Costco’s Holiday Savings book runs 29 pages and splits into five savings windows, and two of those windows last a single day. It started October 30 and runs through November 30. The regular November coupon book is also still live through November 15, so for the next week and a half two sets of Costco deals are running at the same time.
That’s a lot of paper for a shopper with a short list. Most people flip through, circle a TV and a tin of cookies, and walk in. The better approach is to read each offer the way the store wrote it, because the fine print tells you when to buy, where to buy and whether the deal is worth a trip at all.
Here’s how to read a page, how to sort real savings from filler, and how to plan around the windows between now and Cyber Monday. Costco’s book is the example, but Sam’s Club and BJ’s deals follow the same logic.
The calendar comes first
According to Costco Insider and CouponFlick, two sites that track the books, the Holiday Savings book breaks down like this:
- October 30 to November 15: the first general window, running now.
- November 16 to November 30: the second general window, with a different set of items.
- Thanksgiving Day, November 26: online only, since the warehouses are closed.
- Black Friday weekend, November 27 to 30.
- Cyber Monday, November 30.
Write the windows on the first page before you read anything else. An offer is only useful if you can be in the right place on the right dates, and a deal that ends November 15 does you no good if your next club run is the weekend after.
The overlap with the November book matters too. Costco’s warehouse savings page lists that book as valid from October 19 to November 15. If something on your list shows up in both books, compare the two offers and the two end dates. If it appears in only one, that’s the window you have.
How to read a single offer
Every listing packs five pieces of information into a small box. Read them in this order.
1. The channel tag
Each item is labeled “Warehouse & Online,” “Warehouse Only” or “Online Only.” Check this first. It’s easy to circle a gift, drive over and find out it was an online deal. Some online items also carry a Costco Direct mark; check the delivery estimate on those before you count on them for a holiday date.
2. The price line
Offers come in two formats. One shows the sale price with a line like “After $10 OFF.” The other shows only a savings figure, sometimes as a range across several sizes or models. When you see a range, find the line for the exact size or model you want, because the headline number may belong to a version you’d never buy.
3. The limit
Most items carry a cap, such as “Limit 2,” “Limit 5” or “Limit 10.” Some say “Limit 5 Each,” which on a multi-flavor or multi-model listing suggests a separate cap for each version. Treat any limit as a ceiling. On snacks and candy, it’s usually far more than a small household can finish before the next holiday.
4. The location fine print
“Selection varies by location” shows up on a lot of listings, and Costco notes that pricing can differ in Alaska, Hawaii, Puerto Rico, Business Centers and online. If an item is the main reason for a trip, call your warehouse before you drive.
5. What’s bundled in
Some prices include extras that change the comparison. Mattress offers on the current savings page note that the delivered price includes setup and haul-away. Some TVs include an Allstate three-year protection plan, which Costco describes as adding up to five years of total coverage. If another store charges separately for haul-away or a warranty, add that to its price before you compare.
Turn “save $X” into a percentage
A dollar amount on its own tells you little. Divide the savings by the regular price and you get a number you can compare across the whole book. Using round numbers as an illustration, $10 off a $40 item is 25%, a real markdown. The same $10 off a $200 item is 5%, which other retailers can easily beat during Black Friday week.
Do this for the four or five items you care about and the book sorts itself. The big-ticket pages tend to advertise large dollar figures, so the percentage is the only fair way to see which of those beats what other stores are running.
Real savings or filler
A holiday book has two jobs. It moves big seasonal items like TVs, appliances and trees, and it gets you into the warehouse, where you’ll buy more. Some pages exist mainly for the second job. Here’s how to sort them.
- Usually worth acting on: things you were going to buy this season anyway, with a discount of 15% or more, available in your channel during a window you can make.
- Worth comparing first: electronics and small appliances. Match the model number character for character against other stores’ Black Friday listings, since a slightly different model number can mean a different spec.
- Usually filler: snacks, holiday candy and drinks you weren’t planning to buy. The per-item savings are real but small, and a case of holiday treats in a small household tends to go stale before it’s gone.
- Skip: anything you’re buying because of the limit or because the page looked festive.
The 15% line is my own rule of thumb. Pick your threshold before you open the book and see the photos.
Timing your purchases
Don’t count on getting money back if something you already bought shows up cheaper later. Costco Insider says Costco typically won’t give a price adjustment when you bought an item at full price and it then went on sale in the ad. The safe move is to buy items inside the window that covers them.
That gives you a simple plan for the month:
- This week: mark what you want from the October 30 to November 15 window and from the November book, and buy those before the 15th.
- Before November 16: look over the second window’s pages for anything on your list, and wait for that window if the offer there is clearly better.
- Black Friday weekend: Costco Insider reports that warehouses open at 9 a.m. for Executive members and 10 a.m. for Gold Star members on Black Friday. If a doorbuster-style item is the reason you’re going, arrive early or shop online that weekend.
- Thanksgiving and Cyber Monday: the Thanksgiving Day offers are online only, and the Cyber Monday window lasts one day, so review those pages the night before and buy that day.
Sam’s Club and BJ’s
The other clubs run holiday deals as dated events more than as one big book. CouponFlick reports that BJ’s started its early Black Friday deals on October 23, and that Sam’s Club has a weekend doorbuster event starting this Friday, November 6, with a countdown to Black Friday from November 15 to 25. The reading rules are the same: confirm the channel, the dates and any limit, convert the savings to a percentage, and compare the exact model number before you decide.
Before your next club run, spend ten minutes with the book and a pen. Cross out every page you’d never buy from, circle the items on your list, and write the end date next to each one. The circled items are your trip. Everything else belongs on the store’s list.
