Starbucks & Godiva gift cards at Costco

Another great feature at Costco are discounted gift cards, either to local retailers, or national chains. We've used the $100 value for Asha salons for $79.99 numerous times, and know a few people who've taken advantage of the McCormick & Schmick gift certificates.

New news on the discount gift card front (from October's Costco Connection magazine) is that Costco will soon be offering five $20 Starbucks cards for $79.99, and two $25 Godiva cards for $39.99. So if you are a Starbucker, here's your chance to save some $$ on your habit!

eBay Watch: Kirkland brand jeans

This caught my eye. I've always seen the Kirkland brand jeans, never bought them though. Interesting to see what sort of resale value they have.

Costco news around the web

Washington couple caught stealing $800 worth of merchandise - they had a 3-yr old with them!

Herman Miller chairs, now at Costco - this could be a huge deal for HM, with Costco's distribution reach and consumer reputation.

Huffington Post on Costco and the federal bailout - good analogy.

Costco tires

IMO, I've gotten tires at both tirerack.com and at Costco. The thing that separates Costco from other warehouse clubs, and frankly most all other retail stores is their service. Customer service is excellent in almost every situation, and is no different with tires.

There are a number of benefits with getting tires at Costco:

• They use nitrogen instead of air which better stabilizes inflation pressure in tires, leading to improved fuel economy, slower loss of pressure over time, less moisture in tires.
• One price for everything, none of this extra cost for disposal, road hazard, etc.
• Lifetime services of rotation, balancing, flat repairs, all included in your initial purchase!
• The few drawbacks are there's usually a long wait, they only service tires, no other services.
• Wait, if you can, for the coupon passports, they usually will have savings for tires.

Some more credibility from fatwalleters.

eBay Watch: "Costco" brand playpen and more coupons!

I'm pretty sure this auction for a "Costco" brand playpen is a typo. What do you think?

I've been seeing a ton of coupon auctions, for individual laptop deals, to this. What intrigued me about this one was that it was already bid up to $1.20 (0.60 shipping) with more than 2 days left. I don't know what Strivectin is, but for some apparently it's worth more than I know.

eBay Watch: Costco coupons

FYI, that old Costco membership card, sold as a collectible, didn't sell.

The new September Costco coupons have come out, and as a result, many have shown up on eBay.

It's an interesting phenomenon, auctioning off the coupons. I thought about selling certain big-ticket item coupons, but it seems like most of the auctions are for complete, unused coupon books. The main reason I can think of for buying these online are if you aren't a Costco member and you want to use these coupons? Or if you share membership somehow, and want to get your own coupon book? Any other thoughts?