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The idea behind Costco has always been pretty simple: Buy big now, save big over your lifetime. This concept works on so many different products -- from jars of peanut butter to bottles of olive oil -- that Costco has become one of the most well-respected brands in modern grocery shopping.
One problem with Costco, however, is that it sells so much stuff that it's really hard to keep track of what's on sale and what's not. Often, the store has valuable products that you're missing out on, simply because you're not aware that it's selling them.
Costco shoppers all have their favorites. But if you're looking for a hidden gem, check out these four products the next time you're at Costco.
Costco sells some of the most affordable contact lenses you'll find. Its best-valued lenses are in the Kirkland Signature brand. Its premium daily disposables cost $58.99 per box (90 lenses), but you can save $45 by purchasing four boxes or $110 by purchasing eight.
Big-box stores, like Walmart, often don't get much cheaper than that. Walmart, for instance, sells MyDay daily disposables (reportedly the brand behind the Kirkland Signature lenses) for $81.86 a box. That's significantly pricier than at Costco, even without its discount on multiple boxes.
That said, I'd look around online first, just in case you find a promotion. As one example, Opticontacts.com occasionally offers 50% off online orders. That would make the MyDay dailies about $47.95 a box. This discount isn't always available, but you could stock up when it is to save yourself hundreds of dollars.
2. Anti-itch (hydrocortisone) topical cream
This one might seem a bit off-the-wall. But I think there's a general principle we can pull from this, which I'll touch on below.
But first, the product. Costco sells eight ounces of hydrocortisone cream (four tubes of two ounces each) for $9.99 online. That comes out to about $1.25 an ounce. This is a steal and is difficult to beat, even from traditionally low-cost pharmacies. Just as an example, CVS Health sells the same hydrocortisone cream for $6.99 -- an ounce .
Hydrocortisone cream helps relieve itches, bug bites, swelling, and other skin conditions. But even if you don't have a use for it, the cream is just one of several skin care products that Costco sells at a very affordable price. For this reason, I'd check Costco before you purchase skin care products at other stores, as you can typically find the best value in higher quantities there.
3. Over-the-counter (OTC) medication
I knew Costco sold prescription and over-the-counter medications at affordable prices. But I didn't realize just how much you could save until my colleague Ben Gran dug into this question earlier this year. In his research, he found that Costco shoppers could save $739 or more annually by buying common drugs at Costco -- about $31 of which comes from OTC medication.
For example, Costco can save you about $11 per year on Advil Ibuprofen, $13 on Benadryl, and $7 on TUMS. Since this is just a small sampling of the drugs available, be sure to check Costco's prices if you're not currently purchasing your OTC medication there.
4. Laptops
In general, Costco offers low prices on its electronics. But its laptop sales are often where the money is at.
Costco typically runs promotions on several different laptops, like Apple MacBooks. Since this is in addition to a regularly low price, it can bring the cost of a laptop into a more affordable range. What's more, Costco gives you 90 days to return the laptop, which is double the normal timeframe offered by other stores.
For Apple laptops specifically, you can even get AppleCare+ at a lower price. Costco offers three-year coverage for $319.99. Meanwhile, Best Buy and Apple offer the same coverage for $399.
If none of these products appeal to you, perhaps a more general point could be made: Whatever you're shopping for, check Costco's prices first. Even a single one-time purchase could mean charging less to your favorite Costco credit card .
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