# If you go to Costco, get me some peanuts, a towel, and some gold, will you? **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [April 11, 2024, 11:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-you-go-to-costco-get-me-some-peanuts-a-towel-and-some-gold-will-you/1000150 "2024-04-11T11:03:39Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 14\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Love\_Rhombus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/love_rhombus/32/10694_2.png) [@Love\_Rhombus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Love_Rhombus)\ **Post date:** [April 11, 2024, 11:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-you-go-to-costco-get-me-some-peanuts-a-towel-and-some-gold-will-you/1000150/1 "2024-04-11T11:03:39Z")
It’s not the first place I’d check for precious metals, and I’d think they would tighten security. I’m assuming they don’t have it out on big shelves like the books and clothes. > **[Costco now sells up to $200 million a month in gold and silver](https://www.cbsnews.com/news/costco-gold-bar-sales-inflation-silver-coins-2024/)** > > Costco's growing business peddling the shiny metals comes amid stubborn inflation and record-high gold prices. ---
**Author:** ![Jasmine](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jasmine/32/2964_2.png) [@Jasmine](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jasmine)\ **Post date:** [April 11, 2024, 11:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-you-go-to-costco-get-me-some-peanuts-a-towel-and-some-gold-will-you/1000150/2 "2024-04-11T11:20:22Z")
Yeah and, just for the record, my birthday is June 7. You know … just sayin’ … 😈 ---
**Author:** ![Love\_Rhombus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/love_rhombus/32/10694_2.png) [@Love\_Rhombus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Love_Rhombus)\ **Post date:** [April 11, 2024, 11:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-you-go-to-costco-get-me-some-peanuts-a-towel-and-some-gold-will-you/1000150/3 "2024-04-11T11:26:00Z")
I have some nice coins that are…kind of gold. Ish. And chocolate. ---
**Author:** ![Jasmine](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jasmine/32/2964_2.png) [@Jasmine](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jasmine)\ **Post date:** [April 11, 2024, 11:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-you-go-to-costco-get-me-some-peanuts-a-towel-and-some-gold-will-you/1000150/4 "2024-04-11T11:30:29Z")
Aw, I would be kind of grateful … ish. 😆 ---
**Author:** ![epbrown](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/e47774/32.png) [@epbrown](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/epbrown)\ **Post date:** [April 11, 2024, 11:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-you-go-to-costco-get-me-some-peanuts-a-towel-and-some-gold-will-you/1000150/5 "2024-04-11T11:41:32Z")
Gold is not for everyone. I bought 5 coins as a sort of lark 15 or 20 years ago, and they were turning me into Gollum. I fiddled with them all the time, often carried one around as a little thrill. I sold them after finding one in the washing machine after doing laundry - it would have been such an idiotic way to lose a bunch of money. ---
**Author:** ![Chefguy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chefguy/32/138_2.png) [@Chefguy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chefguy)\ **Post date:** [April 11, 2024, 12:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-you-go-to-costco-get-me-some-peanuts-a-towel-and-some-gold-will-you/1000150/6 "2024-04-11T12:02:26Z")
I think I’ll stick to bacon. I used to collect silver coins and had a stash of gold at one point. Finally sold it all. The only gold I’m interested in now is the gold boxes that Irish butter comes in. ---
**Author:** ![DCnDC](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dcndc/32/2842_2.png) [@DCnDC](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DCnDC)\ **Post date:** [April 11, 2024, 1:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-you-go-to-costco-get-me-some-peanuts-a-towel-and-some-gold-will-you/1000150/7 "2024-04-11T13:36:31Z")
But do I have to buy a whole case at a time? ---
**Author:** ![Chefguy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chefguy/32/138_2.png) [@Chefguy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chefguy)\ **Post date:** [April 11, 2024, 2:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-you-go-to-costco-get-me-some-peanuts-a-towel-and-some-gold-will-you/1000150/8 "2024-04-11T14:39:00Z")
They have a roll of 25 silver coins for $650. ---
**Author:** ![Happy\_Lendervedder](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/happy_lendervedder/32/8488_2.png) [@Happy\_Lendervedder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Happy_Lendervedder)\ **Post date:** [April 11, 2024, 2:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-you-go-to-costco-get-me-some-peanuts-a-towel-and-some-gold-will-you/1000150/9 "2024-04-11T14:45:48Z")
Forget the gold, if you’re running to Costco, could you grab me a 40-ounce jar of flame roasted Hatch Valley Green Chiles? And a giant box of that manly flapjack mix with the damn grizzly bear on the front? ---
