When Does Costco Mark Down TVs?

When it comes to TVs, Costco's prices are pretty competitive. But why settle for a decent price when you can get something at a great discount? As long as you are patient, you can find some pretty sweet TV deals from Costco. Unfortunately, there is no tried and true answer as to when certain items go on sale. However, you can get a few ideas of the best times to look. 

For one, always check your monthly catalog. Here, you can find all sorts of deals, ranging from your favorite snacks to TVs. This booklet is often mailed to members, but it is also easily available on the website and in the app. While these sales are nice, they don't offer the biggest discounts. Those usually happen after big holidays and before new products are released. For the lowest prices, consider the best time of year for buying a new television, even at Costco. 

You want to check near the end of November or in January or February, after major holidays like Cyber Monday, Black Friday, and Christmas. While not ideal, there are sometimes 4th of July sales on TVs as well, making the middle of summer another good time to look for deals. There can be sales in April and May, as this is when the newest models are released. Costco may need to make space, so the TVs they currently have out may be discounted to make room for the newest option. 

January and February in particular are great seasons to check out, because there are multiple factors that lead to TVs potentially getting discounted. Of course, it's shortly after a holiday. It has also been about a year since the newest TV models came out, and new ones are usually released in the spring. Then, it is also a big sports season, specifically the Super Bowl. Together, these three factors make for a great window to potentially buy a cheaper TV. May is also when Costco marks down unsold appliances, and there is usually a Memorial Day sale. When paired up with the new TV models being released, you can find some pretty sweet sales on a new TV. 

Sometimes, you can also wait until shortly after these holidays to see if prices drop further and clear any excess stock or returned items. Unfortunately, there is no guarantee that products will be on sale after these holidays. It depends heavily on whether your particular store managed to sell enough of the overstock and how much space they need. So while you may get the best discount, you are also taking a risk, as you can't always be sure that there will be a better sale. 

Thankfully, there is a way you can tell when prices have dropped. If you pay attention, items with 97 cents at the end are items Costco has discounted. Not only are these cheaper than normal, but they are often limited-time deals that they don't make a big deal of. Because these are usually specific to overstock or seasonal items, they vary by warehouse and aren't listed in the catalogs. 

There are also asterisks. If you see one of these little star shapes on a Costco tag, it means this item will not be restocked. When paired with a price ending in .97, it's usually a sign that they are trying to get rid of the selection.  .00 and .88 at the end of the price tag are also codes for store returns or very low amounts left, and may come with a good discount. 

When the stock of a specific TV starts to thin, you can talk to a manager to see if you can buy the floor model of the one you want. Take time to do your research as well. It's not always easy, as Costco can get different model numbers for TVs. This is one of the important things to consider before buying a new TV at Costco, because sometimes they may not be as good a deal as you think.