Costco isn’t the place you’d anticipate to be a treasured metals hub, however following the success of its gold bar gross sales and silver cash, the retailer has added platinum to the lineup.
The corporate has launched the sale of 1 oz. platinum bars on its web site, with a price ticket of $1,089.99. A 1 oz. Canada Maple Leaf platinum coin sells for a similar worth. Each carry a premium markup of about $94.
The Swiss-made bars and cash aren’t accessible in all elements of the nation and can’t be delivered to Nevada or Louisiana, the corporate mentioned on its web site. In addition they can’t be returned or refunded. And if you’d like one, you’ll have to act shortly after they come into inventory, as they promote out nearly instantly.
(Reddit customers have already launched a subreddit—Costco Valuable Metals—to tell one another when inventory is refreshed for gold, platinum and silver choices.)
Introducing treasured metals to its on-line choices has been a boon for Costco’s e-commerce operations. Chief Monetary Officer Richard Galanti, talking on an earnings name earlier this yr, mentioned the rise in on-line gross sales within the final quarter of 2023 was “led by gross sales of gold and really lately silver.”
Costco buyers are a bit fonder of the gold than silver choices. An analyst word from Wells Fargo earlier this yr estimated gross sales of the corporate’s gold bars account for between $100 million and $200 million monthly. Gross sales of the one-ounce bars, that are manufactured from pure gold started final October. The bars promote for about $2,000 every.
Whereas the income numbers are vital, the analysis word suggests the earnings from these gross sales are low, at finest. The true worth, it says, is in how the worth reinforces Costco’s worth place. Consider it as a high-end model of the corporate’s rotisserie chickens—a technique to appeal to buyer consideration.
