Bumping this up as a question for you all, especially those who bought the Costco candles.
I bought an adorable set of flameless candy cane striped candles before the holidays at Christmas Tree Shops. They worked great and I decided to get some more for after the holidays.
I replaced them with a set of plain white ones and am disappointed in those. They never really got bright enough, they had a black "hole" in the top which was unsightly (which I didn't notice before I bought - I keep them on a kitchen island so they're very noticable), and then the batteries died after just a week or so. (And those round batteries are really expensive to replace.

) So these were a complete waste of time and money and I don't want to go down that road again.
I've searched around and read reviews, and these are the ones I think are the best and want to buy. I love the timer option - I turn the candles on in the evening so it would be perfect. They're also reported to have a very long battery life.
http://www.amazon.com/Battery-Operated-Flameless-Scented-Candles/dp/B002SM77U4/ref=pd_sbs_k_1
Problem. I'm reading that these are the same ones that Costco was selling for $19.99 (and dipped to even less on clearance, apparently?). Now these same ones are $125.00

plus $29.99 shipping at
Amazon.

I love Amazon and just placed an order last week - but that seems ridiculous! (They also have "melted" ones of the same brand for $119.00 but I prefer the straight edge if possible, fyi.)
I've searched the net for them elsewhere and all links seem to lead back to the Amazon rip off, lol. Does anyone know if Costco still has these now? (None listed on website, and I'm not a member but have friends that are.) Or does anyone know where else these can be bought for a more reasonable price than $150??
PS I checked out the ones Christmas Tree Shops has now and a) they only had one size and I'd like the set of 3, and b) I don't think they were the same brand as the candy cane ones which came as a set (for $6, then less on clearance; now I wish I bought more).
Thanks!