Topic: ‘We Sold Over $100 Million of Gold During the Quarter’: Costco CFO (Read 110 times)

Wow, that's *not* a lot of sales. I figured with their pricing and the fact that there is no credit card surcharge and you still get the 2% back if you use the Costco visa they would have sold more. Using round numbers $100,000,000 he said more then but I'll use that number since I will also use $2,000 per ounce and gold has been more then 5% above that at retail you only have 50,000 bars sold.

Yes 50k is a lot, but considering they were by far the cheapest retail place for them AND as I said no credit card surcharge AND if you use their Visa you get the 2% I would have figured a higher number.

The small gold & silver place near me does a couple of bars a day on average so that's once again round numbers 600+ bars a year or 150+ a quarter from a small private store.

For a company that has close to 600 stores and internet sales I would have thought they would have sold more with their pricing.

Quick thought: 90 days in a quarter 600 stores 90*600 is 54,000 so to get to the 100 million plus that's one bar a day per store not counting internet sales. So yeah, not a lot.

-Dave

The point is inflation. Slow inflation allows people to adapt. So, they don't get all bent out of shape over it. But the rapid inflation hurts the people in ways that irritate them. So, they are finding other places to invest it rather than the dollar.

There is no strength in the USD. There is only lies and stealing from the people. How do we know? Find a bank CPA who is willing to talk - a CPA who audits bank ledgers - and he will tell you that the bank deposits promissory notes and mortgage notes into accounts just like they were money. Then the bank withdraws the money in the form of cash or bank checks, and gives it to the borrower.

So, what does the borrower need the bank for? Since he created the money with the bank, get rid of the middleman (bank) and simply create borrower money. That's what Bitcoin is doing... sort of.

But the US banking system is a lie that is causing inflation. And when the government borrows a bunch of money to give to Ukraine and other places, this cause big inflation for the people of the US and all countries that use the US money.

Will BRICS go this route? Probably not. They want something for money that has inherent value. Gold and silver, even though this value is determined by the desires of the people, have inherent value in electronics and other things. Probably BRICS will base their money on gold and silver... and platinum, and other things that have real value... rather than the inflated, useless US dollar.


Has the Dollar Struck the BRICS Iceberg?

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https://www.zerohedge.com/news/2023-12-27/has-us-dollar-already-struck-brics-iceberg
The BRICS countries, especially those in the global South, are leading the charge to depart from the decades-long dominance of the American currency. China and Japan's central bank shares show the most significant rise in central banks. Interestingly, the Euro is just slightly behind in losing a share in the world currency market.

If BRICS stops using the USD, there will likely be a financial disaster in the United States, with hyperinflation wreaking havoc across all sectors in the US. However, losing the dollar as the medium of exchange worldwide is not the most significant danger for the American hegemony. Collaboration and stronger ties between the BRICS and emerging nations are essential. Xn Iraki, an associate professor in the Faculty of Business and Management Sciences of the University of Nairobi, offered this via China Daily:

"BRICS is at a watershed in terms of global economic organisations, with less-developed countries now having access to technology from more advanced ones and having an opportunity to diversify their exports and gain access to new sources of funding."

The professor suggested member countries strengthen intergroup collaboration in many fields, including cultural exchanges, science and technology. Once this level of partnership begins, the so-called Global South will be much more influential on the financial and geopolitical scales. What the experts are suggesting is not just a business shift but a literal change of identity for poorer nations that wielded almost no power or influence. This is the great appeal for joining the BRICS; the US and its allies have no comparable leverage point.

The BRICS account for 37% of the world's GDP, while the G7 only squeaked out 30%. With the UAE, Saudi Arabia, and Iran joining the group, oil production on Earth will be firmly in the hands of BRICS members. US government data shows BRICS' share of global oil production blossoming from 19% to 41% after the recent expansion.
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I’m a bit surprised to read this. I don’t think I’ve seen a gold section at CostCo but in spite of living near one I don’t go there very often. I have heard friends mention that they’ve bought some silver coins though lately and I found that surprising. People are starting to figure things out and I’m sure everything will continue to snowball.

Perhaps it is because I do not live in the United States, but to me it sounds amusing enough to imagine a retailer shop (which is supposed to sell things like food and medicine) also offer literal small gold bars to their costumers. Truly in the United States one can find a little bit of everything in drug stores and retail establishments.

Anyways, talking back into the topic of the apparent weakness of the USD an the alledged incoming doom of the American Fiat. I still believe those beliefs to be quite exaggerated, as far as I can see the stock market in the USA is doing pretty well right now, the unemployment in the USA is also low and the inflation is going down through time close enough back to pre COVID levels, so I dont see what is the the indication to affirm the USD is going to be displaced as global currency and medium to transmit value between people and businesses.

If anything, those numbers given by Costco only show the people on the United States have become more aware of the necessity of diversification of their assets and some of them hay actually FOMOED into the gold market after seeing how the price has behaved during November and December.

Also, the BRICS has nor even issued their common currency yet, how many people around here predicted it would happen. The American dollar is far from being destroyed. In my opinion.

What's left of the middle class is starting to realize that the fiat USD is failing. Costco realized tht people were thinking like this, and made a few bucks off the dollar doom. If it were a really big amount, it might have crushed the dollar more.


‘We Sold Over $100 Million of Gold During the Quarter’: Costco CFO

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https://www.theepochtimes.com/article/we-sold-over-100-million-of-gold-during-the-quarter-costco-cfo-5548800
Wholesale retailer Costco sold more than $100 million worth of gold in the most recent quarter, with gold bars seeing high demand from customers.

“You've probably read about the fact that we're selling one-ounce gold bars. We sold over $100 million of gold during the quarter [that ended Sept. 30]," Richard Galanti, the chief financial officer of Costco, said during an earnings call on Dec. 14. This was the first quarter of fiscal 2024 at Costco.

The wholesale retailer started selling gold online in September. In an earnings call late that month, Mr. Galanti had alluded to massive demand for the product. “When we load [gold bars] on the site, they're typically gone within a few hours.”

At present, Costco has listed two one-ounce gold bars for sale—one from PAMP Suisse Lady Fortuna Veriscan and the other from Gold Bar Rand Refinery. Both items are listed as 24-karat gold available for members only and limited to two bars per member. Costco offers three types of memberships: gold star and business memberships, which cost $60 yearly each, and an executive membership that costs $120.
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