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One ounce gold bars are available at Costco.
Chris Goodney/Bloomberg
By now, you might have heard that
Costco Wholesale
sells gold bars. But actually getting your hands on one may be harder than finding a pot of gold at the end of a rainbow.
The company started selling gold bars online in the past few months for about $2,000. They have become a fan favorite, garnering hundreds of five-star reviews and frequently selling out.
“I have wanted to purchase gold for some time now, but was never really confident about trusting a dealer,” reads one five-star review on
Costco
‘s website. “When I saw Costco carried this bar, I jumped on the opportunity because I trust Costco for vetting the vendor, and the price seemed really good!”
The gold bars have become so coveted they often sell out hours after they are listed on the website.
“When we load them on the site, they’re typically gone within a few hours, and we limit two per member,” Chief Financial Officer Richard Galanti said on a call with investors Tuesday.
The bars are currently available online only, but the company may test it in a few stores in the near future, said Josh Dahmen, Costco assistant vice president of financial planning and investor relations, on a call with Barron’s Thursday.
Costco members looking to stock up can buy a one-ounce bar of 24-karat gold from Pamp Suisse or from Rand Refinery for just under $2,000, according to a Yahoo Finance report. Because the bars are currently sold out, Barron’s couldn’t verify their prices, and Costco didn’t immediately provide the prices. List prices may be even lower for people holding Costco’s Executive Membership, which gives an annual 2% back reward on qualifying purchases.
While it may come as a surprise that a big-box retailer like Costco is selling gold bars, it isn’t unheard of. Competitor
Walmart
(WMT) has an array of gold bars on its website at similar prices to Costco.
The same one-ounce Pamp Suisse gold bar that Costco sells is listed for $1,952.99 on
Walmart
‘s website—and it is currently available for purchase. As of Thursday morning, Pamp Suisse bars were on sale at Canadian precious metal seller Kitco for $1,935.25 an ounce.
Gold tends to perform well in periods of economic uncertainty, and is often used as a hedge against inflation. Indeed, gold prices have been on a tear since the pandemic, creeping close to a record high earlier this year.
Prices have since come down—an ounce of gold priced at $1,890 Thursday, according to Nasdaq. But if Costco’s gold rush is anything to go by, many investors are still looking to build up a stash for a rainy day.
Write to Sabrina Escobar at sabrina.escobar@barrons.com