Costco is a wholesale retail store known for selling almost anything, from rotisserie chickens to new electronics, at a bargain price. Now, the wholesaler has added an unexpected item to its inventory: gold bullion.
Yes, the bargain brand is currently selling one-ounce PAMP Suisse Lady Fortuna Veriscan gold bars for nearly $2,000.
On September 26, Costco CFO Richard Galanti announced on a quarterly earnings call that gold bullion was also selling quickly. “I’ve had several calls that people have seen online that we’re selling one-ounce gold bars,” he said. CNBC. “Yes, but when we upload them to the site, they usually disappear within a few hours and we are limited to two per member.”
24-karat gold bars can actually be purchased online, but they’re only for customers with a Costco membership, which can cost between $60 to $120 per year. The retailer also limits the number of gold bars to two per membership, and the item is non-refundable.
According to Costco’s website, one-ounce gold bars from a South African Rand refinery sell for a whopping $1,949.99, while gold bars from Swiss supplier PAMP Suisse cost $1,979.99.
Costco has long enjoyed a well-deserved reputation as a shoppers’ favorite store, mainly because of its affordable prices and free samples. In addition to the company It recently raised the minimum wage to $16 for workers in the United States.
In 2021, an employee named Natalie went viral on TikTok when she revealed how much she makes per hour while working at Costco. “When you make $29.50 just drawing smiley faces on receipts,” Natalie said in the video. Some TikTok users said Natalie’s pay was more than many other jobs, including healthcare workers.
One person commented, “Ma’am, I’m a nurse and you make more than I did at my job.”
“Costco is one of the few places where one can earn a living wage. This should be the rule, not the exception,” another user wrote.
Not only did Natalie reveal that she makes well above the US federal minimum wage, which is $7.25 per hour, but she also reminded people of the joy of getting a smiley face stamp from a Costco employee when checking a shopper’s receipt.
Earlier this year, another employee went viral on TikTok when she explained how her life improved after leaving her teaching job to work at Costco. “Everything is better,” she said in the video that went viral on TikTok. “I can’t believe I felt so limited that I thought I couldn’t do anything else. I’m better now than I’ve ever been in living memory.”
The Costco employee also emphasized how much her career has improved, even though she doesn’t get winter or summer vacations like she did as a teacher.
“This is the first year I haven’t had winter break. I don’t miss it at all,” she wrote in a TikTok caption. “The pace of my work life is much better now, and I don’t feel as sick or tired as I did when I was a teacher.”
“Beer aficionado. Gamer. Alcohol fanatic. Evil food trailblazer. Avid bacon maven.”