Categories: Shopping & RetailShow NotesTravelWarehouse Clubs

Woman’s ‘Costco Odyssey’ will see her visiting Costcos in every state

Theo Thimou | March 22nd, 2017

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If you listen to the Clark Howard Show, chances are you probably like Costco. But some people really like Costco and it shows.

Meet Barbara Pope, a 47-year-old woman who decided to pack up her 2010 Honda Odyssey and drive cross-country to visit at least one Costco in every state that has a location!

Going whole hog on Costco Wholesale

Some times all the stars line up in life for an epic adventure.

That’s the situation Barbara recently found herself in. Her home with her husband in Napa, Calif., is nearing completion of a remodeling project and she’s in between gig in her event planning business.

What better time to hit the open road and survey locations of Clark’s favorite warehouse club in 44 states?

Far from being a retail monolith, Costco Wholesale locations will often feature regional favorites mixed in with the kind of national fare you could find at any of its warehouse clubs across the country.

“I’m panning for gold,” Barbara told the Courier Lee News Service. “I see all kinds of interesting things in the pan, but I’m looking for that nugget or two that’s different from anything else.”

Barbara’s odyssey began in late September and so far she’s traveled 6,000+ miles and stopped at more than 36 Costco stores in 19 states. She spends about two hours in each location documenting the unique things she’s found on her MyCostcoOdyssey.com blog.

Some of her favorite products so far have included Luke’s organic truffle chips (12-ounce bag for $5.99) and the Mezanos Maven Bakery chocolate babka (28-ounce loaf for $6.99).

No matter what brings you to Costco, you’re sure to fill up your cart with a lot of great deals. With that in mind, here’s how you can save some money while doing it!

Clark’s advice for saving even more money at Costco…

1. Don’t fill up your cart! Fill up your arms instead. When Clark wants to limit impulse purchases at Costco, he’ll skip the monster-sized cart and only buy what he can carry in his two arms.

2. Look for the 97s. Look for anything that ends in 97 cents, which means it’s being sold below cost. You’ll find most of the 97s in the seasonal section—the back third of the middle of the store.

3. Look for the asterisks. Price tags with an asterisk mean an item will not be reordered. If you see the asterisk and there are a lot of the items in stock, wait until the price gets marked down to a 97 and then buy.

4. If you don’t like it, bring it back. Costco has a generous return policy that extends to almost everything they sell, even the $55 or $110 membership itself. That’s lead to some really weird returns over the years.