally apply online as well as in-warehouse. Costco also offers same-day delivery through Instacart — prices are slightly above warehouse prices to cover the service, but the savings from a coupon book discount often offset that difference on large items. Sam’s Club Plus members get free same-day delivery included in their membership, and the Instant Savings discounts apply online with full membership. The one category where online pricing consistently falls short of in-warehouse: clearance items ending in .97 or .98 are almost never replicated online, because those markdowns are warehouse-specific decisions about local inventory. For clearance hunting, an in-person visit on a Wednesday morning remains the most effective approach — but your staples and coupon book items are fully accessible online.
This guide is for general informational and educational purposes. Coupon book dates, price codes, membership pricing, early shopping hours, cashback percentages, and pharmacy benefits are based on publicly available information and verified deal-tracking data as of mid-2026. Sale cycles, pricing conventions, and membership policies at Costco and Sam’s Club are subject to change at any time without notice. Price tag code conventions described here are widely reported by shoppers and retail observers and are not officially published by either retailer — always verify any price or deal at the register before completing a purchase. Cashback and reward program terms are subject to each issuer’s current policies. Prescription drug pricing requires individual verification at each pharmacy. This content is entirely original; no portion may be reproduced without permission.