# Costco sells 6,000,000 pumpkin pies **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Tags:** food-cooking\ **Created:** [November 23, 2023, 5:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/costco-sells-6-000-000-pumpkin-pies/993592 "2023-11-23T17:52:37Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![burpo\_the\_wonder\_mutt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/burpo_the_wonder_mutt/32/365_2.png) [@burpo\_the\_wonder\_mutt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/burpo_the_wonder_mutt)\ **Post date:** [November 23, 2023, 9:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/costco-sells-6-000-000-pumpkin-pies/993592/21 "2023-11-23T21:58:42Z")
I’m eating as fast as I can! I’m only one guy dog. ---
**Author:** ![Dewey\_Finn](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dewey_finn/32/4222_2.png) [@Dewey\_Finn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dewey_Finn)\ **Post date:** [November 24, 2023, 1:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/costco-sells-6-000-000-pumpkin-pies/993592/22 "2023-11-24T01:33:26Z")
> [@suranyi](#): > > They’re good, but they’re way too big for us. Whenever we’ve gotten one, we’ve never finished it. I agree with this. For those not familiar, these are not the nine-inch pies that are usually sold in supermarkets and such. Instead, they’re twelve-inch pies that weigh over three pounds. ---
**Author:** ![kitap](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/b9e5f3/32.png) [@kitap](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kitap)\ **Post date:** [November 24, 2023, 1:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/costco-sells-6-000-000-pumpkin-pies/993592/23 "2023-11-24T01:47:59Z")
Work got every employee one. My department just giggled when we took ours. ---
**Author:** ![elfkin477](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/a9a28c/32.png) [@elfkin477](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elfkin477)\ **Post date:** [November 24, 2023, 1:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/costco-sells-6-000-000-pumpkin-pies/993592/24 "2023-11-24T01:53:45Z")
According to the inflation calculator, $6 in 1990 is equivalent to over $14 today, so they seem to have started out pretty expensive. ---
**Author:** ![commasense](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/commasense/32/3017_2.png) [@commasense](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/commasense)\ **Post date:** [November 24, 2023, 4:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/costco-sells-6-000-000-pumpkin-pies/993592/25 "2023-11-24T04:28:20Z")
> [@Beckdawrek](#): > > I HATE pumpkin pie. I’m with you, Beck. And just to alienate everyone else, I also don’t care for pecan pie. ---
**Author:** ![Gatopescado](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gatopescado/32/5711_2.png) [@Gatopescado](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gatopescado)\ **Post date:** [November 24, 2023, 4:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/costco-sells-6-000-000-pumpkin-pies/993592/26 "2023-11-24T04:42:10Z")
> [@commasense](#): > > I also don’t care for pecan pie. AKA Cockroach Pie ---
**Author:** ![Beckdawrek](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/beckdawrek/32/3647_2.png) [@Beckdawrek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Beckdawrek)\ **Post date:** [November 24, 2023, 4:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/costco-sells-6-000-000-pumpkin-pies/993592/27 "2023-11-24T04:54:11Z")
If I liked it, I don’t now. Ick! ---
**Author:** ![phs3](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/8491ac/32.png) [@phs3](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/phs3)\ **Post date:** [November 24, 2023, 3:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/costco-sells-6-000-000-pumpkin-pies/993592/28 "2023-11-24T15:34:31Z")
Not for a decent pie, which I’m assuming these are. I regularly see them for at least $15 nowadays. And these are large, too. At $5.99 they’re a no-brainer: even if you throw half of it away, it was only six bucks! Acourse that assumes you don’t hate pumpking pie in the first place. ---
**Author:** ![Mean\_Mr.Mustard](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mean_mr.mustard/32/3865_2.png) [@Mean\_Mr.Mustard](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mean_Mr.Mustard)\ **Post date:** [November 24, 2023, 5:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/costco-sells-6-000-000-pumpkin-pies/993592/29 "2023-11-24T17:06:07Z")
I could go several Thanksgivings without eating PP and not miss it much at all. That said, $5.99 for a decent pie the size of a hubcap is hard to pass up. mmm ---
**Author:** ![Lancia](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lancia/32/17174_2.png) [@Lancia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lancia)\ **Post date:** [November 24, 2023, 5:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/costco-sells-6-000-000-pumpkin-pies/993592/30 "2023-11-24T17:16:53Z")
> [@Beckdawrek](#): > > I HATE pumpkin pie > [@commasense](#): > > And just to alienate everyone else, I also don’t care for pecan pie. You are my people! ❤ ---
**Author:** ![InternetLegend](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/internetlegend/32/13154_2.png) [@InternetLegend](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/InternetLegend)\ **Post date:** [November 24, 2023, 5:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/costco-sells-6-000-000-pumpkin-pies/993592/31 "2023-11-24T17:30:24Z")
But if you do like pumpkin pie, when you have it for breakfast with whipped cream, you can tell yourself you’re eating a vegetable, grain, and dairy! Apple pie works for this, too, if you have it with cheddar cheese. ---
