Costco Connection - October 2005

inside costco

Consumer reporter Pat Volchok gives a behind-the-scenes look at Costco products and services.

of holiday trim

JUST LIKE THE UNSEEN ELVES who feverishly work year-round in Santa’s workshop, Costco’s bevy of holiday-décor manufacturers spend all of their time creating exclusive magical holiday decorations. They remind me a lot of Santa’s little friends, which is why I’ve nicknamed them the Costco elves.

This group of holiday-focused (dare I say obsessed?) vendors works directly with Costco’s two seasonal-trim buyers, Shelly Bucklin for warehouses and Jodi Ellis of costco.com.

IRIDIO PHOTOGRAPHY

Shelly reports that Costco is the perfect place for those who wish to celebrate the season with style—and save money. Emphasis is on holiday decorations that fit all tastes, from traditional and/or religious to fanciful. The hot items this year are energy-saving light-emitting diode (LED) holiday lights, decorations that incorporate motion and anything handcrafted.

LEDs already light the numbers on digital clocks, clarify dashboards of airplanes and add visibility to traffic lights. Now they are improving

^Decorating ^your ^home^{indoor/outdoor} ^holiday ^light ^{strings. Unlike} ^old-^with ^elegant ^touches ^is^fashioned ^filament ^bulbs ^that ^burn ^{out, LEDs} ^ar^e^asy—and ^{affordable—}^illuminated ^by ^a ^computer ^{chip. They} ^use ^up ^to ⁹⁰^at ^Costco. ^But ^don’t^percent ^less ^electricity ^than ^conventional ^bulbs ^and^wait ^too ^{long: The}^can ^be ^plugged ^directly ^into ^standard ^110/120-volt^most ^popular ^seasonal^wall ^outlets ^without ^the ^use ^{of a} ^transformer.^items ^go ^fast.^Costco’s ^LED ^Forever ^Bright^icicle ^(#899934)h ^Yo^om^ure ^and ^multicolor ^or ^red ^(#780739) ^strings ^are ^{rated for} ²⁰ ^years ^and ^200,000 ^hours ^{of use. They} ^arefor ^made ^{of heavier} ^20-gauge ^{wire, and} ^each ^diode ^{is housed} ⁱⁿ ^a ^{one-piece, moisture-resistant} ^{cone. All are} ^UL ^{(Underwriters} ^{Laboratories)} ^{approved. Costco} ^also ^carries ^traditional ^{outdoor/indoor}lighting. This season’s icicle and mini twinkle lights