Costco Now Sells 1 oz. Gold Bars (But Usually Out of Stock)

Time to clear out some of these browser tabs with interesting/funny stories that have come up this week. First up, Costco has been selling 1 ounce gold bars on its website (only pops up for a second for me), but inventory is sporadic and they sell out quickly (limit 2 per member). Per multiple media articles, the Costco CFO even addressed it in an official quarterly earnings call:

In a quarterly earnings call last week, Costco chief financial officer Richard Galanti told investors that the bars have been flying off the shelves, reported CNBC, saying, “I’ve gotten a couple of calls that people have seen online that we’ve been selling 1 ounce gold bars. Yes, but when we load them on the site, they’re typically gone within a few hours, and we limit two per member.”

At first I thought this was cute, but then I realized that there are multiple ways that the total savings is even more than just the low cost over spot:

First, the cost premium over spot is quite low at Costco, lower than other bullion websites.
You still earn credit card rewards. Most other bullion websites will add a surcharge if you pay with a credit card.
You can earn an additional 2% rewards if you are an Executive member.
You get free shipping.
Watch out for taxes at checkout. Depending on your area, you may or may not be subject to sales tax for gold bullion purchases over a certain amount. You may need to contact Costco after purchase to receive a refund of sales tax charged.

This could indeed work out to a good deal if you are in the market for gold bullion, but I have a feeling it’s going to be like trying to grab Taylor Swift tickets after this media coverage.

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Costco Now Sells 1 oz. Gold Bars (But Usually Out of Stock) from My Money Blog.