Costco released a tentative Black Friday ad a few weeks ago, however, a new updated version of the Costco Black Friday 2016 ad has been leaked. The updated version of the ad includes the exact prices you can expect to pay on some of Costco’s hottest tech deals.
The Original Costco Black Friday Ad
Exact prices for items like the Sony PS4 and Microsoft Xbox One were leaked in the new ad. The original version of the ad only revealed how much customers would receive off but did not reveal specific prices for any of the items. Even the new leaked ad has a few items, notably the Surface Pro 4 bundle, that do not have prices yet either. Early in November the first ad was leaked in the form of scanned pages from the advertisement for Costco’s Thanksgiving weekend sale. The leaked pages were then uploaded to the company’s website as well. This ad, however, only labeled things as “$50 off” or “25% off.”
One thing was missing though: the original price of the items. Although the “Black Friday discounts” were laid out, customers were still unsure of how much they would be paying for popular holiday sale items. The words “$50 Off” don’t mean much when it leaves the consumer asking “$50 off what?”
It is likely that Costco released the first ad without actual pricing to judge its competitors like Walmart and Best Buy. If Costco is able to see how much its competitors are charging for items like the Xbox One and PS4 this holiday season it will be able to lower its prices to be more competitive before there is an official and final ad.
The New Costco Black Friday Ad Includes Some Prices
Almost all the products in the new Costco Black Friday ad have actual pricing information. The leaked ad was released on Tuesday, just over a week from the three-day sale. Items on the advertisement that were formerly marked as “$50 Off” have finalized prices.
The Sony PS4 bundle, for example, has a final sale price of $279. Costco will be selling Xbox One bundles for the same price. The bundle includes a game and an extra controller. Other items, like the Dell XPS 13 Laptop that had a “$300 off” price in the original ad, has a finalized sale price $1,299.
Some Items Still Have No Exact Price
The Microsoft Surface Pro 4 (a popular tablet) bundle remains unpriced in the latest ad. There is no specific sale price listed with the tablet. Customers have no further information other than Costco will be offering a $250 discount on that item. The Surface Pro isn’t the only item that Costco has left up in the air until the last minute either. Other items, including the Vizio sound bar, were listed on the flyer with no specific sale price. Another handful of items will remain a mystery. Although it is unclear as to why Costco has decided to reveal its Black Friday ads in this way, it has created a bit of suspense and it has made the company able to be more competitive with its pricing this holiday season (many other companies have already released official Black Friday ads).
It is not yet clear whether the official Costco Black Friday advertisement will include final pricing for all of its items or not. One thing is for sure though, Costco customers are going to reap some serious discounts at the discount retailer this season.
Incidentally if you want to learn how to shop at Costco without a membership click here to learn how to do it. Costco also has really excellent deals on wine and beer, which you can also get without a membership.
Photo: Mike Mozart
Not much to say in this article about actual release of Costco Ad pricing. In other words, no new news so the article title was misleading.
Mary – I think its more for those who are interested in getting ready for Black Friday. Costco is a huge black Friday favorite.