Costco sells gold in Ontario and Canada but there is one catch

Costco is now selling 1 oz. gold bars but there is one catch.

The big box chain started selling the 24-carat bars last month to resounding success. Costco Chief Financial Officer Richard Galanti told CBS News the gold bars were selling out within hours of a restock.

“PAMP Suisse’s exclusive Veriscan technology uses the metal’s microscopic topography, like a fingerprint, to identify any registered product, aiding in the detection of counterfeits,” Costco describes, “Each bar is scanned upon production and when scanned by the customer, is further verified by the Veriscan database.”

Gold bars like this have been in demand as investments for some time. Economic analysts commonly cite such investments as useful in markets with rapidly fluctuating currencies. However, they are commonly seen as less effective in more stable economies such as Canada’s.

However, the Associated Press reported, “Although one or two ounces of gold won’t have a huge impact on diversifying one’s investment portfolio, experts note that there’s been increasing investor demand for precious metals in recent years, and that’s likely to continue.”

The rush for gold is often driven by fear or inflation with investors looking to put their cash into something more stable. The AP wrote, “recent bank failures, inflation and individuals’ concerns about the U.S. dollar, for example, can cause some to start looking for alternative places to park their money.”

However, gold may not be the wisest investment according to the AP’s sources. While the gold market is comparatively stable, it does fluctuate somewhat from $2,300 per ounce to $2,800 over the course of 2023. Over all gold costs have risen nearly 60 per cent over the last five years.

However, despite the recent rise, the American Commodity Futures Trading Commission says gold may not be the safe investment many think it is. “The truth is gold and other precious metals are highly volatile and past performance is not a good predictor of future returns.”

Costco’s gold bars are selling for a whopping $2,679.99 each, just slightly more than the current trading price of 2,674.33 per ounce. Due to the gold’s popularity Costco has instituted a two-piece per week limit, which means customers can drop $5,360 per week.