Costco ALERT: GPS Magellan 4250 only $249.99

If you love Costco and need a GPS, this week is the time to go shopping at your local location or go on their website: Costco.com.

They are selling two Magellan brand GPS products on sale. Their smaller one is only $149.99 and their original price is usually $199.99.

But the mega bargain this week is their Magellan 4250 (see picture below), which is getting some great marks from professional product reviewers like CNET.


I was checking on Google Product Search and the average price for the 4250 is about $300 to $500, but Costco right now is offering it for ONLY $249.99.

I got one today at my local Costco, and let me tell you, they were selling these things like hot cakes. I had to get into the wherehouse right at 11AM and purchase it quickly. Don't forget to bring your $100 off coupon. Some locations even have the coupons at the register for people who forget.

This is one hell of a treasure! I guess the Costco G.M. is right, you'll always find a treasure.

Get it NOW! Click here for the direct link to purchase it online.

Lastly, notice the photo on the top of this blog post? I was chomping down on a chicken bake and noticed that they removed the gold star membership price from their wall. Maybe they are trying to get people to just join as an Executive Member, but it might backfire if people unfamiliar with Costco get a membership and realize that $100 is way too expensive. But they still offer gold star for only $50.

Misleading Costco Coupon - 20th Century Fox DVDs

Looking at this coupon on the left, what does this tell you?

This Costco coupon looks to me like I can purchase ANY 20th Century Fox DVD, as long as the program on the DVD has been on television.


WRONG!
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The Costco coupon is actually misleading. There are three item code numbers, but there are four DVDs displayed, meaning that these codes can't really apply to the four displayed DVDs, and also supports that it is legit to any 20th Century Fox DVD.

Actually, it only qualifies to the DVDs that matches the three item code numbers on the Costco price sticker. But since the coupon has three DVD titles, are they they eligible? I don't know.

Nevertheless, I wasn't happy when the guy at the register rejected this, and I also spoke to the manager that this coupon is misleading. I drove over ten miles to that location to purchase something that the coupon is rejected? I wanted to buy the Family Guy "Blue Harvest" Star Wars spoof, but I went home with nothing.

COSTCO SHOULD HAVE:

• Listed all ELIGIBLE DVDs ON THE COUPON.
• Clearly mark that the items are only legit to the codes on the coupon and item.
• Should have put their advertising price sign on the eligible items. Not all items at the El Camino Costco had their price with the coupon discount displayed. I noticed this when an eligible coupon for this week didn't show-up on the product's display.
  

I wonder how many other unhappy customers walked in and realized that their favorite 20th Century Fox DVDs like the Simpson's and Family Guy was going to be turned away at the register with a coupon that didn't tell the whole truth about their advertising?

I was almost ready to demand my membership fees back from Costco that day.

Anyone got an opinion about the interpretation of the coupon? Just post a comment!

Black Friday Shopping - Akit Style!

Today is Black Friday, and I can tell you, I found some good bargains, especially on a tight budget.

For the last two or three years, I've been driving down to Daly City and Colma to visit the major big box stores to get my hands on some great holiday bargains, but mostly for myself. Yeah... I'm a tad selfish, but when you really need something very badly to fix or upgrade, you'd just have to get up by 4AM and suffer some cold weather.

Today, all I did was that I visited my neighborhood Radioshack, which is about twenty blocks away by car, but only a short 10 minute drive on the non-busy streets. The only two things that I was really attracted to at the store was:

• Emergency Hand Crank radio (my old one is broken) for just $20.00 versus $40.00
• 2 Gig XD camera memory card for $40.00 versus other places that sells it for nearly $80.00.

Luckily, that Radioshack was not too busy, there was only about 5 people ahead of me.

Several hours of sleep later, I went to Costco to buy another case of Mexican Coca Cola, a bottle of juice, and a box of gum. Still, a good bargain for 80 cents a bottle of Coca Cola, and gum that is only about 60 cents a pack (versus $1.25 at the grocery store).

After some years of experience of this massive bargain hunting, here's my quick tips to a not so pissed off holiday:

• Shop at night, you might not get those super hot bargains, but you'll experience smaller crowds and still find some decent deals, especially on DVDs.
• If you go for openings at 4 or 5AM, stick to the smaller chain stores like Radioshack, Kohls, and any Mervyn's location not attached to a mall.
• AVOID BEST BUY AT ALL COSTS! Last year, the line was so long, it wrapped around the entire building.
• Go for online purchases, "Cyber Monday" is just a few days away, and some places will offer FREE shipping.
• Go bid on stuff on eBay, they are significantly cheaper than going to your favorite store.
• This is also a good time to sell stuff on eBay, I've sold an xbox system for over $70.00.
  

Mexican Coca Cola in Costco - Real Cane Sugar!

That's right boys and girls, Costco "El Camino" in South San Francisco (not the SFO airport location) is selling cases of Mexican Coca Cola.

It's the real stuff! No corn syrup, but real cane sugar.

What does this taste like? I haven't opened one of the bottles yet, but I've heard that it takes much better and cleaner than the corn syrup product. I have tried Jarrito's several times, and they use real cane sugar and juice, and it takes better than your classic American sodas.

Costco sells these right now for $17.99 for a 24 bottle case. CRV is $1.20 per case. When adding the CRV, it makes it just $0.80 per bottle. Sure, it's not a 20 ounce bottle for $1.35 these days, but it's definitely worth the bargain.

I was at Costco today because I needed gasoline and my folks wanted me to also purchase a chicken to eat for tonight. So I'm roaming up and the down the aisles to look for anything else to take home (other than a hot dog). I was shocked that I ran over these cases of Mexican coke because you can't find it in this size of bulk anywhere else. You might be able to score a couple of bottles at a Mission District Mexican restaurant, but I can't find it at my grocery store.

I BOUGHT TWO CASES! I've got so much soda in my fridge now, I can't fit the second case in there. Maybe I'll drag it to work on Tuesday and stuff it in my office fridge.

The only pure cane sugar product that the American Coca Cola company produces is the Kosher version for Passover, but you may need to go to a specialty store to find that.