CBS News
Costco now sells up to $200 million a month in gold and silver
It appears people are heading over to Costco for more than just budget-friendly hot dogs.
The warehouse club has seen a spike in sales ever since it began selling 1-ounce bars of 24-karat gold last September. With the gold bullion selling out faster than the store could replenish its stock, the wholesale giant expanded its precious metals to include silver coins in January.
According to one estimate from Wells Fargo, gold-and-silver sales are likely generating between $100 million and $200 million a month for members-only chain. The sales performance comes as the price of gold is reaching new heights.
Sales have climbed, in part, because of “Costco’s aggressive pricing and high level of customer trust,” said Edward Kelly, a Wells Fargo equity analyst. “The accelerating frequency of Reddit posts, quick online sell-outs of product, and Costco’s robust monthly eCommerce sales suggests a sharp uptick in momentum since the launch,” Kelly wrote in a research note this week.
Costco didn’t immediately reply to a request for comment on Wednesday.
To be sure, the online buzz explains part of why Costco’s gold is flying out the door. Another reason: People appear eager to shield themselves financially from today’s economy.
Gold, which is easy to purchase and impervious to the wild swings of the stock market, has historically been viewed by investors as a reliable hedge against inflation — which remains sticky as evidenced by Wednesday’s CPI numbers.
Adding to its current allure, gold prices have risen over the past year, hitting a few milestones in the last few weeks alone — climbing from a record high of $2,160 per ounce in early March to today’s price of $2,353.15 per ounce. The value of gold has grown 14.5% since January, higher than any of the major indices on the New York Stock Exchange. Gold prices are likely to stay flat over the next couple of months, experts predict.
Costco sells two types of gold bars: a 1-ounce PAMP Suisse Lady Fortuna Veriscan bar, which bears the imprint of a silhouette of the goddess of fortune with a cornucopia, and a 1-ounce bar from South Africa’s Rand Refinery, stamped with an elephant design. It also sells 1-ounce Maple Leaf silver coins at $650 for a 25-coin pack.
Gold bars at Costco are selling for about 2% above spot price, the Wells Fargo estimate stated.
“Pricing at that level and shipping costs suggests it’s a very low profit business at best,” Kelly wrote.
Watch CBS News
Be the first to know
Get browser notifications for breaking news, live events, and exclusive reporting.
Dodgers legend Fernando Valenzuela, known affectionately to fans across the baseball world as “El Toro” has died at 63 years old.
The Etchohauquila, Sonora, Mexico native recently stepped away from his role in the Dodgers’ broadcast booth to focus on his health just ahead of the team’s run to the World Series. He had planned to return for the 2025 season.
/ Getty Images
The man behind “Fernandomania,” which took Los Angeles by storm during the 1980s, spent 11 of his 17 seasons in Major League Baseball with the Boys in Blue, leading the team to two World Series titles in 1981 and 1988.
He was well-known for his signature windup and high leg kick before dazzling hitters with his virtually unhittable screwball. Upon retirement, he ranked amongst the franchises top 10 all-time in wins, strikeouts, innings pitched, games started, complete games and shutouts.
The Dodgers honored Valenzuela in 2023 by retiring his No. 34, making him only the 11th Dodger to achieve the spot above the left field bleachers.
Late Tuesday evening the team took to X to acknowledge Valenzuela’s death.
“Fernandomania por siempre,” said a photo. “Fernandomania forever.”
More to come.
DELPHI, Ind. (CBS) — Jurors in the Delphi, Indiana murders trial got a closer look Tuesday at some of the most concrete evidence in the case.
Richard Allen, 52, is facing four counts of murder in connection with the murders of Abigail Williams, 13, and Liberty “Libby” German, 14, in 2017.
Video taken from Libby’s phone right before the murder shows a man, believed to be the killer, walking on a bridge. For the first time Tuesday, jurors got to see a longer version of the video.
A digital forensic analyst also testified about how he got the data off the phone.
Also Tuesday, lead crime scene investigator Brian Olehy brought several key pieces of evidence from at or near the crime scene to court—though they were not shown to the jury, according to CBS affiliate WTTV in Indianapolis.
During cross-examination, defense attorney Brad Rozzi asked several times whether swabs from the crime scene contained any DNA linking Allen to it, WTTV reported, Olehy said he was not aware of any such connection.
Olehy also testified that he believed the branches found on the girls’ bodies were placed there to conceal them, and said it was a “logical assumption” that Libby was “disrobed”—as she was wearing some of Abby’s clothes, WTTV reported. He said investigators could not determine the sequence of events, and did not test the sticks that were found with the bodies, the station reported.
There was also testimony about a single unspent bullet at the scene that is at the center of the case against Allen, the station reported.
Testimony was also heard from Railly Voorhies, who was a 16-year-old high school student who happened to be walking near the Freedom Bridge in Delphi and saw an “unsettling” man who glared at her, WTTV reported. She said the image of the man on the bridge documented in Libby’s phone was the man she saw, the station reported.
Another witness, Betys Blair, also testified that she saw the man on the bridge, WTTV reported.