Gold bars selling out at Costco at $1900 a pop

I just checked the spot price for one ounce of 24 karat gold in US dollars.....$1,914.00 as of 2 minutes ago. Go buy it at Costco. I am sure this is what is known in retail sales as a "loss leader " that is intended to bring in people, who may also buy something else while in the store. I buy and sell silver and gold here in Canada, so I have the spot price indicator on my computer all the time. The profit margin on silver is better than on gold, and the per ounce price for silver is a lot less than for gold.

A year ago the spot price for one ounce of gold in US dollars was around $1600. Obviously, a company with the assets of Costco can afford to buy gold by the pound or kilo, when the price dips, then sell it at a higher price, like they are doing today. I do the same thing, except in much smaller amounts. Gold and silver are commodities that are bought and sold . JimB.
 
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jimintoronto said:
I just checked the spot price for one ounce of 24 karat gold in US dollars.....$1,914.00 as of 2 minutes ago. Go buy it at Costco. I am sure this is what is known in retail sales as a "loss leader " that is intended to bring in people, who may also buy something else while in the store. I buy and sell silver and gold here in Canada, so I have the spot price indicator on my computer all the time. The profit margin on silver is better than on gold, and the per ounce price for silver is a lot less than for gold. JimB.
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Apparently these are online sales only. It will bring them to their website. And if the public demands they sell silver as well they'll probably wind up offering something.

My guess is they had some customers that told them they would buy a niche or specialty item like gold and they responded.
 

Thanks for the information. On line sales makes sense, as the product can be held at one location and shipped out to the buyer using a stealth courier service. My supplier in Edmonton, Alberta uses a number of spoof shipping names and addresses and the packages are plain jane in appearance. I have to pick them up at a armored car company's security office. JimB.
 
I saw a brief video clip about that by a Costco manager. I wondered how much they sold for because he didn't say. But it was mentioned that the customer could only purchase two.
 
OneEyedDiva said:
I saw a brief video clip about that by a Costco manager. I wondered how much they sold for because he didn't say. But it was mentioned that the customer could only purchase two.
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The price will fluctuate based on price per ounce so store management might not since they online only. I'd have to check if they order at the customer service counter. They might only send directly to the customer. I don't know if would be safe to leave that with other customer orders.
 
Be very careful, some years ago the Chinese were selling gold coated lead bars. A lot of people fell for the really good deals they got on their new gold bars. My son is a coin collector and he buys gold and silver.
 
WhatInThe said:
The price will fluctuate based on price per ounce so store management might not since they online only. I'd have to check if they order at the customer service counter. They might only send directly to the customer. I don't know if would be safe to leave that with other customer orders.
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That makes sense re why no price was mentioned but I would never place an order for something so valuable and have it shipped to my address.
 
I wonder if they really have the money or are they just maxing out on their credit cards. No wonder so many people these days are howling and screaming about high prices and the cost of living.

Maybe they need to stop their "shopping until they are dropping?"
 
the problem is selling ..

the cost of having gold assayed to confirm its real , the shipping and insurance and lack of an agreed upon buy price leaves you open to what a dealer wants to give you .


not something i would take possession of. and i own a lot of gold thru etfs
 
Funny, people think having gold will help them during a crisis.
If the crisis is bad enough to revert to gold as being the bartering tool, then other aspects of society have broken down.

First, gold would be taken from weaker people. Don't think you can have gold without protection(guns, ammo, etc)

Second, using gold as a battering tool assumes there is a value system in place, meaning there needs to be some form of oversight/measurement processing place. To use gold, our government would need to be gone and international currency would need to be ineffective, leading to much bigger problems than owning gold.

Third, If gold was the battering tool, it assumes that there is necessities available to trade gold for (food, water, gasoline, etc.) which in a crisis, probably is not available or contaminated.
 
mathjak107 said:
the problem is selling ..

the cost of having gold assayed to confirm its real , the shipping and insurance and lack of an agreed upon buy price leaves you open to what a dealer wants to give you .


not something i would take possession of. and i own a lot of gold thru etfs
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Buying gold that was produced by a Government agency like the Royal Canadian Mint in Ottawa, ensures both it's gold content, and it's authentic origin. The RCM gold coins and bars are stamped with their mint name, and the gold is .9999 pure. If you are a Canadian and you buy from the RCM you pay no sales tax, and the delivery is free of charge. If I want to sell my RCM gold, there are a dozen buyer locations here in Toronto that will pay the daily spot price for gold in cash. Here is a photo link of what the Royal Canadian Mint bars look like.

