At my local Costco, they have a Louisiana Grill LG800 for $699.99.  I saw on several other retail sites that the LG800 is normally sold for $1099 (I saw no one offering any discount from that price).  Costco is known for its attractive pricing, but a discount of 36% from MSRP is a lot.  In today's retail world, it seems that brand names don't matter as much as they used to to the manufacturers since they seemingly will create  slightly different versions of just about anything so that the big box stores can offer it exclusively.  It's that "slight difference" that concerns me.

I looked at the one at Costco very carefully and compared it to the specs of the LG800 offered at, for example,XXX(Admin--no dealer names please).  They appeared to be the same.  I called Louisiana Grills and flat out asked them what the difference was and was told that there was no difference.  They said Costco could sell them at that price because they bought so many and could get a good price from Louisiana.

Does anyone have any experience with the Costco version?  Does anyone have an opinion to offer about buying the Costco LG800.    I know the price is good, and it's about where I want to be price wise, but I value quality more than just price alone.  What say you?

I can’t help you much... but if you really want to give it a whirl, with Costco’s return policy, you ain’t got nothing to lose

Ditto.  Go for it.  Its def the exact same grill.  ANd you will get any CS from LG and if need be a return.

I saw this today at Costco. The hopper seems really small. Is it big enough for overnight cooks?

I saw this today at Costco. The hopper seems really small. Is it big enough for overnight cooks?

The hopper is small. Its a 12 lb hopper to be exact. While most of the hoppers on the LG line are 14 lb & Louisiana makes a hopper extension for those models. They do not make a extension for the 800 Elite. I came across a fellow on a pellet FB page that is a dealer & also has a fab shop who claimed to have a couple made up for the 800. Talked to him last Friday on the phone. He is suppose to be shipping me one.

The 800 is a really nice, attractive model. With a price like that I don't expect them to be on the sales floor for long.

A neighbor of mine picked up the LG700 at our local Costco for $499 (I think that is what he told me).

I saw this today at Costco. The hopper seems really small. Is it big enough for overnight cooks?

My Costco also has the 800 with the small hopper.  It is well built with double wall lid etc, but I think it was not bright of them to make the hopper only 12 lb.  Most folks are not gonna want to have to reload in the middle of a long cook.  Besides, it would have been no big deal to make it bigger.  They don't even have an extension hopper for this model.  Otherwise it looks like a winner for the price.    I wonder what their response would be for this criticism?

I received my Hopper extension for the LG800 Elite. A dealer in South Dakota also has a fab shop & makes them. Not going to be afraid to cook overnight in the cold Wisconsin winter nights anymore! Nor will I be afraid of pellets getting wet. I will post pictures tomorrow!

I received my Hopper extension for the LG800 Elite. A dealer in South Dakota also has a fab shop & makes them. Not going to be afraid to cook overnight in the cold Wisconsin winter nights anymore! Nor will I be afraid of pellets getting wet. I will post pictures tomorrow!

Good to hear your problem solved.  I saw the unit at my Costco this past weekend, and wrote the rep for this company and asked why the hopper was so small with no available extension.  He replied today and said he did not know why they decided to do this, and he apologized to me for it.  I'll bet they have had a pot full of such complaints.  How much does your dealer charge for the extension?  I was otherwise very impressed by the quality of this pit.  At $695 it is $300 or so cheaper than the advertised company price. The lid is insulated, (double layered), and it has all the bells and whistles.  Congratulations on your buy and let us know how you like it. 

I had a lot of stuff going on today. It was late before I got to open up the box It fits nice! Okie check your PM's

I stopped at Costco tonight to grab a Prime brisket and saw this. It doesn’t look like a bad grill, but boy is that hopper tiny.

I stopped at Costco tonight to grab a Prime brisket and saw this. It doesn’t look like a bad grill, but boy is that hopper tiny.

See above

I stopped at Costco tonight to grab a Prime brisket and saw this. It doesn’t look like a bad grill, but boy is that hopper tiny.

See above

My comment was meant to be more of a "Yeah, I agree type with the others that the hopper is small". Sorry if it created any confusion.

I'm surprised that the other pellet grill they were selling last year hasn't made it back into Costco... ( the other I think was called the Champion ) That grill seemed to get a lot of enthusiasm from people , and as near as I can tell, you can't buy one anymore. It seems somewhat odd to me that Dansons had some factory in China tool up to make that grill, and then  they only make like one production run of it. Doesn't seem like it would make that much business sense. But then, I have no idea really... these are just my random thoughts on the last 'new' grill that showed up at Costco.

Many companies will make a one-off model for Costco/Sam’s Club. Typically it’s a large one-time order for a nice influx of cash. If the product sells well, Costco/Sam’s Club will buy it again the following year.