Prices of Branded Items at Costco are Going Down?

According to this report at SuperMarketNews.com, "(Costco) said yesterday consumer packaged goods manufacturers are starting to reduce prices, possibly in reaction to rising private-label sales".

Richard A. Galanti, executive vice president and chief financial officer, is reported to said that Costco has seen in private label penetration relative to brands during the current fiscal year increases at 10% to 15%. Private labels are usually priced lower than branded items. Galanti said, "The branded companies are not passing all the savings back yet, but we're starting to see them do so."

Six Ways to Lower Costco Membership Fee

If you find the Costco membership fee too high for you, there are five ways that can lower it for you.

1. Become an executive member. This is the official way. You should have already heard it a thousand times at Costco. The cost is $50 extra on top of your regular membership fee. But you can always get it back at the end of the yearly cycle. You get the annual 2% Reward on most Costco purchase. If the reward you get for that year is less than $50, you can claim the rest back at their service desk. Some good experience is found on the web.


2. Renew your membership only when you find it has ALREADY expired when you are actually shopping at Costco. Think this way. Why do you want to pay the rent when you are not using it?


3. Use a Costco cashcard. You don't need Costco membership to shop at Costco (including costco.com) if you are using a Costco cashcard. You can ask your friend who has a Costco membership to purchase one cashcard for you and recharge it for you. Don't forget to pay your friend, of course. Or you can purchase one yourself at the end of your current membership cycle. Do not renew your membership until you've used up the cashcard.


4. Share the membership with your friends. Many students (no offend intended) use this method.


5. Cancel your membership and get a refund.

That's it?

Wait, the title of the entry says SIX ways. Yes. Here comes the real and only true way to low the cost: whether a price is high or low is relative to value of service or goods you get for that price and how much your income is. Try to enjoy the experience (sometime good, sometime bad) you have at Costco and save time to make more money. Everybody wins this way.

Now click the Ads link at this page. Do so only if you are genuinely interested in linked product.

Dump COSTCO, Pick Amazon!

Amazon with Amazon Prime is becoming a competitor to COSTCO.

Think this way. With an annual membership fee ($79), you can get unlimited two-day shipping on almost everything you buy (including groceries!) on Amazon. You get more choices and can use any major credit card you have. And you don't have to worry about your kid being knocked over by some shopping cart because she ran in front of it trying to get to the fruit snack sample.

COSTCO vs Sam's Club: which is cheaper?

This article from MSN Money claims "Sam's Club's prices were consistently among the best".

Photoshop Elements 7

I am a big fan of Photoshop Elements. The ability to create one perfect group shot from a series of shots is amazing.

See the demo here.

Now you can get Photoshop Elements 7 from Costco at $79.99.