Gold bars and silver coins remain top sellers at Costco – and a code for boosting online sales

• Gold bars and silver coins continue to show strong Costco sales.

• The company sells an estimated $200 million worth of metals per month.

• Although the margin is low, these valuable items help the company demonstrate strong e-commerce growth.

Gold bars and silver coins gave Costco another quarter of strong sales.

While the company didn’t disclose exact sales figures for these products in Thursday’s third-quarter earnings results, it did say the category was a top seller online, along with devices, gift cards and e-tickets.

Analysts estimate the company sells about $200 million worth of gold and silver a month, and former CFO Richard Galanti said the stock typically sells out “within hours.”

Much of their attractiveness to both professional and amateur collectors lies in the fact that bars and coins are sold at a very low price, above the market price of the metal. (U.S. Mint silver coins carry a small premium because they provide tax benefits.)

Although Costco’s profits from selling gold and silver are relatively low, these valuable items provide something of a code for a wholesale club that is still trying to grow its e-commerce business.

Passing hundreds of millions of dollars in sales through Costco.com is a quick way for a company to demonstrate strong e-commerce growth with relatively little risk or complicated capital investment: they simply buy a lot of gold and sell every ounce of it to members. .

The strategy is also paying off, with digital product sales up 20.7% this quarter compared to the same period last year, before Costco’s gold went viral.

And since gold and silver are members-only, buzz around the metals is another way to attract new sign-ups. After all, what is a $60 membership fee for a shopping cart of $4,000 worth of gold?

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