royal canadian mint gold bars photos - Bing

JimB.
 
jimintoronto said:
Buying gold that was produced by a Government agency like the Royal Canadian Mint in Ottawa, ensures both it's gold content, and it's authentic origin. The RCM gold coins and bars are stamped with their mint name, and the gold is .9999 pure. If you are a Canadian and you buy from the RCM you pay no sales tax, and the delivery is free of charge. If I want to sell my RCM gold, there are a dozen buyer locations here in Toronto that will pay the daily spot price for gold in cash. Here is a photo link of what the Royal Canadian Mint bars look like.

royal canadian mint gold bars photos - Bing

JimB.
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Canadian Fake RCM Gold
Unless its fake.....
 
I have wondered before about the "Gold for a crisis" philosophy. I'm starving and need to survive, and someone has enough fish to make a meal. I have an ounce of gold. What do I do? Do I get change for an ounce of gold? You might be better off hoarding a bucket full of junk silver. Better yet, a handful of bullets or arrow heads.
 
jimintoronto said:
Tell us about your gold investments ? Or are you just looking for a reason to knock Canada ? JimB.
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Sorry, can't elaborate on details of my investments.
Not looking to 'knock' Canada (although there are many reasons, but this isn't one)
Just trying to educate people on being aware that fake gold is out there, no matter where the source.
You can't say Canadian gold is 100% real...just asking that anyone looking in gold as an investment vehicle to get them checked out first.
 
JustDave said:
I have wondered before about the "Gold for a crisis" philosophy. I'm starving and need to survive, and someone has enough fish to make a meal. I have an ounce of gold. What do I do? Do I get change for an ounce of gold? You might be better off hoarding a bucket full of junk silver. Better yet, a handful of bullets or arrow heads.
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Gold by the gram is a viable trading item. A troy ounce of gold is 31.1 grams. I hold RCM one gram rounds in my investment account, also 10 and 20 gram wafer items. I also buy 80 and 90 percent old silver coins, for the melt value. I buy old solid sterling silver items like spoons forks and serving plates for melting. I have a smelter company here in Toronto that charges me 15 percent of the refined silver price, for their services. Today the spot price in Canadian dollars for pure silver per ounce is $29.25 and the gold price is $2507.07 CDN per 24 karat ounce. This is a business for me, not a matter of "survival strategy ".

The price of gold and silver goes up and down by the minute just like the stock market indexes do. The majority of my gold was bought when it was at $1200 Canadian an ounce, so today's spot price of $2507.07 CDN is a nice increase in value. I wear a Canadian solid silver Maple Leaf one ounce coin in a 18 karat gold coin mounting as a neck piece. A reminder of why I buy the precious metals. This is what that coin look like .

link. 1 oz Random Year Canadian Maple Leaf Silver Coin | Royal Canadian Mint

JimB.
 
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jimintoronto said:
Gold by the gram is a viable trading item. A troy ounce of gold is 31.1 grams. I hold RCM one gram rounds in my investment account, also 10 and 20 gram wafer items. I also buy 80 and 90 percent old silver coins, for the melt value. I buy old solid sterling silver items like spoons forks and serving plates for melting. I have a smelter company here in Toronto that charges me 15 percent of the refined silver price, for their services. Today the spot price in Canadian dollars for pure silver per ounce is $29.25 and the gold price is $2507.07 CDN per 24 karat ounce. This is a business for me, not a matter of "survival strategy ".

The price of gold and silver goes up and down by the minute just like the stock market indexes do. The majority of my gold was bought when it was at $1200 Canadian an ounce, so today's spot price of $2507.07 CDN is a nice increase in value. I wear a Canadian solid silver Maple Leaf one ounce coin in a 18 karat gold coin mounting as a neck piece. A reminder of why I buy the precious metals. This is what that coin look like .

link. 1 oz Random Year Canadian Maple Leaf Silver Coin | Royal Canadian Mint

JimB.
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If we are truly considering gold as the only form of barter during a complete world crisis, then we got bigger problems than gold.
 
Gold is down to $1833/oz. today...so those who rushed to Costco to pay $1900 are probably a bit disappointed. With so many problems with this current economy, buying gold/silver is not a very good choice. Only when the economy is doing great, and precious metals are in a "lull", is "buying" a good choice. Those who bought some gold in 2000, when the price was about $250/oz. could reap a nice profit selling today, but those buying today may not see a profit for decades.
 

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