Retailers Cut Early Labor Day Prices by Up to 75% on Tech, Home and Apparel

Q: Does the hidden 5% online surcharge for non-members completely wipe out the massive savings promised by these early holiday markdowns?

No. The 5% online surcharge for non-members does not erase Costco’s headline Labor Day discounts on the biggest deals, though it does trim them and can make smaller markdowns less compelling. On the LG C6 OLED TV, the sale price is $1,800 versus $2,700, a $900 discount. A 5% non-member surcharge adds about $90, leaving roughly $810 in savings before the extra $150 Shop Card. Even with the surcharge, that remains a very large discount. The same pattern holds on several other featured items. AirPods Pro 3 at $200 instead of $250 still save a non-member about $40 after a 5% fee. The Bose SoundLink Home speaker at $130 instead of $180 still saves about $43.50 after surcharge. The Ring bundle at $180 instead of $250 still saves about $61. Where the surcharge matters more is on modest discounts. A Lexar SSD marked down from $140 to $120 saves $20, but a 5% fee adds about $6, cutting the net savings to roughly $14. On the MacBook Pro at $1,850 from $1,999, the surcharge adds about $92.50, shrinking the effective discount to around $56.50 unless member-only extras such as extended warranty benefits apply. For shoppers buying one expensive, deeply discounted item, the surcharge usually does not wipe out the deal. But for lightly discounted products, it can make the value far less attractive. In many cases, a $65 Gold Star membership can pay for itself quickly on a large purchase, especially when member-only perks or Shop Card offers are included.

3 articles · Updated · Yahoo · Aug 27

Up to 75% discounts are already appearing across early Labor Day sales, with retailers marking down tech, home goods and apparel before the holiday weekend.
Summer-clearance timing is driving the push, as sellers make room for fall and winter inventory while promoting broad category deals rather than a single chain's event.
Highlighted offers include a Hanes hoodie for $9 from $28, a patio set for $70 from $150, a Vitamix blender for $280 from $379 and a Sam's Club membership for $25 from $60.
Apple, Patagonia, Hoka and iRobot are among the brands featured, with several items described as matching recent lows or the best prices seen this year.
The broader Labor Day discount cycle was already underway earlier this week, with Costco separately launching electronics-focused deals on TVs and Apple devices.