**Author:** ![Dewey\_Finn](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dewey_finn/32/4222_2.png) [@Dewey\_Finn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dewey_Finn)\ **Post date:** [November 24, 2023, 6:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/costco-sells-6-000-000-pumpkin-pies/993592/32 "2023-11-24T18:06:27Z")
Apple pie a la mode also qualifies. ---
**Author:** ![kaylasdad99](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kaylasdad99/32/3398_2.png) [@kaylasdad99](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kaylasdad99)\ **Post date:** [November 26, 2023, 11:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/costco-sells-6-000-000-pumpkin-pies/993592/33 "2023-11-26T11:33:17Z")
> [@Euphonious\_Polemic](#): > > Supposedly the price of the costco pie at $5.99 has not increased since 1990. > Using an inflation calculator, $5.99 in 1990 is approximately $14.11 today. > > So I conclude that a $5.99 pie was horribly overpriced in 1990. Not necessarily. The $5.00 rotisserie chickens and $1.50 hotdog and a drink snack bar special are long-standing traditions for Costco. I remember reading that the CEO has expressly forbidden the stores from interfering with those for any reason (although they’ve dropped the option of a Polish sausage, apparently as a cost-cutting measure). So the $5.99 pumpkin pie could be a loss leader that keeps people coming back to the store. ---
**Author:** ![hajario](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hajario/32/171_2.png) [@hajario](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/hajario)\ **Post date:** [November 26, 2023, 3:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/costco-sells-6-000-000-pumpkin-pies/993592/34 "2023-11-26T15:41:16Z")
> [@kaylasdad99](#): > > So the $5.99 pumpkin pie could be a loss leader that keeps people coming back to the store. Of course it is. ---
**Author:** ![Folly](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/folly/32/3219_2.png) [@Folly](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Folly)\ **Post date:** [November 26, 2023, 4:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/costco-sells-6-000-000-pumpkin-pies/993592/35 "2023-11-26T16:05:34Z")
Get two more items on impulse while you are picking up a pie and now it’s a cartful of stuff! ---
**Author:** ![hajario](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hajario/32/171_2.png) [@hajario](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/hajario)\ **Post date:** [November 26, 2023, 4:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/costco-sells-6-000-000-pumpkin-pies/993592/36 "2023-11-26T16:10:09Z")
Right. Or better yet, keep your membership for another year because among other things you love that pie deal. ---
**Author:** ![Dewey\_Finn](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dewey_finn/32/4222_2.png) [@Dewey\_Finn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dewey_Finn)\ **Post date:** [November 26, 2023, 4:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/costco-sells-6-000-000-pumpkin-pies/993592/37 "2023-11-26T16:11:26Z")
And remember that in order to buy that six-dollar pumpkin pie, you have to have a Costco membership that costs at least ten times that. ---
**Author:** ![Euphonious\_Polemic](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/euphonious_polemic/32/3002_2.png) [@Euphonious\_Polemic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Euphonious_Polemic)\ **Post date:** [November 26, 2023, 4:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/costco-sells-6-000-000-pumpkin-pies/993592/38 "2023-11-26T16:14:37Z")
> [@kaylasdad99](#): > > So the $5.99 pumpkin pie could be a loss leader that keeps people coming back to the store. But it was not (as much as) a loss leader back in 1990, when it was the equivalent of $14.11. Which was my point. ---
**Author:** ![Jophiel](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jophiel/32/66_2.png) [@Jophiel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jophiel)\ **Post date:** [November 26, 2023, 4:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/costco-sells-6-000-000-pumpkin-pies/993592/39 "2023-11-26T16:32:44Z")
> [@Euphonious\_Polemic](#): > > So I conclude that a $5.99 pie was horribly overpriced in 1990. Maybe not. It might have just been a tasty pie still worth buying for the price back then. We’d need some competing pie pricing from 1990 to really get a feel for it. I’d also assume that advances in mechanization means that you can’t directly compare the cost of a pie in 1990 to 2023. From what I’ve heard, they have it down to a science these days with tubes glopping out premeasured doses of pumpkin slurry. You don’t make six million pies with grandma in the kitchen. The pumpkin pies of 1990 may have required a lot more manual labor or even been made in the bakery on site at each store. ---
**Author:** ![Euphonious\_Polemic](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/euphonious_polemic/32/3002_2.png) [@Euphonious\_Polemic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Euphonious_Polemic)\ **Post date:** [November 26, 2023, 4:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/costco-sells-6-000-000-pumpkin-pies/993592/40 "2023-11-26T16:34:27Z")
> [@Jophiel](#): > > You don’t make six million pies with grandma in the kitchen. Whaaaat?! That Costco manager _lied_ to me! [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/costco-sells-6-000-000-pumpkin-pies/993592.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/costco-sells-6-000-000-pumpkin-pies/993592.md?page=3)