**Author:** ![snowthx](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/snowthx/32/10660_2.png) [@snowthx](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/snowthx)\ **Post date:** [April 11, 2024, 4:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-you-go-to-costco-get-me-some-peanuts-a-towel-and-some-gold-will-you/1000150/10 "2024-04-11T16:59:47Z")
Saw this on the news today. The reporter mentioned the cost is decent, in that Costco margin at about 2%, and gold has easily surpassed that growth in value over the last year or two. However, they mentioned it may be difficult to get a good price when one wants to sell these little bars, so the investment potential may be blunted somewhat, unless you can find a buyer who will pay more. Another aspect of making gold a consumer commodity easily accessed at your local warehouse - I am sure people who have acquired a sudden, large amount of cash are conveniently trading in those dollars for these little bars. ---
**Author:** ![Northern\_Piper](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/northern_piper/32/5304_2.png) [@Northern\_Piper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Northern_Piper)\ **Post date:** [April 11, 2024, 5:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-you-go-to-costco-get-me-some-peanuts-a-towel-and-some-gold-will-you/1000150/11 "2024-04-11T17:10:02Z")
So Senator Menendez has a Costco membership? ---
**Author:** ![Darren\_Garrison](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/darren_garrison/32/92_2.png) [@Darren\_Garrison](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Darren_Garrison)\ **Post date:** [April 11, 2024, 5:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-you-go-to-costco-get-me-some-peanuts-a-towel-and-some-gold-will-you/1000150/12 "2024-04-11T17:14:51Z")
I remember Sam’s Club selling 1 oz gold ingots back in the early 1990s. ---
**Author:** ![WildaBeast](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wildabeast/32/6_2.png) [@WildaBeast](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WildaBeast)\ **Post date:** [April 11, 2024, 5:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-you-go-to-costco-get-me-some-peanuts-a-towel-and-some-gold-will-you/1000150/13 "2024-04-11T17:27:13Z")
> [@Love\_Rhombus](#): > > I’m assuming they don’t have it out on big shelves like the books and clothes. I’ve heard that at the Dubai airport you can buy gold bars from a vending machine. Although I guess it’s more like an ATM than a traditional vending machine. And upon further research, I misremembered the location – it was located in the lobby of a Dubai hotel, not the airport. > **[Gold to Go](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gold_to_Go)** > > Gold to Go is a product brand made by the TG Gold-Super-Markt corporation designed to dispense items made of pure gold from automated banking vending machines. The first gold-plated vending machine was located in the lobby of the Emirates Palace hotel in Abu Dhabi, dispensed 320 items made of gold, including 10-gram gold bars and customized gold coins. There are currently six vending machines installed across Europe and Peru.\[citation needed\] The first vending machine in the United States The c... And while I was searching for that, I learned there’s one in Las Vegas now, too. > **[Gold Vending Machine Unveiled in Las Vegas](https://www.wsj.com/video/gold-vending-machine-unveiled-in-las-vegas/7890FF64-02DC-43D4-9FB2-A2C4C1BCF96F)** > > Players at the Golden Nugget resort in downtown Las Vegas will now have the option of getting gold bars from an ATM instead of cash. Video courtesy Fox News. ---
**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:** [April 11, 2024, 6:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-you-go-to-costco-get-me-some-peanuts-a-towel-and-some-gold-will-you/1000150/14 "2024-04-11T18:09:16Z")
> [@snowthx](#): > > Saw this on the news today. The reporter mentioned the cost is decent, in that Costco margin at about 2%, and gold has easily surpassed that growth in value over the last year or two. However, they mentioned it may be difficult to get a good price when one wants to sell these little bars, so the investment potential may be blunted somewhat, unless you can find a buyer who will pay more. Another aspect of making gold a consumer commodity easily accessed at your local warehouse - I am sure people who have acquired a sudden, large amount of cash are conveniently trading in those dollars for these little bars. Presumably, you’d only sell when the spot price rises enough that you can get a decent return on the sale. And Costco already sells fine jewelry.