• by Tanya Gazdik , April 11, 2024

The popularity of Costco’s “members only” gold bars continues to climb. 

“Costco may be selling up to $200 million worth of the bars each month, according to a Wells Fargo analysis,” according toThe New York Times. “The bars sell out quickly, and customers are trading advice online about how to get them.”

That’s up from the $100 million per quarter in gold sales that Costco confirmed during a conference call for investors in December, according to MediaPost’s Marketing Daily.  

Consumers aren’t necessarily getting a deal on the bars, which were going for about $2,370 earlier in the week, according to slickdeals.net. 

“While the price is not disclosed online to nonmembers, the product typically sells for nearly 2% above the spot price, which as of time of publication was around $2,354 per troy ounce, up more than $350 since 2023,” according to ABC News."Personal finance content creator Humphrey Yang told ABC News he purchased one of the bars at Costco for $2,359.”

So why buy gold at Costco? For those looking to purchase gold for the first time, Costco provides familiarity and ease, Sadiq S. Adatia, the chief investment officer for BMO Global Asset Management, tells The New York Times.

“They make it convenient,” he told theTimes. “People can physically go in and pick it up and that’s it, versus opening up an account and buying gold shares.”

Costco likely isn’t making a lot of money on the purchases, according to The New York Times. 

But buzz about the offering has led to increased interest in investing in the metal, according to Zachary Scott, general manager of Wilshire Coin in Santa Monica, Calif. 

Scott said that he is seeing customers who are “less than typical” brought in after seeing gold being sold by “a trusted company.”

“It's bringing in new buyers and interest, though not in massive amounts, who have seen the articles around Costco selling gold,” Scott told USA Today.