I was wondering the same thing when I was looking for my machines. The Costco version appears to be a no-heater version of the 8500 that looks on the outside like a 8300. The price is not that great - I got the 8500 set for $1500 (no pedestals) at Best Buy. If you want the pedestals and don't care about the heater it may work OK for you. You may be able to do better by shopping around a bit if you have other stores in your area. It is worth it - they are great little machines.

oregpsnow - Thank you for the information. I don't really want the pedestals that come with this set because whatever I end up buying will ultimately go into a new Laundry closet (the configuration as yet to be determined). I also definitely do want the heater. Sounds like it strikes out on both counts. I am glad to hear you say that they are great little machines. I am having a very difficult time trying to decide on what to buy and I am not sure how much more time I have left on my current dryer - it sounds as if people are playing dodge ball inside it every time I turn it on.

I just purchased Duets last week and my Costco had those in the store, so I considered them. I agree with oregpsnow... the price was not great, which surprised me. Best Buy was much better. I don't know if the machines are made just for Costco, but I wouldn't be surprised. They often do that and I think Whirlpool makes other appliances specifically for Costco, if I'm not mistaken. A couple of things to note:
1. The pedestals Costco is selling are not the same as the Whirlpool pedestals you see everywhere else. They're 2.5 inches shorter and configured differently inside.
2. The Costco machines are listed as being 30" wide, while the other stores' machines are 27". Not sure if that's an accurate measurement ~ seemed a bit odd to me and was my primary reason for eliminating them from consideration. I only had 57" to work with.

Thank You sarahmakes6 for your reply. I could do the width in my current set up but I may not have the width in the future (if my kitchen/Laundry remodel ever happens), and I really want the internal heater which oregpsnow said that the Costco model doesn't have. I also may need the option to stack the pair and I don't know if those have that option. Anyway, I am ruling them out and am back to square one (or maybe two). I am seriously considering just buying a used dryer (my washer is fine at this point) and waiting until the remodel to immerse myself in Washer/Dryer research again.

The Whirlpool Duet Sports are stackable.

They are only 1699.99 now and you should definately buy from costco.Look at what you get unlimited warranty,free delivery,free installation,free haul away,free parts to install,bottom line if you dont like them take them back.You cant do that at best buy or any other store for that matter.You will kick yourself if you buy anything not at costco.

I bought the Whirlpool Duet Sport last Aug 2008 and I've already had a major electrical repair on the washer. It was barely even used.
The machine is very very noisey and squeaky. It was even worse when I had the dryer stacked on top. Not happy with this machine at all. Unable to wash any rugs that have fringe, even a small rug because it won't drain or spin fast enough to get the water out. The repair person said that's normal. Huh??
What's the point of having a huge expensive machine if I can't wash a single rug in there.
Also, I don't think the clothes come out very clean and the repair person said I should add OxyClean. Why should I have to add more cleaning products just to get the clothes clean???
The repair person said the squeaking is from the springs that hold the drum in place and nothing can be done about that noise. It's awful and unacceptable.

The dryer has problems also, with the clothes not drying evenly and taking too long to dry. I've cleaned out the vent, so thats not the issue. I usually have to run the heavy duty dry cycle twice to get everything totally dry. The repair person said that's normal. Unacceptable is what I say. After all my dryer complaints, they finally ran a diagnostic and all the lights lit up and there was an error code, which the repair person had never seen before!! After making several phone calls, they were able to fix that problem. It was a moisture issue, which doesn't make sense to me.
I would definitley NOT recommend these machines and I might end up sending them back soon.
Not good....