Carl vs Costco

As some of you may have heard, I seem to have a knack for getting reduced pricing or extra warranties from companies.

My latest story involves Costco and getting a photobook printed.

This started a couple months ago when I noticed that Costco had some pricing listed for a photobook. They listed their books for $26.99, which seemed like a reasonable deal.
So it took me a few weeks to get my favourite photos together and create the album online.
When I went to pay for the book, they were going to charge me $39.99 !!!!!

I thought perhaps I miss-read the sign at Costco, so I eventually made it back there and verified the pricing. I asked the clerk why the difference in pricing....he didn't have a clue, but verified the new pricing on the Costco site. He didn't seem willing to help me with the pricing (ie, offering me a refund, or calling someone about it).

A week or so later, we found ourselves at Costco again, and I asked a different clerk (Mark). Mark verified the price difference and told me that he would pull the sign and put my name/number on it so that I get this price.

So I ordered the book. One good thing about the Costco photo site is that you pay for the product at the store (instead of online). So when my books came in (notified by email), I went to Costco and spoke to a different clerk who wanted to verify it with the clerk I originally spoke with. The good news is the Mark was just on his way in and he gave me the price that we originally saw.

So instead of paying $39.99 for the book, I only paid $26.99 !!!