Costco made $100 million from selling 24-karat gold bars

Costco sells a wide range of items in its members-only stores around the world, from clothing and the newest electronics to bulk bags of chicken nuggets.

But there’s a new product that buyers are going crazy for, hunting across different stores searching for stock.

It’s gold. As in a bar. A bar of gold.

The retailer has sold $100 million worth of one-ounce gold bars in its latest quarter, according to company CEO Richard Galanti, who revealed the profit in an earnings call earlier this week.

He said patrons were exchanging their dollar bills for gold bars when reportedly asked what consumer trends Costco was seeing this holiday season.

You’re probably wondering, how much does a bar of gold retail for?

Kent Nishimura / Los Angeles Times via Getty Images

Shoppers are purchasing the 24-karat bling item for $2,000 to $3,000 an ounce.

With the dazzling item bringing in $100 million for the business, it's no shock that the blocks are selling out ‘within a matter of hours’ after every restock.

Costco chief financial officer Richard Galanti announced “I’ve gotten a couple of calls that people have seen online that we’ve been selling one-ounce gold bars,” he said, according to CNBC.

“Yes, but when we load them on the site, they’re typically gone within a few hours and we limit two per member."

"Saw it for the first-time last night while in bed and missed it by the time I woke up in the morning," one frustrated customer wrote on social media.

Since the item has been limited to two per buyer, both online and in-store, shoppers have been in a frenzy trying to get hold of one of these bars, which are each imprinted with their own unique serial number.

While commonly the store is known for its bargains, the non-refundable item seems to be polarising loyal customers.

Costco

One TikToker said: "Here it is, it’s the cost co gold bar, ive got to say it’s a lot heavier than I thought it would be seeing as its an ounce. It looks lovely though."

Another said: "it’s a novelty item that I won’t be buying, ive got groceries and kids to feed, I shop at cost co but im disappointed they’d be encouraging buyers to spend this type of money."

When Costco put the bars on sale in September, they were available at slightly higher than the market price for the precious metal, which sat at $1,876.12 per ounce.

Topics: Shopping, Christmas, Money

Chelsea Connor

Chelsea is a Journalist for UNILAD. Before this she worked as a Journalist and Comedy Writer for seven years, working for companies such as Newsquest, NationalWorld and Samahoma Productions. She became a qualified journalist back in 2017, completing a NCTJ at Liverpool City College.

@theccjourno