Came here to say this. At this point I consider it part of Costco’s brand that I can trust I’m getting close to the lowest possible price for a product when I buy from them. Sure Costco still has it’s own deals and sales pop up on a cadence (for example, never buy tires off-sale because they run the tire sale basically ever 6 weeks, the Traeger event happens something like quarterly, etc.), but overall they’re trustworthy. It’s a huge part of the buying experience with Costco and it generates loyalty over time.

Agree with lotsofpulp about the sales being valid.

I have found that Costco prices are not always the lowest, but that still doesn't always mean they're a bad deal. While in an ideal world, anywhere you can pick up a Brand X product Y, it should be the same, that's not actually the case anymore. (I presume Wal-Mart didn't create this reality, but they have had a disproportional role in propagating it.) Of all things, I notice that the canned black olives I buy at Costco are consistently a step up from the exact same brand at my local megamart. So even though they aren't actually that much cheaper I still prefer to buy them there.

I also find that sometimes a product seems to be comparable, but isn't.

There was a grill at costco I was interested in and it seemed to be about the same price at home depot.

But looking further it turns out the costco model also included a grill cover and a thermometer.

I also assumed Costco’s longer warranty meant that products bought from there would be made at least a little bit better.

It is a shame the 4 year appliance warranty is gone. Used to be such a no brainer to buy appliances at Costco.