Two dozen eggs, a gallon of milk, 30 rolls of toilet paper — and one ounce of 24 karat gold.
While that might be one of the more expensive grocery runs a Costco shopper might make, it is one that could realistically happen.
Costco sells hundreds of millions of dollars’ worth of gold and silver each month. There are two ways to buy bars and coins from the wholesale club: online and in-store at certain warehouses. Here’s what that looks like.
The first step — step zero, if you will — is to get a Costco membership, since precious metals are exclusively available to members. The basic Gold Star membership gives you access, but if you’re planning to spend several thousand dollars on gold and silver, it might make sense to spring for the executive upgrade.
For the additional $65, executive members get 2% rewards on most purchases, including precious metals. At the recent price of about $4,480, the reward on a one-ounce gold bar or coin would be around $89, which is more than the price of an upgrade. (Executive members can also shop early at the warehouse, but that’s another story.)
Equipped with a membership, the options to buy precious metals depend largely on the availability of supply.
How to buy gold and silver from Costco online
Gold, silver, and platinum are listed on Costco.com on a precious metals page in the jewelry and watches category. (The items were previously listed under sports memorabilia and collectibles, which made them a bit harder for the casual buyer to track down.)
When products are priced at or near the commodity market’s “spot” price, they can sell out extremely quickly.
Silver also tends to sell out quickly and follows a similar pricing pattern. In fact, silver’s market rally of more than 130% year-to-date as of Tuesday morning has outpaced gold’s nearly 70% increase. Plus, silver’s lower unit price — it’s at an all-time high of $69 per ounce — means more options for shoppers who are curious about buying metals but don’t want to fork over the price of a well-used car just yet.
Costco has responded to fluctuations in demand by limiting the quantities of a particular item a member is allowed to purchase in one transaction and over a 24-hour period.
Once an online purchase is completed, Costco estimates about three to five days for delivery, typically via UPS or FedEx. Same-day grocery orders must be placed separately, via Instacart.
Comments on the CostcoPM subreddit indicate that some packages can take longer to deliver, especially around periods of high demand and near the end of the week.
How to buy gold and silver at a Costco warehouse
Precious metals are also occasionally available at some warehouses — if you know where to look.
Sometimes it’s easier to spot: the store will put a large sign near the entrance encouraging arriving shoppers to check out seasonal or specialty bars. Some stores will let you know what they have in stock if you call ahead.
At other times, a sample of the available inventory will be displayed in the warehouse’s jewelry case near the electronics section.
Still, it’s not as simple as tossing a bar into your cart and proceeding to checkout. The jewelry case also has a stack of paper forms that shoppers must fill out with the item SKU and the quantity they wish to purchase.
Shoppers then bring the completed slip to the front office, where an employee will retrieve the order and assist with payment. Voila — they now own a small slab of expensive metal. Don’t lose it.
3 things Costco shoppers should know before buying gold or silver
There are three last things Costco shoppers should note.
Although Costco stands behind everything it sells, precious metals are excluded from the company’s unusually generous return policy. It also will not adjust the price of gold, silver, or platinum after purchase. Once the deal is done, that’s it.
The second thing is that it generally does not make mathematical sense to finance gold or silver purchases with credit card debt or other interest-bearing payment options.
While some metals buyers use credit cards in order to take advantage of rewards schemes, it’s widely understood that any balance should be promptly paid off with cash, since interest charges can offset any card points or increase in the metal’s value.
Lastly, some gold and silver buyers have found that selling metals can be harder than buying them (at least at the prices they would prefer). Coin shops are not likely to offer the full spot price for gold or silver, since they need to leave room to make a profit when they sell the metal.
Metals dealers and advisors generally recommend planning to hold onto physical precious metals for the long term. Selling without a strategy can have unexpected costs.
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