Costco, one of the largest retailers in the United States, is elevating the shopping experience for its customers by introducing real gold bars to its extensive inventory, which includes groceries, appliances, and electronics.
The wholesale giant has started selling gold bars online on its website, but they are exclusively available to members, with a limit of two bars per member. These gold bars, including the one-ounce PAMP Suisse Lady Fortuna Veriscan and Rand Refinery bars, are crafted from 24-karat gold and are priced at just under $2,000 on Costco’s website, provided you can secure one.
Gold bars have been in high demand
During a recent quarterly earnings call, Costco’s chief financial officer, Richard Galanti, informed investors that these gold bars have been in high demand, as reported by CNBC. He mentioned, “I’ve received a couple of calls about people noticing that we are selling one-ounce gold bars online. That’s correct, but when we make them available on the website, they tend to sell out within a few hours, and we limit the purchase to two bars per member.” It’s important to note that you must be a Costco member, with an annual fee ranging from $60 to $120, depending on the membership tier, in order to view the price of these gold bars online. The product is non-refundable, and delivery is handled via UPS. According to the product descriptions, the gold bars are brand new, accompanied by certificates of authenticity, and include proof of laboratory analysis. As of Wednesday, these gold bars remained out of stock.
In contrast to some other discounted items at Costco, gold bars come with a substantial price tag. While the bars were unavailable on Wednesday, multiple media outlets reported last week that the one-ounce gold bars, available in two designs, were selling for slightly below $2,000 each. This price is slightly higher than the current market price of gold, which stood at approximately $1,835 per ounce on Wednesday afternoon.
Costco is selling gold bars online and they are selling out within a few hours
Investment portfolio diversification
Costco did not specify the recent sales volume of these gold bars or the frequency of restocking. The company, headquartered in Issaquah, Washington, did not respond immediately to requests for comment from The Associated Press on Wednesday.
It appears that the interest in Costco’s gold bars is likely to persist. Although one or two ounces of gold may not significantly impact a person’s investment portfolio diversification, experts note that there has been growing investor demand for precious metals in recent years, and this trend is expected to continue.
