COSTCO members have been left baffled by a code spotted on price labels at stores.
Some are concerned as to what it could mean for the future of their favorite merchandise at the warehouse retailer.
2
2
“Saw this code on a price label and have never noticed one like this,” a confused shopper wrote in a Reddit thread this month.
“What does the code (F 6/15) in the lower left side mean? Today is 6/10.”
“Hoping it is future sale date…” they added.
In the snapshot included in the post, the marking could clearly be seen as the consumer described.
It was on a $189.99 price label for the Ninja Creami Deluxe at-home ice cream maker.
KEEPING THE FOCUS
While some Costco members were also unclear about the meaning, several employees explained that the F stood for “Focus.”
It’s supposedly a signifier to staff on the floor that the item needs to be near the end of an aisle or out in the open until the allotted date marked of “6/15,” which is, of course, June 15, 2025.
“Needs to be somewhere on an endcap or somewhere prominent until 6/15 in this case,” a staffer replied.
“You’ll see M sometimes as well meaning Mandatory. Same similar concept.”
Another Costco worker echoed that the “item must be placed on the aisle right next to the door until the specified date.”
A third even broke down the meanings behind some of the other letters shoppers might spot on labels.
“M – ‘Mandatory’ means it should be on an end cap,” they wrote.
“H – ‘High Focus Area’ means it should be somewhere with a lot of traffic, specifically what we call an impulse.”
“S – ‘Split Focus’ is similar to High Focus except it should be away from its home location, so like batteries near the fence,” the staffer added.
Costco Membership Deal
*If you click on a link in this boxout we may earn affiliate revenue.
Get a Costco 1-year Gold Star membership for $65 which comes with a FREE $20 Digital Costco Shop Card.
How to redeem this offer: After purchasing this offer on StackSocial, your $20 digital Costco Shop Card will be sent directly from Costco to your email address within two weeks of successfully redeeming.
*Valid for new members only. Check full terms and conditions here.
The US Sun has contacted Costco for more information.
DEATH STAR FEAR
Another marking on Costco items that makes members nervous is known as the “death star.”
It’s effectively an asterisk, and it typically indicates that once the remainder of the product with the marking runs out, it will not be restocked.
Costco hasn’t verified this connotation.
Still, employees have before, noting it effectively signifies the merchandise is “pending deletion,” per Yahoo.
It’s almost a unanimous understanding among members at the warehouse retailer’s over 600 stores nationwide that it’s best to grab up the item with the death star quick before it’s gone.
Two specific products with the death star caused some Costco shoppers to cry out recently.
In February, a fan-favorite dessert was on the “chopping block” along with several others.
Last summer, a popular drink also vanished with the death star, and Costco members were left fuming over “horrendous” alternative options.
